The Managerial Grid, Trompenaars' and Hampden-Turner's cultural factors
Books
The Silent Language (1959)
The Hidden Dimension (1966)
Beyond Culture (1976)
The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time (1983)
Handbook for Proxemic Research
Hidden Differences: Doing Business with the Japanese
An Anthropology of Everyday Life: An Autobiography (1992, Doubleday, New York)
Understanding Cultural Differences - Germans, French and Americans (1993, Yarmouth, Maine)
West of the Thirties. Discoveries Among the Navajo and Hopi (1994, Doubleday, New York etc.)
References
^ Rogers, E. M., Hart, W. B. & Miike Y. (2002). Edward T. Hall and The History of Intercultural Communication: The United States and Japan. Keio Communication Review No. 24, 1-5. Accessible at http://www.mediacom.keio.ac.jp/publication/pdf2002/review24/2.pdf
^ Leeds-Hurwitz, W. (1990). “Notes in the History of Intercultural Communication: The Foreign Service Institute and the Mandate for Intercultural Training.” Quarterly Journal of Speech, 76(3): 262-281.
From the Centre for Spatially Integrated Social Science
Edward T. Hall: Proxemic Theory, 1966 By Nina Brown
Innovation
Hall is most associated with proxemics, the study of the human use of space within the context of culture. In The Hidden Dimension (1966), Hall developed his theory of proxemics, arguing that human perceptions of space, although derived from sensory apparatus that all humans share, are molded and patterned by culture. He argued that differing cultural frameworks for defining and organizing space, which are internalized in all people at an unconscious level, can lead to serious failures of communication and understanding in cross-cultural settings. This book analyzed both the personal spaces that people form around their bodies as well as the macro-level sensibilities that shape cultural expectations about how streets, neighborhoods and cities should be properly organized.
Hall's most famous innovation has to do with the definition of the informal, or personal spaces that surround individuals:
Intimate space--the closest "bubble" of space surrounding a person. Entry into this space is acceptable only for the closest friends and intimates.
Social and consultative spaces--the spaces in which people feel comfortable conducting routine social interactions with acquaintances as well as strangers.
Public space--the area of space beyond which people will perceive interactions as impersonal and relatively anonymous.
Cultural expectations about these spaces vary widely. In the United States, for instance, people engaged in conversation will assume a social distance of roughly 4-7', but in many parts of Europe the expected social distance is roughly half that with the result that Americans traveling overseas often experience the urgent need to back away from a conversation partner who seems to be getting too close. At the level of fixed and semifixed feature space, the terms Hall uses to describe furniture, buildings and cities, every culture has similar internalized expectations about how these areas should be organized. United States cities, for instance, are customarily set out along a grid, a preference inherited from the British, but in France and Spain a star pattern is preferred.
Hall's work inspired developments in several fields. In the field of anthropology, he was one of the first to consider the "anthropology of space." Today, this is a robust area of research pursued by anthropologists interested in how the built environment expresses culturally shared ideas and sustains relations of inequality between people (Lawrence and Low 1990). Hall's ideas have also had a significant impact in communication theory, especially intercultural communication, where it inspired research on spatial perception that continues to this day (Niemeir, Campbell and Dirven 1998). In geography, Hall's work has inspired geographers to consider the importance of relative and relational, as opposed to absolute, space, and to ask the questions about how different human communities create and make use of space.
Edward Hall's Theory of Proxemics
Strangers waiting for a train in Oklahoma try to maintain at least 18" of personal space. Edward Hall's theory of proxemics suggests that people will maintain differing degrees of personal distance depending on the social setting and their cultural backgrounds.
Ideal Suburban Life Near the Turn-of-the-Century
The design of houses and neighborhoods is also governed by culturally specific spatial principles and aesthetic standards. An aerial view of Yorkship Village in Camden NJ, a planned community constructed by the U.S. government in 1918, shows the winding residential streets and central community park that epitomized ideal suburban life near the turn-of-the-century.
Top image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division, FSA-OWI Collection. Bottom image courtesy of the Francis Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.
When working across cultures, pay attention to high and low cultures through the actions of others. For example if people are late for meetings it may be because they are polychronic, not because they are disrespectful or lazy. When you understand the personal, national or organizational culture, then you can seek to align with them and hence gain greater influence.
