Conflict management and intercultural communication the art of intercultural harmony

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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

In the globally intercon nected world, conflicts often arise as a result of tensions
between different cultural perceptions and diverse social preferences. Effectively
managing conflicts and harmon izing intercultural relationships are essential tasks
of intercultural communication research.
This book seeks to find effect ive intercultural conflict management solutions
by bring ing together a group of leading inter national scholars from different
disciplines to tackle the problem. Consisting of two parts, this book covers major
theoret ical perspect ives of conflict management and harmony development in the
first and conflict management and harmony development in different cultural
contexts in the second. Integrating the latest work on conflict manage ment and
intercultural harmony, Conflict Management and Intercultural Communication takes
an interdisciplinary approach, adopts diverse perspect ives and provides for a wide
range of discussions. It will serve as a useful resource for teachers, researchers,
students and professionals alike.
Xiaodong Dai is Associate Professor at the Foreign Languages College of
Shanghai Normal University, China. He currently serves as the vice pres ident of
the China Association for Intercultural Communication (CAFIC).
Guo-Ming Chen is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of
Rhode Island, USA. He is the found ing president of the Association for Chinese
Communication Studies (ACCS). He served as the execut ive director of the
International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS) for
six years and is currently the president of the association.

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CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT AND
INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
The Art of Intercultural Harmony

Edited by Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen

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First published 2017
by Routledge
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© 2017 selection and editor ial matter, Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen to be identi fied as the
authors of the editor ial mater ial, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asser ted in accord ance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
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now known or hereafter invented, includ ing photocopy ing and record ing,

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writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corpor ate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identi fication and
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CONTENTS

List of figures
List of tables
Notes on contributors
Preface
Introduction
Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen

viii
x
xi

xiv
1

PART I

Perspectives on the study of intercultural conflict
management

11

1 Moving from conflict to harmony: the role of dialogue in
bridging differences
Benjamin J. Broome

13

2 A dialogic approach to intercultural conflict management
and harmonious relationships: dialogue, ethics and culture
Yuxin Jia and Xue Lai Jia

29

3 Between conflict and harmony in the human family:
Asiacentricity and its ethical imperative for intercultural
communication
Yoshitaka Miike

38

vi

Contents

4 Constituting intercultural harmony by design think ing:
conflict management in, for and about diversity and
inclusion work
Patrice M. Buzzanell

66

5 The development of intercultural ity and the management
of intercultural conflict
Xiaodong Dai

85

6 Transforming conflict through commu nication and
common ground
Beth Bonniwell Haslett

98

7 Conflict face-negotiation theory: track ing its
evolutionary journey
Stella Ting-Toomey

123

8 The yin and yang of conflict management and resolution:

a Chinese perspect ive
Guo-Ming Chen

144

9 Rethinking cultural identity in the context of global ization:
comparative insights from the Kemetic and
Confucian traditions
Jing Yin

155

PART II

Conflict management in cultural contexts

175

10 Intercultural conflict and conflict management in South
Africa as depicted in indigenous African literary texts
Munzhedzi James Mafela and Cynthia Danisile Ntuli

177

11 Cultural orientations and conflict management styles with
peers and older adults: the indirect effects through
filial obligations
Yan Bing Zhang, Chong Xing and Astrid Villamil
12 Intercultural communication management professionals
in the Japanese linguistic and cultural environ ment

Yuko Takeshita

194

210


Contents

13 The discursive construction of identit ies and conflict
management strategies in parent–child conflict narrat ives
written by Chinese univer sity students
Xuan Zheng and Yihong Gao
14 A Chinese model of constructive conflict management
Yiheng Deng and Pamela Tremain Koch

vii

221

239

15 Conflicts in an inter national business context: a theoret ical
analysis of inter per sonal (pseudo)conflicts
Michael B. Hinner

