Archives for March 2020

The article “Cross Cultural Communication Barriers in the Workplace” was published on June 6, 2019.  When considering cross cultural communications and the barriers that present themselves in the workplace, we cannot limit our thinking to good manners and tolerance, we must delve deeper into eliminating or at least diminishing the barriers and embracing the benefits that can be reaped from this environments.

Our world today is changing, and businesses are expanding into global markets with businesses abroad.  Communicating in an effective manner in cross-cultural markets can be extremely challenging.  Companies that ensure cultural differences are understood can have a significant positive impact for the business in this type of market.  Barriers such as stereotypes, ethnocentrism, anxiety and uncertainty are generally caused by lack of knowledge about different cultures and a lack of intercultural communication skills and practices (Jenifer & Raman, 2015).  Eliminating the cross-cultural communication barriers and training employees appropriately in cross cultural communication while exposing them to other cultures is key to breaking down the barriers.

Misunderstanding and/or a lack of knowledge may be the most common barriers to cross-cultural communication (Jenifer & Raman, 2015).  Every culture has its own norms and acceptable behaviors.  What one culture finds acceptable and appropriate may be high offensive to another culture.  It is human nature to expect others to conform to our ways, our culture; however, when multiple cultures come together in the workplace, the lines blur and everyone must be open to learning and understanding the differences in cultures in order for the business to prosper.

Businesses that expand into cross-cultural arenas and operate successfully train their employees in three competency components.  These components are cross-cultural sensitivity, cross-cultural awareness and cross-cultural ability.  Cross-cultural sensitivity training equips employees with the ability to appreciate the differences in other cultures (Jenifer & Raman, 2015).  Cross-cultural awareness enhances the cultural awareness within the company and creates a higher level of self-awareness for employees.  Cross-cultural ability involves knowledge training.  It is important for employees to recognize and understand the differences in values beliefs, interpretations and perceptions through basic cross-culture training classes.  In addition, language training is also be an important element in cross-cultural communications (Jenifer & Raman, 2015).

The time and money a company allocates for training and preparing employees in cross-cultural communications, the more successful it will be in overcoming the cross-cultural barriers.  Ultimately, the company will emerge with a new cultural enterprise, one in which everyone understands and appreciates differences as well as similarities and all work together toward common goals.

Reference

Jenifer, R. D., & Raman, G. P. (2015). Cross cultural communication barriers in the workplace. International Journal of Management, 6(1), 332–335. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333640758_Cross_Cultural_Communication_Barriers_in_Workplace

Hello Class,

The topic I would like to discuss is about Islamic life, I was able to relate to this course content very well and was excited that it was a part of our learning curriculum. Islamic life is about rules that we apply in our daily lives and relationships. In the Islamic community, the rules come from the Quran and the reports of the Prophet Muhammad. In Islam, they are very stern with their rules of Alcohol, drugs, etc. In the Islamic mindset, life was given to you by Allah which is also another term for God and also that death was also given by Allah. Therefore, to gain a place in heaven you must abide by these rules. In Islam, you are also known as a Muslim. This means that we worship one God and be compliant with Allah’s rules. There are also different types of Muslims such as Sunnis and Shia’s. The Sunni Muslims believe the practices of Prophet Muhammad and the Shia Muslims do not follow Prophet Muhammad they follow Prophet Ali. This is their main difference. The thing that many people don’t know is that Christians and Catholics have a lot of common rules as Muslims. To me, religion has been something interesting, however, not something I deeply practice. I believe that if we do good and be good in this life and we will go wherever we belong.

Nowadays when someone asks about me about what religion I am, I  deal with the misconceptions of being a terrorist. It all started right after 8th grade when 9/11 happened. After that day the Muslims have been placed unfair stereotypes. I have met a lot of co-workers who lie about their religion because they are terrified of how they will be treated. I have experienced this at work, however, because I know I am not consumed with religion and just living my day to day life, I don’t let anyone irritate me. “Many people have a stereotype of Muslims as terrorists. This stereotype is untrue. The religion of Islam teaches peace and tolerance just like most other religions around the world. The problem is that many people’s exposure to Islam came on September 11, 2001, in New York City.” (Canvas). I completely agree that Muslims promote peace and patience. The problem is that many are not allowed to express this because society is so closed off from the terrorist attacks that “so-called Muslims” do on innocent civilians. “The researchers found that Muslims perceive significant bias against them. Seventy-five percent of respondents said there’s “a lot” of discrimination against Muslims in the U.S. Sixty percent of Muslims—and 68 percent of Muslim women—said media coverage of Muslims is unfair. And when respondents were asked about the most important problems facing U.S. Muslims today, the most popular answers included “discrimination, racism, [and] prejudice,” “Muslims [being] viewed as terrorists,” (Green, 2017).

