Challenges faced in intercultural communication
Discuss about the Experiencing Intercultural Communication System.
The purpose of this reflective journal is to highlight on the various perspectives for the growth of the knowledge and the skills. I think the growth in the learning process is an area in which the individuals will have to be very much attentive. I think it is my duty to grow my skills with time and take more responsibilities in the course of my learning. I will be discussing about various aspects about my learning like the challenges and barriers I faced in this course, how I tried to overcome them and many more things. It is apparent that I have to be very cautious about going through my learning process and the leaders in the business also face some critical problems in this discourse as they face the issues like communication as well. The business communication is also a very important matter as well (Chaney and Martin, 2013).
In this part, I will be discussing about the various sections like the events and experiences in the work I have been going through. The business communication is one of the most important things and I have faced many problems in this regard as well. I have been working as the senior HR manager in my organization. As the representative of the HR department, I have to look after various issues like training and development, recruitment and selection and other issues for the organization. I have been working in this position for two years and I have recruited many people across the organization.
Sometimes I face the issues of communication with my colleagues and the new joining people. They belong to different cultures and different language speaking people. The cross cultural communication has been such a challenge for me. This is why at the beginning I was not being able to properly communicate (Guffey and Loewy, 2012). Whenever they came to me regarding any trouble they could not talk to me with proper English and they pronounced their words in their native languages.
This is why I could not understand about their problems properly and this used to irritate me to some extent. Amidst all mu=y work pressure, this problem took all my patience away do I had to come to a solution regarding this problem. They did not even understand my English properly and were unable to follow my commands properly. This is how the distance between me and some other employees began to grow. However, in this context, it was not all possible for me to assimilate with other languages so I could understand them.
Importance of effective communication in organizations
I knew in my heart that I had to be their leader so I could make them understand what I meant properly. This is why I chose to give them a short training on understanding and speaking English properly. This would make them aware of the English language as much as they need to complete the official works. Then I wanted to motivate them and complete their works within time for better results. These things had helped me a lot indeed. One important aspect of the business communication is the understanding of the roles and responsibilities by the leaders. The leaders have certain responsibilities that they have to play. The failure to play these responsibilities will not be good for the betterment of the organizations (Hynes, 2012).
I had been facing the problem that I realized that the standard or work was beginning to lower down for some time. I was very much worried for this. I thought of setting up a proper communication policy for the employees that they could follow exclusively. I decided to go through some studies that reflected on the communication policies (Moran, Abramson and Moran, 2014). I found out through this process that I should not depend on one type of communication only. I should try different methods for the communication with my employees. It is a matter of concern that the verbal communication process works as a great barrier for the in getting the information and get a track of the communication process properly. I have also noticed that the differences in the cultural backgrounds can also work as a great barrier in the communication process. The cross cultural differences in case of the employees will be problematic since this could carry several mixed messages. These differences will create problems in the non-verbal communications (Ferraro and Briody, 2013).
I have understood from my past experiences that the communication process in the organizations is a mixed procedure and the open communication process is welcomed by all the organizations. The employees have to interpret what the managers have said and this is sometimes interpreted negatively as well. These issues have been seen in many cases. People who work as my subordinates in the organization have failed to understand my orders properly and this has caused serious problems in the communication process. I believe the growth in the communication skills is a very important things and the communication should always be there, whether it is a business organization or a educational institution (Schullery, 2013).
The usefulness of the information
The events I have faced in my current work have depicted the importance of the proper communication process in the workplaces. I faced a situation when an employee came up to me but she could not give proper answers to my questions regarding her problem. She even could not make the proper eye contact. This showed that the particular employee was very shy in her approach. This could work as a problem for communicating with the higher level managers about her problems. The professionalism in the workplaces has to be kept just to ensure that the work process will flow very smoothly. I opine that the employees should always avoid the gossiping in the workplaces to provide the best organizational outcomes. I must provide the employees with the options to approach me with openness. This would enable me to understand what their problems are. This would be highly important for me to assess their problems and resolve it in the best ways to gain their trust. The growth of skills and knowledge is a very important aspect in this matter (Martin and Nakayama, 2013).
The information about the business communication that I have gathered in this context will be very useful to me from different aspects. This is why I would like to utilize this information for the betterment of my knowledge and skill growth. I will be able to handle the complex matters within the business positively for the improvement of my knowledge. I have also gathered the information that the poor listening skills are also the impediments for the proper communication process. This is why I will have to make the people around me understand the fact that they will have to take time in listening to the facts attentively what their peers are saying. Then they have to think over it many times. This will be very much important for them to understand the relevant things in this matter. I should take sessions with them and discuss the advantages of the proper communication in the workplaces and other areas as well.
I have learned these things from my past experiences and I will look to enhance them properly indeed. I will also have to increase my level of patience. Thus I will be able to focus on the different matters like the development of the communication skills and wanting to develop an understanding about the work I am undertaking (Kaynak, Fulmer and Keys, 2013). I must not show much attitude to the people I am working with because this works as a negative impact on the subordinates. I must take the initiative to become a motivating leader. This would be helpful for me to understand the attitudes of the employees and work accordingly. If I find anyone not fit for the job I must give them the proper training and make them understand their roles and responsibilities properly. Also I should enhance my knowledge about my roles as it would be important for me to get the best outcomes in future. I would like to enhance my skills so I can be able to get a higher place in the organization or possibly move to some other multinational organization to get a better position.
Conclusion
The paper can be concluded by saying that I have demonstrated the various experiences that I have encountered in my current position. I have also discussed about the ways that I have tackled them. This will be highly important for mitigating the issues related to communication. The ways to enhance my skills for growth have been discussed here in this context as well. If I follow these things and procedures, I will be able to get the best results for the organization.
References
Bovée, C.L. and Thill, J.V., 2012. Excellence in business communication. Pearson Higher Ed.
Chaney, L. and Martin, J., 2013. Intercultural business communication. Pearson Higher Ed.
Ferraro, G.P. and Briody, E.K., 2013. The cultural dimension of global business. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Gallie, D., Zhou, Y., Felstead, A. and Green, F., 2012. Teamwork, skill development and employee welfare. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 50(1), pp.23-46.
Guffey, M.E. and Loewy, D., 2012. Essentials of business communication. Cengage Learning.
Hynes, G.E., 2012. Improving employees’ interpersonal communication competencies: A qualitative study. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), pp.466-475.
Kawar, T.I., 2012. Cross-cultural differences in management. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(6).
Kaynak, E., Fulmer, R.M. and Keys, J.B., 2013. Do cultural differences make a business difference? Contextual factors affecting cross-cultural relationship success. In Executive Development and Organizational Learning for Global Business(pp. 41-66). Routledge.
Martin, J.N. and Nakayama, T.K., 2013. Experiencing intercultural communication. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R. and Moran, S.V., 2014. Managing cultural differences. Routledge.
Schullery, N.M., 2013. Workplace engagement and generational differences in values. Business Communication Quarterly, 76(2), pp.252-265.
Thill, J.V. and Bovée, C.L., 2013. Excellence in business communication. Pearson.