Table of contentsIntroductionIntercultural experience (esample essay)Nature of international communication and universal systemsContrasting cultural valuesCulture shockLanguage and patterns of written communicationConclusionReferencesIntroductionIntroduction: Today, people of different cultures and different countries are working together in the workplace, more and more international students are seeking to acquire academic knowledge, and more and more people are traveling the world. It is therefore fundamental to understand these cultural differences to avoid any communication problems. Working together in a diverse culture has not been easy. I experienced some clashes during my missions abroad and during group missions with students from other cultures, perhaps because we were unable to understand each other. Thesis Statement: I hope that by the end of this unit, I will be aware of other cultures, improve myself to be more tolerant, more flexible, and develop my intercultural communication skills to better work in a diverse culture. This is why I want to discuss my example of experience with different cultures in this essay. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayCross-cultural experience (essay example)Background: I am Mauritian, born and raised in Mauritius. Due to the fact that Mauritius has a diverse history, the majority of Mauritians are multilingual. Mauritian Creole is my mother tongue and English is the official language. However, I also speak French fluently and several Asian languages ​​like Hindi and Bhojpuri. Before moving to Australia this year for my MBA, I was an auditor at one of the Big Four auditing firms, KPMG. At the beginning, my audit experience was very interesting and demanding in terms of working for national and international clients. While we worked hard, we party even harder. However, during these busy seasons, I had almost no social life left. I then realized that I could no longer lead this kind of life. I then thought about coming to Perth to complete my higher education because this destination seemed perfect for me to have an international degree and discover a different culture. Dealing with cultural differences at my workplace has been a big challenge for me as I have been exposed to a different cultural environment. diverse work environment. I went on an overseas assignment to Johannesburg and worked in a team of people seconded from India, Luxembourg and other African countries in our office. Initially, it took a lot of effort and tolerance to understand the cultural variations in terms of different dialects and their aspects of outlook. Although coming from a multicultural island, it is different here as Australia is made up of many different cultures that follow European colonization. Topic Sentence: Intercultural communication begins as a journey into another culture and often ends with a journey into one's own culture (Adler, 1975). Evidence and quotes: Intercultural learning sometimes makes us aware of our ethnocentrism and can involve barriers such as stereotypes. Peter Adler's statement corresponds to one of my experiences so far, where I met a young Indonesian girl at university and we built a sort of cross-cultural relationship. Comment: Since we were both culturally open, we didn't encounter many problems. We both discovered the cultureof each person and our different philosophies of life. It was an enriching experience because I learned a lot about Indonesians and their cultures, and even about myself and my own cultural background. Evidence and Citations: Intercultural competence becomes a valuable asset in this interconnected world (Stadler, S, (2011) and Fantini, AE (2000). Comment: The more an individual experiences new dimensions of human diversity, the more he learns about himself -self. The main goals I want to achieve from this unit are: to develop my intercultural communication skills and to be aware of the communication of others I also need to challenge the thinking "my way is the right way" and. being flexible and open to different ways of seeing the world. Nature of international communication and universal systems Topic sentence: Culture is an essential part of human society It includes attitudes, values, belief systems, verbal and non-verbal languages, the perceptions accepted and expected by a particular society Evidence and citations: Culture is learned from parents, schools, the media and society in general. Genelot (1998) asserted that “men are products of their culture”. There are different systems that affect culture, such as economic, political, social, educational, and family systems. Comment: Individuals do not see the world through the same lens. Each of us experiences the world differently, making culture a dynamic and evolving subject. Topic sentence: Cultures do not stay the same, they gradually evolve over time. With the progress of globalization, the concept of culture has taken on a broader meaning. Evidence and Citations: For example, thanks to international trade and advanced technologies, labor markets have been improved, providing immense opportunity for cultural diversity. Nonetheless, critics argue that globalization, in terms of diversity from food to lifestyles, neglects small cultures and forces them to assimilate into a much more Western culture. For example, McDonald's in the United States offers personalized menus around the world (the Maharaja Mac in India and the McLobster in Canada). Evidence and Citations: As society becomes more globally connected, cross-cultural business communication is becoming increasingly important in the business world. For those working in international business, it is initially very difficult to adapt due to the different cultures. Comment: The success of large multinationals lies in understanding and learning about others and their culture. A society's culture is like an iceberg, where some aspects are visible above the water, but more of it is also hidden beneath the water. water surface. Thus, he suggests that the only way to learn the internal culture of others is to actively participate in their culture (Hall, 1976). Evidence and Citation: Additionally, to solve problems caused by people of different cultures living or working together, Hofstede's (1980) theories can be used, through which they explain the different cultural dimensions or disparities between nations and individuals. Comment: I am now somewhat convinced that I will be able to work better with people from other cultures in my future work by applying this theoretical knowledge. I also believe that one must also develop cognitive flexibility that allows one to switch between thinking about two different concepts