The first day of work at my new job I found that I was faced with cultural and perhaps philosophical friction. A foreign student and employee, I am often challenged with English as a Second Language, and also in relation to understanding norms and mores in my environment. Colleagues take for granted social rules, policies and other elements of obligation in the workplace, yet I do not share the same training. In my new country the responsibilities to which I am bound, as well as social expectations connected to work styles and team participation are not always apparent or even commonsense in my home location. Pre & Post Review Analysis The process of on-the-job training requires careful listening, reading, and observation in order to meet employer expectations. The first day at work is often the most difficult. I was forced to walk through a series of “team” orientations quite distinct from what is expected abroad. The concept of a team is new to me. I must learn to not only perform the job function, but to also collaborate, and reference the opinion of others horizontally, rather ...
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Upon completion of these assessments, the work place team is then formed, acquiring team members based upon the needs of the project, mission or goal of the team. The team then proceeds to learn about each other. In learning about one another, individual learning styles must be identified to gain an understanding of how to maximize team performance by capitalizing on team members' strengths via learning styl...
The first chapter of “Working in Groups” focuses on group communication, the first aspect being the key elements of group communication (Engleberg and
It is said that people are the greatest assets to an organization and it is their beliefs, customs, perspectives, attitudes, and values that constitute to the culture that prevails in an organization. Culture, a very common word in today’s world, plays a very vital role in organizations and it not only affects an employee’s professional development but also their personal harmony. Culture gives a sense of belonging to people, a sense of who they are and how productive they are at their work place. It helps in interacting with each other at a work place.
In David Wright’s “The Myths and Realities of Teamwork,” (Wright, D., 2013), he outlines six myths that are ubiquitous and perpetuated by many people. Here is a short examination of all six.
Working in teams provides an opportunity for individuals to come together and establish a rapport towards others within a group. Teamwork is classified as people with different strengths and skills who work together to achieve a common goal. When a team works well, specific objectives are fulfilled and satisfied. Teamwork plays a crucial role in implementing and fulfilling a common goal in a team project. Each member plays a role and takes on different responsibilities combined together. In different stages of teamwork, conflicts and arguments may occur for as members have different standpoints which need to be harmonized within the team. The key to having an effective teamwork is to explore each member's unique abilities to motivate them.
Can the effects of cultural misunderstandings can be painful for the individuals, but also for the organization as a whole. Embarrassing situations and inadvertently insults, offenses and failure to achieve individual and organizational goals are among the consequences of the joint. Experience of many managers and researchers in the field of strategy, organization, and the development of the theory of the organization suggests all this ", the study of cultural issues at the organizational level is absolutely essential to a basic understanding of what goes on in organizations, and how it works, and how to improve" (Shin 1990).
Culture can be defined as the beliefs, values and the pattern of behavior of an individual within designated areas. The culture of organizations defines shared values and behavioral expectations. Cultural issues are especially basic issues all around the globe. These issues can happen in various routes relying upon the size, area and the custom culture of that institution. Social issues happen even because of the states of mind and how each individual comprehend in diverse business environment. Today, the corporate administrations and rising business firms have chosen to give the essential attention on trainings and classes at the multicultural working environment that will help them to understand and create
Cultural sensitivity occurs when people recognize and are aware that each country or various ethnic groups of people have their own set of experiences, beliefs, values, and language that affect their perceptions toward life. Addressing Cultural sensitivity permits people to comprehend that there are differences between cultures. Furthermore, having awareness in the differences between cultures permits a culturally competent person to communicate effectively with others that are outside of one’s realm. Some of the differences of Cultural sensitivity can be discovered while traveling outside of the country, such as through Cross-cultural sensitivity experiences. Likewise, a culture has its own norms and beliefs to how one should dress; how one should greet others, such as by referring to a significant individual by his or her first name or surname (comprehending which name should be stated first in foreign names); and/or what foods are permitted to eat or forbidden to eat or understanding what may offend a person (e.g. not accepting a home cooked meal). There are norms, taboos, cultural cues, and cultural etiquette standards that are significant to learning about one’s culture before exploring another country or while working with people who are from your country but who are part of another racial group. It takes time and patience to build a high level of Cultural sensitivity. Educating oneself with a culture’s psychology and its norms is significant toward achieving an increasing awareness toward Cultural sensitivity.
A work team will be defined for the purposes of this paper by a definition borrowed from Bateman and Snell (2004). A team is formed of people (usually a small number) with complementary skills who trust one another and are committed to a common purpose, common performance goals, and a common approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Teams generally see themselves and are seen by others as a social entity, which is interdependent because of the tasks performed as members of a group.
While the traditional education stresses independence and competition, we believe that a balance between education for independence and education for teamwork needs to be forged (Kagan, 1992). This is because the commercial world increasingly demands that individuals that are able to work productively in teams and living in the interdependent world of the 21st century will require maximum development of interpersonal skills. Collaborative learning has shown to be an effective approach to realise and prepare learners to talk, listen, judge, and act on issues of common concern. The emphasis placed by collaborative learning on collective responsibility and pursuit of a common goal are well aligned with the skills and competency for the 21st Century.
Teamwork is becoming more important in the work place, because of the leaders and the fact that it allows full participation with all employees. In order to complete several different tasks, managers and supervisors usually perform teams and assign different tasks to complete one major assignment. Team work starts at the top (Smikle, 2009). When supervisors or managers are willing to administer teamwork, they are enabling the employees to follow. Managers or supervisors set good examples when they delegate tasks, but more importantly express to the employees how teamwork is productive. Employees work by example, more so now than by demands.
The teamwork is usually defined as the process of working together in a group to achieve a common goal. These days working in groups is inevitable. Whether it is a school assignment or working in a clinical settings, we have to work in groups to accomplish a task. We cannot expect to work in isolation all the times. (Stonehouse, 2011)
The work community has several members, it is vital that these individuals act as a group, so that the common goal was achieved. This section describes the team, the team's importance, team building and why before-mentioned issues are important. This section also takes place through the cases and at the end of the self-evaluation.
Around the age of seven I started going to first grade so my parents’ focus went all on that. Everyday I could hear my mom screaming be careful and especially she would say, “don’t take candy from strangers” which was getting annoying day by day. The idea of values started when I was going to school because before that I was at home and even when I wasn’t, I was still with my parents. The reason why they cared so much was because I was their only child and they wanted me to learn everything and be smart about whatever that was happening around me. When it was around their grade, I started to be a part of a concrete operational stage, and started to think logically about the world around me. One of my favorite subjects in school was mathematics.