Intercultural Communication Campaign: Asian Students Reticence Issues

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Introduction

The given communication campaign will primarily focus on the issues of reticence among Asian international students through the socio-centric and non-argumentative approaches. The behavior style will be manifested in the fact that a horizontal collectivistic approach will be utilized in order to specifically target the chosen group. The main problem is the reticence among international Asian students, who experience difficulty engaging in intercultural communication. Although the communication campaign focuses on international students, it is applicable in the organizational environment and promotion of corporate multiculturalism, where one can find it challenging to establish a correct strategy for communication. In addition, by adopting the same paradigm, the concepts will be helpful for anyone seeking to build a communication bridge between two highly divergent ethnic or cultural groups. The roadmap:

Background intercultural communication
Target Audience ethnic minorities, specifically international Asian students
Attitudes non-argumentation and sociocentrism
Behavior horizontal collectivism
Setting mass channels, such as social media, and interviews
Design Features openness, inclusiveness, reciprocation, validation, and likability
Next steps cohesiveness, plan, and recommendations
Conclusion summary

Background

The desire to understand other cultures and their carriers, to know cultural similarities and differences, has always worried about the inquiring minds of humanity. And in the era of economic globalization, the issue of intercultural communication has become more than relevant. However, despite the comprehensive desire of the communicants to reach an agreement and mutual understanding, difficulties arise that can inhibit this communication. It is necessary to try to explain and describe the barriers that arise in the way of intercultural communication to identify ways to overcome them.

In the definition of intercultural communication, the key is communication between people of different nations. However, communication partners are not always satisfied with communication with a representative of another culture (Piller, 2017). There are many reasons for this, such as the attitude to another culture, such as a stranger, stereotypes rooted in our minds, and the destructive effect of ethnocentrism. All this together creates difficulties in being understood and heard in the act of verbal communication.

In the process of intercultural communication, the phenomenon of alien culture becomes significant. It is human nature to perceive the culture of a communication partner through the prism of his or her culture (Hua, 2019). Consequently, the distinction between opposing words by the meaning of own and alien has a fundamental role in the process of communication between representatives of different cultures. In general, to overcome barriers in intercultural communication, the formation of tolerance will be required, which will be based on the recognition of the rights of another person, the perception of a representative of a different culture will appear to be his or her own, respectful attitude to the opinion of a communication partner (Holliday, 2019). In addition, the development of such personality qualities is needed, such as readiness to exaggerate the interlocutors shortcomings, the ability to predict the interlocutors reaction, the desire to hear, and be heard.

Target Audience

The target audience is Asian international students and other ethnic minorities who experience isolation and reticence due to being in an unfamiliar cultural environment. A latter problem is a form of communication barrier in the cross-cultural context. For example, the study on sports and business teams shows that their overall success is highly reliant on the presence of strong competence in cross-cultural communication (Bell & Riol, 2017). Therefore, it is evident that possessing such knowledge and skill can be useful for both parties.

In addition, it is important to point out the central issue of the given communication campaign, which is reticence. The study indicates that the passiveness and silence of certain cultural groups are not inborn and unalterable, and thus, it can be changed or completely eliminated through educational approaches in the form of activities based on communication improvement (Shao & Gao, 2016). Although the target audience primarily focuses on Asian international students due to their cultural context being at the highest, Asian Americans can also be included. The main reason is the fact that Asian American families can also carry such issues because their identity development was influenced by both current and past roots. The key objective of the communication campaign is to create an open and inclusive environment, where Asian and other ethnic minorities will not experience reticence. Particularly vivid problems of adaptation can manifest themselves in students, because, for the most part, they are at a special, vulnerable age when it is not always possible to achieve two main goals, such as successfully mastering oneself in a new socio-cultural environment and undergoing professional training (Liu, 2018). The adaptation of international students is unthinkable without communication. Therefore, personality traits related to communication, including reticence, should be of primary importance for researchers of adaptation factors.

