Essay Sample on Understanding Business Communication

Introduction

Getting to understand what communication stands for and the way it occurs is dominant to the transaction which is successful in the place of work. Business communication does not happen in a vacuum, but different forces trigger it from external such as diversity challenges, changing technology, legal and ethical constraints, and team environment.

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Diversity Challenges

The business communication art has evolved following how globalization has put in place business cultures that are disparate on a collision course. Economics, which are emerging, have started to integrate the traditional powerhouse business cultures into their businesses. And the traces of their own culture have been left anywhere they go. The cultural diversity impact on business communication has an expanded effect from corporate boardrooms to the break-rooms of employees (Guillaume et al., 2017). The small business owners get more benefit from getting more understanding of the eccentricities of the cultures where they are exposed.

Diversity in the workplace contributes to respect; teamwork and acceptance provided the differences in gender, race, native language, age, sexual orientation, communication barriers, or political beliefs. An organization that embraces diversity experience more benefits. Product and process innovation comes as a result of having employees from different backgrounds and demographics because when different mindsets come together to achieve an objective, the achievement is monumental.

Some diversity issues affect proper communication in the workplace. The problems are briefly discussed below;

Cultural Differences

The conversation that is involved between individuals who poses different cultural backgrounds often present more challenges, culture dictates how individuals interpret and experience things and all the methods in which people communicate and thinks. Cultural differences in business communication are sometimes benign and subtle, but there is an existence for potential problems. The differences influence most business communications in culture. Each individual from a different culture has some set of values and rules that they take for granted (Guillaume et al., 2017).

Thus people from different cultures usually come with a different set of assumptions on the best way to communicate and coordinate in the workplace. Diverse groups were working together often experience problems with inaccuracy, miscommunication, and misunderstanding. Such breakdowns in communication occur when individuals assume that everyone understands the message when there is no understanding. And even the same language may be used, and people usually interpret the information differently. Therefore, having the ability to get to know how different cultures communicate is part of becoming successful in business communication between culturally diverse teams.

Communication Barrier

Communication barriers are always available in organizations that embrace a diverse workforce. For example, in the United States, companies usually hire individuals whose native the first language is not probably English; thus, managers and employees occasionally get difficulties in getting across their messages. Such a situation can lead to low productivity and miscommunication in the workplace (Hawlina, Gillespie & Zittoun, 2019). Thus, to prevent such from happening, language training for non-native speakers of English can be offered. Or even hiring bilingual or multilingual employees can assist bin bridging the gap.

Gender

Gender discrimination has been the standard issue that promotes differences in the workplace, and as a result, communication has also tampered. For example, many organizations value men more than women to the extent that men always occupy top managerial positions. Women are regarded as inferior in that their voices cannot be considered in the workplace. Therefore, employers should maintain gender equality by preventing gender discrimination regarding promotions, hiring, opportunities, and salary in the workplace.

Conclusion

To conclude, companies should aim at increasing diversity in the workplace from the start. Different strategies and use of learning technologies can be employed to help in promoting diversity in the workplace. The company can reap more benefits in the long run when the difference is increased.

References

Guillaume, Y. R., Dawson, J. F., OtayeEbede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2017). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity?. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(2), 276-303.

Hawlina, H., Gillespie, A., & Zittoun, T. (2019). Difficult differences: A sociocultural analysis of how diversity can enable and inhibit creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 53(2), 133-144.