This essay will focus on how effective communication can be achieved in a workplace as well as putting the focus on its diversities in the various cultures in the diverse stations where people live. Communication Problems more often arise in culturally diverse workplaces. The art of communication has been noted to evolve with the increasing globalization setting desperate cultures of business of the world on a course of the collision. Upcoming economies have started integrating business cultures formerly of their traditional nations’ powerhouse into their businesses leaving behind traces of their individual cultures wherever they go. In most circumstances, multi-cultural landscapes are contributing factors to these diversities. The workplace in itself is equally diverse in terms of sexuality, gender, age, disability or ability as well as religious beliefs. Whereas this array of diversity has the capability of contributing much to the workplace goals, it could result in challenges if the employees have problems communicating with as well as relating to one another (Kopec, 2011).
The unhealthy communication relationships amongst employees having such distinct backgrounds, therefore, need to be keenly nurtured and conserved so as to guarantee that the employees have that feeling of respect at the workplace and the feeling of value of oneself. It is therefore very important for the managers particularly to internalize and understand the kinds of communication problems that might probably arise in the workplaces and how effective to handle them. This argumentative essay hence in particular focuses on workplaces that are culturally diverse and firstly will identify the significant communication challenges that may arise. It will forth focus on discussions on some common diversities emanating from body language communications and gender role expectations. Paul (2005), concurs with this argument as reiterated by his international journal of a case study on Corporate Communications.
This paragraph aims at giving a prelude on some of the factors leading to cultural diversities in communications at different environments. Languages in the workplaces are greatly influenced by the distinct worldviews of their traditional cultures. It implies that expressions and words themselves can have wide distinct meanings with different implications for individuals of different social backgrounds. Workers in nowadays workstations ought to be careful to be sure that the messages they tend to communicate are clearly understood whenever they communicate with their co-workers who are culturally diverse. Conversations with taboo topics , those with social or political issues , which are biased spiritually and the life experience nuances tend to differ between the cultures making it a great challenge for the fellow workers to come to a common ground while communicating. The management of conflicts vary dramatically with culture as well grounding possible tensions for instance taking a worker from Netherlands, a country where people view arguments as necessary and part and parcel of a constructive communication parts, trying to come to a solution of a problem with another employee from Japan where it is generally perceived that public disagreement is so offensive, one will definitely start grasping the problem types that may arise as a result of cultural differences (forbes.com1).
According to Davenport (2009), in the ancient, it might have been a common place for capitalists and corporate bosses to develop their personal unique style of communication for dealing with clients, business associates and suppliers. These days, however, managers have to take the time to study the social eccentricities of its business counterparts prior to attempting to make a connection with persons in other nations or from other cultures. The Texas oil tycoons, for instance, has to comprehend that snatching his Chinese partner's hands in a firm handclasp is not an ideal idea but such a slight smile and bow are the suitable form of greeting. Communication verbally and body language tend to be more significant than ever in global business dealings since innocent hand gestures, behaviors or even posture can effect a rift amongst culturally diverse corporate partners.
Even though, cultural diversities do exist at the workplaces, substantial literature that has been earlier reviewed suggests that communication internally aids in improving the probability of creation of more success in various organizations. Based on researches that have been done before, the existence of good relationships interpersonally between the staffs and the managers could be quite effective. Some of the advantages identified by researchers on the effects of communication in an organization included though not limited to; reduction in the workers absenteeism, generally improved productivity, increased innovation level, higher quality of products and services, a notable decrease in strikes issues as well as reduction in costs (Gillis, 2011).
Paul (2005), argued that marked higher innovation levels could be realized through nourished communication between and within the organization as well as different departments within organizations. They concluded that different organizational levels contacts helped in achieving widespread involvements and enthusiasm in attainments of organizational goals as well as creating a supportive climate for innovations.
In as much as all these underlying merits of good interpersonal communication have been identified to contribute to achievements of organizational goals, several barriers are also in existence and these include and not restricted to the wealth of empirical demonstrating a normal gulf in how much information is needed by people to perform their jobs relative to whatever they receive, the challenges emanating from the sources from wherever they receive the information, the channels through which the information is transmitted as well as the quantity of information sent to the majority of the organizational members .such diagnostic resistance may be in itself a factor contributing to problems in communications. Another challenge is the widespread conviction in the issues of managerial agenda that is assumed to be already crowded and this makes the managers become quite reluctant to give it further burden with issues that are widely regarded as extremely intangible to be measured regardless of transforming them. Furthermore, most individuals rate themselves as ethical, skilled, more intelligent, honest, original, persistent, and fair-minded and also better drivers than their fellows. Hence it may be that the managers’ lack of awareness concerning their communication climate, jointly with their reluctance in the investigation of such becoming the major obstacles to such developments of positive communications (Kopec, 2011).
In attempt to handle and manage the effective interpersonal communication to ensure a balance in the different cultural diversities, the managers ought to serve as the first hand remedy by; showing their competencies to the workers in a range of interpersonal skills which also in a manner communicates diversity in the management role. These includes showing skills in promptly chairing of workplace meetings, delegation and conflict management, decision-making, as well as negotiation and persuasions, , all featuring high on the situations of management lists. The managers also need to interview and not to forget to appraise the workers on the good work done. It should come along with the provision of more information to the staffs on matters relating to improvement in communication at the workstations focusing on the integration of cultural diversities (Colin, 1994).
Loer (2015), argues that the managers also ought to know how to handle effectively the matters of aggression, time management skills and also skills of negotiations, persuasions and assertiveness owing to the fact that they are some of the most significant in handling issues to do with relations between the staffs in an organization. Maintaining good relationships amongst the employees in a culturally diverse workplace can be problematic, but it is so important to be given to chance. Whenever the managers overlook the significance of building a good workstation communication to emphasize simply on managing the staffs’ behaviors on tasks that are work-related, staffs can feel excluded and undervalued, this is more likely to lead to loss of job productivity and satisfaction (huffingtonpost.com 1).
As it has been demonstrated by the essay, the main problems of communication that arise from contexts of culturally diverse societies stem from dissimilarities in the gender roles expectations across the cultures, as well as differences in body language meanings. Problems always arise when staffs make assumptions about how others will behave, and hence taking offense whenever expectations are not achieved.
While training in cultural awareness has traditionally been the approach used to educate employees about general differences in cultures, this ought not to be relied upon as being the sole strategy, since it can lead the workers to assume that some generalized dissimilarities exist among cultures, leading to typecasting and strengthening a focus on 'differences'. Instead, this training ought to be used solely to complement the construction of workplace values in which staffs are given formal opportunities to speak amenable about their trepidations and ideas. Therefore, research into exactly how to facilitate such kinds of discussions, in particular, organizational forms would be worthwhile (Tourish, 2005).
References
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