Page 248 - Culture Technology Communication

Preserving Communication Context 231

on vertical (hierarchy) and horizontal (in or out-group) axes, and
where communication is highly indexical or context-dependent, have
been widely discussed in the business and sociological literature on
Japan [see for example Stewart (1987), Ito (1989) and Barnlund
(1989) specifically on interpersonal communication in organiza-
tions]. The extent of agreement in the literature suggests that they
are firmly grounded in reality.
Edward T. Hall (1976), an author cited by CSCW researchers,
uses the terms high- or low-context culture to refer to a culture’s pre-
ferred communication style: the degree to which the meaning of a
message can be abstracted from the situation in which it was pro-
duced and received. A high-context message is one in which “most of
the information is either in the physical context or internalized in
the person, while very little is in the coded explicit transmitted part
of the message”; a low-context message is one in which “the mass of
information is vested in the explicit code” (Hall, 1976: 91). The con-
cept has implications for implicit/explicit, verbal/non-verbal, affec-
tive or intuitive/ fact-based, and relational/absolute communication.
In a society like Japan where most behavior and the use of language
is highly codified, the form is standard. It is important to look be-
neath the surface to interpret the meaning of an exchange, hence the
importance of positioning and the emphasis on atmosphere. Much of
the content of a message will be implicit; interpretation will often be
based on intuition rather than facts; and relationships will continu-
ally shift and be redefined.
Several common traits emerge in Japanese designers’ at-
tempts to deal with the particularities of their culture. First, fully
conscious of the highly relativistic approach to relationships in
their society, designers do not believe that all types of communica-
tion can be supported by groupware systems. All readily admit that
there are limits to supporting the more subtle or situationally-
dependent aspects of work. Given the constantly fluctuations and
redefinitions involved in any activity which is out of the ordinary,
they view the task of trying to support “delicate” communication,
such as negotiation, as an impossible one. One researcher points to
the impossibility of “catching” pieces of information which fly
around an office and are grasped through peripheral awareness.
Despite listing a shared workspace as one of the design issues and
providing a workstation and table, no one has yet tried to work
using MAJIC, even in the laboratory. And the NTT Software Labs
team’s research shifted in focus from shared workspace to inter-
personal interaction during work.