Repetition is appreciated if it helps clarify the communication, High-context: Good communication is sophisticated, nuanced, and layered. Generally there is low tolerance for ambiguity and people require detailed explanation and understanding before making decisions. Obviously, these two incidents have gone down in the annals of presidential history as cultural faux pas. Another form of respectful greeting is a brief, shallow bow. However, income is just one indicatory of power distance within a culture. Other religions practiced in the country include Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. When it comes to external business communication however, my experience is that the British are closer to the low-context end of the scale. For understanding culture, Hofstede acknowledges that this distinction ultimately has a lot to do with work goals.28 On the masculine end of the spectrum, individuals tend to be focused on items like earnings, recognition, advancement, and challenge. Its important to understand that for an American for instance (America is located to the very left of the scale, by the low-context), both British and Polish cultures may seem very high-context and combining that with a tendency to use sarcastic humour cultural shock guaranteed! High-context communication style may be detrimental to the design of global Web sites, making them less readable, less effective in their use of colors and graphics, and less interactive for. Long-term orientation focuses on the future and not the present or the past. Imagine youre having an interaction with an individual from India. How did your friends react to your decision of moving abroad? Wincenty Kadubek, Gallus Anonymus, and Jan Dugosz were some of the famous Middle Age Polish authors. Men also dress well and adorn a heavily embroidered waistcoat, striped trousers, and an ornamented krakuska cap. Several other festivals and holidays are also celebrated in Poland. Swoim okrgiem konsularnym konsulat obejmuje Wojewdztwo . During an interpersonal interaction, individuals strive to create a positive version of their face for the other person. Asian, African, Arab, central European and Latin American cultures are generally considered to be high-context cultures. Femininity, on the other hand, involves characteristics like having a good working relationship with ones manager and coworkers, cooperating with people at work, and security (both job and familial). It will be based on the book entitled The Culture Map by an INSEAD professor and cross-cultural specialist Erin Meyer. What is important to remember when analysing these graphs is that we cant definitely say whether a culture IS a low or high context. Similarly, trait affection received was significantly associated with the individualism-collectivism and uncertainty avoidance dimensions of cultures. 36, Mansson, D. H., & Sigurardttir, A. G. (2017). Close friends greet each other very affectionately with hugging and kisses on the cheeks. D.I.V.E. Messages are often implied but not plainly expressed." Here is the graph showing UK and Polish cultures compared with my preference on the Communication scale. Moreover, in a collectivistic culture, there is a belief that you should do what benefits the group. One of Halls most essential contributions to the field of intercultural communication is the idea of low-context and high-context cultures. Heres a 4-minute speech from Erin Meyer on this topic as an extra source: click. Negotiations with new customers are going to be tougher and longer until a relationship is established. Pregnancy is kept secret as long as possible to guard against the evil eye. Japan is the most high-context society due to long shared history, followed by Korea, China and Indonesia. "The Culture Map Persuading. I really like how loud you play your music. or Aah, sorry, I cant be friends with someone who doesnt drink tea) know that, been (or still am?) Formal It was simply a reflection of the need for being 100% clear in the message and avoiding any misunderstandings. Krzysztof Komeda was a famous Jazz musician from the country who composed several movie soundtracks. The St. Stephan's Day is celebrated the next day. From years of research examining both extraversion and neuroticism, we know that extraverted individuals have more successful interpersonal relationships than those who are highly neurotic. They required me to work on myself so that this narrative doesn't get stuck in my head, and that I still continue living my own life, while doing my best to care for the relationships that I wanted to keep in my life. The terms "low-context culture" (LCC) and "high-context culture" (HCC) were created by Hall to describe how communication styles differ across cultures. 