Diagnosis of Communication Context in Companies

52 polish companies and 951 respondents participated in the study. The diagnosis was based on a survey. The survey questionnaire contained questions regarding manifestations of cultural values which include the communication context. Research results indicate that the organizational culture of the surveyed com panies is characterized by low contextuality. Dominating verbal codes in communication have translated into active, individual, impersonal, task-oriented behaviors of employees.

contact [Białas 2013, p. 32]. On the other hand, Hall [2014] focused on the study of organizational cultures for the purposes of verbal or nonverbal communication. This value was defined by the communication context.

Cultural dimension of low and high communication context
The cultural context that describes the organization's relationship to communication is the communication context. Communication context is analyzed in terms of the extent to which information is communicated through verbal communication and encoded in the context of the physical message or certain rules relating to the way the message is communicated. When verbal communication is preferred, non-verbal, situational, and occasional elements are treated secondarily. Organizational culture is then described as low-context. In the opposite situation, there is a high-level communication. "Contextuality is not just a determinant of the way we communicate, it is also the basis of all other behaviors" [Białas 2013, p. 28].
A sender in low-context culture assumes that the recipient does not have all the necessary information to properly understand the content of the message. In the process of creating and interpreting messages and choosing the method of communication, employees do not derive from the common experience resulting from their own communication context. "The cultural environment is less important, non-verbal communication is most often ignored, so people need to communicate more directly" [Mead and Andrews 2011, p. 53]. They prefer clear, accurate, verbal communications, organize speeches, detail and segment sources of information and cite facts and figures in support of speech. "Most communication information is transmitted in words and in a target-oriented sequence" [Kostera and Śliwa 2010, p. 95]. Interlocutors portion information according to needs and expect a reliable response from their co-interlocutor. The purpose of the conversation is to explain all the details. It is supported by such features of the low communication context as the small distance between interlocutors, direct communication, visual contact and the possibility of touching the speaker.
In the low-context communication culture, employees focus on their own businesses, build their own identity, while calling for the need for autonomy. Communication is treated as a means of distribution or competition. The style of communication can be defined as controlled or confrontational, determined by decisions. Direct communication styles, words are most important [Mullins 2010, p. 29].
The culture of low communication context has the following features: • relationships between individuals are relatively short and deep emotional ties with others are less appreciated; • messages must be clear and their sender cannot expect the recipient to easily read their content from a particular context; members of these cultures are less likely to use non-verbal signs in the communication process; • bureaucratic power is dispersed and it is difficult to identify responsible persons; • contracts are more often in a written rather than oral form; members of low-context cultures treat contracts as final and legally binding and are less likely to renegotiate; • the initiated and outsiders are not differentiated, it means that foreigners are much easier to adapt to the environment; • cultural patterns are subject to faster change [Mead and Andrews 2011, pp. 54-55]; • reliance on unambiguous (literal) communication; • separating work from interpersonal relationships; • valuable individual initiative and decision-making; • perceiving the employer-employee relationship as impersonal; • relying on facts, statistics, as well as other proven information; • preferring the style of direct written and oral speech; • linear thinking; • following the letter of the law [Reynolds and Valetine 2009, pp. 46-49]. It is impossible to understand a language well without communication context [Ferraro 2000, p. 47]. Culture of high communication context appreciates the word and directness in the conversation to a lower extent. On the other hand, special attention is paid to cultural considerations and differences in the way we communicate. Members of high-context cultures strongly depend on common experience and the perception of their own cultural environment in the process of creating and interpreting messages [Mead and Andrews 2011, p. 53]. Therefore, in high-context cultures "the context of communication is valued, and their representatives use non-verbal messages of concealed meaning" [Reynolds and Valetine 2009, pp. 40-41]. Most of the content of the message is contained in non-verbal messages, the reception of which is based on the ability to interpret information by the recipient. In high-context culture, the employee devotes a lot of energy to observing his supervisors, intuitively sensing their needs, and planning appropriate responses based on past experience [Mead and Andrews 2011, p. 144]. Members of high-context cultures rely upon extensive information networks and close personal contacts with others to obtain information [Kostera and Śliwa 2010, p. 96].
The culture of high communication context is described by the following features: • a high proportion of information is uncoded and internalised by the individual; • indirect communication style, words are less important; • shared group understandings; • importance attached to the past and tradition; • diffuse culture stressing the importance of trust and personal relationships in business [Mullins 2010, p. 29]; • subordination of activities to interpersonal relations; • appreciating collective initiatives and making decisions; Pobrane z czasopisma Annales H -Oeconomia http://oeconomia.annales.umcs.pl Data: 28/04/2019 02:28:13 U M C S • perceiving the employer-employee relationship as a personal relationship; • higher reliance on intuition and trust than on facts and statistics; • preferring the style of indirect written and oral speech; • non-linear thinking • following the spirit of the law [Reynolds and Valetine 2009, pp. 42-45].