254

16 Intercultural conflicts in transnational mergers
and acquisitions: the case of a failed deal

Juana Du and Ling Chen

278

17 Intercultural chal lenges in multinational corporations
Alois Moosmüller

295

Index

311


FIGURES

8.1 The paradig matic assumptions of Eastern and Western cultures
8.2 The either- or view of paradig matic assumptions between
East and West
8.3 The continuum view of cultural values based on
paradig matic assumptions
8.4 Similarities and differences of cultural values between nations
8.5 The mutual exclusiv ity of two cultures
8.6 The mutual inclusiv ity of two cultures
8.7 The tai chi model of conflict management
11.1 Unstandardized signi ficant para meter estim ates: IND
and COL predict ing peer and intergenerational conflict
management styles
11.2 Significant factor correlations of the four conflict styles in the
peer and older adult conditions

11.3 Unstandardized signi ficant para meter estim ates: indirect effects
of COL on the integ rat ing, accom mod at ing and avoid ing styles
in the intergenerational condition
12.1 The number of foreign tour ists in Japan
12.2 Three import ant factors contribut ing to Japanese people’s
awareness of inter national ization
12.3 A can- do list for the ICM-AP and the ICMP
12.4 The table of contents
12.5 The flow of the qual i fications for the ICM-AP and the ICMP
12.6 The renovation of street signs in Tokyo
13.1 Distribution of actual strategies
13.2 Distribution of proposed strategies
14.1 Emic Chinese model of conflict behaviors

146
149
149
150
150
151
152

202
203

204
211
213
214
216

217
218
229
229
243


Figures

14.2 Components of Chinese culture that influence conflict behaviors
14.3 Model of cooperat ive conflict management with Chinese
15.1 The inter relationship of cognition, metacog nition, social
metacog nition, trust and self- disclosure

ix

245
246
271


TABLES

6.1 Three cultural models of conflict management
11.1 Descriptive stat ist ics, stand ard ized factor load ings, stand ard errors,
and residuals for the parceled indicators of the latent constructs
11.2 Factor correlations among the conflict styles in the peer and
older adult conditions
13.1 Demographic inform ation of participants
13.2 Triggering event of conflict

13.3 Transitivity system
13.4 Occurrences of transit iv ity processes in actual strategies
13.5 Occurrences of transit iv ity processes in proposed strategies
13.6 Percentage of transit iv ity processes in dominating,
articulating and integrating

105
201
203
224
226
230
231
231
232


CONTRIBUTORS

Benjamin J. Broome is Professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human
Communication at Arizona State University.
Patrice M. Buzzanell is Distinguished Professor in the Brian Lamb School of

Communication and the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University.
She is the past president of the International Communication Association (ICA)
and the president of the Council of Communication Associations (CCA) and the
Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender (OSCLG).
Guo-Ming Chen is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of

Rhode Island. He is the found ing president of the Association for Chinese

Communication Studies (ACCS). He served as the execut ive director of the
International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS) for
six years and is currently the president of the association.
Ling Chen is Professor in the School of Communication at Hong Kong Baptist

University. She was the editor-in-chief of Management Communication Quarterly
and the associate editor of Communication Theory.
Xiaodong Dai is Associate Professor at the Foreign Languages College of

Shanghai Normal University. He currently serves as the vice president of the
China Association for Intercultural Communication (CAFIC).
Yiheng Deng is Associate Professor at Southwestern University of Finance and

Economics.


xii Contributors

Juana Du is Assistant Professor and the program head of the Master of Arts in
Intercultural and International Communication on-campus program at the
School of Communication and Culture at Royal Roads University.
Yihong Gao is Professor and the director of research at the Institute of Linguistics

and Applied Linguistics in the School of Foreign Languages at Peking University.
She is also the vice president of the China English Language Education Association
(CELEA) and has served as the president of the Association of Chinese
Sociolinguistics (ACS).
Beth Bonniwell Haslett is Professor in the Department of Communication at the

University of Delaware. She has published four books and more than thirty

articles and book chapters, and has presented over sixty papers at regional,
national and inter national conferences.
Michael B. Hinner is Professor at the Freiberg University of Mining and

