Text 4 activity orientation

(Intermediate)

I. Pre-reading task

1. Look up the meaning of the following words.

be predisposed to hectic(adj)

inevitable (adj) vital, essential (adj)

seek to (v) resolve a problem (v)

pace of life scrutinize (v)

adversity (n) espouse (v)

adage (n) capture the essence (v)

2. Form nouns from the following parts of speech.

predispose to (v) tangible (adj)

seek to (v) strive for (v)

solve (v) contemplative (adj)

3. Before reading try to formulate your definition of “being, becoming and doing cultures”.

II. Read the text and find out if your definitions were correct.

An activity orientation defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self through activities.

To define their activity orientation, cultures usually point to the being-becoming-doing continuum. "Being" is an activity orientation that values non-action and an acceptance of the status quo. African-American and Greek cultures are usually regarded as "being" cultures. Another char­acterization of this orientation is a willingness to believe that all events are determined by fate and are therefore inevitable or fatalistic. Hindus from India often espouse this view.

A "becoming" orientation sees humans as evolving and changing; people with this orientation, including Native Americans and most South Americans, are predisposed to think of ways to change themselves as a means to change the world. "Doing" is the dominant characteristic of Euroamericans, who rarely question the assumption that it is important to get things done. Thus, Euroamericans ask, "What do you do?" when they first meet someone, and Monday morning conversations between co-workers often center on what each person "did" over the weekend. Similarly, young children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, and cultural heroes are those who do things. The "doing" culture is often the striving culture, in which people seek to change and control what is happening to them. The common adage "Where there's a will there's a way" captures the essence of this cultural pattern. When faced with adversity, for examples, Euroamericans encourage one another to fight on, to work hard and not to give up.

A culture's activity orientation also suggests the pace of life. The fast, hectic pace of Euroamericans, governed by clocks, appointments, and schedules, has become so commonly accepted that it is almost a cliché. The pace of life in cultures such as India, Kenya, Argentina, and among African-Americans is less hectic, more relaxed, and more comfortably paced. In African-American culture, for example, orientations to time are driven less by a need to "get things done" and conform to external demands than by a sense of participation in events that create their own rhythm.

Being on time has to do with participating in the fulfillment of an activity that is vital to the sustenance of a basic rhythm, rather than with appearing on the scene at, say "twelve o'clock sharp". The key is not to be "on time" but "in time".

How a person measures her or his success is also related to the activity orientation. In cultures with a "doing" orientation, activity is evaluated by scrutinizing a tangible product or by evaluating some observable action directed at others. In other words, activity should have a purpose or a goal. In the "being" and "becoming" cultures, activity is not necessarily connected to external products or actions; the contemplative monk or the great thinker are examples of those who are most valued. Thus the process of striving toward the goal is sometimes far more important than accomplishing it.

In "doing" cultures, work is seen as a separate activity from play and an end in itself. In the "being" and "becoming" cultures, work is a means to an end, and there is no clear-cut separation between work and play. The social life for these individuals spills over into their work life. When members of a "being" culture work in the environment of a "doing" culture, there are often misinterpretations of behaviour. A Latin American employee described her conversation with a Euroamerican co-worker when the latter expressed anger that she spent so much "work" time on the telephone with family and friends. For the Latin American, it was important to keep in contact with her friends and family; for the Euroamerican, only work was done at work, and one's social and personal relationships were totally separated from the working environment. In a "doing" culture, employees who spend too much time chatting with their fellow employees may be reprimanded by a supervisor. In the "being" and "becoming" cultures, those in charge fully expect their workers to mix working and socializing. Along with the activity orientation of "doing" comes a problem-solution orientation. The preferred way of dealing with a difficulty is to see it as a challenge to be met or a problem to be solved. The world is viewed as something that ought to be changed in order to solve problems rather than as something that ought to be accepted as it is, with whatever characteristics it has.

In every culture, these preferences for particular orientations to activities shape the interpersonal communication patterns that will occur. In "doing" cultures interpersonal communication is characterized by concerns about what people do and how they solve problems. There are expectations that people should be involved in activities, that work comes before play, and that people should sacrifice in other parts of their lives in order to achieve their work responsibilities. In "being" cultures interpersonal communication is characterized by being together rather than by accomplishing specific tasks, and there is generally greater balance between work and play. [15]

III. Post-reading tasks

1. Answer the questions.

1. What types of culture and according to what principles does the activity orientation theory define?

2. How does this classification influence the international communication patterns?

2. Find in the text information to describe each type of culture.

1. “being culture»…

2. “becoming culture»…

3. “doing culture”….

IV. Speaking

What group does your culture belong to? Give arguments to support your point of view.