Attitudes

The communication campaign will be based on two main attitudes, such as sociocentrism and non-argumentation. The study suggests that people with Asian cultural contexts are more inclined to be less argumentative and express a socio-centric form of approach (Pekerti & Thomas, 2015). The primary reason is manifested in the fact that they are raised in a collectivist environment. Collectivism itself is a complex phenomenon, that is, multi-element. Collectivism, by analogy with public relations, consists of the following elements such as subject, object, and content (Triandis, 2018). It is important to note that the subject in collective relationships is the individual. The modern study of collectivism begins with the study of the individuals problem, the quality of his connection with the collective, and the features of intersubjective space.

Sociocentrism is a persons point of view according to which his social group represents ideal standards of behavior and opinions, based on which other groups are evaluated. Like egocentrism and ethnocentrism, it implies a lack of sensitivity to the values and actions of others. However, it should not be confused with a socio-centric attitude, which means that one party is pretending or considering that the other partys cultural context can be ideal and normal for him or her. The relationship of the individual with the collective consists not only in his involvement in the community but also in the fact that the individual-society relationship itself is a system of mutually assumed elements.

Both society and the individual cannot completely deny the interests of the second element, since, as already noted above, the elements are mutually presumed and interdependent. The interests of the individual play a large role in relationships with the team. There are other views on the relationship between the individual and the collective. For example, in psychology, it is believed that collectivism is a type of social structure, where the benefit of a group of people or society as a whole is considered more important than the benefit of an individual (Arpaci et al., 2018). An individual has certain rights and obligations in relation to a collective.

Behavior

The selected behavior is horizontal collectivism because it works in conjunction with two given attitudes. The main features of a collectivist culture are the individuals emotional dependence on the group, correlation, and even the coincidence of personal and group goals. Individualism and collectivism best embody cultural differences and use this dimension as key in determining differences between cultures. It is stated that this form of collectivism is the most inclusive and group-oriented type of behavior because members feel understood and accepted (Arpaci, 2019). In addition, the mentioned behavior allows the communication campaign to reduce the heightened level of reticence among the target group.

As a standard of sociality, collectivism is a provision according to which the system of relations arising on the basis of people living together, reproduced and transformed by their activity. It consists of a tendency towards unity, community, collegiality, comradely forms of cooperation, assuming a comprehensive interdependence of human beings. In the socio-philosophical tradition, the concept of collectivism is used as a characteristic of the type of society and the corresponding methods of production of social life, the opposite of individualism (ONeill et al., 2015). It is challenging to establish a specific subject of the relationship between the individual and horizontal collectivism (Wu et al., 2018). For the subject of such relations, it is necessary to take any impact that changes the characteristics of the individual and society. For example, the very existence of an individual in a team implies a certain bilateral effect (Hoover & Nash, 2016). In addition, mutual respect for the interests of the individual and the collective is provided.

Setting

The settings for the communication campaign will include mass channels in the form of social media platforms and interviews. It is stated that social media, as a marketing tool, are highly effective in spreading the message (George et al., 2016). Therefore, it is useful to utilize such an accessible and powerful instrument for the communication campaign. The interview format was selected in order to avoid increasing the level of reticence among the target audience. The study suggests that interviews are able to reduce the levels of stress to a significant degree, which opens an opportunity to discuss critical ideas openly (Mann et al., 2018). The main reason is the fact that reticence is linked with social anxiety and stress, which are eliminated with the use of interviews (Clarkson et al., 2019). Therefore, the communication campaign will consist of social media mass channels and interviews.

Design Features

The design features are openness, inclusiveness, reciprocation, validation, and likeability. Openness and inclusiveness will be paramount for establishing the communication campaigns main objective, which solves problems of ethnic minorities. Reciprocation will be an effective tool to avoid a confrontational attitude, which is not desired in the non-argumentative approach. It is stated that the reciprocal approach is highly effective during crisis situations, where confrontations are common (Murshed et al., 2015). Validation is relevant due to horizontal collectivist cultures being highly reliant on each other, and thus, one wants to be validated in this context. Likeability is another essential component of the campaign, where a socio-centric attitude assumes that a particular culture is a norm.

