Intercultural Differences in Work Environment
Intercultural differences in work environment
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his own language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela
Culture does not only consist of different languages or our background; it is almost everything that defines who we are. Our age, gender, religion, color, one’s peers or our personal values. What a lot of people forget, and what Mister Mandela wanted to draw attention to, is that it is not enough to address only one part of a man’s culture to communicate well with him. And where else than the workplace is it more important to communicate with different people who bring different cultures with them?
Normally, people cannot decide who they work with in our globalized world where more and more companies are international, and so are their employees. Although the competences that different cultures provide a company with are definitely welcome, the awareness of potential for conflict between individual employees is increasing steadily. Consequently, constructive dealing with different cultural value systems on the interpersonal level is a key skill for managers of international corporations and this skill will emerge into a very important goal of personal development.
Defining Culture
Culture per se “is the totality of human behavior (including norms, values and lifestyles) and therefore, influences every area of life” (Kauffeld, 2011, p. 163). Its development results through different aspects of a human life. It is crucial where we were born or how and in which country we were raised, which friends we had and so on. This results in our culture dictating how we behave in certain situations. It affects three elementary levels which are: communication, thinking patterns and emotions. For example, if we have a very family centric culture and we notice that our counterpart is treating a family member not as well as our culture demands, we may start having
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his own language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela
Culture does not only consist of different languages or our background; it is almost everything that defines who we are. Our age, gender, religion, color, one’s peers or our personal values. What a lot of people forget, and what Mister Mandela wanted to draw attention to, is that it is not enough to address only one part of a man’s culture to communicate well with him. And where else than the workplace is it more important to communicate with different people who bring different cultures with them?
Normally, people cannot decide who they work with in our globalized world where more and more companies are international, and so are their employees. Although the competences that different cultures provide a company with are definitely welcome, the awareness of potential for conflict between individual employees is increasing steadily. Consequently, constructive dealing with different cultural value systems on the interpersonal level is a key skill for managers of international corporations and this skill will emerge into a very important goal of personal development.
Defining Culture
Culture per se “is the totality of human behavior (including norms, values and lifestyles) and therefore, influences every area of life” (Kauffeld, 2011, p. 163). Its development results through different aspects of a human life. It is crucial where we were born or how and in which country we were raised, which friends we had and so on. This results in our culture dictating how we behave in certain situations. It affects three elementary levels which are: communication, thinking patterns and emotions. For example, if we have a very family centric culture and we notice that our counterpart is treating a family member not as well as our culture demands, we may start having
Bibliography: Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences. Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Kauffeld, S. (2011). Arbeits,- Organisations- und Personalpsychologie für Bachelor. Heidelberg: SpringerMedizin. Prechtl, E. (2009). Interkulturelles Assessment Center - Prognosekraft für Auslandsentscheidungen und multikulturelle Gruppen. Lengerich: Pabst.