Technology. He is the editor of the book series Freiberger Beiträge zur Interkulturellen
und Wirtschaftskommunikation (Freiberg Contributions to Intercultural and Business
Communication).
Xue Lai Jia is Associate Professor of Intercultural Communication in the School

of Foreign Languages at the Harbin Institute of Technology.
Yuxin Jia is Professor of Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics and Intercultural
Communication at the Harbin Institute of Technology. He is a past president of
the International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS)
and the China Association for Intercultural Communication (CAFIC).
Pamela Tremain Koch is Adjunct Professor at the Seidman College of Business,

Grand Valley State University. Her research fields are cross-cultural leader ship
and conflict management.
Munzhedzi James Mafela is Professor of African Languages at the University of

South Africa. He was a guest editor of the Southern African Journal of Folklore
Studies in 2011 and the scientific editor of the same journal in 2013.
Yoshitaka Miike is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at

the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Fellow at the Molefi Kete Asante Institute
for Afrocentric Studies. He is past chair of the International and Intercultural
Communication Division (IICD) of the National Communication Association
(NCA).
Alois Moosmüller is Professor of Intercultural Communication and Cultural

Anthropology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and an


Contributors

xiii

intercultural trainer and consult ant. He has done extensive research on German–
Japanese and American–Japanese collaboration in multinational corporations.
Cynthia Danisile Ntuli is Associate Professor at the University of South Africa in

the Department of African Languages.
Yuko Takeshita is Professor of English and Intercultural Communication in

the Department of International Communication at Toyo Eiwa University. She
serves as the director of the Global Human Innovation Association. She also
works as the managing editor of Asian Englishes.
Stella Ting-Toomey is Professor of Human Communication Studies at California
State University (CSU), Fullerton. She was the 2008 recipient of the 23-campuswide CSU Wang Family Excellence Award and the 2007–2008 recipient of the
CSU-Fullerton Outstanding Professor Award in recog nition for her superlat ive
teach ing, research and service.
Astrid Villamil is Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of
Communication at the University of Missouri. Her research focuses on diversity
in higher education and intercultural/intergroup processes in organ izational
contexts.
Chong Xing is a doctoral candid ate in the Department of Communication
Studies at the University of Kansas. His research interests include examining
individual communicat ive practices in various intergroup processes and study ing
romantic relationship initiation.
Jing Yin is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication

at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Fellow at the Molefi Kete Asante Institute
for Afrocentric Studies. She won a Top Paper Award from the International and
Intercultural Communication Division of the National Communication
Association (NCA).
Yan Bing Zhang is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication
Studies at the University of Kansas. She studies commu nication, conflict
management and intergroup relations with a particu lar focus on age and cultural
groups.
Xuan Zheng is Lecturer at the Institute of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics in
the School of Foreign Languages at Peking University. Her research interests include
intercultural communication, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
(TESOL) and the professional development of non-native English-speaking
teachers (NNEST).


PREFACE

As one of the oldest concepts regard ing human behaviors, conflict management
has been studied by scholars in different academic disciplines for many years.
The concept has remained significant in the contexts of both human inter action
and scholarly research as human society has progressed into the 21st century.
The new century, which has thus far been character ized by a process of globalization that has been accelerated by the rapid development of new tech nology, demands a global connectiv ity that thrives on intensive compet ition and
cooperation between people from different cultures. It has therefore never
been more necessary to situate the study of conflict management in a global
context.
In response to this dire need to place the study of conflict management in a
global context, the fourth bien nial International Conference of Intercultural
Communication, which was sponsored by Shanghai Normal University and
which took place from December 28 to December 29, 2014, focused on the

theme of conflict management and intercultural harmony. After the conference,
17 papers from a pool of more than 150 present ations were selected to be included
in this book. The authors of these papers are from differ ent cultures and academic
disciplines, and their papers deal with different aspects of conflict management,
examin ing the concept from various research perspect ives and within diverse
cultural contexts. The diversity and rich ness of these papers reflect the need to
study conflict management as a global phenomenon.
The publication of the manuscript for this book would not have succeeded
without support from various sources. First, we would like to thank the authors
for their will ing ness to contribute their papers to this collection. Second, we
would like to thank the College of Foreign Languages at Shanghai Normal
University and the Harrington School of Communication and Media at the
University of Rhode Island for their support during the process of completing