At KPMG being that it’s such a diverse corporation, I am allowed to express my culture and share my experience with my colleagues. I host EID lunch parties which is a Holiday to celebrate the last day of Ramadan (fasting). Each Muslim member of the group brings in a traditional dish for everyone to try and we decorate with balloons and EID decorations to set the vibes. On my father’s first death anniversary I brought in a tray of baklava sweets and sent out an email blast asking everyone to enjoy something sweet in honor of my father. This is what being a good Muslim is someone kind, giving, sharing, and willing to co-exist with other religions. This proves that we are not bad people and do not deserve to be generalized for people who claim they are Muslim when in reality they are not.

References
Green, E. (2017, August 10). How Much Discrimination Do Muslims Face in America? Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/american-muslims-trump/534879/

Canvas: Islamic Life. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977855

Social learning was one of the most fascinating topics that I had the opportunity to dive into. It is something that is all around us, every day, and at times we are aware of it, others it is just natural.  After covering it as a topic and actually putting a name and some concepts and methodologies behind it, became that much more fascinating to me. Before getting too far, lets quickly define what social learning is.  Penn State online commentary provides the following, “The basic idea of social learning is captured in the name itself; it is about learning from others in the social environment. Slightly more specific, it is about how people learn behavior by observing others behave.” (PSU WC, 2020, L. 5)

Let’s put this concept to work! Have you ever had the opportunity to just stand back and observe what happens when you get a large group of younger children together? If you ignore everything else that is going on and focus on the what is really happening with the children, you are witnessing something truly incredible. I had this opportunity over the weekend with a get together with some close friends and family. Two events took place that really showed off the idea of social learning perfectly.

It started in the backyard when a good song came on that my daughter and son started doing a silly dance they came up with.  Before I knew it, I was witnessing seven other children, joining in and doing exactly like my kids did.  What is amazing with this is, there was not a time when my kids were teaching the others, it was just something was observed and performed.

A bit later in the day I was back in the house and one of my nephews asked to play a video game.  As I went to turn it on for him my friend’s son, to be specific, an eight-year-old, explained to be that he could do it for me.  I watched as he turned on the TV, video game console, and receiver to get the game running.  Now everyone knows the feeling as you are trying to figure out how all their audio/video equipment works to just get TV at someone else’s home. I asked my friend’s son how he knew how to do all that and he replied that he saw me do it earlier in the day.

These two events may be small, but we are seeing what organizations today are striving for with their employees. Social learning has the capacity and potential to expedite the learning process and it is built-in to all of us.  For the past few weeks we have been looking at concepts that all relate back to global organizations.  With global organizations comes an extensive and diverse population that is ripe to learn from one another.  The last piece I’ll leave you with on this topic is post on Penn State’s lesson notes from Albert Bandura.

“According to Bandura (1986), social learning is different from other types of learning because it allows for creativity in addition to learning something from others. Social learning is not mimicry or imitation (which would be an exact copy of the behavior); it is known as modeling. The person doing the learning sees a behavior and replicates it, but also modifies it based on his or her own experiences and desires.” (PSU WC, 2020, L. 5)

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). OLEAD 410 Lead Global Context. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977820

Depending on who you ask, secularism can be defined in multiple ways. Growing up as a protestant Christian I always thought that for something to be considered secular it had to be forbidden or looked down upon by the Bible. Because my country, Tanzania, has a religiously split population of 50 percent Muslims and 50 percent of Christians I’ve been learning through my Muslim friends thought some of the things that I do as a Christian are secular to them. After learning more about the middle east and it’s ever-changing relationship to the world I now realize that the middle east and the west, which includes the United States and other first world countries, may have the same problem.

Civilization is the stage of human social and cultural development and organization that is considered most advanced and the middle east is home to the world’s earliest acts of civilization. If the middle east has been at the forefront of world civilization for a long time why does it feel like they are currently behind and trying to catch up with the western world? Again, you will receive multiple answers depending on who you ask. Some people might say that it is because western countries practice ideologies that are more secular thus creating friendlier and faster environments for development and modern civilization. While this may be true, it does not necessarily mean that the lack of secularism may be responsible for the slow growth of some middle eastern economies and civilizations. Some middle eastern countries have existed for many years. Saudi Arabia, in particular, is approximately six times the age of the United States. During their 1400 years of existence as a dominantly Islamic state, they have been able to grow with the world and they are now one of the wealthiest nations. More than 80 percent of their 25 million population live in urban areas and at 87 percent they have a higher literacy rate than the United States.

While secularism is not a priority in middle eastern countries like Saudi Arabia it is understandable why it is hard for them to embrace new ways. 1400 years of culture and a way of life cannot be changed because of how a different part of the world feels about it. Saudi Arabia has been rich without embracing the benefits of secularism so they will most likely stay that way. It is important for the world to realize that to be secular does not mean to be developed or progressively civilized. Secularism can just be a different way of life depending on the culture involved.

