The culture that we grow up in can make us the people that we are. It can affect everything, from the way we dress to the way we make decisions and carry out our tasks in the work place. Thus cross-cultural differences can have a massive impact within the work environment.
This would be an ideal situation as diversity within the workplace can often lead to new and exciting developments that one set of people alone may never have thought of. If there are different types of people working on one project together there will be many different thoughts and ideas.
In most circumstances, different cultures will work well together, but there are instances where there could be difficulties. The main difficulty can be communication. The primary concern would be language barriers, but even when everyone can speak the same language there can still be difficulties.
Some cultures are loud while others are shy and some are physically affectionate while others prefer no form of physical contact at all.
It would be wrong to generalize a whole culture but the common belief is that the Japanese people tend to work best in groups and teams and when a task is completed, the whole team is rewarded.
Whereas other cultures, such as American and British cultures, prefer to be rewarded individually and are more likely to speak out on an individual basis. Managers need to understand this and take it into consideration.
- Understanding other cultures
This would be an ideal situation as diversity within the workplace can often lead to new and exciting developments that one set of people alone may never have thought of. If there are different types of people working on one project together there will be many different thoughts and ideas.
- Problems with communication
In most circumstances, different cultures will work well together, but there are instances where there could be difficulties. The main difficulty can be communication. The primary concern would be language barriers, but even when everyone can speak the same language there can still be difficulties.
Some cultures are loud while others are shy and some are physically affectionate while others prefer no form of physical contact at all.
- Different reward systems
It would be wrong to generalize a whole culture but the common belief is that the Japanese people tend to work best in groups and teams and when a task is completed, the whole team is rewarded.
Whereas other cultures, such as American and British cultures, prefer to be rewarded individually and are more likely to speak out on an individual basis. Managers need to understand this and take it into consideration.