Next Steps

Both openness and inclusiveness will act as a basis and the main cohesive core of the communication campaign. Openness is a highly important concept that will encourage to be interested in the unknown. It will allow the communication campaign to spread the message among not only the target audience but also other ethnic minorities. Inclusiveness goes in conjunction with openness, and its main goal is to make the campaign as accepting as possible. Inclusiveness will ensure that new points of view and beliefs will be understood and even adopted by the entire group (Arpaci et al., 2018). The plan will revolve around utilizing these two key terms in the message of the campaign.

In addition, it is important to understand that openness means communication. Modernity is characterized by the rapid development of means and forms of communication, which affected collectivism as a whole. On the one hand, new forms help individuals to communicate, while saving time, and also taking communication to a whole new level. On the other hand, the information revolution and growing globalization have drastically changed the world. Reciprocation is interlinked with the attitude of non-argumentation, where the main goal is to avoid unnecessary and destructive conflict. It will create a perfect environment for the target audience, who tend to avoid such situations. It is stated that the overall increase of reciprocity is in a positive relationship with potential interest in new norms (Dienlin et al., 2017). Being responsive to other cultural contexts will be a primary manifestation of reciprocity. The study suggests that non-argumentativeness goes in conjunction with cooperation and dialogue (Budevac et al., 2017). Therefore, it is important to establish the campaign in such a way that it promotes cooperative leadership and openness to dialogue.

The next design feature is validation, which is directly aimed at supporting the mentioned horizontal collectivism behavior. The overall rate of success in the horizontal collectivist context is increased by receiving and giving assistance during the time of need (Arpaci, 2019). In addition, the study suggests that empathetic validation can play a major role in communication (Linton, 2015). Therefore, the target audience will be validated for their efforts to be involved in the campaign. This also goes in conjunction with reciprocity, where responsiveness can boost the validation factor. A horizontal collectivist culture is highly dependent on its members, where asking for help and aid is not seen as a sign of weakness, but a normal practice and even obligation.

The last design feature is likeability, which focused on the socio-centric aspect of the communication campaign. Sociocentrism is manifested in the fact that ones world is the center of the universe, and other elements are derivatives (Marcelo, 2019). Although it can be viewed as a negative thing, a socio-centric attitude in the communication campaign will be useful to facilitate the overall engagement in the target audience. It is important to note that sociocentrism focuses on a particular society, whereas ethnocentrism on a particular ethnic group. One likeability greatly enhances the overall collaboration in the interaction process (Pulles & Hartman, 2017). In order for the campaign to be inclusive, the socio-centric approach was used in order to target the entirety of Asian students. The likeability feature is critical due to it being a strong contributing factor for audience analysis and attribute interpretation (Lobinger & Brantner, 2015). People in a horizontal collectivist context seek to be liked, which is a part of validation and reciprocity. Therefore, all five design features will significantly boost the communication campaigns progression.

Recommendations

In order to address the issue of reticence among Asian international students, the exact key steps will involve incorporating non-argumentation and sociocentrism as essential elements of communication. In addition, horizontal collectivism will play a central role in establishing the tone of the campaign. The recommendations are listed below:

Recommendation 1

The issue of reticence needs to be brought up by raising the overall awareness of the campus and other relevant territories. It is possible that many students, including both non-Asian international students and Asian international students, might not be aware of such an issue. Therefore, it is highly important to directly communicate the given problem during social media channel usage. However, the approach should not be made by claiming authority and expertise over the reticence, and thus, various relevant articles of established scholars must be published both on Facebook and Instagram. Moreover, the participants of the campaign can create an educational video or presentation that will illuminate the issue.

