The History Of Intercultural Communication

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Nowadays, business environments are widely heterogeneous and inclusive to employees and managers who come from diversified cultures and ethnical backgrounds. This, consequently, puts individuals in business in front of a responsibility to be aware of and sensitive to cultural differences that might distort the communication process.

According to Thill and Bovee, the interaction of culture and communication is too pervasive that it is nearly impossible to separate them from each other (8:2008). The way one communicates with others (from verbal to non-verbal communication) is strictly influenced by the culture where individuals were raised (Thill & Bovee: 2008).

Since many aspects of communication process like beliefs, thoughts, perceptions, values, emotions, and understanding, are influenced by culture; few considerations should be borne in mind when working in a diversified workplace.

Relating the upper discussion to the Ted John’s situation, the following practices should take place when dealing with his employees and clients who come from different backgrounds:

Ted and his employees should first recognize the cultural differences. They should pay attention to cultures that are high context and those that are low context. High context cultures, like Arabs, Indians, Spanish, Italians, Japanese, and Greek usually tend to have a less organized business practices. For example, employees who come from a high context cultures may share information with everyone, do not seek detailed information, may prefer status and power over competence in business, may look for subjective data that support their position. On the other hand, employees who come from a low context cultures, like Germany, Scandinavia, America, Britain, and France, do not share business information with everybody, value competence more than power and status, look for objective data, have a controlled access to executives’ offices, etc. As for Ted and his employees they should be taught how to deal with these cultural differences.

Ted and his employees should also bear in mind that a diversified workforce means a diversified set of social customs, etiquette, and behavioral norms. For example, Russians and Arabs may have different set of (table manners). Another example could be two employees, a female and a male, socializing during the break hours; this could be viewed as rude by some cultures and normal by others.

A French gesture

An Iran gestureTed and his employees should pay close attention to non-verbal communication. Gestures, facial expressions, body language, and all other non-linguistic signs may cause a misunderstanding between employees who come from different backgrounds. The following figure (figure 1) is an example of different signs and gestures that means different things to different cultures. The first gesture "Japanese gesture" means "angry". The "French gesture" means "I don’t believe you". The "Iranian gesture" means "screw you‼".

A Japanese gesturegesture4gesture2gesture1

Figure 1: Business Communication Essentials, Third Edition, by Courtland L. Bovee and John V. Thill. Published by Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Inc.

Ted and his employees should try to overcome any kind of stereotypes and ethnocentrism. Stereotypes refer to the tendency of judging an individual based on some generalizations made about a certain group of people (nationality, religion) to whom the individual belongs; while ethnocentrism means the thought that one’s own culture is superior over other’s. Both mistakes make the communication process in the software lab difficult since it holds the meaning of ignoring others’ cultures and backgrounds. To be able to reduce misunderstandings and misinterpretations among employees in the department, individuals should avoid assumptions, avoid judgments, and acknowledge distinctions (Thill & Bovee: 2008).

Ted and his employees should learn to polish their written intercultural skills. Letters in firms are usually written and read by individuals who come from different backgrounds, have different expertise, languages, perceptions, beliefs, and thoughts, so letters should address all these elements when they are written. They should be written concisely and clearly, be short, be clear, be brief, use plain and easy English, avoid slang, idioms, and jargons, and avoid overuse of emoticons. (Figure 2) is an example of a formal letter that satisfies all the important elements in a diversified workplace.

Ted and his employees should learn to polish their oral intercultural skills. Polishing the oral skills should include having good listening skills. This means Ted should be an active and positive listener who seeks to gather and focus on important and necessary information; he should speak slowly, pay attention to his voice tune, look for useful feedback from his employees, and try to approach any kind of conflict or disagreement with a positive manner.

Other listening skills that Ted should posses as a team leader include: Paraphrasing skills and the ability to say similar sentences with different words, ability to explain the intent behind saying something, usage of accurate, and clear language, ability to catch or learn greetings and simple words from other languages that are usually common among employees in the department, ability to listen carefully and patiently to both parties in case of any conflicts or disagreements, ability to match the conversation style to others, ability to observe body language while speaking or listening, and the ability to check the kevel of comprehension while listening and speaking all of which can improve the communication process and enhance it (Thill & Bovee: 2008).

Ted and his employees should increase their cultural sensitivity or cultural awareness. Increasing the cultural sensitivity or awareness includes respecting differences, starting communication with others not blaming them in case of any mistake, tolerating misunderstandings, showing respect and patient, acknowledging the fact that mistakes may happen and individuals should be ready to correct or apologize for them, showing an effort to understand individuals and taking time to hear their explanations.

Ted should know the ethnical backgrounds of his employees and try to read and educate his self about the customs, etiquettes, thoughts, perceptions, cultures, and norms of behaviors of their countries so that he knows how to solve a conflict, or how to communicate in a better way with the employees who are working under his hands in the department.

Figure 2: Business Communication Essentials, Third Edition, by Courtland L. Bovee and John V. Thill. Published by Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Inc.

