In Mono-Cultural Societies Such as Japan or Poland, Finding Common GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

In mono-cultural societies such as Japan or Poland, finding common ground on ethical and moral principles is easier than in societies with competing ideologies. One knows essentially what to expect from the people who have formed the political and social compact in monocultures. Members know what to expect of one another. They know the code composed of meanings and rules by which that society functions. Common cultural origins produce proverbs, motifs, icons, symbols, nuances of language, nonverbal behaviors, and metaphors that are immediately understood and accepted by anyone in the group. However, such commonality is more difficult to achieve once one moves to societies with a diverse population with different cultural backgrounds or to the global society of international relations. Such societies are often called multi-cultural individualistic societies. Hence, the United States, which favors individual effort and has less concern for the group as a whole is seen to be high on individualism. Such cultural differences lead to contrasting communication styles to the extent the historians label the communication style of collectivist cultures as "High Context" and the style of individualistic cultures "Low Context". A high-context communication or 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 part of the message" and a low-context message is the opposite, with the information explicitly coded in the message.

“In mono-cultural societies such as Japan or Poland, finding common”- is a reading comprehension exercise for the GMAT. Candidates must be extremely skilled in GMAT reading comprehension. This GMAT reading comprehension section contains 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed to assess candidates' ability to comprehend, analyzation, and application skills. GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions can help candidates who are actively preparing.

1. The author’s main purpose of writing the passage is to

1. Explain the differences in two cultures and the resulting impact on the contrasting communication styles.
2. Present data on how different communication styles influence the culture of the society.
3. Establish that mono-cultural societies hold the ethical and moral principles to much higher standards than multi-cultural societies do.
4. Illustrate why collectivist cultures lead to more direct communication styles while mono cultures prefer to communicate in a manner in which most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person.
5. Explain the impact that culture has on communication styles.

2. What does the author imply when he says that “such commonality is more difficult to achieve once one moves to societies with a diverse population”?

1. Non-Verbal behaviours that are immediately understood in mono-cultural societies take time to be comprehended in individualistic societies.
2. Monocultural societies produce nuances of language that can be used in sensitive situations; multi-cultural societies avoid such situations.
3. In individualistic societies, a common interpretation of nonverbal behaviours is much more challenging to achieve than in monocultural societies.
4. Since individualistic societies focus on the individual, it is almost impossible to create a common set of rules that everyone in a group can agree to.
5. In individualistic societies, even people from a common background struggle to understand the common cultural motifs, proverbs, and symbols.

3. From the passage it can be inferred that people in multi-cultural societies

1. Are not aware of symbols, nuances of language, nonverbal behaviors etc. of mono cultural societies.
2. Fail to find cultural and behavioral common ground with other people in the society.
3. Are more explicit in their communication with their peers than are people of mono-cultural societies.
4. Have to learn how to deal with a multitude of communication styles present in a multi-cultural society.
5. Use messages that contain content with very little context in the explicit codified part.

4. Which of the following is likely to be true based on the information in the passage?

1. A high context communication delivering a particular message is likely to be shorter than a low context communication delivering the same message.
2. A controversial high context message is likely to face less opposition than a similar message delivered in low context.
3. Cross border communication is likely to turn more and more societies into individualistic ones.
4. Collectivist cultures produce more historical symbols and artifacts per capita than mono cultural societies do.
5. It is easier to understand high context messages than to understand low context messages.

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