The Significance of Cross-Cultural Conflict in Communication

Preparing for Cross-Cultural Conflict

Whether at home or abroad, communicating with people of other cultures is difficult. It requires new ways of thinking and interpreting the world. When conflict arises, as it often does, the issues become even more confusing.

 

Without a good understanding of how different cultures handle conflict, our best intentions may only make matters worse.

 

Based on the reading for this period discuss the significance of cross-cultural conflict, how to prepare for it, how to avoid it, and if it arises, how to manage and resolve it.

 

Format: 1 original post (300-400 words), 1 response (300-400 words) PLEASE RESPOND TO POST: Cultural Conflict COLLAPSE Culture is a vital element in conflict and cultural conflict resolution, especially as the globe experiences globalization at a higher rate more than ever. Whether an individual is at home or away, they face a challenge communicating and interacting freely with foreign or other cultures.

 

The business industry appears to be establishing major milestones as they look towards expansion, even on foreign territories. The corporate industry has shifted its attention to engaging the geocentric best-suited individual to conduct a practice (Hofstede, 1980).

 

The shifting approach deployed by corporates has created channels that have been rapidly enhancing cultural influence to the affected populations or regions since corporate cultures are mainly built upon national culture, and it demands individuals to establish broader perspectives of engaging and interpreting the world since they belong to a foreign group or community. While cultures may be powerful, they are often unintended, transforms conflict and trials to find a solution to a conflict in unnoticeable ways.

 

Various crucial features are distinct to cultures, and among them include interconnection to the symbolic perspective of life, and they keep changing over time due to generational culture. Due to the shifting cultures’ dynamics, they establish the beginnings that contribute to shaping our perspectives, as opposed to following other directions. Every individual belongs to various cultures that provide them with the necessary guidelines towards normal and acceptable norms. When other individuals or other groups fail to deliver or meet another’s expectations, it then becomes almost conspicuous that there are various cultures in existence, and these indifferences can be regarded as cultural conflicts or have the capability to cause cultural conflicts.

 

These differences may be presumed to be of bad faith or failure to employ the basic common sense on different groups (Elmer, 1993), unknowingly to them that common sense can be classified as cultural. Therefore, cultural conflict across various cultures in existence mainly arises from what is common to one group and is uncommon, senseless, or against cultural ethics. There are different ways through which can lead to achieving settlement between conflicting cultures, and among the major ways is communication.

 

Cultural communication may not necessarily rely on words solely, but also the context within its environment, which is the setup within which activities are being conducted, and engagement is taking place. It helps individuals to interpret and attach meaning to communicate easily.

 

With regards to communication, individuals should not only rely on verbal communication, to identify and acknowledge presence of foreign culture.

 

Reference. Elmer, D. (1993). Cross-cultural conflict: Building relationships for effective ministry. InterVarsity Press. Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture and organizations. International studies of management & organization, 10(4), 15-41.