TASK 2 – Team Work Leadership is necessary to bring team members together for common tasks.

According to Evan Carmichael’s website, teamwork refers to the coordinated set of activities that are done by a cohesive group of people working together to achieve a specific set of goals and objectives (evancarmichael.com). Some employees or members in the company may find it difficult to acclimatize themselves with the new team especially that there might be some personality conflicts, conflicts of interests, or some other kinds of disagreements about the way of doing things. Other group of employees might find it difficult to work on teams especially if they were used to work individually for a long period of time.

The upper discussion resembles the situation of Vasily Pevsner, a Russian immigrant, who has worked in the department for 5 consecutive years, independently, with no guidance or cooperation from others. The manager is experiencing problems with Pevsner since he is refusing to indulge in teamwork and has been looking for a solution to resolve Pevsner’s refusal to join a team.

A closer look to Pevsner’s personality shows that he is a high achiever, a person who strives for self-expression, self-recognition, and self-achievement, and who hates to see that his work melted with the work of the others ; a personality type that is characterized by an individual who insists on doing everything, alone. This independent type of employees usually wants to be recognized for their own efforts, and enjoy the attention that comes from their own achievements.

To be able to resolve Pevsner’s situation, the manager should investigate the reasons behind his reluctance from working with teams. First, Pevsner comes from a Russian background, a culture that highly values individualism, and encourages individuality and independence especially in the work environment. This strictly influences Pevsner’s behavior in the team since he will find it difficult to socialize, co-operate, and collaborate with his colleagues in the team.

Given that Pevsner’s colleagues might be also from diversified cultures, like Middle East, and Arab countries, he might experience difficulties in communication. Verbal expressions, facial expressions, attention to details, body language, eye contact, formality, and other signs might mean different thing to him that to others. Working in teams also mean that he will be compelled to deal with people who own different skills, abilities, knowledge, expertise, educational levels, degrees, and personalities which might derail his attention from work and lower his productivity.

The second reason that might be behind Pevsner’s reluctance from working in teams is the nature of change. Change is usually characterized with feeling of loss no matter whether the change leads to good or undesirable results. Changing Pevsner’s position from an independent worker to a team player will produce a fear of loss, which in return increases his restlessness, discomfort, and risk that might be associated with losing his reputation as a good leader and a devoted worker.

To resolve Pevsner’s situation, the manager should consider several alternatives among which he can later choose from to deal with "Pevsner’s" resistance. First, the manager should try to reduce the degree of resistance by interviewing each participant to ask about his/her satisfaction level about the team building.

Second, the manager should set with the team members and create a "list of abjections" to see what are the things that might hinder the teamwork. The list of objections gives an opportunity for the team members, who are not feeling comfortable towards teamwork, to express their worries and to inform the managers about their ideas and thoughts something that might reduce the resistance, and encourage them to indulge in teamwork.

Third, if a team member, presumably "Pevsner", has a fear of "team politics" or "team dynamics" and is afraid of some kinds of disagreements and personality clashes, the manager should consider changing or switching the group members (smallbusiness.chron.com). For example, the manager might consider putting Pevsner in a Russian group that might reduce his resistance because communication will be easier among the team members. Homogeneous teams have less disagreements and conflicts than heterogeneous ones.

Fourth, if the teamwork requires grouping employees who come from diversified cultures, like Arabs, Indians, Europeans, and Australians, then the manager should enroll the team members in a diversity training program. A diversity training program teach employees to value diversity as a source of creativity and innovation, and eases the communication among the team members, since the training targets the skills and abilities that are commonly used in the business or day-to-day communication.

Sixth, since ‘Pevsner" is an independent employee; it is a good idea for the manager to appoint him as the team leader. This would still give "Pevsner" some freedom and autonomy to pursue his work as a high achiever; it will also allow him to utilize his skills and abilities, and discover his hidden talents.

Seventh, the manager should try to incentivize "Pevsner" by giving either monetary incentives, like bonus, or by verbal incentives, like applause and praise. These incentives might encourage "Pevsner" to accept the idea of teamwork, and to share his leadership skills to benefit the whole group.

In my opinion, the best way to encourage "Pevsner" to is by offering a suitable mix of the upper alternatives. As a manager, I would incentivize him financially by giving him extra bonus and salary and by appointing him as the team leader in order to grant him more freedom and autonomy in work. If nothing of the upper alternatives worked with "Pevsner", and if ‘Pevsner" showed no enthusiasm towards teamwork, after plenty of trials, I would consider terminating his participation in the team work, and replacing him with another member.

TASK 3 – Job Interview Questions

Possible interview questions:

Question-1: Give me the most important skill that you need to possess as a successful project coordinator.

Answer: I don’t think that there is a single most important skill or work habit that should be possessed by a successful project coordinator. A project coordinator should possess many skills that improve his communication and professional advancement in his career. Multi-tasking is a must for a project coordinator so that he can work on two or more assignments simultaneously and meet the deadlines. Another important skill is teamwork, since project coordinators communicate with many people across the organization, like marketing managers, finance managers, and many other people from many departments. A third important skill is persuasiveness and negotiability because a project coordinator should be able to convince upper management members of whether to take or skip a specific project, and be able to defense his own opinion tactfully against opponents.

