Intercultural Conflict and Organizations

Intercultural Conflict and Organizations During our lifetime, we are bound to become part of an organization. With America becoming more and more diverse, it has led to a rise in intercultural organizations. Anytime you have individuals of different ethnic backgrounds, there is a chance for some type of communication conflict. When people from different areas of the world engage in conflict, they often have different expectations of how the conflict should be dealt with. Conflict is a clash of values that is a common theme among individuals. Intercultural conflict usually starts with different assumptions concerning what is appropriate or inappropriate behavior while approaching a conflict. While we as Americans grow in doing business with international organizations it is expected that there will be communication barriers that will led to tension and conflict. Before we get all worked up over this type of conflict, we must add there are ways that one can minimize intercultural conflict in an organization which we will be discussing later in the chapter. Communication is important while managing an organization on an international basis. When different cultures come together there are specific things one can do to successfully ease conflict that may arise. In a study done by Ruben and Kealey (Ruben & Kealey 1979) they discussed seven dimensions of communication competence that shows how an intercultural organization can deflate the possibility of conflict. In this section we will briefly discuss these seven dimensions and relate them to how they can be of help for an intercultural organization. The Longitudinal Studies Display of Respect is simply showing respect along with positive regards for the other parties involved in the organization. It is said that showing respect through things like eye contact, body language, and voice tone is essential when working with international organizations. .Empathy is the ability