Monday, January 6, 2014

COM 325 Intercultural Communication: I got a question



You can post your question here and I will come back to you as soon as possible. 

13 comments:

  1. My question is can intercultural communication help dissolve the conflict between Japan and China over a few contested inhabitable islands?

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    1. Certainly. But so far the communication between the two countries is highly strategic political communication which merely spread misunderstanding and confusion. The U.S. also played a notorious role to stir up rather than to calm down the dispute. The genuine dialogue between the two countries are sorely lacking. But at individual level, people from the two countries can engage in honest discussion. We need to expand this kind of non-governmental dialogue among peoples. Overtime, we hope that sound judgment can prevail.

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  2. My question is how can intercultural communication work in marketing research to gain profit?

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    1. Again, certainly. Marketing research need to map out the deep-seated consciousness of consumers. Our knowledge in intercultural communication can help us as marketing researchers to ask intelligent question so we can gain the insight into those consciousness. With the knowledge of those consciousness, we can design the message to connect with consumers of various cultural background and generate sales.

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  3. My question is...

    How can we use Communication to overcome the fact that most countries hate America. More specifically when an American travels out of country.

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  4. The United States represents an idealism which is in conflict with a lot of authoritarian/totalitarian countries. It is impossible for the U.S. to give up the ideal. U.S. will continue to pursue liberty and democracy. But there are some conflicts between the U.S. and other countries not because of the lofty ideas, but because of the U.S.'s missteps and "double standard." The best way for U.S. to resolve those conflict, and thus become less hated by others is to practice what we preach. Also, the U.S. may conduct international public relation campaign to make others to understand us positively. President JFK's peace corp is a good example of how to make people like us more. The way to make people hate us is like charging hefty price for AIDS drug while people in Africa are dying.
    Action speaks louder than words. So, sometime, it is not what we say but what we do that can change people's mind. Communication is a quick dirty fix. But to really forge a good relationship, we need to change our mind first.

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  5. As someone who has their green card in the US, does that reduce any bad feelings you have grown to feel towards Japan and the things which have happened to your home country?

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  6. I should refrain from answering a question which seems to be personal to me.

    But, since I have promised to answer any question, here we go.

    First, I don't have particular bad feeling toward Japan. I admire this country's success as a modern liberal democracy. I respect Japanese people and admire many good qualities of Japanese people such as politeness, self-discipline, and hardworking.

    My feeling toward Japan is a combination of admiration and apprehension. I believe most Japanese people will choose to live peacefully with neighboring countries. I believe most Japanese don't agree with the unapologetic attitude toward the bad thing Japan did during the WW II. But I am afraid sometimes politicians can dupe people to make a wrong choice.

    As a citizen of China, my permanent residence in the U.S. won't change my viewpoints in regard to many things. Even after I become a U.S. citizen, I will keep my independent thinking. So my mixed feelings, NOT bad feelings, toward Japan won't change much. I will keep working to make both Chinese people and Japanese people to understand each other and to be reunited as a great family like they were in 900 A.D. It is a great tragedy that this two countries have developed animosity in the past 200 years.

    I don't believe China and Japan will enter serious conflict. But some third part countries need to act reasonably. Japan has been emboldened by some countries to start a brawl with China. On the other hand, China needs to keep their head cool. The Chinese government should not be hijacked by Jingoist sentiment.

    So, I don't have bad feeling toward Japan. I worry about the wrong choice these two peoples can make when they lose their mind.

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    1. Have you ever considered that they are like most people who make mistakes and they are embarrassed at the way their people acted so horribly all those years ago? Not to excuse their behavior its just an outside opinion. I think that apologies are just as important as forgiveness not just to avoid conflict but to refrain from stress or awkward situations in ones own life. Maybe if enough people are forgiving of japan it will make it easier for them to apologize. After all they did apologize for forcing Korean women into sexual acts that occurred during WWII in 1992.

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  7. My question is, why is it so acceptable in Western Culture to glorify negative behaviors, promote unhealthy eating habits, disrespect the elderly, and be materialistic?

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  8. Because western society is the early adopter of capitalism. Now China is catching up with the western society.

    Capitalism is the answer. Western society has evangelical trust in capitalism as a fundamental principle to organize our life. China has recognized the problem with capitalism earlier in 16th century during Ming Dynasty. Qing Dynasty put a brake on the capitalism and restored our belief in Confucianism as a fundamental principle to organize our society.
    Capitalism unleash the genius of human libido as well as their tendency to become zombie.
    In our society, we equal capitalism to liberty and democracy. Commercial media love to spread this myth to the extent that capitalism become our religion.

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  9. My question is, what actions can people from America take in order to communicate with other cultures in other countries, and in a civilized manner, especially with other cultures that are hesitant towards the American culture?

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