Ensuring Intercultural Effectiveness

As diversity grows in both society and the workplace, interacting and communicating with your coworkers will present specific challenges and rewards. It is important to be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of your coworkers and to understand how to navigate an increasingly diverse workplace.

Which of the following are appropriate strategies for communication in diverse workplaces? Check all that apply.

• Build on similarities.
• Make fewer assumptions.
• Use stereotypes to understand others.
• Learn about your cultural self.
• Seek training.
• Develop healthy bias.
• Work with others like you.

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Read the following scenarios, and choose the best answer for the following questions.

In a recent company meeting on diversity in the workplace, the HR representative started a discussion on how to be more sensitive toward the diverse backgrounds of the company's employees. After the informative discussion, you want to know from the HR representative's perspective why your company values diversity in its work environment.

What would be the best response from the HR representative?

• The company doesn't want to hear employees gripe about discrimination, so they hire workers with diverse backgrounds.
• Even though it is more expensive for the company to hire a diverse workforce, the people are worth it.
• Team members with different backgrounds come up with more effective problem-solving techniques, providing your company with a competitive advantage over other companies.

Two barriers prevent people from successfully understanding and accepting people from other cultures: ethnocentrism and stereotypes. Fortunately, these barriers may be overcome by developing tolerance.

Choose the best answer for each of the following.

Ethnocentrism is:

• Being open to many cultures and attitudes
• The study of ethnic diversity in the workplace
• The belief in the superiority of one's own culture

Stereotypes are:

• Useful guidelines for intercultural communication
• Accurate representations that facilitate communication
• Oversimplifications that cause misunderstandings and misconceptions

What do tolerance and flexibility in the multiethnic workplace require?

• Empathy
• Diversity training
• Endurance

Although most international business is conducted in English, levels of comprehension can vary. How can you enhance your oral communication skills in international environments? Check all that apply.

• Follow up in writing
• Accept blame
• Assume comprehension
• Smile when appropriate
• Encourage accurate feedback
• Teach English phrases
• Discourage feedback

Writing or speaking in an intercultural business world can be challenging. However, many techniques exist for improving your communication skills.

Susan has written a letter to a potential customer in Denmark.

Thank you for giving my team the opportunity to present our proposal for the opening of eleven new stores in Copenhagen; we'd like to meet again to discuss the details further.

How would you improve this sentence so it is clearer? Check all that apply.

• Cite numbers using figures instead of spelling them out
• Make the sentence shorter
• Add a comma after the first two words of the sentence
• Do not capitalize names of cities
• Write out the contraction
• Include more ambiguity