References
Hall, E.T. (1959). The Silent Language, New York: Doubleday
Hall, E.T. (1966). The Hidden Dimension, New York: Doubleday
Hall, E.T. (1976). Beyond Culture, New York: Doubleday
Hall, E.T. (1983). The Dance of Life, The Other Dimension of Time, New York: Doubleday
Hall, E.T. (1985). Hidden Differences: Studies in International Communication, Hamburg: Grunder and Jahr
Hall, E.T. (1990). Hidden Differences: Doing Business with the Japanese, Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/ Doubleday
Hall, E.T. (1990). Understanding Cultural Differences, Germans, French and Americans, Yarmouth: Intercultural Press
See also
The Managerial Grid, Trompenaars' and Hampden-Turner's cultural factors
Context
High context: In a high-context culture, there are many contextual elements that help people to understand the rules. As a result, much is taken for granted. This can be very confusing for a person who does not understand the 'unwritten rules' of the culture.
Low context: In a low-context culture, very little is taken for granted. Whilst this means that more explanation is needed, it also means there is less chance of misunderstanding particularly when visitors are present.
Contrasting the two: French contracts tend to be short (in physical length, not time duration) as much of the information is available within the high-context French culture. American content, on the other hand, is low-context and so contracts tend to be longer in order to explain the detail. Highly mobile environments where people come and go need lower-context culture. With a stable population, however, a higher context culture may develop. Note the similarity with Trompenaars' Universalism (low context) and Particularism (high context).
Factor
High-context culture
Low-context culture
Overtness of messages
Many covert and implicit messages, with use of metaphor and reading between the lines.
Many overt and explicit messages that are simple and clear.
Locus of control and attribution for failure
Inner locus of control and personal acceptance for failure
Outer locus of control and blame of others for failure
Use of non-verbal communication
Much nonverbal communication
More focus on verbal communication than body language
Expression of reaction
Reserved, inward reactions
Visible, external, outward reaction
Cohesion and separation of groups
Strong distinction between ingroup and outgroup. Strong sense of family.
Flexible and open grouping patterns, changing as needed
People bonds
Strong people bonds with affiliation to family and community
Fragile bonds between people with little sense of loyalty.
Level of commitment to relationships
High commitment to long-term relationships. Relationship more important than task.
Low commitment to relationship. Task more important than relationships.
Flexibility of time
Time is open and flexible. Process is more important than product
Time is very organized. Product is more important than process
Time
Monochronic time: M-Time, as he called it, means doing one thing at a time. It assumes careful planning and scheduling and is a familiar Western approach that appears in disciplines such as 'time management'. Monochronic people tend also to be low context.
Polychronic time: Human interaction is valued over time and material things, leading to a lesser concern for 'getting things done' -- they do get done, but more in their own time. Aboriginal and Native Americans have typical polychronic cultures, where 'talking stick' meetings can go on for as long as somebody has something to say. Polychronic people tend also to be high context.
Contrasting the two: Western cultures vary in their focus on monochronic or polychronic time. Americans are strongly monochronic whilst the French have a much greater polychronic tendency -- thus a French person may turn up to a meeting late and think nothing of it (much to the annoyance of a German or American co-worker). Note the similarity with Trompenaars' time as sequence (monochronic) and time as synchronization (polychronic).
Factor
Monochronic action
Polychronic action
Actions
do one thing at a time
do many things at once
Focus
Concentrate on the job at hand
Are easily distracted
Attention to time
Think about when things must be achieved
Think about what will be achieved
Priority
Put the job first
Put relationships first
Respect for property
Seldom borrow or lend things
Borrow and lend things often and easily
Timeliness
Emphasize promptness
base promptness relationship factors
Space
Hall was concerned about space and our relationships within it. He called the study of such space Proxemics. We have concerns about space in many situations, from personal body space to space in the office, parking space, space at home.
Some people need more space in all areas. People who encroach into that space are seen as a threat. Personal space is an example of a mobile form of territory and people need less or greater distances between them and others. A Japanese person who needs less space thus will stand closer to an American, inadvertently making the American uncomfortable.
Some people need bigger homes, bigger cars, bigger offices and so on. This may be driven by cultural factors, for example the space in America leads to greater use of space, whilst Japanese need less space (partly as a result of limited useful space in Japan).
Edward Hall's Theory of Proxemics
Strangers waiting for a train in Oklahoma try to maintain at least 18" of personal space. Edward Hall's theory of proxemics suggests that people will maintain differing degrees of personal distance depending on the social setting and their cultural backgrounds.
Ideal Suburban Life Near the Turn-of-the-Century
The design of houses and neighborhoods is also governed by culturally specific spatial principles and aesthetic standards. An aerial view of Yorkship Village in Camden NJ, a planned community constructed by the U.S. government in 1918, shows the winding residential streets and central community park that epitomized ideal suburban life near the turn-of-the-century.