Communicating At Work By Ronald B. Essay

The term "culture" has been used more and more recently but what exactly does it mean? Some have even regarded culture as "the most central problem of all social science" (Malinowski, 1939). According to Merriam Webster (2016), culture is defined as the arts and other manifestations of human achievements. If culture was as simple as Merriam-Webster defines it then the lives of anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists would be much easier. As we know, culture varies greatly across religion, countries, and some cases in just states; the difference between the north and the south. We can conclude that culture is a set of shared thoughts, values, and cognitions (Geertz, 1973). With culture in itself varying tremendously based on values and location, then surely organizational culture is no simple concept either. The term "organizational culture" has just recently become to be used more (Barley, 1988). Though there may be disagreements on defining culture universally, researchers tend to agree that culture is of vital importance in an organizational context, whether that organization is a company or a government (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa, 1986).

Culture is defined as set of customs, beliefs, and arts that differentiate one group of people from other. Humans have constantly traded goods across inordinate distances. Therefore, understanding cultural rules of conduct is a foundation for effective intercultural communication. Learning the culture of business confederates and recognizing what is believed to be rude can help avoid unintentional errors.

Culture refers to the behaviors and interactions of a people and the representative structures in which give such behavior meaning. Human nature, history, and environment have impacted and resulted in the many differences and similarities amongst the various cultures that exist today. A culture is inclusive of shared language or system of communication, beliefs,

My research is focused on the problems associated with cross-cultural communication and how awareness of culture, language, tradition, and business practices can increase the advantages to globalization. This report will be field specific in

A culture can be defined as a way of life of a group of people- their behaviors, beliefs, values that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. It also includes the customs, arts, literature, morals/values and traditions of a particular society or group (Virginia Encyclopedia). Culture can also be considered as a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in places or organizations. This topic is of huge importance to our society mainly in the state of

The workplace is an environment where more and more Americans are spending significant portions of their time. In fact, 25 million workers reported spending at least 49 hours a week at work, (Schabner, 2013). This means that having effective communication in the workplace is becoming increasingly important. Not just to improve business practices, but to improve the quality of both employer AND employee satisfaction. Effective interpersonal communication is the most important aspect in determining the success of workplace practices. Effective interpersonal communication includes practices such as honesty, clarity, and mutual respect.

The first concept which I will explore is culture and what this means to different individuals. In simplified terms, culture refers to how we do things and also how we perceive things within a group. Culture is a shared set of assumptions, values, social conventions and perceptions, which are established on concepts of common language and

In the textbook , “An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in Global Community,” by Fred E. Jandt, the author defines culture as the, “sum total of ways of living, including behavioral norms, linguistic expression, styles of communication, patterns of thinking, and beliefs and values of a group large enough to be self-sustaining and transmitted over the course of generations.” In a culture

Culture refers to socially shared and transmitted patterns of ideas (values, norms, and beliefs) that are instantiated in everyday practices, institutions, and artifacts (Tsai, Levenson, & McCoy, 2006). Culture may play an important role in emotional regulation and expression. Of particular interest is the interplay between collectivistic and individualistic societies and social expectations and customs.

Culture is a convenient way of describing the ways members of a group understand each other and communicate that understanding “Culture is not only race or ethnicity; it includes gender, sexual orientation, education and literacy level, profession, hobby, or life experience that may include violence, trauma, or disease. Each of these cultures has their own language or slang, and group behavior and beliefs”

The term culture was defined over time by different scholars and writers. Though each one of them had his/her own dimensions and criteria in order to explain the word culture. Hofstede claimed in 1994: “[Culture] is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.”( Spencer-Oatey 3). He considers culture as an aspect that distinguishes groups from others. Indeed, Matsumoto and Hofstede agreed that culture is a distinctive of a group of people. Matsumoto confirmed that : “ ... the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people, but different for each individual, communicated from one generation to the next.” (Spencer-Oatey 3). Also, Matsumoto added to what Hofstede has claimed, that even if culture is a common among a community, it is distinctive for each singular among the same community. All in all, what I wanted to explain is that a

Culture directs human actions and the way person present themselves in the society in order to remain in the culture boundaries and accepted by the common community as a respected member of the society. According to David (2001) “Culture is often used to refer to ideas, beliefs, representation, behaviour pattern, practices, artifacts and so forth that are transmitted socially across generations within a group, resulting in pattern of within-group similarity and between group differences”. Moreover, culture is transmitted on an unconscious level from generation to generation, influencing day-to-day behavior and ensuring a people 's survival (Norma, 2001).

According to Greenwood (1957), culture is defined as "The interactions of social roles required by these formal and informal groups generate a social configuration unique to the profession" (p. 52). In any profession, it is important to respect others cultures, beliefs, and values.

Culture is an “operational code” shared by members of a particular society, a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that members of society use to cope with their world and with one another. Members of a society share their culture; there is no “culture of one”, it is learned through a process called enculturation, and changeable through social interactions between people and groups. Culture is patterned, meaning that people in a society live and think in ways forming definite, repeating patterns.

Culture can be defined in many ways due to the fact that everyone can have their own distinct and traditional beliefs and values. “ Culture is fluid, it is not a static entity which one takes out of the box on occasion. It is with us daily” (Cultural Handout). Someone’s culture is set as the characteristics of the group practices in language, religion, types of food, social traits and habits, and the distinct arts and music. There are a variety of different cultures for example, Western Culture, Eastern Culture, Latin Culture, Middle Eastern Culture, and African Culture. All of these different cultures have their own ideas, values, and individualism, laws that are implied, civil rights, and even technology. In our, “ Culture Handout” culture is defined as the tool of the mind, “ it is an individual’s way seeing and interacting within the world. It encompasses one’s values systems, beliefs, and perceptions of the world around them. Race, socio-economic class gender, sexual orientation, ability, geographic location, age, religion language, etc. all impact the formation of culture, but these various context are not culture” (Cultural Handout).