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Cross cultural communication
- 1. Identifying barriers and developing strategies in a culturally diverse workplace
- 2. Common barriers found in diverse workplaces Specific barriers found in this organization Affect of culture-based communication barriers Relationships between employees Relationships with clients Strategies to improve cross-cultural communication
- 3. Verbal Language Tone and volume Sentence structure or grammar
- 5. Job Specific Military Technology Medical Age could be an influence Texting gives us LOL, OMG, BTW
- 6. Speed Rhythm Inflection Rules Vary from language to language
- 7. Non Verbal Space Stereotypes Gestures or Body Language
- 13. Air Force and Army Same thing, different name Diverse civilian population Agency specific acronyms
- 14. Same type of client, same situation Not always the case Clients stereotype, too Recognize it, work to prevent it
- 16. Communication barriers increase Stress Frustration Risk to clearances Barriers decrease productivity Funding is lost Workload increases
- 17. Client communication vital to mission success Risk of alienating clients Risk of losing client trust
- 19. Develop a plan, include all employees Increase awareness of diversity issues Encourage employees to report concerns Review and revise plans regularly
Editor's Notes
- 1. Differences in verbal communication are often the most common barriers to effective communication in diverse organizations. These barriers can include differences in language, terminology; tone; sentence structure; volume and rapidity of speech.
- 1. Some language barriers may take time to develop or recognize. Group-specific terminology and slang may not be immediately recognized, but can still result in miscommunication when used in a culturally diverse setting.2. Job specific terminology is one of the most common types of terminology. Some examples of the kinds of jobs that tend to communicate using specific terminology include the military (with it’s well-known use of acronyms), jobs involving technology (like an IT department), and the medical field. 3. The influence of texting has resulted in an increased use of acronyms in communications. Because younger people tend to be quick to utilize media, barriers related to current culture and technology are often associated with age.
- Tone, which is determined by speed, rhythm, and inflection, and volume can be easily misinterpreted in a culturally diverse setting. For example, some cultures might consider a louder voice to be a sign of anger, others might assume that it signals excitement or happiness. Speaking in a non-native language can also cause confusion between sender and receiver because grammatical rules vary from language to language. Common grammar mistakes include using the wrong verb tense and missing articles.When I was getting ready to move to Korea, I called the elementary school to confirm that I had all of the necessary paperwork in order for my son to be enrolled. The woman that I spoke with was a Korean national that seemed to have no problems communicating in English. That is, until she told me that my son would “be shot” when we got to Korea. She was trying to tell me that he needed to have his immunizations up to date…after a brief moment of confusion I worked out what she was saying, but it was a definite reminder to me to be careful about assuming that people are saying what they mean.
- 1. Verbal barriers are not the only communication problem in diverse settings. In fact, non-verbal barriers may pose more of risk to communications than verbal barriers do. This is because non-verbal barriers, which are often deeply ingrained by early socialization, may be more difficult to recognize and correct than verbal barriers. 2. Some common non-verbal communication barriers include the use of space, stereotypes, and gestures or body language.3. Differences in the status, gender, and age of the sender and receiver can also present non-verbal communication challenges. This is because the cultural attitudes toward age, gender, and status may vary from person to person.
- The amount of space that is maintained between people in a business setting varies from culture to culture. For example, Americans generally feel most comfortable in business settings when they have about 1-4 feet of space between themselves and the people that they are talking to. In some cultures, this “personal bubble” is greatly reduced – sometimes it is practically nonexistent. Misreading a person’s comfort zone can have a disastrous effect on communication; invading that person’s “bubble” could be interpreted as a sign of aggression or an intentional insult.
- 1. Stereotypes are assumptions about how another person thinks, behaves, or perceives the world. Communications that are based on assumptions may be offensive and confusing for the people involved, and are unlikely to effectively convey the intended message.
- Gestures and body language can be extremely difficult to interpret, and are often a source of tension in diverse groups. A single gesture can have several different meanings. For example, the “thumbs up” is considered to be a sign of approval or appreciation in America. However, in some Middle Eastern countries this same gesture has an obscene meaning. Great care must be taken when using gestures in diverse groups, because your message could be interpreted very differently than the way that you intend.
- Our organization provides services and support to both Army and Air Force personnel. This can be a problem when employees don’t take the time to “translate” from blue to green and back again.We also have a very diverse civilian population here on Osan. Besides the Active Duty clients, we can expect to see retirees, family members, government contractors, and Korean nationals in our office on a daily basis.Although many of our programs and services follow the Air Force standard for Airman and family support, there are some agency specific acronyms that have been developed over time. Using these acronyms in meeting with clients may be confusing.
- We tend to see the same situations over and over again. As a result, we often stereotype a client or a coworker according to previous experiences. Many times our clients come in with preconceived notions of what we do, who we report to, and how much we care about digging into their personal life. Sometimes they think that we are looking for ways to get them in trouble, other times they think we are only here to give them what they want. No matter what the stereotype might be, we need to be aware of this problem and work to prevent it.
- Communication barriers can be stressful, time consuming, and demoralizing for everyone involved.Feelings of anger may lead to poor decision making, which could put agency security clearances at risk.Happy employees are productive employees – so communication problems and the stress that they cause directly impact our productivity. When our productivity drops, so does our funding. Without funding, our programs are cut and our workload increases.
- 1. Our mission is to provide outstanding support to our military community. We cannot do that if we cannot communicate with our clients.2. Our ability to design and implement appropriate services is directly tied to our ability to engage the client base. If we alienate the clients, we will be unable to keep our material in tune with what they really need.3. We need the clients to trust us in order to effectively do our job. Clients will not trust us if we don’t speak their language.
- 1. Our mission is to provide outstanding support to our military community. We cannot do that if we cannot communicate with our clients.2. Our ability to design and implement appropriate services is directly tied to our ability to engage the client base. If we alienate the clients, we will be unable to keep our material in tune with what they really need.3. We need the clients to trust us in order to effectively do our job. Clients will not trust us if we don’t speak their language.
- Video Sources:In-n-Out Prank: Ordering Food in Korean. Uploaded to YouTube by JuliusCaesar108 on Jan 2, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rheClSiXDbkMilitary Acronyms - Military Lingo - Military Slang. Published on YouTube on May 1, 2012 by LukeHeikkila. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYwbtaK7R6IThe Office Season 1 Episode 1 “Diversity Day”. Uploaded to YouTube by TheCliveWarren on Jun 29, 2011http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aVUoy9r0CM&feature=related