Communication Barriers: The Case of Hunter-Worth

892 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: My personal experience in cross-cultural communication

Introduction

In today’s society many American companies are becoming globalized and are turning to contracting outside of the U.S. as a way to gain economic advantages. However, the globalized world does face challenges just as non-globalized businesses. Some of these challenges include socio-cultural views, values, ethics, etc. Thus, the case study of Hunter-Worth will help me to understand how socio-cultural differences create problems that influence globalized companies and their management. An example of socio-cultural differences this paper will focus on is communication. There are many barriers to communication and these barriers may occur at any period in the communication process. Communication barriers may lead to messages to becoming unclear and therefore jeopardize wasting both time and/or money by causing uncertainty and misunderstanding that could spiral into something much bigger. Consequently, I will be able to identify my personal assessment of communication apprehension to this case study to learn how to effectively communicate with people from a variety of cultures.

Analysis

Upon evaluating the problem appears to be that Chuck Moore has a disconnection with the plant manager, in Mexico, Vicente Ruiz in regards to effective communication, in the case of Hunter-Worth. The problem began with Moore encountering productivity delays from the Mexico plant. Due to the delays of production versus supply and demand Chuck took it upon himself to contact Vicente. Little did Chuck know, Vicente doesn’t reply to his own emails but that has his receptionist handles them for him. The problem escalated due to Chuck feeling that Vicente should have communicated with him directly. As a result, Chuck took it upon himself to con...

... middle of paper ...

...ally, I will understand that people from all walks of life differ on the basis of culture, geography, values, beliefs, and other factors and that they may perceive different meanings from the same information. It is important that global businesses recognize how to communicate with employees and customers from different cultures in order to fulfill the organization’s mission and build value. From the personal assessment of communication apprehension I was able to recognize that I have a low level of apprehension and that I am able to communicate successfully. I feel that effective communication is critical in the business world and when conducting business. With this understanding and constant growing knowledge I will effectively communicate, verbally and non-verbally, when introduced to diverse environments because it is the world's common form of communication.

Show More
Related

  • Personal Narrative: Bilingual Communication

    362 Words  | 1 Pages

    Through the process of acquiring knowledge in this course, I have learned countless aspects about my own self. Amidst the very challenges I faced, the act of communication, management, and leadership, are among them. Being bilingual, my communication skills are on par yet at times hinder me from articulating my intention precisely as I have meant them. With every socialization I have made, I have striven to do better and to be better. I have learned that although you may consider yourself “fluent” in a foreign language, there are phrases or intonations to which come across as something entirely different from what you intended to say causing the message to be lost between the barrier of the two communicators.

    Read More

  • Peace Corps Memo

    379 Words  | 1 Pages

    For those members who are going to be heading out into our global community, Dupraw and Axner (ND) state that one must remember that “Culture is often at the root of communication challenges” which might

    Read More

  • Communication Apprehension

    2933 Words  | 6 Pages

    To function effectively in today’s society people must communicate with one another. Yet for some individuals communication experiences are so unrewarding that they either consciously or unconsciously avoid situations where communication is required. (McCroskey & Richmond, 1979) The term ‘communication apprehension’ was coined by James McCroskey (1976a) and is defined as “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (McCroskey, 1984). In the last two decades communication apprehension and related constructs, such as reticence and unwillingness to communicate, have received extensive research and theoretical attention by scholars in communication and psychology. In 1984, Payne and Richmond listed over 1000 entries in a bibliography of publications and papers in this area (Payne & Richmond, 1984). Overwhelmingly the underlying theme of the articles has been the negative effects that these constructs can have on academic and social success. It has been forwarded that two out of ten people suffer some form of communication apprehension (CA). The focus of this paper is on communication apprehension as a construct and on how it affects the behavior and lifestyle of an individual.

    Read More

  • Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks By Laray Barna

    1189 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people who go to visit or work in another country suffer some misunderstanding from the local people, because they have a different culture. Different culture will cause disparity points of view about almost everything. In the article, Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks by Laray M. Barna, there are five stumbling blocks mentioned that are seen in a cross-culture communication. These blocks are: language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, the tendency to evaluate and high anxiety. Barna wants to use these stumbling blocks to show the common blockades between different cultures. I agree with what she thinks about the language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, and the tendency

    Read More

  • Self Disclosure In Culture

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Self-disclosure is the best aid to help people who are from different cultures to communicate effectively in verbal and non-verbal way. Bae stated that they do not need to have verbal communication to be self-disclosure (as cited in Tili and Barker, 2015, p.201). Using non-verbal expression also can explain the importance of self-disclosure. Non-verbal communication also can express who they are and what they think about. Of course, non-verbal communication might cause some misunderstandings among different cultures. However, even if people use non-verbal communication, expressing their feelings and thoughts can avoid misunderstandings and provide effect intercultural communication. There is an example of the useful of non-verbal communication and how non-verbal communication help intercultural communication. According to Sunaoshi (2005), she analyzed one conversation between American and Japanese. She found how they compensate the limitation of language and differences in communication style by paralinguistic elements (pp. 196-201). In their conversation, two people are in the situation that the language is limited. Instead of the language, they exploit many non-verbal cues to tell the information such as gaze, gesture, and positioning. Especially, during the confirmation of quantity, non-verbal communication has a great impact to communicate. Sunaoshi (2005) analyzed this conversation and found Japanese who

    Read More

  • Importance Of Communication Accommodation Theory

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Communication Accommodation Theory developed by Giles while broad and complex is undeniably important to the field of Communication Studies. The broad focus of CAT can be perceived as a drawback, but could also be viewed as a merit by allowing researchers to apply CAT principles in almost any situation dealing with communication between representatives of differing cultural backgrounds. By using CAT, Communication Researchers can objectively make observations of the communication strategies, as well as the motivations for those strategies on both small and large scales. By understanding such information, individuals and organizations alike could potentially make great strides in the improvement of relations with other cultural counterparts. In a sense, the Communication Accommodation Theory is significant because it can be applied to any cultural interaction, can help disseminate the causes of intercultural incongruity, and potentially help prevent future misunderstanding.

