Intercultural Communication Competency Paper

You know that feeling of home whether it’s with family members or even your loved ones? I don’t think that home is something that is automatically there, I believe that it is something that’s created. I learned that lesson through the eyes of one of my older friends who came from India with his brother when he was 16 in order to make a living. My friend Vikas, told me everything he had to do and the struggles he conquered in order to make his own successful business here in the U.S. Some things he told be reminded me of interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and intracultural communication. He had to have a lot of communication with his friend who also happened to be from India and some new friends and colleagues he met through his journey. Of course there was homesickness and the occasional depression, but that didn’t stop him from creating his now successful business.

Today, we live in a culturally diverse society due to globalization. As our world grows, expands and become increasingly more interconnected, the need for effective interpersonal communication among differing cultures has become apparent. When people from different cultures interact with one another there is intercultural communication because different cultures create different interpretation and expectations about what is seen as competent behaviors that will enable the construction of shared meanings.

Whether you are in Russia, Saudi Arabia, or in a neighboring city twenty miles down the road, the difference between having a pleasant experience and possibly one that is on the opposite end of the spectrum may boil down to if you can or can you not effectively communicate with the people you encounter and interact with. Lustig and Koester refer to “ethnocentrism” as a universal truth held by all cultures that each culture knows the correct ways of doing things in life (p.150). Therefore if that one culture is performing everything truthful and honestly then by default every other culture is not. Perhaps this is an arrogant view to take in light of the fact that no one could possibly do everything perfect, but there has to be some type of baseline for which to refer to.

Developing cultural competency is not always easy and it is not something that one acquires through birth. Instead, it is a developmental process that is nurtured over time. While the growth process may start off with a memorized list of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors that one is supposed to follow, true intercultural competence evolves when behaviors are internalized and occur naturally because they “feel right” (Medina-López-Portillo, 2004, p. 315). Stress, anxiety, and difficulties are sometimes signs that an individual is making progress towards cross-cultural “deepening” (Stephenson, 2002, p. 99). At an extreme, when individuals are overwhelmingly stressed in a new cultural environment, their failure to adapt is expressed at times by emotional and physical health issues (Li et al., 2013).

Communication in the global workplace is a complex concept with the increased diversity of cultural

According to the text, “Cultural competency is essential in today’s world and required for leadership communication and transformational leaders in particular” (Barrett, D., 2014). Intercultural competence involves effective communication with people of different cultural backgrounds. “Without knowledge of other cultures, people tend to make embarrassing mistakes when conducting international business” (Duggan, T., 2017). This can take place in the workplace as well. Regarding my current organization, tools improve intercultural competence would include cultural awareness, cultural differences, values and morale training, cultural identity, and language barriers. Cultural awareness can improve intercultural competence because it will allowed

Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) is the ability to take into account the difference in interpersonal communication among cultures when interacting with people from different cultures. This means being able to effectively and appropriately communicate in cross-cultural interactions. Communicating effectively refers to the ability to achieve a desired goal when interacting another person, without wasted effort. Being able communicate appropriately means having the ability to conduct oneself in a manner that does not offend the other person and reflects a sense of understanding of their culture (Shuang 2014). Technology and transportation services are allowing people to be more connected than ever. Thus, ICC is especially valuable

Intercultural communication is commonly explained as an interaction between people of 'different cultures whether defined in terms of racial, ethnic or socioeconomic differences.' Human communication consists of verbal and nonverbal messages (language and gestures) which are shaped by gender, social class or culture. Thus, what perimeters define the intercultural exchange and what primary messages do we need or try to convey?

Intercultural communication competence refers to the ability of an individual to adapt and communicate appropriately and effectively across a wide array of cultural contexts. That is to say, for an individual to be considered an intercultural communicator they must understand other’s cultures as well as they understand their own, and apply this understanding to communication (Chen 1-2). With the increasing diversity at the workplace, school and other social settings, it has become increasingly important to learn how to communicate with people from a diverse array of cultures. More importantly, adapting to a more effective intercultural communication competence model provides us with learning opportunities occasioned by the interaction with people from other backgrounds. The intercultural communication competence model comes with some key components including tolerance for uncertainty, self-knowledge, and motivation. The greatest and most important of these aspects is motivation. An individual must be willing to foster relationships with people from a different cultural background. If an individual lacks the willingness to promote intercultural relationships, then other aspects of the intercultural communication model become moot.

In the 1870’s the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. Before the telephone the only other means of communication was the telegraph and letters. Today we have many other means of communicating with others. We use electronic mail, postal mail, telephone and media to name a few. There is an extraordinary growth in the communication business doubling from $123 billion in 2004 to $282 billion by 2010. The internet based communications systems are vastly improving the efficiency of the supply chain for the 5000 largest companies worldwide. The communication avenues we have today help the United States communicate with other countries around the world. The growth and improvement in worldwide communication adds to the significance of culturally diverse teamwork in large companies. Many companies are using global communication. Companies do not usually have the same costs involved in hiring and managing employees overseas. The ability to successfully manage a culturally diverse organization is crucial to its success.

The term intercultural communication refers to a type of communication that is aiming at sharing information across diverse social groups and cultures. In general, intercultural communication describes wide range of communication processes that are naturally occurring in organizations which are made up of individuals who are from different backgrounds. Today’s world has been characterized by increased communication between different people around the world resulting to establishment of contracts across people from different locations.

In business it is commonly agreed that communication is one of the primary concerns. So, for professionals who work internationally; people who interact daily with other people from different countries within their company or with other companies abroad; Hofstede's model gives insights into other cultures. In fact, cross-cultural communication requires being aware of cultural differences because what may be considered perfectly acceptable and natural in one country, can be confusing or even offensive in another. All the levels in communication are

Communication can be described as an information exchange with the aim of reaching a common understanding - through written or spoken means, actions or symbols (Boddy, 2017). Inter-cultural communication therefore, is communication between different cultures. This essay will explore issues faced during inter-cultural communication, with reference to my own personal experience. With ever-evolving technology and more companies taking advantage of globalisation than ever before, good cross-cultural communication has never been more important; therefore it is essential that issues arising during inter-cultural communication can be appropriately resolved to ensure the most effective communication. (Hybels & Weaver, 2012).

Intercultural communication competence is an essential skill for anyone to effectively communicate and work with people from other different cultures, especially in a globalizing world. It is obvious that language skills play a vital role in cross-cultural communication. However, it is more important for anyone to have a better understanding of cultural patterns reflected on communication in order to avoid unexpected misunderstandings. In this essay, I will make a reflection on what I have learned about intercultural communication competence and also share

It has been brought to our attention in Human Resources that our organization will begin international business at the beginning of the new year, which is just less than five months away. There are several negative situations that can occur within our organization due to cross-cultural miscommunication. When cross-cultural communications do not translate as intended, people can take with them a complete different message which can cause costly mistakes. Sometimes the wrong choice of words will be used and can cause severe embarrassment. If our organization uses poor translators, we could experience some tragic consequences in our business (Daniels, Radebaugh, & Sullivan, 2007). I would