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Laissez-faire

‘This is our manager. He prides himself on being very much hands off.’

The editorial cartoon displays a manager at a company participating in the laissez-faire style of leadership. He’s seen sitting on a couch instead of a work chair. This demonstrates his ‘hands off’ working style. Not only is the manager sitting on a couch, he is also resting his feet on a foot rest. The lady who I assume is a new hire and meeting him for the first time does not seem amused. The manager might think that his team is highly skilled and does not require guidance, thus no harm is done. Although, if the team is not highly skilled then this style of leadership is more harmful than beneficial. The lady may have dealt with leaders who were ‘hands off’ and her team was not highly skilled, leading to frustration and inefficiency.

I have not experienced this style of leadership anywhere, but my partner’s younger brother who is in primary school, complains about his substitute teacher not teaching him anything while his teacher out. When I look back at my high school days, substitute teachers did implement a laissez-faire style of teaching. Although, my friend who is a teacher says substitute teachers are supposed to teach, but most decide to implement a laissez-faire teaching style.

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The Social Construction of Gender

In the editorial cartoon above, the artifacts that each CEO is wearing communicates to others what their gender is. The CEO on the left is wearing a white shirt and most likely white slacks communicating to us that he is male. The CEO on the right is wearing a dress, a pearl necklace, and pearl earrings which communicates to us that they are female. Additionally, through the editorial cartoon we notice the social construction of gender in play. According to the reading, gender is a social construct that is learned. We can see this in the way each CEO is dressed and by the award they are given. The male CEO is given a blazer to demonstrate that they are the CEO, while the female CEO is given an apron.

From the awards that each CEO is given we can draw conclusions about the culture in which they come from. We can conclude that in their culture it is more appropriate for men to be the breadwinners, and more appropriate for women to stay at home and take care of the home.

Through the nonverbal communication of artifacts, I too communicate what my gender is. Although I’m a heterosexual woman, I sometimes wear clothes that accentuates my figure and put on makeup, but on days that I’m not feeling well or want to relax I wear baggy clothes. Gender in our culture is fluid, which I believe allows me to dress both ways without being judged because it has become a cultural norm. 

 

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Intersectionality

Intersectionality defined by the textbook is “the theory that shows how multiple systems of power and oppression operate on individuals in various degrees that directly corresponds to their identity (Crenshaw, 1989).” This means one cannot simply look at one social category like gender or race, but one must look at how different social categories work together to form someone’s identity. In the editorial cartoon we notice that there are two women, one on top of the tower and another on the ground. I believed this is a great example of intersectionality. They’re both women, but one can assume that the one on top of the tower is of a higher social class than the one on the ground. This demonstrates that different combinations of categories create a unique category that cannot be reduced to a combination of its parts. Intersectionality is an important part of intercultural communications because different social categories will affect how people receive and transmit messages, or communicate.

After thinking about my move to the United States in 2018, I can recognize and better understand intersectionality. I recall moving to the United States and struggling with the different social class I now belonged to. On the other hand, my cousin who came before me was able to maintain the social class she belonged to in Burma. This shows how one’s identity cannot be studied by looking at social categories in isolation. My cousin and I are both ethnically Burmese but are a part of different social classes. Thus, we live different lives.

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Friendships

In the editorial cartoon above we see two snails hugging each other with a quote by a famous writer, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’” The snails hugging and sharing something in common displays the second stage of friendship, Friendly Relations. In this stage of friendship, people begin to interact with one another to see if they share common interest or have things in common. An example would be two strangers who meet in a big city but come from the same town. They would share common interests pertaining to the town they come from.

