E. T. Hall’s dimensions of time and space and their relevance in professional cultural interaction E-Book

Katja Hache

• Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, grade: 1,7, , language: English, abstract: Time and space surround every people all around the world and are taken for granted in everyday life. Both are physical quantities which are subject to physical laws. These laws are the same anywhere in the world. However, there is yet another definition of these two concepts. The following paper examines the dimensions 'time' and 'space' in a cultural context. It describes the approach of Edward T. Hall to both dimensions and discusses their relevance in professional cultural interaction. The goal is to provide insights into factors influencing cultural behaviour. These insights can be useful for any area of a company, from leadership to human resources to marketing.

Leseprobe

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Table of contents

Table of figures

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical basics

2.1. Edward T. Hall – A short introduction

2.2. Hall’s dimensions of culture

3. Time in a cultural context

3.1. Time as structure

3.2. Time as communication

3.3. Relevance of time in professional cultural interaction

4. Space in a cultural context

4.1. Space as communication

4.2. Personal reaction bubbles

4.3. Relevance of space in professional cultural interaction

5. Conclusion

6. References

Table of figures

1. Introduction

Time and space surround every people all around the world and are taken for grated in everyday life. Both are physical quantities which are subject to physical laws. These laws are the same anywhere in the world. However, there is yet another definition of these two concepts. The following paper examines the dimensions time and space in a cultural context. It describes the approach of Edward T. Hall to both dimensions and discusses their relevance in professional cultural interaction. The goal is to provide insights into factors influencing cultural behaviour. These insights can be useful for any area of a company, from leadership to human resources to marketing. Therefore, this paper is chiefly addressed to entrepreneurs and employees with international or intercultural business contacts.

In the first section, the paper gives basic information about Hall and his major concepts. Afterwards, Hall’s dimension of time is explained more precisely and its relevance in a professional context is discussed. In the fourth paragraph, the focus is on Hall’s concept of space and its relevance in professional cultural interaction. The final section summarizes the main points.

2. Theoretical basics

2.1. Edward T. Hall – A short introduction

Edward Twitchell Hall was an American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher (1914 - 2009).[1] He developed the concept of proxemics – the study of the human use of space.[2] It is considered as a subcategory of nonverbal communication. Furthermore, he introduced a number of new concepts, including polychronic and monochronic time,[3] and high and low context culture.[4] Hall's research had substantial influence on the development of intercultural communication as a research topic. He published several books about this topic and his writings continue to be relevant into the 21st century.

2.2. Hall’s dimensions of culture

Figure 1: Hall's dimensions of culture (own figure)