Apply the reading's concepts (direct vs indirect style, face, harmony, individualism vs collectivism, low- vs high-context communication, self-concept and status) to explain and predict how people from different backgrounds might handle a disagreement. Keep every prediction consistent with the reading: status affects conflict style 'at least in individualistic cultures' (Kim et al., 2007); only individualistic-oriented students were more argumentative with a peer than with a professor, collectivistic-oriented students were not, and both groups felt more apprehension about a conflict with the higher-status person. Do not claim that people from collectivistic backgrounds are especially attentive to role or status relationships, and do not use examples (such as a manager and an employee) predicting that collectivistic people will be more deferential, argumentative or avoidant depending on status. Present any link between high-context communication and a specific culture as an inference, not as the reading's claim, and remember that self-concept may outweigh culture.
According to Reading Passage: Managing Conflict, people in most cultures prefer solutions that benefit both sides, but they may communicate very differently during disagreement. To analyse a cross-cultural conflict well, you should not predict behaviour from o...
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