As social creatures we interact with various people, including ones who are different. Although opposites attract sometimes they clash so unfortunately conflict is unavoidable. One of the most overlooked conflicts is the one between Hindus and Muslims in India. Islam is a religion most associated with the Middle East but it has had big influence on India as well.

At the end of Feburary a violent clash occurred between Hindus and Muslims in New Delhi which resulted in 11 people being killed. This conflict is very old but this situation is a result was over the country’s controversial citizenship law that makes it easier for people of Southeast Asia to become citizens except for Muslims. President Trump was brought as example of the stance against Islam.

This is a prime example of cross-cultural coflnflict. According to the text, the best way to resolve is to create synergy.  Both sides desire to be about of the courty so the politicians should do things to unite the people. The leadership in this country has to make a firm stand that intolerance will not be tolerated.

No culture is a monolith. When you look of any society it is the result a numerous people who eventually became one group. While cross culture is difficult diversity has consistently proven to be an asset.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/world/asia/new-delhi-hindu-muslim-violence.html

According to Moran, Abramson, & Moran, “Synergy is a cooperative or combined action, and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for a common cause”. They also tell us, ” The differences in the world’s people can lead to mutual growth and accomplishment that is more than the single contribution of each party. ( Moran, Abramson, and Moran. 2014, p. 266). I really connected with the second quote as it reminded me of a former job I used to work at. At this construction company I worked at a while back, it took anywhere from four to ten people working in sync to essentially build and construct a retaining wall. The walls at some of these projects were ranging anywhere from 300 yards long to sixty feet high. When you’re working at these heights in outdoor, unstable conditions in the winter or summer months, team chemistry is so important. many people would think a construction site is the last place you would need and see synergy. Coming from the Green word meaning ” working together”, this concept is crucial to the correct completion of the projects my team and I were assigned at this company.

Because the process of constructing these walls was so time consuming, and consisted of some many fine-detailed steps, it was imminent that each and every team member was on the same page throughout the entire process. Whether it was the people operating the machines, to the people physically laying the block for the wall, each action you chose to make was ” make or break” in the outcome of the project. Measurements for certain steps in January could determine whether the top of the wall is located in the right position in March. Because this industry was so detail driven, and team oriented, I thought it was appropriate to use for this blog entry. The demonstration and importance of high-performing teams at these jobs sights was so key. “Virtually every working person is on the some team or group who agree on a goal or task, and are assigned or volunteer to work with others to accomplish successfully the task. ” ( Moran, Abramson, & Moran. 2014, p268). This description of a high-performing team is so accurate and relatable to the line of work I used to partake in. During these projects, daily task would be assigned to each member of our team. It was then up to those members to carry out their assignment exactly how it was written on the blue print. A single mixup or mistake by any team member, and the successful completion of the project was in jeopardy.

Another concept brought up throughout this chapter was ” Team Strategy”. Teams are collections of people who must rely on group collaboration if each member is to experience the optimum of success and goal achievement. Team strategy plays a huge role on a job site. For instance, you have crew ” x ” who carries out certain tasks in one manner, while your crew performs those same exact tasks in a different way. While I was at this company, our team would try to innovate and come up with the best way to perform our daily tasks in order to save time and stay efficient. There is a lot of room for efficiency on a job site. When you are operating equipment with your co-workers, certain things can be done so that you can ” kill two birds with one stone”, and in essence save time and man power for your team.

Throughout my time at this company, synergy played such a key role. Because constructing these walls was so detail oriented, teamwork and group synergy was so important. The common saying, “a chain is only as strong as the weakest link” is very true. On a construction site, if you have people always taking breaks or not paying attention for example, it will slow the entire team down and eventually put the entire project behind. At the beginning of each project, you are given due dates and timelines just like in any office job. It is so important that as a team you meet these deadlines whether its on weekly or monthly basis. Synergy is something I think many businesses or companies overlook. Having entire teams who understand the benefits of synergy goes a very long way.

References:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences: Leadership skills and strategies for working in a global world. New York: Elsevier.

PSU World Campus Lesson 6: Cultural Synergy. (2020). Retrieved March 2, 2020, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977849

Moran et al. (2014) shared in Exhibit 10.6 a case study of a Muslim MBA business student. In short the student was look forward to their first course in Microeconomics which focused on the how we individually make decisions to maximize out utility (Moran et al., 2014). It was disheartening to read in the case study how the person lost all their motivation to carryon as a business woman because of how the theories conflicted with their religion (Moran et al., 2014). Right away I was left with many questions such as- how many Muslim men and women drop out of business majors in America due to conflicting theories? As I continued with the readings I reflected on how Americans are perceived when traveling- arrogant, entitled, and obsessed with work come to mind. When I analyze the questions I am left with and the reflections I have, I realize how negatively they impact synergy and I am left with the biggest question of all- how do we change to help us promote more synergy among those who have varying religious beliefs and where does it start?

