Comunicación intercultural en los espacios de trabajo

Intercultural Communication in the Workplace
The importance of intercultural communication in the workplace can not, and should not be undermined. It plays an important role in the functioning of an organization and affects the final output too. Take a look at how this process can be understood and aided.

Though cross-cultural interaction is not new and has existed for ages, with the adventof globalization, the world has come close together. It is not surprising then that people have to travel to different parts of the world, as part of their job and have to adapt to that new environment. However, adaptation is not always easy and a little support from colleagues goes a long way in easing the process of 'fitting in' for the immigrant employee. This can be achieved by learning aboutintercultural communication in the work place. What is Intercultural Communication in the Workplace?
Intercultural communication in the workplace mainly relates to issues pertaining to speech and culture

of those belonging to an environment or land different from their own. It is obvious that a person who grows up in China is going to have a different culture than someone born and brought up inthe United States. Even people from the United Kingdom find it difficult to adapt to the United States and vice versa, though these are seemingly similar countries and even speak the same language. In the work environment, these cultures affect the behavior and values of the employees. How they respond to superiors, to colleagues and to subordinates, are all determined by the culture they havebeen bred in. Their attitude towards and their comprehension about their surroundings is also different. Their pattern of communication is varied and their concept of formality and informality is different. For instance, several organizations address their bosses on a first name basis in the West. However, in other countries such as India, it is considered informal, so every superior is addressed aseither 'Sir' and 'Ma'am'. It is when a person has to work in a country other than his own and is exposed to these changes, that he experiences a 'culture shock'. Culture shock is defined as the anxiety and disorientation experienced when a person is made to operate in an unknown culture. In such cases, programs that advocate intercultural communication in the workplace and encourage healthycommunication among employees belonging to various cultures, are required to help each other adjust easily. This is extremely important because the environment impacts the efficiency of employees, local or immigrant. The only way you can get the best out of them is to give them a positive environment that they can embrace and move on. How to Aid Intercultural Communication in the Workplace There havebeen some horrifying examples of intercultural communication in the workplace. This can be avoided and the process of adjustment for an immigrant employee can be eased if the

organization makes an effort to make him feel welcome. Remember, he may already be having a tough time dealing with learning the language, or just adapting to such drastic changes. Anything that the organization can do toat least have his problems in the workplace sorted is helpful. Maintaining a Positive Attitude Before conducting an interaction with employees belonging to another culture, a little introspection is required. The employees of the dominant culture in the workplace need to identify their own attitude towards other cultures and how this attitude is going to affect intercultural communication in theworkplace. This thought process is normally affected by certain prejudices and stereotypes about other cultures. These have to be kept aside while interacting with immigrant employees and their abilities should be assessed at an individual level. Furthermore, taking for granted that all norms belonging to the dominant culture are understood is wrong. There has to be an effort in understanding the...