Intercultural Conflict : Intercultural Conflicts

Cross cultural conflict can also be a factor in the workplace. The United States is an extremely diverse place, as a conglomeration of people from different races, religions, cultural backgrounds, personalities, educational experiences and learning styles. This diversification leads to more women, various ethnic groups, and immigrant workers working together in a more diverse tapestry of associates even when the corporation is located and operating only in the United States. In increasingly diverse corporate America, doing

Culture diversity is when differences in race, ethinicity, ability, age, nationality, language, socioeconomic status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation are represented in a community The community could be a region, city, company, country, neighborhood, or school. A group is culturally diverse if a wide variety of groups are represented. (Kimberly Amadeo, 2017). When culture diversity is applied to a workplace, it becomes a controversial issue. It is important for employees of a workplace because it manifests itself in building a good reputation for the company which leads to increased opportunities for workers and increased profitability. Not only is it important within an organization but it is also important outside of work. Not only does a diverse workplace offer exposure to different cultures and backgrounds, it also allows employees to learn from their co-workers whose attitutdes towards work vary from their own and whose work style may be different.

Diversity in the workplace is not a new idea or concept. From the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s the majority of people living in the United States were immigrants from other countries including Italy, Russia, and Ireland. Each of the members from these countries spoke different languages, came from different cultures, and had different customs and work ethics. Acceptance to them was fought for in the workplace in industries such as coal, steel, automobile manufacturing, and other labor forces. This type of struggle still continues today in the workplace from cultural differences, and language differences to racial and gender differences. This paper will examine the obstacles managers face when overcoming generational differences

According to behavioral theories of communication and decision-making the rational solution to a problem is not always the best answer. Therefore, when diversity creates controversy, which inhibits the development of an organization, the organization is forced to adopt other useful tactics that would result in positive outcomes. This document will focus on several aspects of cross-cultural conflicts; A)

Those that go into the business world quickly recognize that each work environment they find themselves in can be total different from another. This can especially be said even of environments within the United States, from region to region. There is definitely a disparity of workplace environments from country to country. Not only can culture drive a varied atmosphere, but the diversity of the personnel making up that environment can equally create a challenge that a leader must be prepared to manage. Recognizing that special care needs to be placed on communication and perception skills is crucial in our present professional domain. Managers of today need to employee tools from the psychological and sociological field to be successful. Having a deep understanding in the differences in culture and diversity in the workplace is critical, especially when debating about accepting a position overseas or assigning an employee to an embedded position abroad. With a broad knowledge of cultural differences and diversity, success as a manager and the stability of a positive work environment can be achieved and maintained without unnecessary effort and focus.

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.

This research did not only use the preferences of superiors employed in multicultural environments, when analyzing, but explored the role of each individual’s culture in defining a possible resolution. “If managers insist on their cultural preferences as the way to resolve disagreements, more disagreements will emerge because of misunderstood processes for resolving disagreements. The results of this study suggest that effective conflict resolution may need to begin with the recognition of different cultural preferences for resolution strategies. Only then can further attempts at resolution proceed effectively. In other words, focus on the "where" before jumping into the "how."”(Adams, p.110)

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.).

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.

As the demographic changes throughout the country shape the infinite amount of social environments. Now more than ever will there be an emergence of new contexts for cross cultural problems. This contexts are brought about by passages of legislation like the Civil Rights Act, changes in economic uncertainties and a plethora of other issues. Although some of these issues are older than others they all require a revisiting in order to prevent and resolve employee problems. This is due to the fact that these new issues and recurrences will always find their way into the workplace as individuals interact with each other, and share ideas or opinions.

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

Organizations have been becoming increasingly diverse in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality. This diversity brings substantial potential benefits such as better decision making, greater creativity and innovation, and more successful marketing to different types of customers. But, increasing cultural differences within a workforce also bring potential costs in higher turnovers, interpersonal conflicts, and communicational breakdowns. The utilities of diversity training and the essential managerial skills required for effectively managing diversity will also be discussed.

Are there any benefits to cultural diversity? one may wonder. Based on the theory of cultural diversity there are. Cultural diversity should not be ignored rather maintained and valued. Cultural diversity is when differences in race, ethnicity, language, nationality, and sexual orientation are represented within a community (Martin, 2014). A community is said to be diverse if its residents include members of different groups. Cultural diverse members have a tendency to communicate with each other more often in greater ways. There is an increase in cultural homogeneity in management groups may thus increase the level of satisfaction and cooperation and decrease emotional conflict. As cultural diversity increases, however social comparison and categorization processes occur. Therefore, as groups reaches moderate levels, the psychological processes may be more likely emerge. (Mazur, 2010). Cultural diversity is the driving force of development, not only with respect to

The workplace has become one of the biggest multicultural settings. Almost half of the work force in the United States is made up of minorities. There are many advantages to having this percentage of people from different cultures throughout our workplace. One is the increase in creativeness. Not only in products that are being created but in the developing of an approach to solving problems. "Other cultures can offer insightful alternatives" (EthoConnect). Another way in which the workplace is affected by this is in productivity and attitudes. When people of all cultures pull together to reach a common goal there are less limited boundaries and there are more global understanding that are used to help reach the world's market place; creating a larger market for products. With this change in productivity in the workplace is more desirable and enjoyable for all employees. The market place has become more global based that workers having a diverse culture base is very important to break down barriers in language and knowledge of certain markets. This affects our lives by more companies hiring more international job seekers.

Many U.S. companies are doing business internationally, but many complex situations can arise. Having an understanding of cultural differences in the workplace becomes important, and to understand these differences, people need to know and understand a culture’s ecological correlations, or in other words, the concepts that describe a culture (Brislin, P. 278). In reading the case “Negotiations – BWA Discovers the Indonesian Way” in Understanding and Managing Diversity, many cultural issues had come into play with the negotiations between the United States and Indonesian firm.