Term Paper
Cross-Cultural Differences Problems and Solutions
The good news
Multinational companies have the great advantage of working in and with different cultures to make their products and services accessible to a far wider community. The impetus for reaching beyond their own borders makes commercial sense.
The less good news
When multinationals develop into or with other countries there may be an assumption that because everyone within the company is working for the same goals and to the same values, they will automatically communicate, think and view the world in the same way. When multiple cultures begin working together, problems or difficulties arise that many people within these companies are not skilled or adept enough to deal with effectively. This can simply be because they've never had to deal with the issue before.
Language is often the least difficult barrier to breach. When we know there may be language differences, we have a greater awareness of the potential for problems. However, much more often it's a completely different way of seeing things and an inability, or unwillingness, to see what the other person is seeing that causes the difficulties.
Misunderstanding is the norm
At Impact Factory we say that 'misunderstanding is the norm'. We assume that because the other person knows our language (or we know theirs) that we speak the same language. Often we don't. Even when our 'Mother' tongue is the same, we don't speak it the same way.
When we work with other cultures, it's easy to be influenced by common stereotypes, misconceptions and prejudices about our new colleagues. Without realising it, we carry those misconceptions and stereotypes into meetings, conferences, trainings or even social gatherings that can make communication difficult and hard work.
In our own culture (where we feel at 'home'), we are all individuals with a host of differences; yet there are so many similarities that the differences can seem negligible. There appears to be
The good news
Multinational companies have the great advantage of working in and with different cultures to make their products and services accessible to a far wider community. The impetus for reaching beyond their own borders makes commercial sense.
The less good news
When multinationals develop into or with other countries there may be an assumption that because everyone within the company is working for the same goals and to the same values, they will automatically communicate, think and view the world in the same way. When multiple cultures begin working together, problems or difficulties arise that many people within these companies are not skilled or adept enough to deal with effectively. This can simply be because they've never had to deal with the issue before.
Language is often the least difficult barrier to breach. When we know there may be language differences, we have a greater awareness of the potential for problems. However, much more often it's a completely different way of seeing things and an inability, or unwillingness, to see what the other person is seeing that causes the difficulties.
Misunderstanding is the norm
At Impact Factory we say that 'misunderstanding is the norm'. We assume that because the other person knows our language (or we know theirs) that we speak the same language. Often we don't. Even when our 'Mother' tongue is the same, we don't speak it the same way.
When we work with other cultures, it's easy to be influenced by common stereotypes, misconceptions and prejudices about our new colleagues. Without realising it, we carry those misconceptions and stereotypes into meetings, conferences, trainings or even social gatherings that can make communication difficult and hard work.
In our own culture (where we feel at 'home'), we are all individuals with a host of differences; yet there are so many similarities that the differences can seem negligible. There appears to be