Recommendation 2

The message needs to be inclusive, which means that no form of discrimination or stereotypical imagery can be promoted. The posts need to be precise and aimed towards the problem. In addition, the campaign will require assistance from Asian international students, who are aware of the problem and wish to help others. Google survey tools will be used in order to gather information about willing interview participants, which will provide closeness of the process. Any student who is struggling with reticence will be welcomed to the interview, which means that there will be no specific requirement to aid only Asian international students. The emphasis of the campaign will be put on the issue of reticence and not ethnicity or race. However, it is important to understand that campaign will be focused on Asian international students.

Recommendation 3

One of the main purposes of the campaign is to address the problem of the reticence of students from Asia. Therefore, the social media campaign will be open only within the limits of the university. The primary reason is the fact that the given campaign should not position itself as universally applicable outside the academic boundaries. The communication campaign is strictly designed for students struggling with reticence, and appropriate attitudes and behaviors were selected based on the corresponding studies. Thus, it is not advised to implement such a campaign for groups other than the target group.

Recommendation 4

Validation is one of the critical aspects of the campaign, which should be incorporated through social media channels and interviews. Validation was selected due to the horizontal collectivistic behavior, which is derived from the studies. In both Facebook and Instagram, validation will occur through the support network from both other Asian international students and willing participants. In addition, group activities will be used as a major tool for promoting validation within the target group. Collectivism requires a collective effort, which means that no individual contribution will be helpful. The support network will be established during the initial stages of the communication campaign because it is safe to assume that some students will be interested in participating.

Recommendation 5

Likeability is tightly intertwined with the socio-centrist attitude, which means that the campaign should incorporate the given concept. This can be achieved through active social media content creation, which is focused on Asian values and traditions. Evidently, the team will require a significant contribution from the target group itself because they are more likely to be competent in these notions. Therefore, likeability will be primarily obtained through Asian culture appreciation. In addition, non-Asian international students will further promote likeability by actively participating in culture-related activities, where the latter will get an opportunity to learn more about Asian culture and traditions.

Plan

The plan will involve active social media marketing as well as interview invitations. Social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, will be used to spread the message. Various online forums and groups administrators will be contacted in order to post the campaign slogan and the link to the website. Interview invitations will be present throughout the campus, and the university official will be asked for assistance regarding the announcement on the universitys education platform.

Both Facebook and Instagram will be used as social media channels in order to widen the reach of the communication campaign. The inception of the campaign will be manifested in article posts, where relevant studies will be promoted in order to address the issue. Consequently, educational presentation videos will be posted, which will be created by the team, or borrowed, if there is a more professional one. After a certain number of people start active discussions in the comment sections of the posts, it will be logical to create online forums and groups, where all Asian international students will be invited. In addition, a second group will be created, which will not exclude non-Asian students in order to establish a platform for intercultural communication.

Several moderators will be assigned in order to preserve the overall integrity and clarity of the campaign. It is critical to ensure that the first group will consist of the target group solely in order to acquire insights regarding the campaign and how it should progress. Evidently, Asian-international students themselves will play a major role in filtering out inappropriate posts or articles. Therefore, the team will actively communicate with the target group after the initial stages of raising awareness were completed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to understand that the communication campaign is designed to combat reticence among Asian students, who are the target audience. The attitudes are sociocentrism and non-argumentation, which are based on the cultural context of collectivism. The horizontal collectivist behavior will be utilized in order to create a familiar environment for the target audience. In addition, the communication campaign is planned to be open and inclusive, which will be the core element of the design. Likability, validation, and reciprocation will operate in conjunction in order to promote attitudes and behavior.

References

Arpaci, I. (2019). Culture and nomophobia: The role of vertical versus horizontal collectivism in predicting nomophobia. Information Development, 35(1), 96-106.

Arpaci, I., Baloglu, M., & Kesici, S. (2018). The relationship among individual differences in individualism-collectivism, extraversion, and self-presentation. Personality and Individual Differences, 121, 89-92.