Preface

xv

this project. And finally, we would like to thank the editor ial staff at Routledge,
particu larly Ms. Yongling Lam, for their assistance with the publication of
this book.
Xiaodong Dai
Guo-Ming Chen



INTRODUCTION
Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen

We are living in a global izing world that is character ized by unity in diversity
(Chen & Starosta, 2004). With the strengthen ing of global intercon nectiv ity and
interdependence, conflicts frequently arise due to tensions stem ming from
different cultural perceptions, disparate social preferences or diverse value orientations. While effect ive management of a conflict opens up oppor tun it ies for
people to learn more about others and make a joint effort to explore better
patterns of communication, conflict mismanagement often leads to escalated
hostil ity and damaged relationships (Ting-Toomey & Oetzel, 2001). How to
manage conflicts construct ively and achieve harmonious interaction is the principal problem faced by intercultural communication scholars. Although they
have invest ig ated conflict management in inter national busi ness negotiation and
developed useful analyt ical models, few of them have been able to synthesize
multiple perspect ives and address how intercultural harmony can be achieved in
different cultural contexts. This book attempts to improve the situation by
bring ing together leading inter national scholars from different disciplines to
tackle the problem. It aims to integ rate the latest work on conflict management
and intercultural communication, and further provide a useful source of information for students, instructors, researchers and practitioners in intercultural or
global communication and related areas. Although there are numerous problems
involved in conflict management, the present volume only focuses on two crucial
aspects of the issue, namely, perspect ives on the study of intercultural conflict
management and conflict management in diverse cultural contexts.

Perspectives on the study of intercultural conflict management
An intercultural conflict occurs when people have incom pat ible expect ations,
values, norms, interests or goals in their interactions (Wilmot & Hocker, 2007).


2

Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen

A conflict may appear at the inter per sonal or intergroup level and involves political, economic or cultural factors. The complex ity of the problem demands intercultural communication scholars to address it from different perspect ives. Only

through the synthesis of different perspect ives can a more complete picture of
intercultural conflict be presented.
In recent decades, scholars have indeed approached intercultural conflict from
diverse perspect ives and developed useful theor ies and models. For example,
Ting-Toomey (1988, 2005) has examined conflict from the face-negotiation
perspect ive and has claimed that people in all cultures try to negotiate face in
order to maintain a posit ive self-image in interaction. While high power distance
and collect iv istic cultural members tend to show more concern for other-face and
mutual-face, low power distance and individual istic cultural members tend to
show more concern for self-face. In managing a conflict, collect iv ists usually
adopt avoid ance, third party mediation, and integ ration strategies, and individual ists tend to employ direct confront ation and domination strategies. Drawing on
social identity theory, Worchel (2005) developed a model of peaceful coex istence. He argued that it is not group identity in itself but the perceived threat to
group identity and secur ity from another group that is the root of intercultural
conflict. The recog nition of others’ right to exist, curiosity and interests in their
cultures and a will ing ness to engage in a cooperat ive interaction with them are
the keys to peaceful coex istence. Moreover, Moran, Abramson and Moran (2014)
have argued that effect ive intercultural conflict management is based on five
steps: (1) describing the conflict in a way that is under stood in both cultures;
(2) examin ing the problem from both cultural lenses; (3) identi fy ing the causes
from both cultural perspect ives; (4) solving the conflict through synergistic
strategies; and (5) determ in ing whether the solution works interculturally.
When analyzing an inter per sonal or intergroup conflict, most scholars have
emphasized the influence of cultural values on conflict behaviors and the crosscultural compar ison of conflict styles. Some scholars have examined how cultural
diversity is managed in organ izations, but they have tended to focus on a single
level of intercultural conflict (e.g. Oetzel, Dhar & Kirschbaum, 2007). Meanwhile,
others have tackled the issue from the perspective of a specific culture. For
example, Chen (2001, 2009, 2014) has developed a theory of harmony to deal
with conflict from the Chinese cultural perspect ive. For future research, we
suggest that scholars further explore the concept of intercultural conflict with an
approach that considers the interact ive process of conflict management and the

ethics of conflict negotiation and that adopts a multi level perspect ive.
Comparing different conflict styles allows people to understand the preferred
way of hand ling an intercultural conflict, but it is only the first step toward
solving the problem. In order to effect ively manage an intercultural conflict, it is
necessary to address the interact ive process regard ing how differences are reconciled or integ rated, how intercultural agreements are reached, and how commonal it ies and consensuses are constructed. As intercultural conflict management
involves individual, group and cultural factors, focusing only on one factor alone


