Cultural Profiles for Effective Workplace Communication - Research Paper Example

Cultural Profiles for Effective Workplace Communication Country/Nationality Statistics Continent: Uganda is located in Eastern Africa in the West of Kenya. The official name of Uganda is the Republic of Uganda. The capital of the country is Kampala. Population: The population of Uganda as estimated in July 2008 was 31,367,972. Fifty percent of the population is below fourteen years of age group. The age group of fifteen to sixty four years forms the 47.8% of the population. This is followed by 2.2 percent population which is 65 years or above. The population growth rate as estimated in 2008 was approx 3.6%. The death rate was high due to HIV/AIDS in this region. The death rate was 12.32 per thousand populations. Life expectancy at birth is 52.34 years for the total population. The population is mix up of different ethnic groups like “Baganda 16.9%, Banyakole 9.5%, Basoga 8.4%, Bakiga 6.9%, Iteso 6.4%, Langi 6.1%, Acholi 4.7%, Bagisu 4.6%, Lugbara 4.2%, Bunyoro 2.7%, other 29.6% (2002 census)(cited from CIA.com” Official language: The official national language is English. English is used for all the official purposes in the offices, courts of Law and is part of curriculum at grade schools. The preferred native languages are Ganda or Luganda, Niger Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan Languages, Swahili and Arabic. Literatcy rate for total population is 66.8%. Literacy among man is higher 76.8% than woman 57.7%. Currency: The currency of Uganda is Ugandan shilling (UGX). One US Dollar is approximately 1990 UGX (2009, January, The Bank of Uganda). Nearest neighbours: Uganda is landlocked by its neighbouring countries. It has Kenya at its East, Sudan at North, Democratic Republic of Congo at West, Rwanda at Southwest and Tanzania at south. It shares its border with Kenya and Tanzania through Lake Victoria. Major trade resources: The country is rich in its natural resources like other African countries. It has mineral deposits of copper and cobalt and reserves of crude oil and natural gas. Economy is largely based on Agriculture sector. The fertile soil and regular rainfall provides appropriate condition for numbers of agricultural products especially coffee, tea and cotton. The export commodities are coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products and gold. The import commodities are capital equipments, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies and cereals. The natural gas resources are untapped. Political structure: The country is a republic nation. President is chief of state and head of government. President is appointed from the elected legislators by the cabinet. Election takes place in every five year term. President is elected through the popular vote. use this font for your caption/reference 1. Communication styles Due to the presence of different ethnic groups, the culture of Uganda is very diverse. There are sixty five indigenous communities. The communication style in Uganda changes according to the cultural preferences of the particular region. The political instability had adverse impact on the business culture of Uganda. At the present various levels of developments are seen at different level of society. At some places the communication style is matching to the international business environment whereas some places has influence of the popular culture on the communication process. The communication culture of Uganda has experienced transformation with the introduction of mobile phones, land line phones and internet penetration. According to IICD, the mobile phone penetration has increased exponentially in Uganda. In the year 2000 when only five people per thousand person were subscribed to mobile phone connections which rose to ninety five people per thousand person by year 2006. According to World Bank - ICT at a Glance 2006 / Indicators database, 2008 report the internet users are 62.5 and personal computers is 1.7 per thousand people. The verbal communication is usually polite and conversation starts between the related parties. There are various ethnic groups in which the young man are more aggressive and want things on their terms. However the changing business environment and government support and the availability of information have created awareness among people doing business in Uganda or with the international business organisations. This has introduced change in the business environment of Uganda. The non-verbal communication is very important aspect of communication in various parts of Uganda. It varies with the differences of ethnic groups and geographical diversity. The non verbal communication is taken as a clue of friendliness, denial, avoidance and range of expressions and responses. 2. Attitudes toward conflict The attitude towards conflict is different among different ethnic groups and business organisations. Uganda has been a region suffering with army conflict as well as conflicts in internal matters for the prolonged duration. The people in the Uganda are more interested in working towards the progress than the major conflicts. Conflicts at the organisational levels are handled by the management by taking appropriate measures. The source of conflict can be different. The attitude of people towards conflict can be influenced by the self interest, issue of fairness, loyalty and influence of management. The conflict resolution can be seen as recognition for merit of the individual in the organisation. The performance and pay can be one of the issues of conflicts. The attitude of the management and employee to resolve conflict is influenced by the background of individual, individual’s attitude as well as the management attitude to resolve the conflicting situations. 