Cross Cultural Communication at Work
As humans, we are all products of our environment. Our education, neighborhood, religion, political affiliations, financial status and family relationships are an integral part of our psyche and personality. In addition, our gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and powerful factors in how the world views us and how we accept others. In our various communities, we learned how to communicate and relate with people. From our knowledge of and exposure to various methods of communication, we continue to make decisions about which method is most comfortable for nas.Načina individuals decide to communicate across different nationalities and cultures vary dramatically and can often lead to miscommunication. This is because individuals from different cultures may interpret the same characters and words in completely different ways. This breakdown in communication can cause serious problems, especially in global markets, but also within the office, where diverse workforce are uneducated about each others actions and behaviors, and the meanings they have.
There is an interesting scene in the movie, my big Fat Greek Wedding (Brooks, 2002), during the wedding when the bride walks down the island. Half of the community, the bride's side of the family, they spit on her as she walks down the aisle. This cultural expression of happiness of her Greek family in American culture, it is considered extremely vile, insulting, and one of the most profound methods of degradation in modern society. This is just one example of how simple, honest gesture of her family could lead to potential disaster in another place.
From personal experience, when I lived in Bolivia, South America for three years, my passage in culture either with the help of several books and great information that other Americans already in the country. One of these books, Mark Cramer was a culture shock! Bolivia. Some of the difference My husband and I had to acclimate in Bolivian society are simply saying Hello and Goodbye (everyone gets a kiss on the cheek, but people add a quick kick to the right or both shoulders), to attend the party (should be 30-40 minutes late and to bring gift, preferably made from leather or wine), scheduling and eat meals (lunch was a big meal, and after a nap, dinner was a snack and generally occurred at 8 or 21:00), shopping (businesses are closed from noon to 3 or 16:00 for an afternoon nap), and vanity (cosmetic surgery is common and girls aged 16 years and younger often get breast implants and rhinoplasty). These differences, while seemingly insignificant, were important in the culture as Americans find cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, getting 30 or 45 minute lunch and return to work immediately to continue their day until 5 or 6:00, not cutting in line at the grocery store. To commit an offense would be an insult, rude, or worse. Personal relationships could be damaged by ignorance of what is culturally acceptable, not only in America but worldwide.
When these different cultures collide in the workplace, regardless of the source, behavior that individuals are brought up and taught as a socially acceptable can lead to friction. This friction can start personal relationships, but could rise to the level of confused with productivity and customer relations. For example, one of the most dominant business tactics, I have encountered while in Bolivia was the determination of individuals and businesses to avoid saying "no". This is apparently also common in Japanese culture, in accordance with the reading of Management Communication, 3 Ed., Chapter 10 (O'Rourke, 2007). The refusal to say "no", even if the request can not place can result in misunderstandings in the business. For example, a manager may request a report from an employee who grew up in the business agree on anything, regardless of the time, the amount of work involved, the current load, etc. This manager may be left standing in the meeting with nothing to say because of cultural misunderstandings. Jobs in the end could be in jeopardy as a result of miscommunication between cultures. This same worker complaints handling can ultimately agree to any customer demand unsatisfied, just to make the relationship worse when these demands are not fulfilled as promised.
Another example of where cultural differences can cause problems in business is more of a personal nature. Some French and Indian cultures do not wear deodorant. Employee share close space, it can lead to embarrassing conflicts and unpleasant working conditions, regardless of understanding the "why," Deodorant not koristi.Zaposlenika who prefers a more "natural" body odor works as a receptionist or customer service or sales position in the U.S. are likely to be thought of as a poor representative of the business. Fear that their cultural differences may give a negative impression on clients and customers ultimately could threaten their jobs.
While cultural differences and differences can cause problems in the workplace, there are ways around these differences to mitigate the damage that might be uzrokovane.Prva and most obvious is education. In various workplaces, I would recommend that the annual training on cultural differences to be established. This training should cover not only all the cultures represented in the workforce, but others who predominate in the local community. One recommendation is to provide volunteers in the organization to prepare some of the material presented on their own culture. This not only ensures that individuals are important differences are specifically addressed, but also allows staff to appreciate each other on a personal level. Such education will benefit not only the most represented in the organization, but the cultural minorities would benefit from knowing what is considered socially acceptable in his okruženju.Veliki suggestion is used in Ricoh Electronics, as mentioned by Sangeeta Gupta has pointed out the different ethnic cultures during the holiday celebrations (Gupta, 2008). In particular, a rich and diverse office, it might not be unreasonable to find ways to get involved and highlight the different cultures throughout the year at corporate functions. Can the annual picnic consist of foods from different cultures and music from several others?
This brings me to my second recommendation for the elimination of potential cultural differences in the workplace. It would establish a policy. If necessary, establishing a policy that all employees wear deodorant, but refrain from excessive use of Cologne or perfume can be in the best interest of management. Care should be taken not to single out one individual or culture, and preferably more policies should be developed at the same time. While this May end up appearing as ridiculous in the long run, some laws in existence, such as the law in Iowa, which states that "an armed piano players must perform for free" (dumblaws.com,) it may actually reduce some of the differences between odkulturne employees and create a unique culture within the organization. After the organization develop a culture all their own, where everyone has the same way of doing things and using the same methods of communication and behavior (at least most of the time) will reduce the occurrence of miscommunication, as well as rudeness and misunderstands the personal level among the employees with customers.
Finally, there is no way to avoid living in different cultural society and work in a culturally diverse environment. Even if employees are not different, customers and clients are likely to present cultural diversity. This would benefit everyone to learn the cultural differences most prevalent in their business and communities, and they hug. There are ways to work with virtually any differences and learning to communicate outside of these differences will benefit everyone. In the end, it all boils down to respect for each other as individuals. We must learn to appreciate differences and recognize that learning and various methods of communication and business not only enriches us personally, but to improve our business by larger and culturally diverse market.
REFERENCE
Brooks, P. (Producer), (2002), my big Fat Greek Wedding [Motion Picture]. United States: Golden circle films.
Cramer, M. (2001). Culture shock! Bolivia. Portland, Oregon: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company
Gupta, S. (2008, October). Business potential of Multicultural Teams. HRMagazine, 53 (10), 79-82. Retrieved 17/11/2009 from ProQuest database.
O'Rourke, J. (2007) Management Communication, 3 Ed. (p. 279). New Jersey: Pearson Education. dumblaws.com / laws / United States / Iowa
