Intercultural Communication in the Workplace

Intercultural Communication in the Workplace

The modern day individual is stressed and always in a hurry to get his job done and complete his responsibilities. The modern day organization strives harder than ever to improve and maintain its competitive position, and this is both fostered as well as impeded by the growing forces of globalization. The increased access to resources -- capital, commodities, human and technological -- is a great example in this sense. In terms of the human resource, the contemporaneous organizations enjoy the ability to cross geographic boundaries in search of the best skilled and qualified staff members. On the other hand, they also face the necessity of integrating this new and extremely culturally diverse workforce. In this context then, it comes as "no surprise that the biggest global communication issue organizations face in this big round world today is understanding and engaging diversity" (Geddie, 1999). The aim of this report is to present an intercultural communication issue within the workplace, assess it and identify solutions. It will round up in a section for concluding remarks, which will restate the most important findings.

2. The Situation

Tetonica Plc. was founded seven years ago and operates in the real estate industry; it employs 30 individuals, most of who work as real estate agents. As the economic crisis emerged within the United States, the managers at Tetonica found it was time to implement a major process of organizational change. Yet, they did not know what direction they ought to select. In order to help with these processes of selection and assessment of alternatives, decision making, implementation and transition to the new organizational state, Tetonica brought in a reputable Irish management specialist. The CEO had heard about Anrai Brogan from a friend in Ireland, who had praised his high skills and ability to turn a failing organization around. The only problem with Anrai was that he only spoke English at a poor beginners' level. The Tetonica managers however did not perceive this as a threat, even more so when he promised great results in exchange for little remuneration.

Communications between the Tetonica employees and the Irish consultant were intermediated by a translator, but the parties soon realized that the efficiency of communicating through intermediaries was reduced. Based on the beliefs that Brogan's English was improving, as well as on the desire to reduce costs with the translation, the management at the real estate organization renounced the services of the latter. Confusions aroused even from the first day without the translator, and continued to perpetuate throughout the following days. One day for instance, the CEO had a brief discussion with Brogan in which he inquired the consultant about the improvements made. The dialogue is summarized below:

Tetonica CEO: How's it going? Are we making any improvements?

Anrai Brogan: No, no improvements.

Tetonica CEO: Why not? Do you need more assistance?

Anrai Brogan: Yes, I can do myself.

Tetonica CEO: & #8230; Will a change plan be ready for this Friday?

Anrai Brogan: Yes, next Friday.

Based on this brief encounter, the CEO organized a meeting for the following Friday in which the ideas for the new plan would be presented. The plan had not however been completed. When inquired, the specialist replied: "Yes, yes, next Friday." The CEO was enraged and fired Brogan, swearing to only hire Americans from that day on.

3. Diagnosis

The previously presented situation can be analyzed from two different standpoints, also perceived as communication norms. On the one hand, there is the language barrier which can easily come between representatives of different nationalities. In this order of ideas, Anrai Brogan was an Irish of Gaelic descent, born and brought up in the old tradition. Even the native language he spoke bore little resemblance to the Irish language, as it was highly influenced by the Gaelic traits. The relevance of this feature to the miscommunication situation at Tetonica Plc. is given by the fact that the Gaelic Irish language does not have any equivalents for the words yes and no. "Irish Gaelic does not possess equivalents of "yes" or "no," which seems unhandy to persons accustomed to this conciseness. Consequently, when speaking Gaelic, people must construct circumlocutions such as "I think not" and "this is so" in place of these two words" (Novinger, 2001). Brogan did not understand the meaning of yes and no, but having noticed their popularity, he began to use them in a wrong manner, ergo the sustained confusions.

The second norm refers to nonverbal features, such as the mimic of the face and other gestures of the interlocutors. The importance of nonverbal elements is crucial for ensuring that one sends and receives the proper message. For instance, nonverbal features tend to be more truthful and genuine than the verbal ones, as well as they are more powerful expressions (Fort Hays State University). Had the CEO paid attention to the mimic and gestures of Brogan, he would have noticed that the Yes is mentioned with sadness and worry on his face, whereas the no was said in a proud and satisfied manner.

4. Strategies

There are several means in which the miscommunication at Tetonica Plc. could have been avoided. Some of them include:

Increased attention to nonverbal communication

Realizing the language barrier and keeping the translator

Previously documenting on the culture of the culturally diverse party could have lead to the recognition of his difficulties in distinguishing between yes and no