Globalisation is one of the most significant determinants of the twenty-first century that affects individuals and firms significantly. In today’s world, many companies extend their businesses abroad and are challenged by communication with their international partners encountering cultural differences (Jenifer & Raman, 2015). It is necessary to address this issue to outline possible solutions to problematic aspects of cross-cultural communication and enhance organisations’ performance.
It is vital to acknowledge that culture has diverse dimensions, which should be considered while establishing international communication. They include normative, symbolic, behavioural and historical aspects (Browaeys & Price, 2011). Possible barriers to cross-cultural communication may be verbal, such as language and non-verbal (Nickolayev, Svintorzhitskaja, Bondar, & Ermakova, 2015). The second category may include differences in societal norms, roles, beliefs and values. In addition, emotional, motivational and phonetic barriers may interfere with successful intercultural interaction too (Akhmetshin, Makulov, Talysheva, Fedorova, & Gubarkov, 2017). Thus, companies should implement internal and external strategies to eliminate culture-related challenges to communication.
First, organisations should ensure that their employees are ready to interact with diverse populations. It is necessary for them to support diversity in the workplace and establish a welcoming environment for personnel of various cultural backgrounds. Companies may implement training sessions aimed to enhance workers’ awareness of other cultures, their rules and languages. When a company extends its business to a new country, it is necessary to introduce personnel to its norms and aspects, as well as eliminate possible stereotypes related to it. Second, organisations should ensure that employees use effective conversational strategies. Firms may establish workshops that can help individuals to practice vital techniques, such as active listening, as well as use various forms of communication, including verbal and written ones (Duggan, 2019). Such an approach can eliminate conflicts arising because of misunderstandings or poor conversational skills. Third, it is vital for businesses to minimise potential ethnocentrism among their employees. Individuals should be aware that their culture is not superior to others and respect differences between various populations. To address the problem of ethnocentrism, employers can establish educational training discussing the aspects of cultural diversity.
Another strategy firms can use to eliminate cross-cultural barriers is to ensure that employees are aware of the adverse consequences of poor communication. It is vital to address the problems of misunderstanding, unmet expectations, decreased performance and dissatisfaction among stakeholders and clients. Personnel should understand the necessity of effective intercultural communication and strive to improve their skills to eliminate possible negative outcomes. It is also vital to ensure that individuals are aware of the benefits of successful international cooperation and are motivated to implement effective techniques to achieve the firm’s goals. Employees should analyse their personal contribution to the company’s success and receive rewards for it. In summary, businesses should consider and eliminate various verbal and non-verbal barriers to communication to ensure a high level of performance. Possible strategies include supporting diversity in the workplace, implementing culture-related training sessions, minimising ethnocentrism among employees and addressing the potential outcomes of poor communication.
References
Akhmetshin, E. M., Makulov, S. I., Talysheva, I. A., Fedorova, S. Y., & Gubarkov, S. (2017). Overcoming of intercultural barriers in the educational environment. Man in India, 97(15), 281-288.
Browaeys, M. J., & Price, R. (2011). Understanding cross-cultural management (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Duggan, T. (2019). How to overcome cross cultural communication in business. Web.
Jenifer, R. D., & Raman, G. P. (2015). Cross-cultural communication barriers in the workplace. International Journal of Management, 6(1), 348-351.
Nickolayev, V. P., Svintorzhitskaja, I. A., Bondar, I. A., & Ermakova, L. I. (2015). On subtle distinctions between lingual communication and interlingual miscommunication. European Journal of Science and Theology, 11(4), 159-168.