Teneisha Johnson
Hello World? Are you there? The Importance of Communication in a Multicultural World
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In today’s world with all of its innovations and advance technology, you can communicate virtually from anywhere.
Sometimes charm is not enough. Arriving with the proper introductions and support is essential to developing workplace rapport.
This is especially critical if you do not fit the local people’s stereotype of the Foreign V.I.P.
If you are not, by way of example, “The Beautiful American”, but instead you are short, dark and modestly attractive, your initial reception may be less enthusiastic than if you fit the hosts’ preconceived image.
Unfortunately, some corporations play to the “stereotypes” and if you are a member of a minority, racial or ethnic group, female or physically disabled, this might be to your detriment.
When a former president of an Oil Company in Saudi Arabia said, “This business of communicating has become as important as finding more oil,” he stated a belief held by many.
According to a study done by Watson Wyatt of 267 U.S. companies between 1998 and 2002, those that communicated most effectively provided a 26% return to shareholders and those with the least-effective communication provided a return of only 15%.
It was also concluded that those with the most effective communicative ability also had the less employee turnover.
Our local newspapers inadvertently record daily, companies who are constantly and consistently seeking new hire.
Why is that?
Think about it!
Whatever type of organization you work in, now or in the future, your success and your organization’s success hinges on the collaborative ability to communicate effectively.
As we gallop full speed ahead into the 21st century, the concept of a global economy rings sharper than ever before!
Technological advances in travel and telecommunications have provided the means for accelerated integration of the world market.
Competition comes from every corner of the globe in today’s marketplace and is forcing many businesses to look at new ways of cutting costs while maintaining market share and high-quality levels.
I’ve also learnt that it is becoming more and more of an asset for an individual to become proficient in foreign languages.
Managers and Consultants schooled in the ways of multinational business and multicultural service organizations are critical to the expansion of international opportunities.
For example, if we were to glance at the job ads in any of the big city newspapers around the world, if you have international skills, Saudi Arabia needs English-language teachers.
Bulgaria’s Rose Valley stretches for about 87 miles across a narrow interval between the Balkan mountain range, dressing up in pink every May and June.
Once known for making pistols, ammunition, and automatic weapons under Communism, now the region is famous as one of the world’s biggest sources of an oil likened to “liquid gold.” Rose oil earned the nickname for a reason:
It takes more than 3,180 pounds of roses to produce just one pound of rose oil, valued between 3,468 and 6,000 dollars.
Today the roses’ edible, highly fragrant flowers are idolized as Bulgaria’s national symbol of pride, but economic pressures and changing climate make their future unclear.
For more information visit:
BULGARIA
Business people have always been on the cutting edge of marketing the latest technological wonders, see my related articles on the latest Blockchain Technology:
Billions: (A new machine for creating trust) The Blockchain Innovative Technology,
and also Virtual Currencies (The Blockchain Innovation).
This trend of internationalizing business and services has led to increasing numbers of people working in multicultural settings.
Business relationships are now being forced to overcome cultural differences as firms strive to maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
However, according to my studies this is not as easy as it sounds.
Working in a foreign country is, as the name implies, an alien experience.
This means language and, most importantly, understanding diverse values in the workplace or country you’re currently residing in, is extremely important.
Therefore, individuals should be cognizant of their methods of communications and note that what might be successful in one country’s operations can and will sometimes meet with failure when transplanted into another cultural setting.
Nevertheless, the basic communication process still remains the same.
As we’ve all learnt as adolescents in school, it involves a sender or encoder who then sends a message using various channels or mediums (i.e. telephones, radios, televisions, computers, written memos, videotapes, electronic mails etc.) to a receiver or decoder.
In this new age of advance technology, messages are communicated via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Snapchat, through the media, integrated in our songs, music videos, etc.
We have become a very interactive world!
It has become regular news in today’s society to create products and methods which helps us to share and connect more and more with each other.
As I said before, we have become a very interactive and open world.
Privacy is now a highly sought commodity!
Especially for Public Figures and Celebrities and I can seriously understand all the reasons why.
However, let me not deviate from my own message which I’m trying to communicate. (Lol!)
In a survey of 480 companies and public organizations by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the ability to communicate ranked first among personal qualities of college graduates sought by employers.
We deliberately communicate through writing, reading, speaking and listening and according to Henry Mintzberg in The Nature of Managerial Work, Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO), spend almost every minute of their day communicating.
In any organization, people communicate in many ways.
Face-to-Face communication takes place during one-on-one discussions, in informal groups, and during meetings.
However, when individuals communicate face-to-face, they experience the most effective form of communication.
Both nonverbal cues and verbal communication supply immediate feedback.
The critical question for you to ask yourself when communicating is, “What is my objective?”.
Do you want to motivate others to support a new or existing idea?
Do you want to encourage healthy open dialogue or are you just disseminating useful information?
Hello? I guess I’ll leave that up to you.
Immediate feedback is best but sometimes not realistic.
Feedback reports to the sender that the receiver (the decoder) received and understood the message.
When the receiver responds to the sender, the communication process starts over again.
Feedback therefore makes communication a two-way process, allowing the sender to become a receiver and vice versa.
Unfortunately, there are many causes of miscommunication.
As we know, right here in the Cayman Islands, we have many people living and working here from around the world and this can sometimes cause personality differences, word-meaning confusion, inferences, gender differences and intercultural differences.
However, I personally do not believe that this should be looked upon as a “bad thing” but as a necessary catalyst for stimulation and growth for our economy.
Individuals from different cultures bring different perceptions, value systems and different languages to the workplace.
Yes, it may cause miscommunication but hey, most people are good people and there might be something you can learn from them and vice versa!
I strongly believe we just need to be more sensitive and aware of an individual’s background and experience when communicating in order to be our most effective.
We should also check to see if there are any hidden biases and if we are forming an opinion regarding certain people based on their sex, religion, age, race or simply because they belong to a particular group.
Prejudging people may make it difficult to communicate with them.
And I can’t stress enough that we should avoid stereotyping and the use of sexist, racist or ethnic remarks.
In conclusion, even though technology has revolutionized the way we communicate and conduct business, the most vital element of communication remains the continued development of an organization’s most valuable resource-its people.