Introduction

3

will not satisfactor ily resolve the problem. Although taking a multi level
perspect ive is chal lenging for scholars, it can provide them with a more comprehensive under stand ing of the issue and help them reach an effective way of dealing
with intercultural conflict (Oetzel et al., 2007).
In many cases, intercultural conflicts are difficult to resolve, their solutions
taking a great deal of time and energy to negotiate. Even once a solution has been
reached, other conflicts may emerge if one party feels that it is being treated
unfairly (Worchel, 2005). Conflict negotiation ethics is therefore an integ ral part
of the intercultural conflict management process. The ethics of intercultural
conflict negotiation provide people from different cultures with mutually shared
moral norms and principles that can be used to guide their mutual interaction.
Moral principles such as human dignity, equal ity, justice, non-violence, sincer ity,
tolerance and responsibil ity are conducive to conflict resolution and achieve
lasting outcomes (Chen, 2015; Christian, 2014; Ojelabi, 2010).

Conflict management in cultural contexts
Cultural value defines what is right, equal, fair and safe, and what is wrong,
unequal, unjust, unfair and dangerous (Marsella, 2005). It shapes the way we
perceive the world and the way we respond to social reality (Chen, Ryan &

Chen, 2000). Culture is a key determ inant for conflict management. Examining how a conflict is managed in diverse cultural contexts allows us to learn a
counter part’s communication behaviors, so that intercultural harmony can be
constructed in interaction.
Over the years, scholars have widely invest ig ated conflict behaviors in various
cultural contexts. For example, Kozan and Ergin (1998) examined the differences
in preference for third party help in conflict management between Americans
and Turks. They found that Turkish people were more collect iv istic and preferred
third party mediation in conflict management; they also found that this tendency
was particu larly strong with Turkish women. Siira, Rogan and Hall (2004)
compared conflict management between Americans and Finns. The authors
found that Americans and Finns had a similar preference for the use of nonconfront ational strategies, but Finns used more solution- oriented strategies and
Americans used more controlling behaviors. Chen (2010) discussed conflict
management strategy in Chinese state- owned enter prises. He pointed out that
the Chinese emphasize harmony in social commu nication by apply ing accommod ation, collaboration and avoid ance strategies in conflict resolution, and that
older people tended to use these strategies more often.
A number of empir ical studies in this area have also focused on conflict styles
and strategies by employ ing Hofstede’s cultural value orientations as their
analyt ical framework. However, most of these studies conducted intercultural
compar isons using the dimen sions of individual ism, collect iv ism and power
distance instead of examin ing how conflicts were actually negotiated and
resolved. For future research, we suggest that more attention be paid to


4

Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen

intracultural diversity; situational factors; non-Western cultural compar isons;
and negotiation processes.
First, Hofstede’s theory presents a useful framework for identi fy ing cultural

