INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION - Essay Example ture is an element in shaping these factors as well as the underlying attitudes about various issues such as work, success, wealth, authority, equity and so on. Language differences: One of the major causes of miscommunication is the use of language. This can happen even if two people speak the same language, because of differences in usage. Frequently, people from different cultures speak different languages. In these cases, communication occurs through a process of translation. Unfortunately, translation often fails to convey the spirit of the communication. In some cases, it changes the meaning altogether, and in others it has unintended connotations. A couple of examples cited by Ekwulugo (94) illustrate the impact of language differences and how they can make communications go haywire. The first concerns General Motors’ popular automobile brand Chevy Nova, a name that is well known and popular in many countries of the world, and associated with an efficient and prestigious car. In Spanish, this name means â€Å"Does not go†, which grossly misrepresents the message that the company wants to convey. Perception: Different people perceive things differently. One of the reasons for this difference in perception is the way people have been conditioned. Perception is the way people process information. Raw data that comes to a person is converted to information because of such processing. Different words and symbols acquire different meanings in different cultures. For example, making a circle with the thumb and index finger means â€Å"okay† in America, signifies money in Japan, and is the equivalent of showing the soles of one’s feet in Thailand. Torn and shabby clothes are a sign of poverty to Indians, while in parts of Europe they signify freedom. It is clear that when an American is trying to say Okay, a person from Thailand will understand it as an offensive gesture (Pickton & Broderick 53) Values and beliefs: Values and beliefs also affect communication

Generation and Gender management in workplace Research Paper

Generation and Gender management in workplace - Research Paper Example Hence, managing diverse people are challenging for the organizations. People from different generations’ forms a part of the workforce, where the new employees have to work along with several elder employees (Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 2014). The paper deals with reflecting upon a work experience in Sheraton hotel to investigate generations and gender management in the workplace. Generally, there are four generations in the workplace. One of the oldest generations working in an organization is ‘Veterans’, born between the years 1922 to 1946. Veterans are the senior most people working in an organization, in terms of age bar. However, in Sheraton Hotel, there are no veterans. The next category generation is the Baby Boomers, born between the years 1946 to 1964. Most of the baby boomers are experienced, particularly due to the fact that the people of this generation have faced challenges during both good and difficult times of the organizations. These baby boomers gain knowledge from their experience, skills, and thinking abilities. Furthermore, baby boomers believe that whether they carry any specific educational degree or not, a person can gain success only through personal experiences with an organization. They value the corporate timings and organizational motives, and are inflexible to trends of the people in their personal and professional c ulture. In Sheraton Hotel, there is only one female baby boomer, employed as dormitory supervisor. She is a middle-aged woman, whose chief responsibility is to maintain the dormitory surroundings clear. She has gained experienced in this work, which she relates to her numerous achievements after she was elected as the dormitory supervisor years back. She acted as a vital source of motivation for me, because she exercised a strong influence over the middle level employees and trainees.