Effective Communication in the Workplace - Assignment Example

Reaction Papers Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 13th April, 1st Reaction Paper Michael Ager is a well known professor who has specialized in anthropology and linguistics. He has written many books on the subjects he has specialized on from different aspects. It is in his book about language shock that Ager explores how culture affects the way people communicate. We look at chapter 10 for instance, where he explains the role culture has on aiding the coherence of a person in communicating. Coherence in terms of language and culture has to do with understanding the circumstances under which language is used. In this chapter, Ager points out that coherence is brought about by understanding the culture of another person in relation to your culture (Agar 195). Incoherence is one of the problems that bedevil communication since it makes comprehension difficult. Ager explains the understanding of language through rich points. For instance, a person trying to learn French or Chinese might face the problem of coherence due the behaviour of the French in communication. This is because even if one is fluent in the language the intended meaning might not be understood due to cultural differences. Michael Agar explains coherence through learning as the ability to reduce or deduce the meaning of issues as seen by others. Coherence can be explained through culture in different ways other than the old way of closed thinking of culture. Culture was thought as coherent systems with definite meaning and actions. Coherence is better explained by actions of people who had the ability of determining messages communicated in social interactions through language. Coherence is the art of understanding the cultural constructs that affect language and communication (Agar 206). In many situations it is difficult to understand and explain culture due to the difference in culture. As a result, coherence assists in mapping out how different cultural situations affect language. For instance, when we look at South Africa where volatility was an issue that need to be looked since there was the difference in Black and White cultures. In such a scenario, coherence of these cultures leads us to conclude volatility of the two cultures. 2nd Reaction Paper Sailors and immigrants is a chapter in Michael Agar book that explores the relationship between language and culture. For instance, sailors have interaction with a lot of people of different cultures in different places. Moreover, immigrants on the other hand suffer the trouble of understanding other languages due to the differences in culture. The discourse in culture in relation to language is explained through use of the sailors. In our instance, we take a look at sailors who had different languages yet they worked together well. In the case of the sailors we get to experience the factor referred to as hegemony, whereby one culture is dominant over the other. In such situations, a person gets to adopt the dominant culture and this is prevalent among sailors who have different cultures (Agar 248). Sailors rarely talk since they have laid out rules which make the things that matter in their lives to be the boat and the water. Sailors are used to their routine that it makes it part of their lives since it occupies the density of their time. As a result, it would be important in recognizing their culture in relation to language (Agar 254). On the other hand, immigrants are affected differently by the factor of integration. This is whereby, people figure out how to fuse their multiple cultures into one seamless circumstance. Most immigrants face the difficulty of adjusting to the host culture and moreover, learning of their language. Many immigrants experience culture shock in their conquest of learning and communicating. For instance, in job interviews which make use of socio-linguistic constructs in analyzing interviewees is challenging to foreigners (Agar 250). When analysing culture in reference to sailors and immigrants, we should analyze how rich points change and shift as they cross social domains. Ager explains how immigrants face difficulties in communication as a result of culture shock that affects the way they understand language and communication. Immigrants work hard towards integration with the host culture in different circumstances and scenarios as part of understanding culture and language. 3rd Reaction Paper Communication in the workplace is very challenging and many a times people might face difficulties in communicating. For example in her book Linda Beamer, highlights example of scenarios that might have made communication difficult. There are different factors that influence communication and one of them is people. The author speaks of culture dictating communication and lists the examples of the United States and Japan. For instance, in the US the self takes a priority in communication and people value independence in the way they communicate. This is different from other cultures in Asia, whereby the group are used in undertaking different tasks. In Japan people look at themselves as belonging to a group and they make use of interdependence in undertaking different tasks. For instance, in a company people give priorities to departments and putting self interests in Japan is considered selfish. Collectivism is highly valued in Japan while the same applies in China where relationships are important bases for society building (Linda, 130). The way society and culture is shaped affects communication, for instance low-context communication is common in highly individualistic societies while high-context communication is common in collective societies. In the process of communication, a person should study factors such as obligation, age and gender that affect communication. Obligation looks that way people interact and the obligation they have in communicating. For instance, in Poland people need to build relationships before they can do business (Linda 133). Age affects the way people communicate, for instance in Asia old businesspeople are considered experienced unlike the US whereby age is not considered in undertaking business. Another important factor that needs to be looked at is gender, countries in Africa and Asia consider men to be superior to women and this affects communication with the equal society counterparts in the west (Linda 138). Communication occurs along different social setting and therefore the way people are organized socially is also important. For example, the Chinese made friends along their circle of relatives and workmates (Linda 140). Works Cited Agar, Michael. Language Shock: Understanding the Culture of Conversation. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1994. Beamer, Linda and Varner, I. Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008. Read More