Bell, R., & Riol, C. F. (2017). The impact of cross-cultural communication on collective efficacy in NCAA basketball teams. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 17(2), 175-195.

Budevac, N., Arcidiacono, F., & Baucal, A. (2017). Reading together: The interplay between social and cognitive aspects in argumentative and non-argumentative dialogues. In F. Arcidiacono & A. Bova (Eds.), Interpersonal argumentation in educational and professional contexts (pp. 47-73). Berlin, Germany: Springer.

Clarkson, T., Eaton, N. R., Nelson, E. E., Fox, N. A., Leibenluft, E., Pine, D. S., Heckelman, A. C., Sequeira, S. L., & Jarcho, J. M. (2019). Early childhood social reticence and neural response to peers in preadolescence predict social anxiety symptoms in midadolescence. Depression and Anxiety, 36(8), 676-689.

Dienlin, T., Masur, P. K., & Trepte, S. (2017). Reinforcement or displacement? The reciprocity of FTF, IM, and SNS communication and their effects on loneliness and life satisfaction. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 22(2), 71-87.

George, K. S., Roberts, C. B., Beasley, S., Fox, M., & Rashied-Henry, K. (2016). Our health Is in our hands: A social marketing campaign to combat obesity and diabetes. American Journal of Health Promotion, 30(4), 283-286.

Holliday, A. (2019). Understanding intercultural communication: Negotiating a grammar of culture. Routledge.

Hoover, H., & Nash, G. (2016). American individualism. Hoover Institution Press Publication.

Hua, Z. (2019). Exploring intercultural communication: Language in action. Routledge.

Linton, S. J. (2015). Intricacies of good communication in the context of pain: Does validation reinforce disclosure? International Association for the Study of Pain, 156(2), 199-200.

Liu, M. (2018). Bilingual/multilingual learners willingness to communicate in and anxiety on speaking Chinese and their associations with self-rated proficiency in Chinese. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(1), 54-69.

Lobinger, K., & Brantner, C. (2015). Likable, funny or ridiculous? A Q-sort study on audience perceptions of visual portrayals of politicians. Visual Communication, 14(1), 15-40.

Mann, M. J., Yanson, R., & Lambert, A. D. (2018). Using service learning to improve interviewer and interviewee effectiveness. Management Teaching Review, 3(1), 20-36.

Marcelo, L. S. (2019). Decolonising postcolonial thinking: Ethnocentrism and sociocentrism as transideological and multiscalar phenomena. An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 18(1), 1-24.

Murshed, S. T. H., Uddin, S., & Hossian, L. (2015). Transitivity, hierarchy and reciprocity of organizational communication network during crisis. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 23(1), 2-20.

ONeill, T. A., McLarnon, M. J. W., Xiu, L., & Law, S. J. (2015). Core selfevaluations, perceptions of group potency, and job performance: The moderating role of individualism and collectivism cultural profiles. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(3), 447-473.

Pekerti, A. A., & Thomas, D. C. (2015). The role of self-concept in cross-cultural communication. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 15(2), 167-193.

Piller, I. (2017). Intercultural communication: A critical introduction. Edinburgh University Press.

Pulles, N. J., & Hartman, P. (2017). Likeability and its effect on outcomes of interpersonal interaction. Industrial Marketing Management, 66, 56-63.

Shao, Q., & Gao, X. (2016). Reticence and willingness to communicate (WTC) of East Asian language learners. System, 63, 115-120.

Triandis, H. C. (2018). Individualism and collectivism. Routledge.

Wu, S. M., Zhou, C., Chen, H., Cai, H., & Sundararajan, L. (2018). Cultural value mismatch in urbanizing China: A largescale analysis of collectivism and happiness based on social media and nationwide survey. International Journal of Psychology, 53(2), 54-63.

Click Here To Order Now!