45 Lien represents the confidence of society in the integrity of egos moral character, the loss of which makes it impossible for him to function properly within the community. At the long-term end of the spectrum are countries like China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan; whereas, countries like Pakistan, Czech Republic, Nigeria, Spain, and the Philippines are examples of short-term. The emphasis on endurance is vital because being persistent today will help you in the future. Striving for everyone to have equal rights is an important theme. The LibreTexts libraries arePowered by NICE CXone Expertand are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, low-context approach in business might create additional misunderstandings. Emotionally Expressive 33 The sixth cultural characteristic is called indulgence vs. restraint, which examines issues of happiness and wellbeing. The United States ranked 31 out of 39, with Pakistan being number 39. Furthermore, there tend to be higher levels of prejudice and higher levels of ideological, political, and religious fundamentalism, which does not allow for any kind of debate. Approaches to problem-solving can be indirect, and often one-on-one meetings are more productive than large group discussions. IOR collects cookies to improve your experience on our website. What is Poland culture? DRIVE is your motivation and level of curiosity for multicultural interactions. Face is the standing or position a person has in the eyes of others. The Polish version of Santa, Mikolaj visits children on Christmas Eve or on December 6th to shower them with gifts. Geert Hofstedes research created a taxonomy for understanding and differentiating cultures. How did your friends and family react to your decision of moving abroad? If youre not used to it you can either ignore it or get easily offended as they use sarcasm a lot, usually in a form of statement about a reality (eg. Face gaining refers to the strategies a person might use to build their reputation and feelings of prestige (e.g., talking about accomplishments, active social media presence), whereas face losing refers to those behaviors someone engages in that can harm their reputation or feelings of prestige (e.g., getting caught in a lie, failing). STRATEGY is the awareness of your own cultural preferences and how they impact your interactions with others, as well as the ability to plan for multicultural interactions and check whether your understanding was correct or not. Onboarding programs for foreign companies are key to helping new recruits understand international business culture which may differ from traditional Polish business culture. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Asia, the Polish name, is spelled the same as the continent but pronounced very differently! Countries that fall into this categorization are Japan, China, France, Spain, Brazil, and more. I can feel the differences of course, but its nothing extremely surprising rather something you need to get used to. Lets laugh together - what are some of your stories of language misunderstandings? Lets briefly look at each of these. Designed and Developed by LLT Group. When it comes down to it, despite the issues we have in our country, the power disparity is not nearly as significant as it is in many other parts of our world. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. President Nixon did the same thing existing an airplane in Brazil flashing his famous OK sign with his thumb and forefinger forming a circle, but this is the middle finger in that culture. In other words, we think about ourselves as individuals rather than the collective group. Try to make initial introductions through a local representative rather than on your own. You know, various comments of how things are going to be worse off, when will I come back from that little adventure of mine, why don't I visit more often, why can't I be there for that family occasion and clearly those are no longer important since moving abroad. Most often, in cultures which are closer to the Direct side of the spectrum, you can expect that what is being said has the most value. In an individualistic culture, there is a belief that you can do what you want and follow your passions. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The United States is number one on individualism, according to Hofstedes data.27 Americans are considered individualistic. All Rights Reserved. Another popular alcoholic drink is the Polish mead which is a honey wine produced in the country since the Middle Ages. Although Poland and England are not so far away from each other on the communication scale, I had moments when low-context behaviours were annoying for me. It is therefore of a higher context than the British one. Compare and contrast two countries and their levels of context. Poland was under the rule of communism from 1945- 1989. High-context cultures, on the other hand, are cultures where understanding a message is dependent on the cultural context and a communicators nonverbal behavior. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Affectionate communication is conceptualized as a persons use of intentional and overt communicative behaviors to convey feelings of closeness, care, and fondness in the form of verbal statements, nonverbal behaviors, and social support.35. Wojewdztwo pomorskie - wojewdztwo znajdujce si w pnocnej czci kraju. Poland, and the United States. They come from people caring for us and the relationships we have together. Conversely, low-context Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on saving face, which we will discuss more in the next section, fulfilling ones obligations today, and enjoying ones leisure time. I have to admit, I can't remember exactly the moment I told my close ones about the move abroad, it all happened so quickly in my case Generally Polish employees are motivated by the recognition of good performance, a more visible position with a higher title, the opportunity to work in a company that is contributing to the modernization of