The Significance of Intercultural Communication: An Essay Analysis

This argumentative essay delves into the critical role of intercultural communication in the modern workplace. It highlights the importance of effective communication across diverse cultural backgrounds, emphasizing the need for intercultural proficiency to foster strong global teams. The essay explores the advantages of intercultural communication, such as conflict reduction and increased productivity, while also addressing potential challenges like stereotyping and communication barriers. It presents a thesis statement asserting the essential nature of intercultural communication for organizational growth and individual development. The essay further examines the impact of globalization on workplace diversity, the significance of non-verbal communication, and the cultivation of strong leadership through intercultural competence. The paper emphasizes the role of intercultural communication in promoting ethical practices and fostering a more inclusive and productive work environment.

Running head: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Intercultural Communication
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Abstract
Communication is a process that has its importance in all every part of daily life. The issues
of workplace communication and mainly the cross-cultural communication process is the
topic that will be focused in the argumentative essay further. The need for such a
communication practice and the various implications that such type of communication can
have will be brought to light in the following paper. The paper will have a thesis statement
and will delve into discussion of argumentative nature based on that statement.

2INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Communication is a process that has involves a sender and a receiver along with a
message that is transferred with the use of a channel that is known as the communication
media (Habermas, 2015). To work adequately and effectively in the worldwide commercial
center, business administrators progressively require devices and abilities which help them to
be "interculturally proficient," to amalgamate different social states of mind, convictions and
conduct, and, in the end, to fashion an intense, compelling global group.
Stereotyping because of over-generalization is a typical event, particularly among the
individuals who are restrictive in communicating with others. For instance, instead of saying,
"I don't tail you by any means!" you may rehash the piece of the sentence you comprehended
and afterward request that the other individual fill in the rest. Request that words that are
troublesome for you to comprehend be interpreted if accessible. Vocal Cues: Do not utilize
an intemperate measure of 'filler' words (maxims or words rehashed frequently), sounds, for
example, "uh, um" or utilize extensive delays amid discussion. The audience will lose
enthusiasm for what you are stating and will wind up exhausted. Non-verbal Language: Nine-
five percent of our correspondence is non-verbal, which incorporates: eye development,
manner of speaking, act, outward appearances, and hand signals. When conversing with
somebody keeping eye to eye connection without gazing demonstrates a feeling of certainty.
Know about non-verbal correspondence and keep it steady with your message. The aspect of
communication that will be dealt in this paper is Intercultural communication practices.
Culture is only the qualities and convictions. It's an activity of data dole out by gathering of
individuals. In by one means or another culture matters a considerable measure for some
individuals in various societies and group. It's a correspondence of gathering .It's additionally
a developed conduct of religion. Correspondence incorporates a group's, data, conviction,
standards and reasons. Culture ethnology must be taken care of deliberately. Present day

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period it is much frequently utilized word. It resembles gathering of individuals in same
group and furthermore individuals from various group performing action. Each in this world
have their own esteems and convictions which looks like their social exercises. Principle
issues is that the utilization of the word - as a cross culture-is exceptionally more extensive
sense. Intercultural communication is referred to the communication that takes place
between people who belong to different cultural and traditional background. The world
comprises of various nations. Each nation has its own particular one of a kind culture.
Individuals originate from various nations have diverse conviction and distinctive traditions.
Nevertheless, with the globalization expanding, world is becoming smaller every passing day.
Diverse individuals from various nations begin to combine and live. Therefore, to show signs
of improvement correspondence with various individuals regard and comprehend diverse
societies is essential. As the trend of globalization keeps gathering momentum, the
workplaces will involve people from various cultural backgrounds and hence the
communication between the employees will become tougher. The international approach that
every organization is taking will need the employees to engage in intercultural
communication and miscommunication can be costly and incur losses to the company. The
need to communicate in the workplace is inevitable as all the employees are following a
common objective and their target is a common organizational target. The cross-cultural
competency has its advantages as well as some restrictions. Despite the fact that the wonder
of intercultural correspondence is as old as human culture, the investigation of intercultural
correspondence is of late beginning. The thesis statement for the following paper is that
intercultural communication in the workplace is essential for growth of an organization and
the overall development of an individual.

