1009IBA Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Louisville, Kentucky
4 May 2018
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L9. Managing Intercultural Conflict
What is Intercultural Conflict?
• The perceived and/or actual incompatibility of values, expectations, processes or outcomes
o Between two or more parties
o From different cultures over substantive and/or relational issues
Source: Ting-Toomey
• An expressed struggle between parties who perceive incompatible goals and/or potential
interference from the other party in achieving the desired goal
o Generated, at least in part, by a cultural difference in how meaning is produced or
interpreted
Source: Hocker and Wilmot, in Hall p.233
Cultural Variability and Conflict Styles
• Note: Key word 'perceive'
o Process of perception
• Selection, organisation and interpretation of stimuli
• Cultural Variability:
o Individualistic vs. Collectivist
o Low Context vs. High Context
o Monochronic Time vs. Polychronic Time
Individualistic and Collectivist Conflict Lenses
Individualistic Conflict Lens
Collectivist Conflict Lens
• Outcome-focused
• Process-focused
• Content goal-oriented
• Relational goal-oriented
• Doing-centred
• Being-centred
• Use personal equity norms
• Use communal norms
• Self-face concern
• Other-face concern
• Low-context conflict styles
• High-context conflict styles
• Competitive/dominating behaviours
• Avoiding/obliging behaviours
• Conflict effectiveness
• Conflict appropriateness
Cultural Conflict Assumptions
Low-Context
High-Context
• Expressed struggle to air major differences
• Damaging to social face and relational
harmony (to be avoided)
• Dysfunctional and functional
• Dysfunctional when repressed and not
directly confronted
• Functional as opportunity to solve
problematic issues
• Generally dysfunctional
• Signals lack of self-discipline and
emotional immaturity
• Testing ground for skilled face-work
negotiation process
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