When different “codes” meet: Communication styles and conflict in intercultural academic meetings

This study focuses on conflict situations in bilingual academic meetings to investigate the communication styles used by Chinese and American university faculty. The ethnographic participant observation used as the main method was cross-checked with post-meeting interview data. The findings revealed that, due to the conflicting priorities in meeting protocol and behaviors in Taiwanese and American cultures, tension is experienced by faculty members of both cultures. What it means to have a meeting and how members address various issues does vary from culture to culture. It is suggested that conflict situations be ameliorated by more cross-cultural understanding of meeting codes, especially by those in leadership positions.