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The work environment develops more diverse each day. Individuals from everywhere
throughout the world, of each conceivable foundation, statement of faith and nationality make
an exceedingly heterogeneous workforce (De León, Huynh & Plaisance, 2014). Managers
cannot expect that what they find harmless, their subordinates will likewise. A statement can
vary in its nature and it completely depends on the receiver and the thought process an
individual uses in decoding the statement. Differences in background will lead to opposing
mentalities but they can only be overcome with the use of a proper communication process.
The meaning of conflict is a communicated battle between two parties with inconsistent
objectives or neglected enthusiastic needs. In an intercultural setting, conflict is the
unequivocal or understood enthusiastic battle or disappointments between individuals from
various societies over contradictory objectives, standards, values, confront concerns and rare
assets. An absence of affectability can prompt cases of segregation or provocation, which
costs firms huge cash. Intercultural communication holds the key to avoid such issues in the
workplace. The diversity in the workplace should be respected and the sentiments of all those
who are involved in the organization should be kept in mind before coming to a decision of
any kind. The kind of mental set up that the employees have in the organization paves the
way for the level of acceptance in the area of intercultural communication (Sharifian &
Jamarani, 2013). The positive side of such a communication practice remains that all the
conflicts that may arise from miscommunication will be reduced as the staff will be more
diligent in their approach towards those who are from a different cultural and traditional
background. Intercultural communication leads to dismissing any segregation that has been
created based on the lines of culture or ethnicity. The conflicts that are resultant in the
decision making process can be overcome when the involved workforce is acceptable in their
attitude towards cross-culture communication. Reduction of conflicts and issues within an
organization will lead the company to better growth and a common pursuance of the goals

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that are aligned to the organization’s advantages (Spaho, 2013). The main aim of all those
who are associated with an organization should be to provide the company the best of their
service and to work in teams so that the work is equally divided and everyone is provided
with the opportunity to work at the best of individual ability. Respecting the differing cultures
and backgrounds will enable intercultural communication smoothly and lead to reduction of
any kind of conflict within an organization. The predominant culture in a general public is the
gathering whose individuals are in the larger part or who employ more power than different
gatherings. In the United States, the overwhelming society is that of white, working class,
Protestant individuals of northern European plummet. There are more white individuals here
than African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, or Native Americans, and there are more
working class individuals than there are rich or needy individuals. Such idea of dominant
culture also invades in the workplace and leads to groupism and further adds to the de-
motivation of those who do not belong to that culture group. The lack of motivation leads to a
fall in the overall performance of the professional team and hence affects the company
inversely.
According to Samnani & Singh (2014), Productivity is the foremost concern for the
organizations that employ people round the year with a heft per annum salary package. The
main idea of an organization working in the 21st century is the concept of productivity and
proficiency in the overall working style and pattern of all those associated with the
organization. Every organization works with targets and deadlines that are required to be met
regularly by those who are working for the company. Every deadline missed and every target
skipped leads to a fall in the image of the company and this fall is substantially reflected in
the annual reports in the form of monetary losses. Owing to the fact that the workplaces are
now global in nature and people from various backgrounds and cultures confluence to work

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for an organization, it is advised that people should have good communication skills so that
the entire work becomes easier (Kasemsap, 2017). The advantage that intercultural
communication adds to this aspect of productivity and proficiency is manifold. The people
who work belong from various backgrounds and hence various pattern and style of doing a
work, some of them can be faster than the usual process and can efficiently help in time
management. Intercultural communication will people to interact with everyone in a
workplace and gain skills from each other and enrich the working pattern that was being
followed before. The skills of those from different background can add pace to the work and
learning those skills from them by communicating effectively can lead to personal skill
enrichment. This will also be beneficial to the organization because the task will be done
faster than before and targets will be regularly met and the deadlines will never fall short.
This will lead to the increase in productivity and the overall growth of the company as the
annual reports will show an upwards trend due to the profits that have been incurred due to
the proficient work techniques that are being learnt through effective intercultural
communication among the workforce which is varied in its culture and ethnicity. The cross-
cultural competence is mandatory for a team’s success within an organization as the members
in a team can only perform best when there will be a sense of equality and freedom for all the
teammates. Proper communication among the members of a team will lead to exchange of
skill sets between the members of the team and in result increase the proficiency level as well
the production. The ethos also pave the way for the professionals to respond to the diversity
that is increasing in the workplace. The ethics of the business world seek to get people who
are fair and always work to benefit the organization and without causing any wrong to
anyone. The practice of intercultural communication enables the people to work in tandem
with each other and lead the company to glory. They all communicate with each other for the
purpose and greater good of the society and hence this leads them to be ethical in their

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approach. The business ethics require the individuals to work in alignment of the needs of the
business and the idea that working together will benefit the company is something that every
business and workplace has in its core ethical values. Hence, intercultural communication
also paves way for the employees to adhere to the ethics and remain associated with ethical
practices in the workplace.
Intercultural communication additionally cultivates powerful leadership in an
organization. Present day associations are made out of differing individuals, and directors are
relied upon to lead their groups by making comprehension of the organization's arrangements
while pleasing the assorted perspectives of his group. An organization that prepares its group
of leaders in intercultural empowering, allows people working under them to feel more
inspired and focused regardless of social background they have. Intercultural preparing
fabricates successful correspondence, which is a stage toward viable initiative. The
intercultural communication enables organizations to have a leader who can perform on the
global scale. A leader is one of the greatest contributions that intercultural communication
can have to the organization. Various situations arise where the contributions of the
individuals in the team are varied in their nature due to their cultural background and a leader
effectively manages all this varieties and takes the team towards success and glory. This
capacity of an individual to drive a group that is so varied in its nature towards success is a
quality that is global in nature. Leading organizations are in constant look out for people who
have such skills and can effectively lead a cross-cultural team. The people who develop such
skills are those who have worked in a cross-cultural situation and hence it is the contribution
of the intercultural communication that occurs for a certain period of time and makes the
person competent in dealing with people from diverse backgrounds, ethnic groups and
cultures (Ang & Van Dyne, 2015). Increasing similarities in a group lead to smoother

