Working Across Cultures: Cultural Reflections Journal

Running head: MBA6150
Working across
cultures
Student Name:
Student ID:

ASSIGNMENT 1: CULTURAL REFLECTIONS JOURNAL 1

ASSIGNMENT 1: CULTURAL REFLECTIONS JOURNAL 2
Introduction
My name is XYZ and I am from Bhutan, which is located in the Eastern Himalayas in South
Asia. Bhutan has 19 different languages and Dzongkha is recognized as the official language.
I have completed my undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Arts, Honours majoring in English
in 2005 at the Kalimpong College, North Bengal University in India. I started my career as a
graphic designer working for the government newspaper known as Kuensel Corporation
Limited in 2006. In my role I have been exposed to a multitude of responsibilities due to
changes in the market. My working experience includes Fresh Produce Team Member in
Coles Super Market at Scarborough Beach, Perth WA from 20th October 2014 – till date and
Senior Graphic Designer in Kuensel Corporation Ltd. My working experiences has helped
me to study in abroad in a country like Australia, which is a multicultural country and my real
challenges started with cultural differences. There is a considerable difference between the
working cultures of both the countries. Moreover, English is considered as the official
language in Australia.
Description
I am a Bhutanese and worked in Bhutan for 7 years. I had completed my Diploma in
Australia and have also worked in Australia. While working in both the countries I had
observed that there is a vast difference between the working cultures of both the countries.
Bhutanese people might see Australians as laid-back people, but they are also hard working
people like the Bhutanese. They have different etiquette in the workplace in comparison to
workplace etiquettes of Bhutan (Abendroth & Reimann, 2018). Moreover, it needs to be
understood that working across different cultures has provided immense knowledge regarding
the execution of the work processes in a diverse workplace.
Now coming to the culture of Australians, they are found to be direct and straightforward.
Australian executives have the tendency to swear in the meetings. This tendency might shock
people from conservative nations but swearing is a significant part of their vocabulary. They
also utilize it to express their anger with formal rules (Bauer, Matzler & Wolf, 2016). The
workplace culture of Australia enables people to socialize during the work hours. They have
flexible work hours, and so it is easier for them to talk with their co-workers. It is also the
reason that most of the Australians do not socialize after working hours. On comparing with
Bhutan, I found that in Bhutan people socialize only on Fridays or at weekends. Also, my
work experiences have helped me to understand about the differences between different

ASSIGNMENT 1: CULTURAL REFLECTIONS JOURNAL 3
cultures, intercultural communication, different cultural values and cultural differences in
workplaces as well as some words which could not be translated in English, funny
translations of English words and use of silence.
From above it can be analyzed that the cultural differences effectively helps in the
development of cultural intelligence of the staffs, and it is the first step for developing a
strategy of an international business which influences the risks posed by the cultural
differences to international business. Cultural values and perceptions taught initially
demonstrate all the aspects of a person’s behavior. In the environment of international
business, which brings competition among the people from diverse cultures, being culturally
conscious and having the capability to work efficiently across cultures is important (Bryon,
2017). It is evident to know that working across cultures increases intercultural awareness
towards the cultural differences, which influences the workplace and allows to communicate
more efficiently across diverse cultures.
The above description of culture differences reveals that intercultural communication is
related to issues connected with speech and culture of those who belong to different
environment or land. It is evident that an individual who had grown up in Bhutan is going to
have a diverse culture than the person who had grown up in Australia. Even people from the
USA find it difficult to adjust in Australia and vice versa even though they are almost the
same nations and interact in the same language. In the workplace, the values and the behavior
of the staffs are affected by diverse cultures (Gopalkrishnan & Pulla, 2016). Their response to
the senior managers and co-workers are all determined by their own culture. Their
communication pattern and their formality and informality concepts might be different. As
for example, many employees in international organizations in West address their seniors and
bosses by their first name. But in some nations like Bhutan, it is supposed to be informal.
Reflection
From the learnings it is understood that the significance of intercultural communication in the
workplace could not be underestimated. It plays a vital role in the workplace and impacts the
final outputs of the employees. Although intercultural communication is not a new concept
and has existed for many years, the arrival of globalization has brought the world together
(Hapsari, Stoffers & Gunawan, 2017). It is not surprising then that individuals have to travel
to various parts of the world for their job and have to adjust to the new environment. But, the