What is one of the key differences between low and high context cultures?

Association

• Relationships depend on trust, buildup slowly, are stable. One distinguishes between people inside and people outside one's circle.

• How things get done depends on relationships with people and attention to group process.

• One's identity is rooted in groups (family, culture, work).

• Social structure and authority are centralized; responsibility is at thetop. Person at top works for the good of the group.

• Relationships begin and endquickly. Many people can be inside one's circle; circle's boundary is not clear.

• Things get done by following procedures and paying attention to the goal.

• One's identity is rooted in oneself and one's accomplishments.

• Social structure is decentralized; responsibility goes further down (is not concentrated at the top).

Interaction

• High use of nonverbal elements;voice tone, facial expression, gestures, and eye movement carry significant parts of conversation.         

• Verbal message is implicit; context(situation, people, nonverbal elements) is more important than words.                

• Verbal message is indirect; one talks  around the point and embellishes it.                  

• Communication is seen as an artform�a way of engaging someone.                             

• Disagreement is personalized. One is sensitive to conflict expressed in  another's nonverbal communication. Conflict either must be solved before work can progress or must be avoided because it is personally threatening.

Interaction

• Low use of nonverbal elements. Message is carried more by words than by nonverbal means.

• Verbal message is explicit. Context is less important than words.

• Verbal message is direct; one spells things out exactly.

• Communication is seen as a wayof exchanging information, ideas, and opinions. 

• Disagreement is depersonalized. One withdraws from conflict with another and gets on with the task. Focus is on rational solutions, not personal ones. One can be explicit about another's bothersome behavior.

Territoriality

• Space is communal; people stand close to each other, share the same space. 

Territoriality

• Space is compartmentalized and privately owned; privacy isimportant, so people are farther apart.

Temporality

• Everything has its own time. Time is not easily scheduled; needs of people may interfere with keeping toa set time. What is important is thatactivity gets done.

• Change is slow. Things are rooted inthe past, slow to change, and stable.                  

• Time is a process; it belongs to othersand to nature.    

Temporality

• Things are scheduled to be done at particular times, one thing at a time. What is important is that activity is done efficiently.

• Change is fast. One can make change and see immediate results.

• Time is a commodity to be spent or saved. One�s time is one�s own.

Learning

• Knowledge is embedded in the situation; things are connected, synthesized, and global. Multiplesources of information are used.Thinking is deductive, proceeds from general to specific.       

• Learning occurs by first observingothers as they model or demonstrateand then practicing. 

• Groups are preferred for learning and problem solving.

• Accuracy is valued. How well something is learned is important.    

Learning

• Reality is fragmented and compartmentalized. One source of information is used to develop knowledge. Thinking is inductive, proceeds from specific to general. Focus is on detail.

• Learning occurs by following explicit directions and explanations of others.

• An individual orientation is preferred for learning and problem solving.

• Speed is valued. How efficiently something is learned is important.

CULTURAL-CONTEXT INVENTORY

Claire B. Halverson

Hardly 

Ever

Almost 

Always

 2 

When communicating, I tend to use a lot of facialexpressions, hand gestures, and body movements rather than relying mostly on words. 

I pay more attention to the context of a conversation�who said what and under what circumstances�than I do to the words.

When communicating, I tend to spell things outquickly and directly rather than talking around and addingto the point.

In an interpersonal disagreement, I tend to be more emotional than logical and rational.

I tend to have a small, close circle of friends rather thana large, but less close, circle of friends.

When working with others, I prefer to get the job donefirst and socialize afterward rather than socialize first andthen tackle the job.

I believe rewards should be given for individual accomplishment rather than for group accomplishments.

I describe myself in terms of my accomplishments rather than in terms of my family and relationships.

I prefer sharing space with others to having my own private space. 

I would rather work for someone who maintains authority and functions for the good of the group than work for someone who allows a lot of autonomy and individual decision making.

I believe it is more important to be on time than to let other concerns take priority.

I prefer working on one thing at a time to working on avariety of things at once.

I generally set a time schedule and keep to it rather than leave things unscheduled and go with the flow.

I find it easier to work with someone who is fast and wants to see immediate results than to work with someone who is slow and wants to consider all the facts.   

In order to learn about something, I tend to consult many sources of information rather than to go to the one best authority.

In figuring out problems, I prefer focusing on the whole situation to focusing on specific parts or taking one step at a time.

When tackling a new task, I would rather figure it out on my own by experimentation than follow someone else's example or demonstration.

When making decisions, I consider my likes and dislikes, not just the facts.

I prefer having tasks and procedures explicitly defined tohaving a general idea of what has to be done.