    Read More

  • The Six Major Barriers To Effective Business Communication In Business

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    Effective business communication is central to the success of an individual’s career and consequently to that of the overall business entity. It would be imaginable therefore that there is some form of correlation between effective communication skills and such success. To put this into context, University of Kent (2011) has placed Verbal Communication at the top of the ten skills that employers most commonly look for. On the same note, anything that hinders effective communication is bound to have a negative effect not only on the specific message delivery, but also on the overall success of a career. In this paper, some of the barriers to effective business communication are discussed, with a few examples of how they affect the process.

    Read More

  • Intercultural Communication: An Eveolving Discipline

    1868 Words  | 4 Pages

    Intercultural communication is an evolving discipline that occurs between individuals from contrasting backgrounds. It include...

    Read More

  • Substance Of Organisational Culture Essay

    2275 Words  | 5 Pages

    Miller, K. (2012). Cultural Approaches. In Organizational communication: Approaches and processes (6.th ed., p. 81 to 93). Boston, Mass: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

    Read More

  • Problems In Intercultural Communication

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is language usage. Language has always been perceived as a link between people but it can also constitute a barrier. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English language, the meaning of "yes" varies from "maybe, I'll consider it" to "definitely so," with many shades in between . Furthermore, communication between cultures which do not share the same language is considerably more difficult . Each culture, has its distinct syntax, expressions and structure which causes confusion in intercultural communication. For example , in Asian countries the word “no” is rarely used, so that “yea” can mean “no” or “perhaps”. Therefore, an American traveling to Japan might be considered impolite if he ignores this rule. Furthermore, individuals who are not comfortable with a certain language may not be taken seriously. Such is the case in the classroom, where a student who has a perfect knowledge of the subject in question may have difficulty expressing his idea due to his inability to write properly and therefore he would not receive the grade he truly deserves. Similarly intercultural communication is dominant in the workplace. In the past, many companies and organizations could operate entirely within their country of origin and conduct their activities exclusively in their own native language. But now, due...

    Read More

  • Globalization Means Communication with Different Countries

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the rapid growth in globalization there are a number of firms who have taken their businesses abroad. Their challenge, cross cultural management and communication. An effective communication strategy begins first with understanding who the sender of the message is and who the receiver of the message is. Many companies have realized this and offer training in the different cultures to help better facilitate communication between leaders (Cross-Cultural Communication, mindtools.com). Without this basic understand between sender and receiver it can be very difficult for companies of multicultural to even begin to communicate. The second important understanding is that leaders must demand a cultural tolerance of acceptable behavior between cultures to facilitate effective communication (Cross-Cultural Communication, mindtools.com).

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Understanding Identity

    1325 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since we all learn and develop different identities trying to communicate with people of different identities is difficult and has its implications. We often try to communicate with others the way we would communicate with ourselves. In order to interact with other cultures and identities, we must learn those identities and learn to adapt to those other identities. In order to have successful intercultural communication, we must accept our differences but discover our similarities, as

    Read More

  • The Importance of Effective Communication

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the main aspects in communicating is listening. An effective listener is one who, not only comprehends how the speaker feels but, also understands what they are stating. Building a strong connection between the speaker and the listener is one of the first steps to become a good listener. By building this connection speakers should first be in an environment with open minded listeners, it makes them feel more comfortable to state their opinions, feelings and ideas. Listeners should avoid being judgmental. The individual does not have to agree with the ideas, values or opinions of the speaker; however, to fully understand them, one must put aside their criticism. Speakers will believe that they can trust the listeners with their information when they know that they will not be judged. Miscommunication happens frequently, listene...

    Read More

  • Business Failure Due to Cultural Differences

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    Understand and heed cultural differences - cultural variables in transacting international business. (1991, January 28). Business America. FindArticles.com., Retrieved March 20, 2009, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1052/is_n2_v112/ai_10412261/pg_4?tag=content;col1

    Read More

  • Cultural Differences in Joint Ventures

    3352 Words  | 7 Pages

    Since the end of World War II, international operations have become a reality for an increasing number of corporations. Many of these initial efforts began as simple export schemes to sell goods overseas to supplement domestic sales. Over time, however, international operations have become increasingly more complex: from joint-ventures to purchasing existing foreign firms to ‘green-field’ start-ups. While export operations usually require no more than extended business trips overseas, more complex international operations demand long-term assignments of key personnel outside their home-country. What would normally be considered routine business transactions in the home country can become very complicated when they are conducted between individuals and organizations from different cultures. In this essay we will examine how this cultural gap can affect international business and joint ventures.

    Read More

More about Communication Barriers: The Case of Hunter-Worth

Open Document