In the first stage of friendship, people interact because of the role they’re in. For example, two coworkers interacting for the first time would demonstrate the first stage of friendship. The second as mentioned above is about two people that interact with one another to determine if they share anything in common. In the third stage, self-disclosure increases and people begin to communicate outside of the place where the  friendship started. Self-disclosure means sharing information about oneself that can’t be determined by just looking at someone. Two coworkers hanging out after work would be a great example of the third stage of friendship. The fourth stage of friendship can be best described with the word “friend” people may start using the word “friend” to refer to the people involved. Additionally, they may be in continuous contact with each other. The fifth stage of friendship is where people become best friends. They aren’t afraid to be themselves around each other. Finally, the sixth stage is about the ending of a friendship. This can be due to a loss of trust, a person changing, or a great distance between friends.

I have gone through all of the first five stages of friendship with three people. I have two best friends who became my best friends in a short amount of time. Although we don’t see each other often, when we do hang out it feels like we never left each other’s side. Unfortunately, I have also experienced the sixth stage with the third person I mentioned. Distance happens when people change and outgrow others. 

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Kinesics

In the image above we notice all the characters in the image demonstrating kinesics, which defined by the textbook is “the study of how we use body movement and facial expression.” The characters in the image are using facial expressions and their arms or hands to display how they are feeling. They all appear to be frustrated or upset, which shows how one emotion can be displayed by different body movements or expressions. This not only demonstrates the ambiguity of nonverbal communication, but also shows that it is continuous. Continuous means that the communication is in constant motion, unlike verbal communication which has a clear beginning and end.

This relates to everyday life because one is always expressing themselves with facial expressions. Sometimes, one makes a facial expression out of habit, unconsciously. For example, when using my phone I tend to scowl because I got used to scowling while on my phone. My partner constantly reminds me to stop scowling while using my phone. Unconsciously making expressions or body movements is a difference between verbal and nonverbal communication. In the image above, some characters may be unconsciously, making body movements. Once again, they all seem to be upset and sometimes people don’t think clearly when they’re upset. This suggests the body movements are done unconsciously, like squeezing your fists in anger. Kinesics can be expressed both consciously and unconsciously, as well as be continuous.

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Ambiguous Symbols

In the image above the person with the striped sweater is asking the person with the hat how much he wants for cutting the grass. The person with the hat misunderstands and replies with not wanting to cut the grass much.
The textbook defines verbal communication as “an agreed-upon and rule-governed system of symbols used to share meaning.” Symbols are defined as “arbitrary representations of thoughts, ideas, emotions, objects, or actions used to encode and decode meaning.” Although, symbols are not only arbitrary they are also ambiguous. A perfect example of the ambiguity of symbols is the editorial cartoon above. The ambiguity can be seen in the two meanings of the question asked by the person in the striped sweater. One definition could be about how much money one would want for cutting the grass, and another definition could be how much of the grass would one want to cut.
Everyone goes through this at times and we have to ask for clarification. Sometimes, we even make a joke about it. Although, it is not a difficult or “a hard, hard language” like the person on the couch thinks. This is because there are an agreed-upon system of symbols and a limited number of  possible meanings for our symbols. 

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The Linear Model of Communication: Awkward Silence

The cartoon above shows four people standing in an elevator, which can sometimes be awkward. They all seem to be in an uncomfortable situation which can be seen in their facial expressions.

In the Linear Model of Communication, communication moves in one direction, from the sender to the receiver. If that was true, communication between people would lead to an awkward silence. Thus, the transactional model of communication makes more sense, which states that the parties are both senders and receivers and exchange information simultaneously. In the linear model of communication, noise or sounds that are outside of the communication between two parties is there to interfere with the sending or receiving of the message. Although,  noise could be used to add to the conversation between two people. Therefore, I believe the transactional model of communication is the better definition. Noise could be used by both parties to add to the conversation. Additionally, instead of the receiver misinterpreting information like in the linear model, in the transactional model there shouldn’t be any miscommunication. The idea that both parties are senders and receivers should allow both parties to ask for clarification.

Everyone has experienced an awkward silence, especially when meeting someone new. Now, whenever I’m in an awkward silence, I’ll think of the Linear Model of Communication and decide to use the “noise” to restart the conversation or add to the conversation.