How to Succeed in the Workplace

This document will serve as a guideline on the use of electronic communications and addresses major issues such as; email and cell phone usage, best practices, how we define appropriate use of email and cell phones in the workplace, the effective use of email as a business tool for internal and

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.

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.

Cultural Competence is a complicated assimilation of education, beliefs, and experiences which would strengthen communication and efficient interaction cross-culturally. However, culture is defined as one way of life. It is not defined by race, language, food, religion, and ethics. With a job that involves constant involvement or entanglement with different culture, it is important for cultural competence. To be cultural competent is the ability to know one difference but still understands, respect, and safeguard the individual right to self-confidence, self- interpretation and status. Nevertheless, working with people of different cultural diversity might be difficult especially it differs from our own core culture. Therefore to prevent bias

As times are changing, so is the world’s vision of normal. Discrimination and segregation were a huge part of history, but the fact is that in this modern society, culture diversity is the new norm. Companies and organizations incorporate culture diversity in the workplace due to the benefits of various experiences, language skills, and productivity. Employees are the face of the company, and if they have the mentality of prejudice and ethnocentrism, it can affect the success of the business. While most people understand that the world is a melting pot, discrimination still exists in this world and these people are at a disadvantage. Whether it is because they are living in the past, had a bad experience, or have not been exposed to it, the world is a melting pot of culture, gender, and ethnicity. Regardless of how we are different, once “we can learn to appreciate that differences do matter and that becoming aware of those differences will make interactions with others much easier” (Devry University, n.d.).

The using of technologies for communications will help closing the gaps between staffs and management and with the business stakeholders. By using of emails, video conferencing, webinar and social networks it helps to make the connections between staffs, whether they work in the same building, in different states or across the country. On the other hands, electronic messages and other ways of technologies based communications are always replaced for interactions that can be better suitable for personal interactions. This is can be worked as very effective when different opinions between a lot of staffs exists or when the exchanges of idea and message can be impacted by body languages and non-verbal information during

Communication is a tremendous aspect of everyday life. The effects of positive and negative communication are imperative to making deals, providing information, and even everyday office interaction. The way people communicate with each other defines their character, especially in an office setting. Positive communication skills are appreciated and are the basis of running a successful company. Conversely, negative communication can lead to business failure, as well as poor relationships with co-workers. Three positive methods of communication are active listening, effective speaking, and confidence. Three negative methods of communication are strong reactions, providing misleading information, and the use improper communication tools. Ari

Guiding staff through the Cultural Proficiency Continuum to will provide the structure to build an inclusive community. To accomplish this monumental task, a leader must take each person where they are at, accepting their perceptions and realities and offering opportunities to dig deeper. By recognizing and accepting that everyone has implicit and explicit biases and encouraging self-reflection to identify one's biases the process of reframing can

In our ever expanding population, people who cannot adapt or respect the cultural diversity of different countries will fall behind in society. It is of a high importance that you learn to be culturally competent, but you may say “I am already good at that” or “Why does it matter?” In response I say that being competent with cultures is a process that continues to change over time and that it isn’t a one time achievement. In modern times it has become increasingly important that people tolerate other people of diverse cultures to the point that you can get fired for not doing so.

     Finally, the individual needs to be comfortable when dealing with the dynamics of diversity. This person will need to utilize a process framework in addressing diversity. This means take the time to understand both sides of the story before deciding who was wrong. Sometimes a saying may be interpreted wrong because it may be acceptable in one culture but not the other. A diversity mature individual will take the time to ask questions to better understand the situation, and then provide a solution to help both parties resolve the matter in a peaceful way. This technique will allow employees to regain focus and continue performing at peak levels.

The importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting is essential to make the work environment comfortable. In every culture there are basic standards of thinking, and acting and these cultural differences strongly influence workplace values and communication. What may be considered acceptable and natural in the workplace for one person may be unacceptable for another person. People from diverse cultures bring new ways of thinking, creativity and language skills needed to survive in today’s work force. In many

In any society, how we see ourselves and how others treat us depends on many factors. Race, ethnicity, and cultural background are identifiers of individuals. Most people have confronted prejudice based on these identifiers, either personally experiencing discrimination or knowing someone who has. Beyond ensuring organizational compliance with a country’s anti-discrimination laws, it is incumbent upon managers to support diversity in the workplace and to be culturally competent.

According to me one tool could be to increase your level of sensitivity and your powers of observation. I think when you’re in a foreign country; you should learn how those around you conduct themselves and one another. Listen more than you talk and chances are you’ll learn more, faster. It’s not easy to absorb everything that is happening around you at such times; it can be beneficial to tap into your self-awareness skills. Another step to increasing cultural sensitivity is building the cultural knowledge of the workforce. One should set an example and see what he/she can learn online or through books and encourage others to practice the same. Anything you can do to celebrate the diversity will help increase cultural awareness and acceptance. Make an effort to recognize the festivals and holidays of other cultures to show others that their cultures are being recognized.

Communication should be clear, concise, and succinct to avoid any room for misinterpretation; Negative nonverbal cues such as, facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language, could discredit the person-to-person conversation. Communication scholars argue that one should not assume that more communication is equated with better communication (Keyton, 2013, p. 154), especially with the added use of nonverbal cues. It is understood that interpersonal communication is important, but whether it changes the landscape of a business for the better is another question, altogether. There are both formal and informal communications in the workplace; Formal, dealing with work decisions and the latter, dealing with friendships and non-work-related banter.