If you work in business, it is not uncommon to interact with someone from a different culture almost every day. Our work environments are becoming more culturally diverse and with globalization and advancements in technology, our work environments can easily spread around the world. Our coworkers are no longer sitting at the desk next to us or cohabitating in the same building, and our customers may not live in the same town. They could be located in any country and come from a variety of backgrounds. If you look at this clipart, we see a quick snapshot of a few different cultures from around the world. How many cultures do you interact with on a daily basis? How many of them are in your work team or office building? How many are overseas vendors or customers?
(Martin)
So, what are some of the barriers and obstacles that we face, or that our employees encounter when working with different cultures? First, leaders must look at themselves and their biases. Northouse (2013) stated that a major obstacle to effective leadership is ethnocentrism, which is “a tendency for individuals to place their own group (ethnic, racial, or cultural) at the center of their observations of others and the world” (p. 384). This can create conflict in the work environment, because we fail to recognize the creativity or uniqueness of others around us. However, skilled leaders can overcome ethnocentrism and reduce conflict among those working with us.
Blanding (2013) stated that managers should gain an awareness of “their own cultural biases and assumptions”, which can “decrease the effects of ambient cultural disharmony by encouraging employees to identify their own assumptions of other cultures”. Some ways to do this include developing cultural awareness moment such as, setting up site visits or encouraging employees to work side by side within different environments (Blanding, 2013). Blanding (2013) goes on to mentioned that “it is inevitable to have conflict when you bring people from different cultures together”; however, if managed properly different cultures and creativity employ greater methods of problem solving. Diverse work groups are good for organizations.
However, managers should be aware of the different barriers that employees may face when working with other cultures in work groups. This way managers can prepare employees to deal with barriers effectively. It is often easy to consider language barriers that employees face when working with another culture, but what about nonverbal communication and personal space considerations? These points are not always as obvious. Blank (2014) mentioned misunderstandings can easily occur between cultures, such as women showing assertiveness with men in supervisory positions, when this is not a traditional form of behavior in their culture. Additionally, maintaining less or more personal space when communicating can be very different between cultures. One culture may communicate very close to one another; however another may not be familiar with this and may become uncomfortable when someone is within their personal space.
Blank (2014) also mentioned generational differences, where more mature workers find younger workers to be lazy, or younger workers find more mature workers to be slow or unable to understand technology. Lastly, we must consider status and resistance barriers. In some cultures, there is less emphases placed on seniority and title. Other workers may resist change because they are stuck in their stereotype of people who are “different” from themselves (Blank, 2014). Understanding and recognizing these barriers is important to work group development and success.
Communication and productivity can improve and misunderstandings decrease if cultural diversity is welcomed and understood in the workplace. As Blanding (2013) so accurately proclaimed, “managing cultural conflict in an organization creates a more harmonious workplace, and ensures that you reap the creative benefits of multiculturalism.” Times are changing and it is important that we respect the differences among cultures, to create a successful work environment.
References
Blank, C. (2014). Cultural Barriers in the Workplace. Retrieved from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/cultural-barriers-workplace-22617.html
Blanding, M. (2013, December 9). How Cultural Conflict Undermines Workplace Creativity. Retrieved from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2013/12/09/how-cultural-conflict-undermines-workplace-creativity/
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage.
Martin, P. (n.d.). What is Culture. Retrieved from http://socialstudies.pppst.com/culture.html
This was a very good post especially considering the great diversity that is in the workplace today. At my place of employment it is very common to walk into the break room and hear Spanish, English, Assyrian, Arabic, and maybe even some German. There have been issues of blending the cultures because they are so different from one another. In looking at the website dictionary.com it defines ethnocentricism as a “belief in the intrinsic superiority of the nation, culture, or group to which one belongs, often accompanied by feelings of dislike for other groups”.
This ethnocentricism has caused issues at my place of employment because many times people are not able to coexist without always having to prove they are superior. For the most part our managers have done a good job of resolving the conflicts, and doing seminars on emotional intelligence.
I like how you mentioned not only other culture but also different generations, etc. It is very true with such a diverse workforce out there everyone needs to really be aware of not only what they are saying, but also how they are saying so as not to offend anyone.
Hi Heather, I enjoyed reading your post. I agree with your discussion regarding ethnocentrism – it is definitely a pervasive issue that impacts not only the workplace, but most (if not all) aspects of society and human interaction in one way or another. To give an alternate definition from my old anthropology book, “ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and to use one’s own standards and values in judging outsiders” (Kottak, 2009). That said, I think that in order to prevent being negatively judged by the ethnic majority, minorities in a workplace situation will often try to blend in homogeneously and will invariably give up a part of their cultural identity in the process. As you suggest, this is bad for everyone involved – the company because they lose their diverse knowledge base, and the individuals who feel disinclined to express themselves at all. The solution, then, is to embrace diversity – which your post does an excellent job in discussing.
References:
Kottak, C. P. (2009). Cultural anthropology (13th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.