INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: A MINDFUL APPROACH
Intercultural miscommunication and misattributions often underscore intercultural conflict. Individuals coming from two contrastive cultural communities bring with them different value assumptions, expectations, verbal and nonverbal habits, and interaction scripts that influence the conflict process. Intercultural conflict is defined as the perceived or actual incompatibility of values, norms, processes, or goals between a minimum of two cultural parties over content, identity, relational, and procedural issues. While everyday intercultural conflicts are often based on cultural ignorance or misunderstanding, it is obvious that not all intercultural conflicts are based on miscommunication or lack of understanding. Some intercultural conflicts are based on deep-seated hatred, and centuries-old antagonism often arising from long-standing historical grievances. However, a majority of everyday conflicts that we encounter can be traced to cultural miscommunication or ignorance.
Conflict is an intense disagreement process between two interdependent parties over incompatible goals and the interference each perceives from the other in her or his effort to achieve those goals. The major characteristics of intercultural conflict are the following: (1) conflict involves intercultural perceptions--perceptions are filtered through our lenses of ethnocentrism and stereotypes, and perceptions color our conflict attribution process; (2) conflict involves interaction--conflict is sustained and managed via verbal and nonverbal behaviors, and verbal and nonverbal behaviors are culture-bound concepts; (3) conflict involves interdependence--for a conflict to arise, the behavior of one or both parties must have consequences for the other, for otherwise the conflict parties can walk away from each other easily; (4) conflict involves both self-interest and mutual-interest goals--conflict is a mixed-up and incomplete jigsaw puzzle,...