and avoid ethnocentrism. A few years ago, I lacked the cognitive flexibility thatallowed me to evaluate the culture of others based on my own. But now I have become more culturally aware. Contrasting Cultural Values ​​Topic Sentence: Values ​​are social principles in a culture that help distinguish between what is right and wrong, what is normal and what is abnormal. Evidence and Citations: Cultural values ​​are highly individual and come from family, formal schooling, peer groups, religious institutes, and cultural folklore. Values ​​are the foundation of an individual's life and determine the direction of life. Comment: My top 5 values ​​are honesty, discipline, hard work, responsibility and kindness. As such, I prefer to be honest and hardworking at work and maintain professional values ​​with my clients and colleagues. I choose to be friends with kind and disciplined people. I usually spend my free time volunteering for an NGO or doing exercises. However, I know people who have negative values ​​such as jealousy and selfishness, which end up having a destructive impact on their lives. People share different values ​​and attitudes. With the advent of globalization, we will be more likely to work with people of different nationalities. Topic sentence: It is fundamental to recognize that different cultures have different attitudes towards women, work and ethics. Evidence and citations: For example, in my home country, a recent development in gender parity has been the increase in the proportion of seats held by women in our parliament and the reduction in the pay gap between the sexes. However, in countries like Pakistan and some African countries, women are still considered subordinate to men. Topic Sentence: Different cultures also have different perceptions of work. Evidence and Quotes: For example, I heard that in Japanese culture, they are very good at teamwork and are so supportive of their colleagues that teamwork continues even after work hours. Employees work longer hours, in an open space (obeya seido) and generally hang out after work, which ultimately leads to very strong relationships in the workplace. There is an ongoing opportunity for learning and a leader is assigned to each team who describes the daily work in a morning meeting called chorei. I also realized that Americans place a high value on individualism and self-reliance, while Chinese culture only demonstrated a collectivist attitude when Guan Xi was established. Topic Sentence: Culture plays an important role in an employee's attitude and, in turn, different work attitudes lead to different work behavior (like in the examples above). Evidence and quotes: It is therefore important for leaders to be aware of their colleagues' past work environment and possible cultural differences in order to avoid any communication problems. Comment: We need to understand their cultural orientations and values ​​and, in some cases, we need to adjust our own behaviors, building trust and engagement across cultures. Culture ShockCulture shock was one I experienced when I moved to Perth. This concerns the problems of adaptation to an unfamiliar culture (Oberg, 1960). I experienced culture shock as I became aware of Australia's food, climate, "Australian slangs" and linguistic accents. Attending college in a culture completely different from my own waseven more difficult because I thought it worked like in my home country. At first, all of this contributed to some physical and psychological effects. International students tend to experience more social difficulties than host students (Furnham and Bochner, 1982). Oberg (1954) identified four stages that people go through when adapting to a new cultural environment. Before migrating, I was very excited to expand my academic knowledge and discover Perth. I then experienced a culture shock when I became aware of the different world here. However, I am now acculturating to this new environment. Instead of spending most of my time with students from my own culture, I now interact with more international students. I somehow fit into this new culture but I also retained my cultural identity. I believe a healthy balance is a good thing. It will be an enriching experience for me because this trip will enrich my personal experience, introduce me to new cultures and new people. Topic Sentence: International business relations have caused culture shock for most employees following prolonged stay in foreign countries. Culture shock also occurs when they return to their original culture and this readjustment phase is called “reverse culture”. Evidence and Citations: Therefore, employers carefully select and prepare employees for overseas assignments. According to Ch. Bullock and Sh. Oswald (2002), the four criteria to take into account when selecting expatriates for projects abroad are: technical expertise, the desire to work abroad, human relational skills and adaptability of the spouse and family. For the expatriation process to be successful, an expatriate must have intercultural communication skills, be flexible, adaptable and maintain a high degree of tolerance. My previous assignment abroad was not very successful, but I am now aware of the additional skills I need to develop, as international mobility makes a positive difference in career.Language and written communication patternsTopic sentence: Language is so closely linked to culture. While this can connect different communities into one, it can also create barriers between different cultural groups. Evidence and Citation: Edward Hall, in his studies including The Silent Language (1959) and Understanding Cultural Differences (1990), presented how various world cultures can impact people's verbal and nonverbal communication and thus distinguished between societies on a scale of low and high context. Comment: High context culture is described as a culture that depends primarily on non-verbal, indirect, implicit, coded and circular communication. They are considered collectivists and have had close relationships for a long time. Countries like Japan and China are considered among the most contextual cultures. On the other hand, low-context cultures are more open where communication is direct, explicit and precise, such as in Australian and German cultures. Reflecting on the above, I used to communicate in indirect ways to express myself, such as intentionally beating around the bush, using irony and strange facial gestures to express my level of discomfort. These were easily inferred within my social circle. I quickly realized that my communication with people would require a lot of changes, because what is prevalent in my home country might not be suitable here. By.