3. Approaches to completing tasks The Ugandan population is known for the hard work they put in the work. The young ones are expected to obey the elders. The status in the family and in the society is recognised as one of the important factors. The government job is considered to be stable and more preferred among the job seekers. The approach towards completing job differs from management styles. The traditional management style focus more towards the productivity than the work condition and retention of skilled labour. However relationship building and task oriented approach helps in completing the task. The monetary reward related to the completion of task or the recognition plays an important role in deciding the approach of completing the task. In Uganda certain resources are limited. The availability of resources also is important factor of deciding the approach of completing the task. 4. Decision making styles The decision making style depends on the decision maker or person with the highest responsibility. The decision making style also varies with the organisation structure and vision. Many of the small and mid size companies are family based businesses or entrepreneur business. The decision making is less delegated in the Ugandan culture than US or other developed nations. 5. Different approaches to knowing There are various approaches of knowing for example the European rely on the information through cognitive measures whereas the Asians emphasise on the validity of knowledge. African culture prefers the affective ways of knowing. Symbols, images and other non verbal clues are very important for it. Ugandan culture is amalgamation of different culture. The approach of knowing very much depends on the culture of the individual in a particular scenario. . 6. Attitudes toward disclosure Personal information is not shared with strangers and people from different communities. Intrusiveness is not acceptable in Ugandan culture. However the ethnic diversity and difference in culture of people of different groups is very important. 7. Doing business in Uganda There can be various reasons of doing business in Uganda. This is country has a substantial natural resources. The economy is growing and the growth rate is stable. The political environment has changed. The political, legal and economical environment is supporting the business environment. There is availability of cheap labour, favourable government policies. The culture of Uganda has diversity in it. There are people from diverse cultural backgrounds like Asian, African and others. English being the official language provides an ease of communication. The Ugandans basic nature is considered to be patient. Government is working on changing policies and developing infrastructure in order to attract foreign direct investments and help the domestic industry to grow. It is addressing the problems of basic amenities like power supply, information communication technology infrastructure, cost of labour, connectivity and increasing the supply of skilled and train labour. New courses are offered in the institutes at the lower costs. The workers attitude towards the job in the private market is changing. Earlier it was considered only the government jobs, fixed or full time jobs to be worthy of doing. However the mindset is changing, employees are looking for better earning opportunities in the incentive based jobs as well. The labour cost is low for the clear and well English speaking workers group. The overall development in infrastructure projects and the energy sectors is attracting people to invest in different business projects. Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (2001) define culture as the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas. They have given seven value oriented dimensions of culture. These are as follows: Universalism versus Particularism In the case of Uganda, the adherence to rules and relationship are very important. However the culture is changing from universalism towards particularism. People are giving attention to the situation and people involve in the situations. Individualism vs Communitarism The Ugandan culture is a group culture where degree of self interest is low. Neutral versus Emotional The Ugandan culture is emotional to a certain extent. Ethnic communities and diverse groups of people have different approach together for the relationships. However members of the most of the communities are emotionally related to each other. They show emotions and understand what other members feel. Specific versus Diffuse The culture is diffused as people have expectations from the professional life which is very much related to the private life. Achievemnet versus Ascription Status is important aspect of Ugandan society. The money, power, age and gender plays an important role in the lives of people. Male are in better condition than females as they are the earning members of the society and women are depending upon male members like father, husband, brother or son. The culture can be considered as ascription based culture. Attitude towards environment The motivation to work or study is subject to the social background of the person. The external forces like political condition, availability of basic resources and others have important role in the performance of Ugandan. This has turned the attitude towards the control of external forces more than the internal forces. Uganda is a place to invest and do business with. However, the history and the current conditions all the investment decisions should be taken carefully. Reference List Armstrong, M. (2006) A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, 10th edition, London, Kogan Page A Guide To Doing Business In Uganda retrieved on 22 January 2009 from http://www.ia-uganda.com/doing_business_in_uganda.html Culture of UGANDA retrieved on 22 January 2009 from http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Uganda.html Country Map with continent retrieved on 22 January 2009 from http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Shared_ASP_Files/UploadedFiles/%7B14C00262-BC35-478C-A0B5-DF4E54229D30%7D_Uganda.gif Elkan, W (1960) Migrants and Proletarians: Urban Labour in the Economic Development of Uganda. Contributors: Oxford University Press: London. Exchange Rates, The Bank of Uganda, retrieved on 22 January 2009 http://www.bou.or.ug/bouwebsite/opencms/bou/collateral/exchange_rates.html Introducing Uganda (2007) retrieved on 22 January 2009 from http://www.iicd.org/countries/uganda Livingstone, Ian. "Developing Industry in Uganda in the 1990s." In Holger Bernt Hansen and Michael Twaddle, eds. Developing Uganda, 1998. Uganda retrieved on 22 January 2009 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html Redman, T. & Wilkinson, A. (2006) 3e, Contemporary Human Resource Management, Prentice Hall: Harlow: FT Read More