Introduction
of Intercultural interview analysis
Intercultural
communication is a study of different cultural and social groups. The main
purpose of intercultural communication is to identify cultural differences
between two countries that are Saudi Arabia and Sweden. The intercultural
communication enables to understand the cultural mediated communication
phenomena. The culture-specific focuses are identified in this communication
between three students of Saudi Arabia and one student of Sweden. In the
present analysis of the interview, the culture general and other commodities of
both cultures are considered. Cultural communication is carried out between two
different cultural and social groups about their daily lifestyle. The interview
questions related to many factors such as living, family normally standards,
body language, facial expression, eye contact, formalities, time orientation
and tolerance between both cultures. The major purpose to carry out the
analysis is to identify how culture influence people behaviour. The report considers cultural values,
behavioural impact, and way of communication between two people. Some
similarities and differences between values and behaviours are also considered
that provided a distinct difference between both cultures.
Background
of Lehab of Intercultural interview analysis
The interview questions
were asked to a Swedish guy named Lahab. He was born
and grew up in Sudan. He has worked in shipping for two years after obtaining a
Bachelor of Science. Afterwards, he got a PhD in sociology and worked at Miami
University for sixteen years. Presently, he is working in the United Arab
Emirates and it is the first time he has worked outside his country for a long
period. However, he has worked in different regions in the united states and
visited other parts of the world. For example, he was an exchange student in Germany
and a visiting professor in turkey. Therefore, he has interacted with different
cultures around the world.
Interview analysis
1.
Gestures
of Intercultural
interview analysis
There are two types of intercultural communication
that include nonverbal communication and verbal communication. The present
report includes verbal and nonverbal communication. The non-verbal
communication includes facial expression, body movement, eye-contact, hand
movement, use of objects and clothing. The emphasis of the study is on the
importance of intercultural differences and to find possible differences
between both cultures. The group members
asking questions to Swedish interviewee demonstrated Arabian politeness in
their attitude and the way of communication was functional with their
expression, dignified way and humble way (Gudykunst, 2003).
The interview was carried out in two in the
interview predefined questions asked sessions and different questions related
to daily lifestyle and cultural values were asked to Sweden interviewee. In the
present interview, predefined questions asked for lehab from Sweden. The first
question was related to calling people from other side and how gesture make it simple
as well as understandable for calling the people from some distance (Malm, Björkman, &
Johansen, 2011). The respondent disliked this method of
calling others because according to him this way of calling people by having
gestures disrespect others. Connecting the way of calling others, the second
question was related to phrases used by Swedish people to call others. It is
observed that both cultures are different in calling others and in the way of
phrases used. The way of referring to each other is also different in both
cultures. The way of calling "come here" is also different in both
cultures. The first session ended on verbal communication and explored the way
in which people communicate with each other. The foster teamwork is observed in
the group members asking questions about cultural differences.
Body movements
of Intercultural
interview analysis
The second session was a formal interview about lifestyle and cultures.
The whole session was recorded therefore it becomes easy to analyses the whole
interview. The questions were mainly related to the observance of Swedish about
cultural differences in their country and his country. The body language and
body gesture can be referred to as nonverbal signals that are used during
communication (Yusuf, Zulkifli, Rashid, & Kamil, 2014). Body language can
be translated into intentions and feelings. The primary method of having
analysis regarding body language include posture, hand gestures, and facial
expression. The negative body language includes folded arms and cross finger
hand. Body language also demonstrates the interest of per cent in the
communication and define clues that either the person is having communication
intentional and unintentional. It is analyzed that demonstrating the things
with hand to make it understandable is a confident way of communication. 95% of
human communication is demonstrated by authentic body language (Azahari, Ason, Damit,
& Hamid, 2019).
The active body movement was showed by Swedish respondent as he was confident
during the interview and discussion about cross cultural differences. Lehab
participated actively and used gestures and hand movements during the
discussion. Lehab kept eye contact during the whole interview. On the contrary,
the group members having interview were facing language barriers. They kept
their hands closed even while describing their gestures and way of calling
others. The interview panel failed in
having eye contact with Lehab. The member was continuously playing with the
hands and nose that shows he did not want to speak and do not feel comfortable
with the person. Maybe the panel was a little bit nervous. According to statistical analysis crossing
arms define many things but one of the most observed reports shows crossing the
arms on their chest during the interview shows defensive and insecure feeling (Amouri & O'Neill,
2011).