differences and the root of intercultural conflicts, but it does not consider intracultural variations. Within a nation in which co-cultural groups exist, it is necessary to take the issues of diversity into account in order to manage conflict
successfully. For example, when commu nicat ing with a subordinate, Mexican
Americans place less emphasis on other-face and are more likely to use aggressive
strategies than European Americans. However, when communicat ing with a
super ior, Mexican Americans place more emphasis on other-face and are more
likely to use obliging and integ rat ing strategies (Tata, 2000). In China, people are
generally restrained when it comes to solving inter per sonal conflicts, but
Northerners are more emotional and aggressive than Southerners (Yu, 2013).
Second, situational factors such as ingroup/outgroup membership and conflict
salience also influence intercultural conflict management (Ting-Toomey &
Oetzel, 2003). For instance, Japanese are direct in expressing personal opin ions
when interact ing with ingroups, but they are highly indirect when interact ing
with outgroups. Moreover, Chinese tend to be polite when face is being maintained in a conflict situation but may become fiercely confrontational when it is
lost (Chen, 2010).
Third, world cultures are inter related, especially in our global izing society.
Merely compar ing Western and non-Western cultures reflects the bias of
Eurocentrism (Miike, 2010). To explore the differences between non-Western
cultures and between Western cultures respect ively is to allow people to reach a
better under stand ing of conflict management. For example, while Japanese and
Brazilians are both collect iv istic, Brazilians use emotional expressions to maintain relationships and Japanese negat ively view overt emotional expressions as
stand ing in the way of relational harmony (Graham, 1985). Kozan (1989) also
found that, when managing a conflict with subordinates, Turkish managers use
the collaborat ing style more than the forcing style and that Jordanian managers
use the collaborat ing style more than the comprom ising style.
Finally, conflict management is a dynamic process. The exam ination of intra/
intercultural conflict negotiation can help one see how diverse strategies are
enacted and what factors shape the process of conflict management. A variety of
factors, such as relationships, power, identity, economic interest and social justice,
affect conflict negotiation and therefore need to be included in the study of intercultural conflict management. For instance, Chinese tend to invite a high status
person or a person known to both parties to be the mediator for the conflict (Han

& Cai, 2015). In Chinese society, a power ful mediator can facil it ate a construct ive
interaction and help the parties in question reach an agreement. In addition,
scholars need to invest ig ate how various factors interact with one another.
Analyzing the complex inter play of multiple factors is the key to grasping the
true nature of a conflict and developing effect ive ways to resolve it. Ting-Toomey
and Oetzel (2001) have identi fied four factors that determ ine the result of


Introduction

5

intercultural conflict negotiation: primary orient ation, situational and relationship bound ary, conflict process and conflict competence. These inter related
factors work together to bring about product ive and satisfactory outcomes, which
attest to the fact that intercultural conflict management is a dynamic process.

Overview of the book
This volume has two parts. The first part deals with conflict management from
multiple perspect ives, and the second part explores conflict management in
diverse cultural contexts. The first part begins with three chapters that address
conflict management ethics; the follow ing six chapters explore conflict management from culture-general and culture- specific approaches.
In the first chapter, Benjamin J. Broome explores a viable way to bring
harmony to our conflictual world. According to Broome, conflict is part of the
harmon izing process and dialogue provides an import ant means to manage it. By
bring ing together individuals with varying perspect ives into a safe place, different
views are articu lated and oppor tun it ies for mutual learn ing are created. Thus, the
inherent tension between self and other can be product ively managed. When the
issues are fully examined and when all voices are heard, it becomes possible to
synthesize differences and work toward a state of intercultural harmony.
In the second chapter, Yuxin Jia and Xue Lai Jia present a dialogic approach to

intercultural conflict by explor ing how commu nication ethics works in the
process of conflict management. The authors argue that build ing up a sound
dialogic ethics is central to reach ing conflict resolution and intercultural harmony.
While modern ethics emphasizes the self, post modern ethics emphasizes the
other. The modern perspect ive may lead to a dichotomy between self and other,
whereas the post modern perspect ive may suffer from the problem of “all for the
other,” which may result in a dependent relationship between self and other. The
dialogic approach is a preferable alternat ive to both the modern and post modern
approaches. It incor porates the concern for self and the concern for the other.
This approach is best exempli fied by Confucian virtue known as ren, which offers
a viable way to manage conflict in a multicultural world.
In the third chapter, Yoshitaka Miike approaches intercultural conflict from
the perspect ive of Asiacentricity. He argues that center ing our own culture and
engaging in ethical communication promote dialogue across cultures and pave
the way for intercultural harmony. Based on Asiacentricity, Miike proposes five
ethical principles for harmonious intercultural relationships, namely, recog nition
and respect, reaf firm ation and renewal, identi fication and indebtedness, ecology
and sustainabil ity, and rooted ness and open ness. These ethical principles enable
people to appreciate both parties’ cultures and thus bring about unity to the
global community.
In the fourth chapter, Patrice M. Buzzanell discusses conflict management
from the organ izational commu nication perspect ive. She focuses on the conflict
between diversity and inclusion in an organ ization and conceptual izes conflict as


