For the initial post, address one (1) of the following:
- Scenario 1: A colleague from another country has limited English-speaking skills and does not comprehend the group task. Additionally, this colleague has the habit of giving gifts to business associates at the end of projects. Gift-giving is an expected part of business etiquette in her culture. How do you deal with these issues to ensure the success of the group? What criteria would you set early on in the process? Please reference the textbook and an outside source as you attend to the questions for this scenario.
- Scenario 2: Your manager asks you to take on a new project that you think you could take on by yourself. He suggests that you form a task group with 15-20 members, which you think is too much. One of the members he recommends adding to the team is John. This gives you additional concern because you think John has had hidden agendas in the past. Even though you think you can do this on your own, how is a group decision different from an individual decision? How can you convince your manager that a smaller group would be better? How do you deal with John if your manager insists on him being in the group? Please reference the textbook and an outside source as you attend to the questions for this scenario.
then
respond to
Hello class,
The scenario I decided to discuss was scenario 1. I chose this scenario because both of my parents are from Vietnam. When they came to the United States, they struggled in High School because they knew no English. Gift-giving is also an expected part of business etiquette in their
culture. This shows appreciation and respect. Growing up in my culture, I was always taught to give gifts that other cultures would consider “too much”. For example, in Elementary the students would get their teachers Christmas gifts. My parents would gift my teacher a $100 gift card to the store. People would think this is a lot, but in our culture, it is normal. There are a lot of ways we can deal with these issues to ensure the success of the group. First, everyone must understand cultural diversity. This can avoid situations such as discrimination. By understanding cultural diversity, we can compassionately help many people. People must understand both sides when it comes to gift-giving. To resolve this issue, they can explain to
each other how it is acceptable or unacceptable in their culture. Many native English speakers positively reflected upon intercultural interactions and experience challenges of verbal and intercultural communication (Evans & Suklun, 2017, p.1). A way to deal with this issue could be using more simple words to get the person to understand. It is hard for non-English speakers to get exposed to complex words. Another way is to use a translator. This process can help non-English speakers understand complex words when being translated.
References
McLean, S. (2018). Exploring Interpersonal Communication [2.0]. Retrieved from
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781453390429
Evans, A. & Suklun, H. (2017). Workplace diversity and intercultural communication: A phenomenological study.
Cogent Business & Management