Nail biting, tapping the fingers on the table, and placing the fingers together
during the interview also demonstrate ill behaviour. The member of the
interview panel in the second session kept these non-confident ways of
communication. Reports demonstrate that nail-biting shows nervousness and
insecurity. Hands playing with nose and cheeks shows lost in thought. Tapping
the hands and fingers together shows growing impatient and tired of waiting.
However, all the members of the discussion tried their best to have fluent and
smooth communication (Sayani & Moonesar, 2015). The interview is
another way to find differences and similarities between the cultures of united
Arab emirates and Sweden. The dominating
attitude of Swedish Lehab over the interview panel of united Arab emirates is
observed during the whole second session.
Facial
expressions of
Intercultural interview analysis
The facial expression is another way to convey countless emotions during
the interview. Some of the common facial expressions include happiness,
sadness, anger and fairness. In the present interview, courteous behaviour is
observed by members of the interview panel. Facial expression is a nonverbal
communication behaviour that reflects human mood and attitude. One of the
important principle modes of nonverbal communication provides emotional and
social message during the interview (Gjylbegaj & Jararaa, 2017).
Observation of
silence
In an interview, silence is a valuable tool for interviewer if it is used
correctly. If the period of silence increases, it develops pressure on both the
candidate and interview. The interview was fluent with continuous questions
without having long pauses and silence. It shows that interviewer and
interviewee both are highly interested in analyses the cultural differences
between two cultures (Azahari, Ason, Damit, & Hamid, 2019). The predefined
questions were asked in the interview therefore it did not take so long to
fabricate the further questions. In
order to analyses the cultural differences on the basis of dresses there was a
neglected sub question regarding other cultural dresses merged in the Swedish
culture (Yusuf, Zulkifli, Rashid, & Kamil, 2014). The most positive
part of the interview is that interviewers did not deny any answer of Lehab and
they did not demoralize interviewee.
Space
of Intercultural
interview analysis
The main concern of this final project interview is to discuss
intercultural communication and identify the similarities and dissimilarities
between the cultures of Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. The participants in this interview and
discussion are Hamad Alshehhi, Bader Khalid and Sultan Alshehhi. Director of
the interview was Dr Glenda El Gamal. Everything was organized in the best
appropriative way. There was enough space for sitting and holding the
interview. The interview location was comfortable for both parties (Azahari, Ason, Damit,
& Hamid, 2019).
Formality
of Intercultural
interview analysis
It was a slightly informal interview that was more inclined towards the
discussion between. Swedish culture and culture of the United Arab Emirates.
All the interview questions related to the culture provide authentic
information about similarities and differences of two cultures.
Time orientation
of Intercultural
interview analysis
The whole interview was carried out in 10 minutes. The time was enough to
get a difference between their cultures and how they both cultures are similar
at different bases (Yusuf, Zulkifli, Rashid, & Kamil, 2014). The predefined
questions cost, and a checklist was used in the interview to confirm all the
questions have been asked. The question mainly identifies conceive information.
The sole focus of the interview was towards the cultural difference’s divisions.
Comparison of dr. Glen’s culture and Arab culture
The discussion started
with formal information about the interviewee. The initial questions were the
name and place of birth. The main components in cross cultural communication
are believed, customs, cultural business, language connotations, language
differences, low context nonverbal differences, and power differences that can
affect cultural communication. Some of the Other considerations that impact
cross cultural communication are racial identity, gender roles in the society,
culture identity, social classes, and individual personalities (Azahari, Ason, Damit, & Hamid, 2019). The discussion
shows that all of them have basic knowledge of cultural backgrounds of each
other and they maintained personal touch during the discussion. Different strategies
of effective cross-cultural communication were considered in this discussion
and participants showed working on it. These important cross-cultural
communication strategies include maintenance of etiquettes during discussion,
communication skills, avoiding slang language, speaking slowly, taking turns to
talk without crossing each other, and keeping a smile on the face during the
discussion (Yusuf, Zulkifli, Rashid, & Kamil, 2014). All the interview questions are written
before the discussion, so the interviewers avoid it closed questions. The communication
between all the members identify the different sets of values, Business Ethics,
important decoration and behaviour it is culture, and they all showed genuine
respect for each other cultural mores. Questions
in the discussion related to food and cultural values were considered to
identify the difference between UAE and Swedish culture. The interviewers
demonstrated a natural tendency of looking for other cultures by using their
lenses (Amouri & O'Neill, 2011). The asked questions
about language and greetings to identify the cultural differences between both
countries when meeting each other. The language barriers were also identified
in this way. The communication system of the culture workers was also
considered in this way. The question regarding dressing and clothing identified
stereotyping lenses used by interviewers. They asked about the difference
between dressing code in Sweden and the UAE. The geographical distances were
considered along with the religious belief of the society and traditions. The clothing style of both countries somehow
similar the only difference is having buttons on the front and backside (Yusuf, Zulkifli, Rashid, & Kamil, 2014). The discussion was
mainly focused on one area that is the culture of Sweden, but they did not
mention differences between both cultures and how they are similar to each
other. Lehab clarified about stereotyping in their dresses during the
discussion. Another important question was related to recreation time. The question
was " what do people do for recreation?". After that, they asked
about wedding ceremonies and how people enjoy wedding ceremonies. There are
different types of dances, but a particular dance is associated with wedding
ceremonies. The wedding celebrations in Sweden last for weeks while on the
other hand, UAE focus on the simple wedding ceremonies. Sweden is composed of
different cultures and religion (Gjylbegaj & Jararaa, 2017). According to Lehar the cultural values and
culture of Sweden and Arab are different from each other. He mentioned that Arab
culture is a big culture and some aspects of culture are similar between both
countries. The similar values between
both countries include language and religion.
