Cultural Diversity and Communication Barriers

Cultural diversity can be defined as the cultural differences that exist between people such as, language, traditions, and the religious beliefs along with the way society carries itself. It is inevitable in the United States to notice the wide variety of cultures that with the years have come to share this land with Americans.

Different social, professional and cultural contexts may affect relationships and the way people communicate due to of a lack of understanding or knowledge of one another’s background and culture. This could be through their race, religion, ethnicity or where they come from. Each one of these can have similar or very different ways to communicate. For example

Cultural conflicts and hate usually cause a divide within a nation. However, cooperation, inclusion and respect assist in uniting a country. Multiculturalism therefore strengthens a country, especially if there are programs that work towards promoting cultural understanding and eliminating racism. It also encourages all people to take part in the economic, political and social life of the society.

Productivity in the new culture is experienced to an extremely positive extent. Business dealings and negotiations become secondary nature to the expatriate, and the expatriate’s journey becomes a great success in the perspective of their employing company.

1.1a Explain what is meant by Diversity Diversity is a reality created by individuals and groups from a broad spectrum of demographic and philosophical variations. It is important to support and protect diversity because of valuing individuals and groups free from prejudice, and by fostering a climate where equity and mutual respect are intrinsic. "Diversity" means more than just acknowledging and/or tolerating difference. Diversity is a set of conscious practices that involve: •Understanding and appreciating interdependence of humanity, cultures, and the natural environment. •Practicing common respect for qualities and experiences that are different from our own.

Communicators who succeed in a diverse workplace must educate themselves about different cultures and co-cultures. Treating people from different cultural backgrounds with respect is essential. Finally, being willing to acknowledge and discuss cultural differences can help communicators understand and appreciate one another. The impact of culture and listening is very important in everyday life. Think about how many times you have had problems understanding someone from a different culture or even a different sub-culture. Now think about how many times someone from a different cultural background may have had problems understanding you. I know realize once that e-mail was

Words, expressions, and gestures possess dissimilar meanings among different cultures. There is potential for the intended meaning to be misconstrued by the other party, which will result in friction among the groups. Another threat is the potential of cultural shocks, in which certain members of a diverse setting may not be able to adjust or understand the other cultures. In an organization where this is most likely to occur, dissatisfied employees may respond with high rates of absenteeism or turnover. Lower performance on the job may also result, which would have a significantly negative effect on the well being of the company. Diversity has been proven to foster the productivity of teams. However, this diversity also increases the number of ideas raised, and can be more time consuming to reach a consensus regarding particular decisions or suggestions.

Communication is an important part and concern in many organizations. With many organizations having such a diverse workforce communicating has an impact on how well employees, patient and family members interact together. Many communication issues arise due to the fact that there are many employees from different cultures and different genders. These issues have an impact on how effectively tasks are done within the organization causing concerns with family members, patients and even coworkers. The different individuals that are from different cultures and genders have different ways on which

Cultural diversity continues to become more common in the workplace. Diversity refers to qualities and features that are different from our own. These differences include race, gender, age, personality, talents, and nationalities. Diversity includes how one identifies themselves as well as how others perceive one. The ability to appreciate the qualities that make us individuals and embrace those who are dissimilar can help increase performance within an organization and prevent conflict.

Since public and private organization uses managing diversity concept ,this chapter addresses how managing diversity concepts is use several ways such as organizational and management level, group performance, group dynamics, group perspectives, and individual identity.

Cultural diversity can be defined as the existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within a society. On the surface, many may think cultural diversity in the workplace is pretty self explanatory. However, if you go a little deeper you will find that diversity in the workplace not only consists of culture, but also race, religion, communication, background, and demographics all which play an important role in what configures the differences within a workplace. Understanding the root of why people act a certain way, have a specific dress code, or how they approach conflict may possibly be the difference between an innovative, productive work environment and an inefficient, non productive work environment. It’s important that those in the workplace try their best to get along and not pass judgment on those who seem different from first glance. Ensuring cultural understanding makes sure that entire chain of command operates smoothly to allow the business to perform at maximum potential.

“THERE IS A COMMUNICATION PROBLEM WHEN PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES AND BACKGROUNDS DO NOT TAKE DIVERSITY INTO CONSIDERATION”

Cross-cultural communication is the process of exchanging meaningful and unambiguous information across cultural boundaries, in a way that preserves mutual respect and minimizes antagonism, that is, it looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds endeavour to communicate. The study of cross-cultural communication was originally found within businesses and the government both seeking to expand globally. Communication is interactive, so an important influence on its effectiveness is our relationship with others. All communication is cultural -- it draws on ways we have learned to speak and give nonverbal messages. We do not always

Diverse environments, such as at work or school can also be a challenging place for effective communication. Working and communicating in a group can be difficult enough without adding any other variables. When diversity is applied to the group, communication can become a sizeable challenge. Ribbink (2003) states, "different cultures like to receive information—and trust information they receive from different sources—in different ways" (para. 6). Individuals from some cultures prefer to receive information or be taught by the leader of a team or a trusted coworker rather than a manager (Ribbink, 2003).

diversity impact on workplace in positive and negative also. Effective communication is necessary for any business ,we can not company our message effectively without effective communication. In diverse workforce people have different languages. So that they fail in communicational issues .