Culture Change and Aspects of Culture Assignment

Culture Change and Aspects of Culture - Assignment Example In a very broad sense, culture is a cultivated behavior; that is the sum total of an individual's learned and accumulate experience which is hence socially transmitted, or behavior through the process of social learning. In light of the deeper aspect of culture, culture change can be defined as the gradual or sporadic modification of a society’s beliefs and values through the processes of innovation, discovery, or even external contact with other societies. Cultural change can hence be comprehensively defined as the dynamic phenomenon by which various cultures in the world are changing and modifying their usual and common code of conduct and behavior in order to adapt to the external or internal forces acting on the society (Steward, 1973). Culture change is a process that not only occurs at the basic societal level but also has been observed on a wider scope. It can be seen also in organizations such as businesses or educational institutions or any other group of people who may have developed and accumulated experiences and behavior patterns. As a result, culture change may require changes or a complete overhaul of organization practices, physical environments inter-personal relationships at all levels and even communication patterns. In analyzing the whole concept of culture, a question that rarely fails to come up is: what makes up culture? It is with answering this question that one can isolate the various aspects of culture, that is, the very basic elements that culture is comprised of. This hence gives rise to the concept of cultural awareness (Singh, 2009). Various numerous theories have been formulated on the elements that make up culture but similarities have been observed and it can be confidently put down that there are twelve main aspects of culture.  

President Obamas' Verbal and Non-verbal Communication Essay

President Obamas' Verbal and Non-verbal Communication - Essay Example Therefore, in order to communicate effectively with the public the governmental figure must show various characteristics that are essential to do so. In this paper, we shall be analyzing how the President Obama communicates as well as whether he takes correct steps and procedure when passing his message to the public. The first thing that can be noted when Obama is communicating is that he shows a great deal of confidence while speaking. This serves to give the public the opinion that he is confident in what he is saying and that he actually believes it to be true. It is a known fact that the public is more appreciative of listening to a confident person than to a person without confidence because a message delivered with confidence is always better received. Confidence also gives the impression of the speaker is telling the truth because all his words are said without anything that might suggest that he is lying to his audience. Furthermore, confidence ensures that the audience give s the speaker their utmost attention throughout his speech and because he has their attention, the message he is trying to communicate will be received with little or no distortion (Denham, 1998). The second thing, which is notable in Obama and most if not all governmental officials when communicating with the public is their being well, versed in the subject matter of what they are trying to communicate. It can be seen that they have studied the history of what they are communicating and have made their own personal analysis of it before coming to make their speech to the public. It seems that the public is more receptive of the speaker and what he is saying because of this and this may ensure that the speaker has the undivided attention of the public. The knowledge of the subject matter ensures that the speaker is able to communicate well with the public and that what he says is comprehensible (Sam, 2003). His understanding of the subject also ensures that the speaker is able to i nterpret and simplify the message for his audience so that they are better able to understand what it is he is trying to pass on to them. A result of having prior knowledge of what he is communicating is that it gives the governmental figure the necessary confidence to not only pass on the message he wishes to the public, but he is also able to add on to it his own opinions and relate them to the current situation. When communicating to the public, it can be noted that President Obama pauses often to let his message sink in. these pauses often occur immediately after the speaker makes an important point or when there is an ovation from the public after he has stated what has pleased them. These pauses are important not only to allow the audience to receive the message well, but it also ensures that the audience does not lose track of the speech itself while making their ovations. A good speaker should take note of where and when make these pauses in his speech so that he does not lo se his audience (Trahant, 2006). In addition to making pauses in his speech, the governmental figure also seems not only to be serious throughout the speech but his facial expression follows the mood of his audience. However, he does not allow the audience to control completely the process, and in fact, he is the one who controls the mood