Contrasting the Dynamics of Western and Japanese Cultures Essay

About this Assignment
Effective intercultural communication requires an understanding of the various aspects of
culture and how people respond to different cultures in a variety of settings. Beyond
understanding concepts such as bias and stereotyping, effective communication includes the
ability to understand the nuances of both verbal and non-verbal communication, how these are
reflections of culture, and how strategies can be developed for more effective intercultural
communication. For your final assignment, in a paper of approximately 2,500-3,000 words,
address the prompts below using concepts you learned from the course to support your
analysis.
Project Prompt
Select a culture other than your own. Compare and contrast your selected culture with your
own on these dimensions in terms of how they influence communication:
•
•
•
•
•
Core values
Religious belief systems
Gender roles
Verbal and non-verbal communication
Communication context
Then, analyze how characteristics of both cultures influence communication in the following
settings and identify the issues and opportunities that exist for each:
•
•
•
Education
Healthcare
Business settings
Finally, formulate strategies for improving intercultural communication in these settings
including the development of cultural intelligence (CQ)
Using Sources
Please write your paper in APA format. You may refer to the course material for supporting
evidence, but you must also use at least three credible, outside sources and cite them using
APA format as well. Please include a mix of both primary and secondary sources, with at least
one source from a scholarly peer-reviewed journal.
Primary sources are first-hand accounts such as interviews, advertisements, speeches,
company documents, statements, and press releases published by the company in question.
Secondary sources come from peer-reviewed scholarly journals, such as the Journal of
Management. You may use JSTOR, Google Scholar, and Social Science Research Network to find
articles from these journals. Secondary sources may also come from reputable websites with
.gov, .edu, or .org in the domain. (Wikipedia is not a reputable source, through the sources
listed in Wikipedia articles may be acceptable.
Grading Rubric
Your paper will be graded based on the following rubric:
Total
Possibl
e
Points
Category
Needs
Unacceptable
Improvement Good (7-8)
(0-2)
(3-6)
Compares and
contrasts
cultures on
core values
(x1)
Does not
compare or
contrast core
values
Compares and
Compares and
contrasts core
contrasts core
values with
values but with
limited
no support
support
Comprehensivel
y compares and
contrasts core
10
values with
detailed support
Compares and
contrasts
cultures on
religious belief
systems (x1)
Does not
compare or
contrast
religious belief
systems
Compares and
contrasts
religious belief
systems but
with no
support
Compares and
contrasts
religious belief
systems with
limited
support
Comprehensivel
y compares and
contrasts
10
religious belief
systems with
detailed support
Compares and
contrasts
cultures on
gender roles
(x1)
Does not
compare or
contrast
gender roles
Compares and
contrasts
gender roles
but with no
support
Compares and
contrasts
gender roles
with limited
support
Comprehensivel
y compares and
contrasts
gender roles
with detailed
support
10
Compares and
contrasts
cultures on
verbal and
non-verbal
communicatio
n (x1)
Compares and
Does not
contrasts
compare or
verbal and
contrast verbal
non-verbal
and non-verbal
communicatio
communicatio
n but with no
n
support
Compares and
contrasts
verbal and
non-verbal
communicatio
n with limited
support
Comprehensivel
y compares and
contrasts verbal
and non-verbal
communication
with detailed
support
10
Compares and
contrasts
cultures on
communicatio
n context (x1)
Does not
compare or
contrast
communicatio
n context
Compares and
contrasts
communicatio
n context with
Comprehensivel
y compares and
contrasts
communication
10
Compares and
contrasts
communicatio
n context but
Excellent (9-10)
with no
support
limited
support
context with
detailed support
Explains
cultural
influence on
communicatio
n in education
or issues and
opportunities,
but not both
Provides brief
explanation of
cultural
influence on
communicatio
n in education
and issues and
opportunities
with limited
support
Provides
detailed
explanation of
cultural
influence on
communication 10
in education and
issues and
opportunities
with detailed
support
Analyze how
characteristics
of both
cultures
influence
communicatio
n in education
and identify
the issues and
opportunities
(x1)
Does not
explain
cultural
influence on
communicatio
n in education
or issues and
opportunities
Analyze how
characteristics
of both
cultures
influence
communicatio
n in healthcare
and identify
the issues and
opportunities
(x1)
Provides brief
Does not
Explains
explanation of
explain
cultural
cultural
cultural
influence on
influence on
influence on
communicatio communicatio
communicatio n in healthcare n in healthcare
n in healthcare or issues and
and issues and
or issues and
opportunities, opportunities
opportunities but not both
with limited
support
Provides
detailed
explanation of
cultural
influence on
communication
in healthcare
and issues and
opportunities
with detailed
support
10
Analyze how
characteristics
of both
cultures
influence
communicatio
n in business
settings and
identify the
issues and
opportunities
(x1)
Explains
cultural
influence on
communicatio
n in business
settings or
issues and
opportunities,
but not both
Provides brief
explanation of
cultural
influence on
communicatio
n in business
settings and
issues and
opportunities
with limited
support
Provides
detailed
explanation of
cultural
influence on
communication
in business
settings and
issues and
opportunities
with detailed
support
10
Formulates
strategies or
addresses CQ,
but not both
Formulates
strategies and
addresses CQ
but with
limited
rationale
Formulates
strategies and
addresses CQ
with detailed
rationale
10
Formulates
strategies for
improving
intercultural
communicatio
Does not
explain
cultural
influence on
communicatio
n in business
settings or
issues and
opportunities
Does not
formulate
strategies or
address CQ
n including CQ
(x1)
Submission
has major
errors related
to citations,
grammar,
spelling,
syntax;
Mechanics (x1)
organization
confuses the
reader and
interferes with
the
communicatio
n of ideas
Submission
has a number
of errors
related to
citations,
grammar,
spelling,
syntax;
organization
negatively
impacts
readability and
interferes with
the
communicatio
n of ideas
Submission
has some
errors related
to citations,
grammar,
spelling,
syntax; there is
an opportunity
to improve
organization to
enhance
readability and
the clear
communicatio
n of ideas
Submission has
few or no errors
related to
citations,
grammar,
spelling, syntax;
organization
enhances
readability and
the clear
communication
of ideas
10