Understanding Cultural Differences in the Workplace

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Understanding Cultural Differences in the Work Place
Spring Session B
Professor Davis
5/6/2012
Chamberlain College Of Nursing

The importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting is essential to make the work environment comfortable. In every culture there are basic standards of thinking, and acting and these cultural differences strongly influence workplace values and communication. What may be considered acceptable and natural in the workplace for one person may be unacceptable for another person. People from diverse cultures bring new ways of thinking, creativity and language skills needed to survive in today’s work force. In many …show more content…

Although cross cultural differences do not always cause obvious problems, it is their more subtle manifestations that can and do lead to a lack of clear communication and poor performance. Cultural awareness is important to help members of a multicultural team identify where things may be going wrong or how to best leverage their differences. Without some sort of formal cross cultural awareness training it is difficult for multicultural teams to identify areas that need attention.
Cultural differences manifest in many ways. Within a multicultural team, a person's cultural background will impact how they act and behave. There will be differences in areas such as communication, attitude towards conflict, approaches to task completion and decision making styles. Unless people come to realize these differences between them through cultural awareness, problems can continue and even intensify.
Organizations and professionals across the board in my opinion should be held accountable for staff awareness on cultural, ethnical and gender differences in the work place. A famous quote says, “People perish for the lack of knowledge.” There has to be a guide to follow and According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as amended, the ADEA, and the ADA, which prohibit discrimination on basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, age, and disability protect workers of all backgrounds. (Bell, 2007).
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