Poland, a chance to develop good relationships with colleagues, and by incentives that allow them to spend more leisure time with family and friends. Some interesting findings associated with indulgence include experiencing higher levels of positive emotions and remembering those emotions for more extended periods. It is crucial that we compare the cultures in relation to each other on the graph. Meetings are formal. According to a 2013 report from the U.S. Census department (using income data from 2012), here is how income inequality in the U.S. looks: Households in the lowest quintile had incomes of $20,599 or less in 2012. Bg si rodzi, Bogurodzica are some of the oldest musical compositions originating in Poland. In general, for me as a Polish person UK approach doesnt seem extremely far away from what Im used to. Polish literature developed and evolved since the arrival of Christianity in Poland. Poles gesticulate a great deal while speaking to make their point. However, their significance has nearly been eliminated in the modern Polish society. Countries that fall into this categorization are Japan, China, France, Spain, Brazil, and more. I think I have been a coconut for a long time, but since living in the UK I embraced some more of the peachiness 27) on the transformation of Poland from a country of departure to a country of arrival 30 April 2021 - 16:09; 23.04.2021 - Radio broadcast . The ruling class or nomenclatura that held the ruling power during the Communist rule in Poland is striving to regain power in the country. Some gestures can mean wildly different things in different parts of the world. Intercultural facework competence refers to the optimal integration of knowledge, mindfulness, and communication skills in managing vulnerable identity-based conflict situations appropriately, effectively, and adaptively. Originally, the concept of face is not a Western even though the idea of saving face is pretty common in every day talk today. Starting in the 1970s, Geert became interested in how people from different cultures approach work. The Polish culture has greatly evolved over the years having been influenced by the geographic location of the country at the confluence of European regions with their distinct cultures. Younger managers are beginning to adopt a less hierarchical, more results-driven manner of managing teams. Messages are both spoken and read between the lines. Historically pregnant women are expected to observe a number of taboos like not looking at fire, mice and the disabled to avoid harm to the baby. The headgear consists of a floral wreath in the case of unmarried women while the married ones tie a white kerchief. I hope that at this point you more or less get the idea of what the Communication Scale involves. The world's cultural diversity naturally leads to many types of communication differences from one region to the next. Family provides the foundation for endurance andperseverance, Each family member must take responsibility for self andfamily, Hierarchy helps structure roles and reduce uncertainty, Traditionally male dominated society, slowly changing. The same is true of thrift. The U.S. is towards the indulgence end of the spectrum and ranks at #15 along with Canada and the Netherlands. In the past, HR was seen as a channel for instilling the goals of the communist party. After the country lost its sovereignty in the 19th century, Romantic literature flourished in the country. Working with people from low context culture . In fact, within the latest edition of the book examining these characteristics, Hofstede and his colleagues title the chapter on uncertainty avoidance as What is Different is Dangerous, calling out the threat factor people in high uncertainty avoidance cultures feel.31 Cultures at the high end of uncertainty avoidance include Greece, Portugal, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Belgium Flemish; whereas, cultures at the low end of uncertainty avoidance include Singapore, Jamaica, Denmark, Sweden, and Hong Kong. For example, in a high-context culture, you may rely more on subtlety, but it's incumbent upon you to be direct in a low-context culture. Other regions of Poland have their own folk costumes with most involving a display of vibrant colors, embroidery, ornamentation, lace aprons, beaded jewelery, and elaborate headgears. The concept of face is especially problematic in emotionally vulnerable situations (such as embarrassment, request, or conflict situations) when the situation identities of the communicators are called into question. Is Poland a high context culture? The province also promotes the offer of "healthy" tourism. The killing of a large section of the Polish intelligentsia by the Nazis and the Communists during and after World War II greatly reduced the rigid social stratification in the country. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Flicking one finger against your neck is an invitation to join someone for a drink. The Renaissance period also witnessed the production of great literary works by the Polish authors and poets. These are some important high-context culture characteristics to look out for. Contracts can take months to negotiate. Polish folk dance has a long and rich tradition and is associated with several historical or religious events of the country. However, the concepts of what is low, middle, and upper can have very large differences.