Intercultural Communication And Negotiation: A Case Study From A Fundraiser Event Essay.

The Significance of Intercultural Communication and Negotiation

Discuss about the Intercultural Communication For Sign Language.

The process of intercultural communication has emerged as a vital one within the fold of the present day business world. The process of globalization has made it of paramount significance for the various business enterprises to operate on an international basis and it is here that the concept of intercultural communication gains significance (Martin and Nakayama 2013). The problem of intercultural communication creeps in when the process of communication is undertaken between people belonging to different cultures (Asante, Miike and Yin 2013). The process of effective negotiation can be said to be related to the concept of intercultural communication (Asante, Miike and Yin 2013). It is generally seen that during the process of intercultural communication the resolution of the issue depends on the effective negotiation skills of the communicator (Samovar et al. 2014). Thus, the process of negotiation can be said to be the one which aims at reaching a unanimous decision or agreement among the different entities who are having a discussion or communicating with each other (Samovar et al. 2014). In this paper I will discuss about the concepts of intercultural communication and negotiation through the lens of an event which I attended recently.

I attended a fundraiser event around a few months ago for the children suffering from Autism. The event was organized by our local community however people from the different parts of the city came to attend this particular event. There were more than 200 attendees at the event from different social as well as cultural backgrounds and different sections of the society. The primary focus of the event was on raising the required amount of money for the establishment of a care center where the children facing the disorder of Autism. However, I would like to comment at this particular point of time that in addition to being a successful fundraiser the occasion turned out to be a successful social event where the people from the different sections of the city were able to not interact with each other but at the same time got to know each other. I myself made a few acquaintances at this particular event with the kind of people I never thought that I would be able to know. For example, I came across a few Chinese students just like me in the event and then there was another student. Initially I was very reluctant to attend this particular event as I thought that I would be getting bored at the event as it would be attended by people belonging to the mature age and I would have to spend three to four hours without having to talk to anyone. However, at the event I found that out that the scenario was completely different and to be very honest I ended up enjoying my time at the event as not only I got to know about many people but at the same time I got to learn important things about the cultural as well as social patterns of the people belonging to other nations or regions. Thus, it can be said that the event helped me to gain a significant amount of knowledge about the concepts of negotiation and intercultural communication.

Case Study: Fundraiser Event for Children with Autism

I would like to comment at this particular point of time that now when I look back at the event in retrospect I find that the event had much deeper connotations than it was apparent to me. For example, during the event I had interactions with the people belonging to different cultural as well as social backgrounds without knowing the fact that I was indulging in the process of intercultural communication. Therefore, when the concept of intercultural communication was being taught to me by my professor the event naturally came to my mind and I was able to make a correlation between the two. For example, it really seemed funny to me when the Chinese as well as the Indian students who a part of the event failed to understand the English language used by me and at the same time I was unable to understand the things which they were trying to say to me. Moreover, I also noticed that the standard words used by me during the course of the conversation were interpreted in different manner by the people belonging to different cultures as well as social backgrounds. Therefore, in such a condition we were required to take the help of various kinds of gestures as well as body languages for the process of making the other individuals understand the things which we were trying to convey to the other individual. In addition to this, apart from them I myself was having a really hard time trying to understand the things which they were trying to convey to me. Thus, at the initial point of time I was really not very inclined to carry on the conversation with them. However, I soon found out that I had nothing better to do rather than to carry on the conversation with them. At this particular point of time I would like to say that during the course of the conversation I was able to learn many new things about the cultures of the different people and their style of conducting communication. Furthermore, at this particular point of time I would also like to add here that now in retrospect when I look back I think that we took the help of the concept of negotiation also in a significant manner during the course of the event. The concept of negotiation was used by us in an effective manner to arrive at various kinds of agreements during the course of the interview. Therefore, I would like to comment in this particular context that the event was a beneficial one for as it helped me to gain a practical idea about the concepts which would later on be taught to me by my professor during the course of my studies.

Challenges Faced in Intercultural Communication

In retrospect when I reflect back on the event I think that there were various things which I could have done in a much better manner. For example, if I had an effective working knowledge of the concept of intercultural communication and the various kinds of theories related to it I would have been able to interact in a much better with the people belonging to the different cultural as well as social backgrounds. Furthermore, the use of various techniques like gestures, body language and others would have further enhanced the kind of conversation which I had with these people (Samovar et al. 2014). Moreover, the use of the concept of negotiation during the process of communication and interaction with these people would have helped me and the other students from the diverse cultural as well as social background. Thus, I would like to comment in this particular context that a working of these concepts as well as the theories related to them are of paramount importance since these are likely to help the concerned individual in a significant manner. In the present times it is generally seen that we across people who not only from the various other countries of the world but at the same time follow a culture which is totally different from the one which we have been used to follow since our birth. Therefore an effective knowledge of these concepts is likely to help the individuals in a significant manner not only during the process of their communication with these individuals but also in carrying out negotiations with these people.

To conclude, the concepts of intercultural communication and negotiation have gained a considerable amount of significance within the framework of the present day world. This can be seen as a reflection of the changing status quo of the world and the process of diversification have contributed much towards the concept of multiculturalism which has become a part of our society. Thus, it becomes very important for the individuals to take the help of the concept of intercultural communication for the process of communicating with these individuals in a much more effective manner. Furthermore, a knowledge of the framework as well as the theories of the concept of intercultural communication is likely to help the individuals not only to interact in a much better manner with the individuals belonging to the other cultures as well as social backgrounds but at the same time would help them to understand the cultures of these people in a much more effective manner. Another important concept which has gained a considerable amount of significance in the recent times is the concept of negotiation. The concept of negotiation helps the individuals to reach at a conclusion or agreement during the process of communication regarding some important topic or question. Therefore, it would be apt to say that a working knowledge of these two concepts is very essential for the individuals as my experience at the fund raiser event which I have mentioned indicates.

References

Asante, M.K., Miike, Y. and Yin, J. eds., 2013. The global intercultural communication reader. Routledge. pp-14-67

Canagarajah, S., 2013. Agency and power in intercultural communication: Negotiating English in translocal spaces. Language and Intercultural Communication, 13(2), pp.202-224.

Goldberg, S.B., Sander, F.E., Rogers, N.H. and Cole, S.R., 2014. Dispute resolution: Negotiation, mediation and other processes. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. pp-56-90

Holliday, A., 2013. Understanding intercultural communication: Negotiating a grammar of culture. Routledge. pp-21-76

Martin, J.N. and Nakayama, T.K., 2013. Intercultural communication in contexts. New York: NY: McGraw-Hill. pp-19-61

Mindess, A., 2014. Reading between the signs: Intercultural communication for sign language interpreters. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. pp-41-165

Rubin, J.Z. and Brown, B.R., 2013. The social psychology of bargaining and negotiation. Elsevier. pp-56-98

Samovar, L.A., Porter, R.E., McDaniel, E.R. and Roy, C.S., 2014. Intercultural communication: A reader. Cengage Learning. pp- 11-89