Adavantages of a Multicultural Workforce in the World of Telecommunication

Multicultural workforce and communications affect teamwork many different ways in large companies; however, there are advantages for people of different cultures. have a different perspectives and this can create problems in large companies. I feel the challenges come due to the cultural preferences such as how information is shared, time management, and approach to work. These three preferences have a serious impact on the effectiveness of teamwork.

In a multicultural environment sharing information is one of the lead causes of team work being affected. There is evidence that many ethnic groups that prefer to communicate indirectly. They are reluctant to asking questions because they are afraid of damaging relationships or appearing incompetent. To get a multicultural workforce to work together effectively, both types of communicators need to recognize the others behavior patterns. Direct communication need to probe more, and indirect communicators need to speak up when problems arise. (http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com) The advantage of indirect communication; employees of this cultural preference very seldom address someone bluntly if they are no doing their job correct. They will take a different approach to avoid confusion. They may get the employee to understand the issue through vague and non-committal statements. This behavior will allow the team to remain cordial towards one another. (Kenig, 2008) Time management is also an issue. Some cultures view time as being limited. In the United States task are viewed as linear and sequential. Task in the U.S. is completed by doing one task at a time. Appointments are scheduled that dictate when and where they meet other people. Other cultures, such as Latinos view time as abundant. For instance, they may be reluctant to end one conversation just because it’s time to go to another meeting. However, chronic lateness might be perceived as a performance issue by another culture. Setting team expectations when starting any project can minimize any misconceptions and avoid conflicts. (http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com)One of the other challenges is the approach to work. Kenig (2008) stated people of different cultures view work different. Some people often grow up in communities where the greater good is more important than individual pursuits and relationships are valued over task. Latinos and diverse groups even when born and raised in the United States, share those cultural preferences. They make great team members because they place collective goals of the team above their own. (Kenig, 2008) Emphasis should not be place on relationships in the workplace because it creates challenges. This means that work is personal and trust is critical to all relationships whether personal or professional. This is the reason one of the first steps towards multicultural team effectiveness is allow time for trust to develop among its members. Although trust is not built in one day and business realities call for swift results, failure to give greater emphasis to relationships often cause problems on multicultural teams.

Although there are many advantages to a multicultural workplace, it can also present many challenges. According to Johnson and Demand Media in Examples of Diversity Problems in the Workplace, “To reap the benefits of workplace diversity, employees and managers must understand the challenges and know how to effectively deal with them (Johnson).” Therefore, it is important to educate yourself about the difficulties of a multicultural work environment. Part of this education involves knowing the issues that can arise.

One of the well-known disadvantages is communication. In a multicultural workplace many of the employees’ native languages are different. For example, here in the U.S. companies who employ individuals who native language is not English might find it difficult to communicate with each other. This can cause work task to go undone, because individual lack the understanding of what is being ask of them. Language barriers can cause frustration and lack of confidence in employees. Many employees can find themselves afraid to express themselves because they are concerned of their ability to communicate with their co-workers. This can cause companies to lose revenue, and a bad turnover rate. (Johnson)

Another major disadvantage with a multicultural workplace is discrimination. Although our society has become more accepting of different cultures, there are still individuals who have issues with different backgrounds. There are those who lack education on these issues, while others are just set in their ways. A gesture or comment can offend a co-worker making them feel uncomfortable in the workplace. Situations of discrimination can be viewed in cases of advancements in the workplace. Employees can feel they are not getting a certain position because their manager is not accepting of their cultural