discussion

What are some things about communication you need to know when communicating with someone from a different culture or even a different ethnic group? Why is this so important? What happens to your communication efforts when you are not aware of these things? Give your feedback on post below.

It is important that leaders and managers know that when you are localizing a global company there are established cultures that will need help with change.  It is stated that, “successful cross-cultural interaction between multinational staff has now been accepted as the most critical management issue in international business both at the individual and group levels.”  As a leader they should analyze the different cultures they will be working with, get to know what drives them and how that correlates with what as a leader or manager wants to set as goals and how they will get there.

One theory I found and understand well from my current role is the person to supervisor fit, “ If employees feel that their personal characteristics match those of the supervisor, they are likely to foster a good relationship with the supervisor.”(Hua Fan, 2018)  When the personalities mesh and there is a genuine feeling for comfort with the person you are communicating with.  This also offers a certain level of trust that often takes a lot of time to build, with this type of relationship it is gained much more quickly.

The challenges that can be faced in the instance of the above the person to supervisor fit, often doesn’t work as a fit for everyone. Cultures also vary so a person may view establishing a working relationship with their subordinate or manager may be different for another.   Also, when it does work the need for boundaries is important because you still need to obtain a professional manager and employee relationship.  There is a certain level of emotional intelligence needed to be an effective leader. It is also expected of a leader or manager to be able to adapt to different cultures. “prescriptions for effective communication in cross-cultural encounters often suggest adapting one’s behavior to that of the other culture by learning to understand the value systems and communicative behaviors of the local or indigenous people.”(Abugre, 2019)