The questions are
considered in the description and identify the similarities. Another question
was related to greeting each other at the meeting. There are different ways to
greet each other in Sudan such as shaking hands, hugs and tapping the shoulder
of each other. Swedish people like to celebrate events and holidays. They like
to celebrate things very often (Yusuf, Zulkifli, Rashid, & Kamil, 2014). The celebration of
the Muslim festival Eid is different for both cultures. On Eid festival, after prayer the people in Sudan
and meet each other, greet others, and have breakfast together with their
families. In Sudan, everyone like children is supposed to listen to their parents
and elder family members. This is another similarity between Sweden and Arab
culture that is giving respect to their parents and listening to them very
carefully. Both Arab and Swedish culture is a masculine culture in which male
members of society dominate the female members. One of the big differences
between both cultures are working criteria for women. In Sweden women are
allowed to work in different frames and driving is also allowed. The only
country in this world that prohibit women from driving is Arab. They fail in providing any sufficient
evidence about the restriction of women from driving. The religion of Arabs allows
women to drive while the culture of Arab is against it (Azahari, Ason, Damit, & Hamid, 2019). Swedish Muslims
also allow women to drive and work. In Sweden, women can work anywhere and they
can also drive. There will be no effect on the culture of Sweden as no one will
hate this. The question regarding how people of Sweden do obligation to each
other is an important and interesting question to analyses the culture of
Sweden. The answer to this question makes a remarkable difference between the
two cultures. In Sweden, people take applications very seriously (Yusuf, Zulkifli, Rashid, & Kamil, 2014). The workers and
students fulfil their obligations and Never put their work on others. The people
in Sweden are really connected with each other if someone dies the other people
go to their families to consolidate and to make the process easy for them (Azahari, Ason, Damit, & Hamid, 2019).
Conclusion
of
Intercultural interview analysis
The distinct
differences are observed in this analysis. Religion and language are the same
for both countries. But the differences are cultural rights for the women to
work and difference in clothing style. Swedish people are connected and they
celebrate the minor and major cause of their life.
References
of Intercultural interview
analysis
Amouri,
S. E., & O'Neill, S. (2011). Supporting cross-cultural communication and
culturally competent care in the linguistically and culturally diverse hospital
settings of UAE. Contemporary nurse: a journal for the Australian nursing
profession, 39(02), 240-55.
Azahari, L., Ason, M. L., Damit, N.
J., & Hamid, N. F. (2019). A Comparative Case Analysis on Cross Cultural
Management: A Study on Africa and Brunei Cultures. Journal of islamic,
social, econmomics and development, 04(23), 114-126.
Gjylbegaj, V., & Jararaa, O.
(2017). COMMUNICATION IN THE MULTICULTURAL BUSINESS CONTEXT: UAE. COMMUNICATION,
05(03), 01-10.
Gudykunst, W. B. (2003). Cross-Cultural
and Intercultural Communication. SAGE.
Malm, A., Björkman, M., &
Johansen, K. (2011). Cross-cultural communication challenges within
international transfer of aircraft production. 15th International Conference
on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design, 01(01), 08-11.
Sayani, M., & Moonesar, I. A.
(2015). Cross-Cultural Management in the Middle East. Cross-Cultural
Management in the Middle East Case Study, 01(10), 01-10.
Yusuf, B. N., Zulkifli, Z., Rashid,
I. M., & Kamil, S. (2014). A Study on Barriers of Cross-Cultural
Communication in Electronic Based Companies. The international journal of
soical sciences, 27(01), 01-10.