Research methodology
The paper presents results of a study on low and high cultural contexts. The identification of the analyzed values was based upon the communicative context of the message, the relationship between the employer and subordinates, group or individual preferences, attitude to cultural patterns and the nature of employees.
Questionnaire surveys were used to diagnose low versus high contextual communication. It contained questions regarding manifestations of the analyzed cultural value. Respondents responded to 20 statements describing manifestations of the communication context, with the possibility of marking a positive, negative and neutral response.
The study was conducted among 52 polish companies that carry out diversified business activities. 951 managers and specialists participated in the study.

Research results
Diagnosis of cultural value of low versus high communication context was based upon a dozen or so manifestations. The obtained results indicate that in the studied companies there are signs of both low and high communication contexts. In the final assessment, the advantage of low-context organizational culture should be noted (Figure 1).
Symptoms that have been used to test the communication context reflect several issues. Firstly, they refer to the form of messages that show the degree of verbal formulation of speech. Research results indicate that communication between employees is based primarily upon verbal communication (73.9%), and open speech is commonly practiced (52.8%). In the interpretation of the message, the recipient uses little intuition (43.9%). The effectiveness of the interview is rarely determined by the analysis of the context of the sender's speech (39.1%). Summing up this group of manifestations of the communication context, it can be stated that in the studied companies low-contextuality exists.
Further research on the context of communication is associated with individualism or collectivism that affect the degree of application of group codes of communication. Recognition of a low vs. high context of communication is based upon the individual's priority over the group and the degree to resign from one's own independ-Pobrane z czasopisma Annales H -Oeconomia http://oeconomia.annales.umcs.pl Data: 28/04/2019 02:28:13 U M C S ence for the benefit of the group. Individualism is supported by low willingness to cooperate if this means resigning from own independence (66.7%). Employees value individual work and individual responsibility (59.1%). They appreciate harmony, lack of conflicts (63.1%), but they rank their own interest over group interest (46.7%). In the final assessment, the advantage of individualistic behavior can be found, which is evidenced in low-context organizational culture in the studied enterprises.
The next group of manifestations of the communication context is the relationship between the employee and the employer. To assess this phenomenon, the cultural value of the distance to power was taken into account, and the following issues were analyzed: types of relationships and the distance between managers and subordinates and the level of sense of subordination. The low level of power is attested by the peer-to-peer relation (70.7%) and the transfer of business contacts outside the workplace (46.1%). The distance to power was defined at an average level (43.7%), while accepting the transfer of work relations outside the workplace was considered unacceptable for 38.9% of the respondents. In the final evaluation of the analyzed group of manifestations of the communication context, one can conclude The nature of employees' actions was also taken into account in diagnosing the communication context. This illustrates the degree of separation of work from interpersonal relationships and the activity and initiative of employees. Subordination (57.5%) and separating work from interpersonal relations (61.1%) were rated very similar by the respondents. Employees of the surveyed companies were rated as active, self-initiating (58.7%). passivity in action characterizes the minority (40%). Based on the results of the study it can be stated that employees of the surveyed organizations subordinate their tasks to goals and objectives, demonstrating individual initiatives and decision making. This demonstrates the culture of the low communication context.

Conclusions
Organizational culture of the studied enterprises is characterized by a low cultural context. Vast majority of responses proves the preference for encoding and decoding the content in a form of verbal communication and limiting communication based on non-verbal codes, intuition, guesses. Employees recognize direct conversation rather than basing their own experience, group codes, or cultural contexts as a more effective way of communicating. They use facts and statistics to be perceived as a reliable source of information and the same is also expected from the interlocutor.
The material, business, intentional nature of low-context communication translates into meaningful interpersonal relationships or their weakening. Employees separate work from interpersonal relationships, subordinate it to tasks. This activates their independence and initiatives. They focus on their own tasks. They look forward to the future, they do not feel attached to cultural patterns, they treat them in an instrumental way.
By analyzing the results obtained, it can also be stated that the identified low level of contextuality is not only a determinant of the way of communication. It influenced active, individual, subordinated work, impersonal behavior.