Dimensions of Communication of Respect: Analytical Essay

1. Introduction

Communication of respect is an area that continues to draw the attention of researchers who find the subject interesting, particularly, when looked upon from a cross-cultural angle. It is worth noting that people have different cultures and each one of them has its view on how respect ought to be communicated verbally. For that reason, what may be viewed as disrespectful in one community may not necessarily be respectful in another community or society sharing a similar culture. This is a report of a journal article written by Lauren Mackenzie1, and Megan Wallace and is about the communication of respect and how it has become an essential dimension of cross-cultural competence in communication.

2. The Rationale of the article Journal

The basis of the article is informed by various studies that have researched communication and its relation to respect. In particular, the participants who were interviewed in one of the studies associated good communication with respect. However, other studies used in the article showed that respect is not something that people can assess by themselves but rather it is other group members who can communicate it. In addition, the article identified a study that shows people can develop respect towards a person based on how he or she interacts with other people even if he or she comes from a culture that has been stereotyped to produce bad people. This implies that through communication, it is possible to influence people to change their evaluation towards a person. Since the article posit that communication is viewed as a feature of respect, it therefore looks at the review the literature on the communication of respect.

3. Literature Review

The article journal considered many scholars who have carried out researches on the concept of respect. One of the ideas that has been presented in the review of literature is that the concept of respect is psychologically and socially constructed which then implies that it can only be understood through human interaction. For that reason, there is a lot of study on respect in social sciences and humanities as well as other professional subjects that deals with communication. In addition, it is worth noting that the article believes that it is Kantian philosophical views on fundamental human rights and interaction to be respected that has laid the foundation for a modern scholarship of the subject in communication.

The other review that the article carried out was on the definition of respect, and the conclusion based on literature is that there is no single definition that can be used to describe respect. One of its description used in the article is that it is a human social concept that is derived from and described in communicative interaction. The other thing that comes out clearly in the review is how cross-cultural interaction is affecting the understanding of the concept of communication of respect. This is particularly true because most descriptions of respect are based on the judgment created from enough knowledge and interaction with a person to form an opinion which relies on shared cultural values and feelings. The article appreciates the fact that the definition of respect is multi-faceted and as such, it seeks to examine its description based on participants drawn from a different environment.

4. Cross-cultural Perspective

The article journal credits a scholar named Ruben for coming up with the earliest comprehensive cross-cultural framework for communicative competence. The framework has seven core dimensions of cross-cultural competence, which are: tolerance for ambiguity, self-oriented behavior, interaction posture, interaction management, display of respect, empathy and the last one is an orientation to knowledge. The article highlights that the scholar also carried out research on respect and found out that interaction management and display of respect predict how people would adjust to their surrounding culture. The other thing that has been highlighted in the article is the psychological features of individual view of respect which are warmth and competence. The two features translate to appropriateness and effectiveness in the discipline of communication. In addition, the article has come up with a study that shows situational factors such as environment, location, and preferences influence the chances of having a respectful interaction.

The most striking thing that the article highlights about most studies carried out in the field of cross-cultural communication, is the fact that scholars in this field tend to take communication as their primary data as well as their main theoretical concern. For that reason, there are various ethnography of communication that revolves around communication of respect which is communication-centered in terms of data methodology, collection, and analysis. The article further shows that many cultural orientations to respectful verbal communication are changing.

5. Effects of disrespect and respect

The article argues that there are significant effects associated with either respect or its absence and it is for this reason that scholars have given the subject much attention. Firstly, the article points out a study showing that when there is successful communication of respect, there is a high chance that no negative effects will happen. In addition, the report has illustrated that communicating respect can have a social healing effect for a previously strained relationship or create a perception of a successful interaction. The other effect of respect evident in the article is its role in helping to manage the superior-subordinate relationship in culturally diverse organizations. The other area where communicating respect is critical is in the health sector such that a physician-patient relationship is a key to a successful provider’s care.

6. Framework Used to group key Dimension of Communication of Respect

The article highlights two key frameworks used to group communication of respect. Firstly, there is a difference between tolerance and respect. In particular, the article points out that respect is more closely associated with recognition while tolerance is more closely linked to appraisal. On the other hand, there is another grouping from a culture-general perspective which classifies communication competence based on how respect ought to be communicated interpersonally. In this category, communication of respect is grouped into paralanguage, non-verbal communication, verbal communication and lastly, there is interaction management. The frameworks can be used to offer direction to future studies and also prepare people to communicate respect.

7. Conclusion

Overall, the report has illustrated that communication respect is an area that continues to draw the attention of researchers who find the subject interesting. The rationale of the article was based on various studies on communication and its relation to respect. The other things that came out is the idea that communicating respect can have a social healing effect of a previously strained relationship or create a perception of a successful interaction. Lastly, communication of respect is grouped into four, which is paralanguage, non-verbal communication, verbal communication and lastly, there is interaction management.

Works Cited

1. Mackenzie, Lauren, and Megan Wallace. ‘The communication of respect as a significant dimension of cross-cultural communication competence.’ Cross-Cultural Communication 7.3 (2011): 10-18.