Before we can create synergy among groups of people who share differing religious beliefs and social normed, we need to become educated on the differences between as well as the differences within. Moran et al. (2014) highlighted the differences among those countries in the Middle East. More notably, the concept of “brotherhood” versus “self-interest” which could impact the topic surrounding leaders’ decision making. Someone from the Western culture may not think twice about investing into a casino where as someone from the Middle East may view this as Haram business where dealings in gambling are prohibited (Moran et al., 2014). Or going back to the case study where the business case student stopped pursuing their business endeavors because of the conflicting self-interest theory with their religious beliefs.

Another important aspect of business and understanding the differences between and the differences within, is religion. Normally in the Western culture there is a separation between church and state. Prior to the readings this week I had little understanding of how much religion drives business conduct in the Middle East. It was even more interesting to read and learn about how the different religions (i.e. Muslim and Judaism) drive decisions and business conduct within the Middle East. As well as what may be simple business conduct, not referring to someone by their first and using Mr. or Miss or how to nonverbally great someone a firm handshake verses a “dead fish” handshake or even when it is appropriate to hug and kiss on the cheek (Moran et al., 2014).

Through the understandings of what may seem like basic knowledge, American leaders can have more improved relations with their international business groups or diverse remote team. In a more globalize economy cultural differences impact all industries therefore it may be beneficial to make it an academic requirement to take a course on managing cultural differences (similar to this course). Understanding that not everyone goes to college I believe similar courses in high school would also be beneficial. By providing this knowledge to people it will impact their awareness to other cultures when traveling and/or conducting business, ultimately helping promote more synergy groups and overtime reducing the negative stigmatizing of American arrogance and entitlement.

References:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam’s two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king’s official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. (CIA) The Saudi government said it would suspend visas for Muslims seeking to visit Mecca and Medina. Millions of Muslims make the journey each year, especially during the month of Ramadan, which starts in April. Saudi Arabia has also suspended visas for tourists from countries with confirmed cases of the virus. It is not clear when the visa restrictions will be lifted or how Ramadan and the major Hajj pilgrimage – which begins in July – will be affected. The announcement by Saudi Arabia comes as other Middle Eastern countries introduce sweeping measures to curb the spread of the disease in the region. Iran in particular is considered a hotspot of coronavirus transmission, with 245 cases and 26 deaths from it confirmed on Thursday. (BBC) There have been no confirmed cases of the virus in Saudi Arabia, although infected Saudis are under care in neighboring Bahrain. It is said that given the worldwide spread of the virus and the global nature of the umrah [the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca], it makes sense to cut close the holy sites from a public health and safety point of view. Especially since Iran illustrates how a religious crossroads can so quickly amplify the spread and reach of the virus.

Saudi Arabia is also an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses about 16% of the world’s proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC [The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries]. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 87% of budget revenues, 42% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. Saudi Arabia is encouraging the growth of the private sector in order to diversify its economy and to employ more Saudi nationals. Approximately 6 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly in the oil and service sectors. (CIA) An alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia has helped prop up oil prices for the last three years. But the two big oil producers were not in perfect harmony this week, as they have tried to recalibrate production targets to cope with reduced deand from China, whose economy has been crippled by the coronavirus epidemic. (NYT) Saudi Arabia is pushing to make a substantial cut in oil production when OPEC and its allies meet this week, as global energy producers scramble to respond to the coronavirus outbreak that has crippled demand. The coronavirus outbreak has been pressuring oil prices for weeks as Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and other oil producers try to gauge how the widening outbreak could affect global energy demand. In addition, a current OPEC agreement struck in December aimed to cut output by 1.7 million bpd until the end of March. OPEC had already been facing lower oil prices from oversupply and waning demand in China; the world’s largest oil importer. Just yesterday, NPR reported oil prices have plummeted and now hover just below $50 a barrel. This is bad news for countries that depend on oil sales to China. Subsequently is particularly tough on Saudi Arabia, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has promised a major overhaul of the kingdom’s economy. High oil prices are needed to do achieve this and it is incredibly tough to foster new industries and create jobs and try to develop new economic sectors when oil is at approximately $50 a barrel.

References:

Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ). ( n.d. ). The world factbook.

(2020, February 27). Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends entry for pilgrims visiting holy sites.
Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51658061

Reed, S. (2020, February 7). Saudi-Russian Alliance Is Strained as Coronavirus Saps Demand for Oil.
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/business/opec-russia-saudi-arabia.html