Case Study : United States
In general, how does a manager from the U.S. communicate (verbal and nonverbal) and view relationships? Given that U.S. tends to have a very low threshold for silence (uncomfortable with silence) they are very verbal. The U.S. is also a low-context culture meaning it is direct and straightforward when communicating, leaving little to be interpreted nonverbally. There is also a high occupational mobility in the U.S. meaning there is weak loyalty of employee to employer and vice versa relationships. Most employee-employer relationships are seen as contractual rather than personal and how competent (well they perform) an employee is tends to matter more than social or family background. A lot of business relations rely more on formal agreements like written contracts. Managers for the most part view their work relationships as simply that.

How are communication style and relationship orientation intertwined? Much of the way you communicate with someone can be tied to your relationship with them. When we think about us as college kids a lot of the things we say and do around our friends, we wouldn’t say or do in front of our professors or peers so we adjust our communication style based on our relationships. This can also be compared to the way your communication styles can change cross-culturally.

Imagine that a U.S. manager or U.S. management team is negotiating with a team from a culture with completely opposite communication styles and views on relationships. How will the U.S. managers have to adjust? To what degree do they change their style? To what degree do they maintain their own cultural identity? Describe the balancing act between the two. When U.S. or any culture at that is dealing with unfamiliar cultures it is important that they are culturally intelligent of this place. If they were faced with someone completely