Probe: What was the skill that you struggled to improve?

Answer: I believe the most challenging skill that I struggled to develop was the ability to say no. In my earliest career days, I was helpful to the extent that other employees started throwing their own work on my shoulders, but now I have learnt to offer help for employees when only it is necessary to do so, and when I am asked to do a specific task by other employees, I first make sure that they are not abusing my goodwill.

Question-2: Describe a situation that you have gone through when you have to use your leadership and communication skills to deal with other difficult team members.

Answer: Working with teams requires a project coordinator to be enthusiastic about the shared goals and objectives with other team members which minimizes the opportunities of any personal clashes or conflicts. Sometimes, regardless how cautious and courteous a project coordinator could be with other team members, he can face problems. In this case, the project manager should be intelligent and tactful in approaching the problems putting in mind the various needs and requirements that different groups want and seek. A project coordinator should also have some kind of emotional intelligence that allows him to address his opinions in front of the stakeholders considering their position and power. More importantly, a project coordinator who is a good communicator should learn how to match his style with others’ needs and requirements.

Probe: Describe a situation where you were able to win a negotiation?

Answer: An effective negotiation skill requires the project coordinator to be tactful and cautious especially when dealing with stockholders who own a higher power, and when also communicating with stakeholders to avoid their resistance to any newly suggested idea with minimizing any opportunity of producing hateful or devious team members incase their opinions where not takes into consideration.

Question-3: Describe the most stressful situation you have gone through and the solution you used to deal with it.

Answer: As a project coordinator, the most stressful aspect of the job is staying focused to be able to meet the deadlines during hard times. The major stress in the job is trying to keep the project in the limits of the pre-determined budget, time, resources, and other materials. Very few projects are usually finished during the predetermined deadline and the limits of the budget, and the majority requires extra efforts, time, money, budgets, and resources to be finished in the best desired way. A good way to deal with off-schedule projects is by mastering skills of people management, technology management, resource management, and risk management all of which requires consistent training and patience. When it comes to managing stress off the work days, a project manager should try to spend a usual day away from burdens and enjoy his life with family and friends. It helps him to refresh himself and to rejuvenate his energy when he comes back to work.

Question-4: Describe a situation or a time when there was a sudden and immediate change, how did you manage the situation and how did you manage people under your hands at that time?

Answer: Adapting to the change is a challenge that project coordinators should deal with well in order to keep the project going in a speedy pace and meet the project deadline. A project coordinator should be able to communicate the changes to the employees working under his hands immediately and provide them with support and motivation to let them deal with a new change. Supporting employees involve psychological support (verbal encouragement), work support (teaching employees how to deal with the newly implemented technology or software), and providing them with all necessary materials and resources needed after the change in implemented. It is necessary also for a project coordinator to analyze the requirements and the needs for the new changes, control the variables, and measure the change after the final implementation all of which helps the successful implementation of the project.

TASK 4 – Networking and Job Search

According to Wanberg et al, networking refers to the person’s efforts of building relationships with friends, colleagues, relatives, and other people for the sake of finding a proper advice, or information to help the individual to find a job (492:2000). Another definition is the ability of finding a job by getting recommendations from family and associates (allie8020.hubpages.com). Career networking is an important source of job search especially that it reduces the amount of individual time spent until the suitable job is found.

Networking offers many advantages for job seekers and individuals by giving them an opportunity to find non-advertised jobs in the hidden job market (allie8020.hubpages.com). Individuals who depend on networking can access online websites, and attain the targeted position they want by visiting the employment and HR webpages before any other job seeker do (allie8020.hubpages.com).

Another importance of career networking is that it gives the job seeker the ability to know the newest job openings that will be available in the nearest future. If done personally, with people speaking about possible jobs openings face to face, networking will be more effective and can lead to faster hiring opportunity than if it was done by a phone call. For example, a job seeker can know when to apply for the new job opening when the CEO or an old manager is to resign by being told by his or her friend about the event.

A third benefit of career networking is that a job seeker can get a strong job recommendation or referrals if she or he was able to contact well with the co-workers or employers who referred him or her to the targeted position, which in return help the job seeker’s CV to stand out from other job seekers’.

A fourth important benefit of career networking also is that it helps the jobseeker to get an interview and to be hired quickly because referrals usually help the jobseeker to present her or himself in a way that makes him or her more appealing to the company.

A fifth benefit of networking is that it helps the job seeker to know better business practices. Referrals, employees, family friends, relatives, and colleagues can tell you what is good and what is not from their own experiences. One can also know how to do something in a better way or learn a new skill that will help in the advancement in the targeted position.

Networking also helps job seekers in other non-business, personal, or non-career purposes. For example, a job seeker who has been looking for a good nursery or a good athletic club can find one through asking one of the employees or family friends who referred him to a new job opening.