Cross Cultural Communication

Cross Cultural Communications
Sheila Helgeland
11/1/201

Cross cultural communication in the work place has grown in leaps and bounds. It affects our approach towards work, towards time management, and getting and giving information. All three of these preferences have a huge impact on teamwork success. Culture may be defined as the complex system of value, traits, morals, knowledge, belief, religion, language, art, laws, and custom shared by a society. Culture teaches people how to behave, and it conditions their reactions. Culture is a powerful operating force that molds the way we think and behave. (Business Communication p.84)
Our Approach Toward Work Different cultures will look at work differently and have completely different views and ideas. Most cultures have strong practices of what is good and what is bad, and how to treat people in the workplace. Relationships are valued more than basic tasks to be completed at the work site. With this in mind it is easy to see and evaluate the way certain cultures bond and are able to work so well together. They have the same beliefs, values and upbringing. Culture dictates the way we think and behave. This is why trust is a very important goal in cross cultural communication. That is why the first steps toward multicultural team effectiveness are individuals to get to know each other. They often are overly polite and feel a bit awkward. As they search for similarities and attempt to bond, they begin to develop trust in each other. We know that trust is not built overnight and business realities often call for swift results, this can be obtained through spending time with coworkers and bonding. Failure to build these relationships can affect the effectiveness of how different cultured individuals will work together whether it is successful or disastrous. In some countries, like the United States and Germany, it is common for people to speak loudly and be more assertive or aggressive when sharing ideas or giving direction. In countries like Japan, people typically speak softly and are more passive about sharing ideas or making suggestions. Working relationships can become strained when individuals don’t share the same location, background, knowledge, or training.
Towards Time Management Time management is not always an important task for some cultures. They will have several appointments but are reluctant to go to the next one on time in fear of jeopardizing the relationship they already have with the appointment that they are currently at. Which they fear will happen if they end the conversation too abruptly, surely there are exceptions. The more someone reacts negatively to the individual’s view of time management the more the individual will begin to bend towards the others view of time management. Whereas some cultures view time as punctual, precious and unlimited others do not.
Getting and Giving Information Getting and giving information; culturally diverse individuals may work extremely well with fantastic production rates, however; if there is something that they are unsure of they me be hesitant or leery to ask a question on how to correct the situation or fix it. They feel that by asking a question it may alter the relationship with their coworker so instead of jeopardizing that relationship they would rather not ask the question. In their culture not knowing how to do something may be thought of as incompetent, so rather than be viewed as incompetent they feel they are better off not asking the question. An advantage of an individual with this belief is that you would not have to worry about the worker attacking or bad mouthing another employee’s work because they would not want it done to worker. In this way the relationship is well and no one has been harmed. Of course some cultures can have the exact opposite view of the one stated above. To ensure a positive and effective workplace the employer needs to encourage communication between workers. By doing this the different individuals can become comfortable enough with each other to communicate with each other, even if there is something wrong with the work. If this can happen communication has stopped a negative situation while there is still time to fix it. That is why the first steps toward multicultural team effectiveness is individuals to get to know each other. They often are overly polite and feel a bit awkward. As they search for similarities and attempt to bond, they begin to develop trust in each other. We know that trust is not built overnight and business realities often call for swift results, failure to give greater emphasis to relationships often dooms the work of multicultural teams. So how do we create positive cross cultural communication? This is most easily done through impromptu seminars, workshops, round tables or discussions that can put the employee at ease and create a positive nurturing environment, where the employee feels sad and secure with his or her coworkers. Teamwork may impact favorably on establishment performance, job satisfaction and increased employee commitment levels.