The Importance of Culture and Intercultural Communications - Assignment Example

1st generalization: There is uncertainty involved in intercultural communications. According to Ryan and Neuliep people feel discomfort during theirfirst social interactions with people of other cultures. It is common to feel anxiety and apprehension. The extra anxiety felt during these initial encounters inhibit the ability to reduce uncertainty (Textbook, year). Regardless of your culture people feel anxiety when communicating or anticipating communication with people from other cultures. One of the reasons for the uncertainty is due to a lack of knowledge of the customs and expected behavior of people from different cultures. For example when making a party for people from other cultures the cook might offend someone by serving a particular dish. In India cows are sacred animal, thus a serving of grilled all beef hamburgers might be offensive to this group of people. Cultural differences increase the chance of misunderstandings (Burgess, 2003). I once worked in a team where the communication between the members was poor due to intercultural communications. 2nd generalization: Being assertive can help break down cultural barriers. Assertiveness refers to a person’s ability to make a request; actively disagree; express positive or negative personal rights and feelings; and defend oneself without attacking others (Textbook, year). Workers that are assertive are better able to express their ideas to others. Managers must be assertive in their communications with their subordinates. Assertiveness should be accompanied by confidence. Assertive workers are proactive in their actions which helps them get their job task accomplish. These types of workers are not scared by the challenges associated with cultural conflict. The lawyer profession is a career in which the employees must be assertive in their dealings with clients and the courts. The use of assertiveness helped me improve my communications with a multi-cultural team I once had to work for. 1st generalization: Intercultural conflict is bound to occur. Intercultural conflict can be defined as a clash of values that occurs due to ethnic, geographic, and lingual diversities (Teo, 2010). A lot of times intercultural conflict occurs due to ignorance and fear. When people don’t know anything about a culture, a person might feel threaten by a particular custom. According to Young Yum Kim’s model of intercultural conflict there are three interrelated and independent levels of conflict. The three levels of conflict are the macro, intermediate, and micro level (Textbook, year). The micro level refers to the individual attitudes of the people. The intermediary level of intercultural conflict refers to the location or context, while the macro level includes factors that are out of the control of the person. Lower intercultural conflict in the workplace can help improve the organizational culture of an enterprise. I once worked in a company that had a lot of diversity. There were a lot of conflicts among workers at that enterprise. 2nd generalization: Face helps explain how culture functions at work. The concept of face is based on the face negotiation theory in which face refers to a person’s self work or self image experienced during communicative situations (Textbook, year). In different cultures the body language including facial expression can help people express feelings during conversations. The concept of face is universally recognized in different cultures. A person’s face can be threatened, enhanced, undermined, or bargained during the course of a meeting or conversation. People that belong to individualistic societies are more impacted by the face phenomenon than people from collectivism societies. In cases where uncertainty is present the concept of face becomes more important. . During a field trip I had to Mexico I used the facial expression of people to determine if the countrymen were friendly or not. 1st generalization: Culture influences the job of a manager. The managers of organizations are the people responsible for the performance of the workforce of a company. These managers have to learn how to deal with cultural differences due to the fact that their workers have different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Since cultural conflict negatively impacts the performance of a company managers have to develop cultural skills. According to a survey conducted by RW LLC and ORC Worldwide culture is essential to business success in a global marketplace (Orc-netsafe, 2008). One of the problems managers face is that only 40-50% of all US managers sent abroad receive no formal cross-cultural trainings (Textbook, year). These managers that have not received training face tough working condition due the friction and anxiety associated with cultural conflict. My manager once told me that the influx of new employees from different cultural background was making his job harder. 2nd generalization: Perceptual context affects cultural relations. Perceptual context are influenced by the processes of information within an organization. Two types of information processes that people of all cultures engage in are stereotyping and categorizing (Textbook, year). When people use stereotypes they are making assumptions about a culture that are probably not true. A survey performed by Harris and Moran in the Middle East determined that Arab workers believe Americans think they are superior and that Americans always want to take credit for everything. I have seen the dangers of stereotyping in the workplace. In the past I worked in a company that there was lots of gossip and stereotyping. The workers believe the owner was greedy because he was a Jew. 1st generalization: Acculturation in business is beneficial. Acculturation can be defined as the process where a person adapts to a new culture by adapting its values, attitudes, and practices (Textbook, year). The United States has been one of the countries that have had the most success at spreading its culture around the world through its business enterprises. Fast food restaurants such as McDonalds have thousands of stores located across the world. McDonalds has taken advantage of the acculturation of the burgers as an acceptable and attractive meal for people of all ages. Acculturation has help Nike Corporation sell millions of shoes every year by advertising its products with help of sports figures that transcend cultures such as Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming. Acculturation occurs when assimilation of one’s group into another is evidenced by changes in language preference, adoption of common attitudes and values, and loss of political or ethnic identification (Rice). Due to the fact that there were lots of Hispanics where I lived in I got acculturated to some of their customs. 2nd generalization: Cultural shock affects cultural integration. Cultural shock is the clash that people feel when they encounter new cultures which leads to disorientation, misunderstanding, conflict, stress, and anxiety. When people are encountered with people from other cultures their initial feeling includes discomfort due to the fact that they lack experience dealing with people from distinct cultures. A model developed by Kealy in 1978 to deal with cultural shock includes four stages: exploration, frustration, coping, and argument. A few summers ago I worked at a company where there was lots of diversity. I always felt intimidated by the diversity at the company. The managers of the firm did a poor job integrating the different cultures present at the firm. References Burgess, H. (2003). Misunderstandings. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/misunderstandings/ Orc-netsafe.com (2008). The Importance of Cultural Skills in Senior Management. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from https://www.orc-netsafe.com/surveys/culturalskills.cfm Rice.edu. Acculturation. Rice University. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://www.rice.edu/projects/HispanicHealth/Acculturation.html Teo, A. (2010). Intercultural Conflict in the Workplace: every organization’s Nightmare. Retrieved November 23, 2010 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Intercultural-Conflict-in-the-Workplace:-every-Organizations-Nightmare&id=385503 Read More