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functioning but it is often found that teams which have huge variety leads the table with
highest production because the expertise is varied and the work procedure is vast. All these
are enabled by the leader and that individual’s skills to pursue the various aspects of
intercultural communication. The skills of intercultural communication prepare a person to be
ready for the trend of globalization and hence such skills add to the multifaceted development
of an individual and the various leadership skills that are necessary in this globalized business
scenario. Among the various cultural groups that exist in a workplace, there is a subculture
group, which is a gathering that lives uniquely in contrast to, yet not restricted to, the
predominant culture. A subculture is a culture inside a culture. For instance, Jews frame a
subculture in the to a great extent Christian United States. Catholics likewise shape a
subculture, since the lion's share of Americans are Protestant. Individuals from these
subcultures do have a place with the overwhelming society yet in addition have a material
and non material culture particular to their subcultures. It should be noted that creation of
such sub cultural groups should be avoided as such group in due course of time can lead to
conflicts and hamper the entire work environment of the organization.
While there are many benefits to the practice of intercultural communication, there
are certain areas in which the communication practice shows certain drawbacks. Total
quality management is the first aspect that takes a hit when cultures converge to create a
service or product. The various cultures that are involved have their separate set of beliefs
and traditions that they seek to follow those even when they are all aligned for organizational
excellence. This leads to a fall in the overall quality of the final product and the TQM is
effected due to the diversity that is prevalent. The convergence of cultures in the workplace
can lead to conflicts if not managed properly. The conflicts arise from the difference in the
ideas that the individuals hold within themselves (Pikhart, 2014). The thought processes of

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the people vary from each other because every culture has their own set of ideas and thought
process, and the necessities vary along with the perspective of every individual. Such
differences lead to conflicts that pull down the entire organization and can incur huge
financial loses too. The management does lose out on considerable amount of time in the
investigation process to deal with all the complaints that are lodged to them in light of the
cultural discrimination that takes place in the workplace. The individuals can be mentally
harassed by the colleagues due to their indifferent dressing or speaking style and this can lead
to them being and in return perform at a below par level. The problem solving dynamics of
an organization faces problem in working when such amount of diversity gets inside the
organization because taking a fair call and providing an unbiased judgment requires taking
into consideration of many aspects and hence the entire system falters due to wide diversity
(Felin & Zenger, 2014). It should always be kept in mind that the differences in the
workforce that are diverse and global in nature are a lot more than the number of similarities
they share. It is an added expense of the Human resource management team to train the
people in becoming cross-cultural competent. The added costs that go into training the
people in foreign language and the time that the entire process takes actually slows down the
growth of the organization because of the extra effort and the extra money that goes into
conducting such training programs.
To conclude from the argument above it is evident that intercultural communication is
needed to work in a 21st century workplace. The diversity that keeps growing in the field has
made the intercultural communication skill mandatory among people who wish to work in the
global business sphere. Though intercultural communication posses certain challenges, the
advantages outplay the disadvantages. In this modern era, organizations are in constant look
out for people who are competent in communicating with groups that are diverse in nature.

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The various cultures that are moving into the workplace are creating an overall positive
situation and are assuring that the growth that a business garners has significant contributions
from the minor social groups and they can reap benefits from the profits by earning salaries
equivalent to others from the popular culture group. Development of the entire society takes
place when various cultures interact in the workplace and it leads to development of the
entire social scenario. With the various communication channels that are evolving fast in the
world, it is evident that the trend of a global workplace is shortly due and the present
workforce will need to drop their stereotypes and work in alignment with all so that the
organization achieves success and individual career goals are met. The thesis statement is
justified by all means because the modern workplace will never be efficient if the
communication among the various employees is not up to the mark. The analysis of the topic
leads to understanding that the ultimate success of a company rests upon the employees and
their skills at work. The sources referred put up a positive image of the phenomenon of the
intercultural communication and this leads to establishment of the entire argument in favor of
the stated thesis at the introduction part of this classical argumentative essay.

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Reference list
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De León, J. A., Huynh, C. T., & Plaisance, B. E. (2014). DIVERSITY In THE
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Habermas, J. (2015). Communication and the Evolution of Society. John Wiley & Sons.
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