6

Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen

a wicked and complex problem that defies a rational approach. Buzzanell argues

that it requires design think ing and a constitutive approach to effectively manage
the conflict between diversity and inclu sion.
In the fifth chapter, Xiaodong Dai addresses intercultural conflict management from the perspect ive of intercultural ity. According to Dai, in order to
effect ively manage an intercultural conflict people need to examine the interact ive process of intercultural ity development, which is a process through which
a possible means of harnessing intercultural tension can be obtained.
Interculturality not only cultivates a posit ive attitude toward cultural diversity,
but also fosters an intercultural perspect ive that facil it ates joint actions in
intercultural conflict management.
In the sixth chapter, Beth Bonniwell Haslett proposes a new approach to
conflict management. Because most scholars focus on the use of different conflict
styles, how the development of common ground serves to manage intercultural
conflict deserves further invest ig ation. Haslett posits that honor ing face is
an important element in the process of intercultural conflict management.
Commonly shared values such as respect, trust, empathy, plural ism, open ness and
equal ity are essential components of the univer sal face, which can be employed
to broaden the way that conflict management is examined in future research.
In the seventh chapter, Stella Ting-Toomey reviews the evolutionary process
of her conflict face-negotiation theory (FNT). FNT is based on the studies of
face carried out by Hsien Chin Hu (1944), Erving Goffman (1955) and Penelope
Brown and Stephen Levinson (1987). The theory stipu lates cultural, individual
and situational factors that shape conflict behaviors in interaction. The first
version of FNT emphasizes the functional link of Hall’s high- context and lowcontext cultural schema to conflict styles. The second version focuses on how
individual ism and collect iv ism affect conflict styles. The third version further
deals with individual level factors regard ing the face concern and conflict styles,
and also addresses the issue of conflict competence. According to Ting-Toomey,
scholars need to further examine complex situ ational and identity issues in the
study of intercultural conflict management in order to expand the scope of FNT.
In the eighth chapter, Guo-Ming Chen approaches conflict management
from the Chinese perspect ive. Chen argues that communication is contex tually
dependent and that each culture has its own unique way of managing conflict. In

light of Chinese philosophy, conflict should be treated as a holistic system which
is formed by the dynamic and dialect ical interaction between the two parties of
yin and yang. Although each party possesses its own identity, the identity cannot
be fully developed individually. When a conflict arises, the two parties should be
treated as an inter related whole, so that the conflict can be construct ively managed
and unity in diversity can be attained.
In the ninth chapter, Jing Yin re-exam ines identity in the context of global ization. Due to the resurgence of ethnicity, race, gender and religion, identity has
become a potential source of intercultural conflict. She maintains that a person
achieves self hood through engaging in different social relations embedded in


Introduction

7

cultural particu lar it ies and thereby develops a sense of mean ing ful existence. In
order to become a global citizen, people need to be firmly rooted in their cultural
traditions, but at the same time they must also be open to other cultures. Yin
contends that it is imperat ive to seek an approach that allows scholars to conceptual ize cultural identity in its full complex ity, a process which can be informed
by both Kemetic and Confucian traditions.
The second part of this volume (Chapters 10–17), as mentioned above, deals
with conflict management in different cultural contexts. Conflict management
is first invest ig ated in the context of South Africa, the United States, Japan
and China, and it is then examined in the context of inter national busi ness and
multinational corporations. In the tenth chapter, Munzhedzi James Mafela and
Cynthia Danisile Ntuli examine how conflicts arise in intereth nic communication and how they are managed so as to achieve intercultural harmony. They find
that White people in South Africa tend to devalue the local culture and that their
Eurocentric bias often leads to the problem of intercultural conflict. They also
point out that strategies such as refraining, persua sion, giving in, avoid ance,
collaborat ing, comprom ising and accom mod ation are effect ive ways of getting

people from different cultures to live in a state of peaceful coex istence.
In the eleventh chapter, Yan Bing Zhang, Chong Xing and Astrid Villamil
analyze the preference of conflict management styles among American young
adults. They find that cultural orient ations shape people’s conflict management
style. While young adults tend to use more integ rating and compet ing styles with
adults their peers, they tend to use more accom modat ing and avoid ing styles with
older adults. For peer conflicts, integ ration is the most preferable style and avoidance is the least preferable style. For intergenerational conflicts, however, the most
preferable style is accom modation, and compet ition is the least preferable style.
In the twelfth chapter, Yuko Takeshita discusses the role of intercultural
communication management professionals in Japan. Despite the development of
global ization in Japanese society, people have few oppor tun it ies to practice intercultural communication and often encounter linguistic and cultural problems
when interact ing with foreigners. Intercultural communication management
professionals play an import ant role in helping their fellow citizens manage intercultural conflict and create new busi ness oppor tun it ies.
In the thir teenth chapter, Xuan Zheng and Yihong Gao invest igate Chinese
parent–child conflict management strategies. Based on discursive evidence, they
find that among the five preferable strategies for Chinese students dealing with this
type of conflict—integ rating, comprom ising, obliging, dominating and avoid ing—
dominating and avoid ing rank highest. Zheng and Gao also find that the strategy
of articu lating is favored more by university students. The students use it to
construct an independent self and develop an equal relationship with their parents.
In the four teenth chapter, Yiheng Deng and Pamela Tremain Koch develop a
Chinese model of constructive conflict management. Based on Western theor ies,
they incor porate Chinese concepts to develop strategies that can work in a
cross-cultural context. The model they develop indicates that collectivism,


8

Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen

harmony, face, guanxi (lit. relationships) and power are the central values of Chinese
culture. Strategies such as construct ive confrontation, open and direct discussion,
seeking hard facts, resort ing to off-line talk, and turning to a third party of higher
author ity for inter vention are effective ways for Chinese to manage conflict.
In the fifteenth chapter, Michael B. Hinner analyzes intercultural conflict
management in the context of inter national busi ness. Although English is used as
a lingua franca in inter national business communication, misunder stand ings and
intercultural conflicts often occur because of differ ing cultural backgrounds.
Hinner proposes five key factors—identity, culture, perception, self- disclosure
and trust—that shape the communicat ive process in intercultural conflict
management. The five factors will help people better perceive and manage
misperception and misunder stand ing, which often lead to intercultural conflict
in the context of inter national business transactions.
In the sixteenth chapter, Juana Du and Ling Chen conduct a case study on
intercultural conflict management in transnational mergers and acquisitions.
They find that cultural differences affect inter national busi ness communication.
The poor management of misunder stand ings may lead to intercultural conflict.
Misunderstanding and subsequent intercultural conflict can lead to failed business acquisitions. Du and Chen suggest that corporations need to engage each
other in open dialogue in order to develop culturally appropriate communication
strategies that will allow acquisitions to proceed without issue.
Finally, in the seventeenth chapter, Alois Moosmüller exam ines intercultural
conflict management in multinational corporations (MNCs). Cultural diversity
is generally regarded as a valuable asset for MNCs. Three examples provided by
Moosmüller demonstrate that although MNCs endeavor to cultivate a global
mindset, ethnocentric attitudes and work habits still domin ate daily communication in MNCs. Moosmüller indicates that cultural difference remains a challenge for MNCs. To develop the potential for innovation and improve the
efficiency of company management, MNCs need to incor porate diversity into
their general operat ing strategies.

Conclusion
Conflict is a complex problem that affects the whole process of intercultural

communication. Scholars have studied the nature of conflict from diverse
perspect ives; addressed the management of conflict at both the inter per sonal and
intergroup levels; and conducted cross- cultural compar isons on conflict styles
and strategies. These studies have contributed to the under stand ing of the
concept, but many questions still remain unanswered. Specifically, more research
should be carried out on the interact ive process of conflict negotiation and the
management of conflict among non-Western cultures. The trend of global ization
has increased intercon nectiv ity and interdependence among nations and cultures.
Only through the appropriate and effect ive management of intercultural conflict
can people establish harmonious relationships in our global society.