Skilled Personal Communication In International Management - 275 Words

Importance Of Skilled Personal Communication In International Management (Essay Sample) Content: The Importance of Skilled Interpersonal Communication in International Management By NameCourseTutorInstitution January 9, 2017 IntroductionIndustrialization, advanced transport infrastructures, globalization and the rise if multinationals, as well as the increasing popularity of corporate outsourcing have combined to create a culturally diverse business environment. The industrial revolution not only increased production levels in the manufacturing sector, but also facilitated the expansion of the international market to accommodate industrial products, as well as source for raw materials. Improved transportation promoted international migration as people moved across national borders in search of better employment opportunities, education, as well as to invest in new markets. Globalization paved the way for the integration of world cultures, economies, and politics. Finally, the rise of multinationals has promoted international business as investors venture into for eign territories for cheap labor, raw materials, and bigger markets. These developments have far reaching implications on business organizations, particularly global supply chains, with respect to business management practices across diverse cultural settings. Specifically, business managers have to understand and apply cross-cultural communication techniques to better manage employees and customers in different business environments. This essay discusses the role and importance of skilled interpersonal communication in international management. It argues that skilled interpersonal communication is important in international management in promoting effective interaction between managers and employees and facilitating international negotiation with foreign business partners. Communication is an essential tool for managing business organizations. Defined as the sharing of messages, ideas, and information either orally or through writing (Campbell 2009; 133), communication not only fac ilitates coordination and cooperation among employees, but also allows managers to direct and control corporate activities such as quality control and production. In this regard, skilled interpersonal communication helps organizations to function effectively by promoting coordination of business activities. Swift execution of duties depends on how managers are able to provide timely, accurate and reliable information to the subordinate staff, and how junior members are able to work together as teams and groups to achieve organizational goals (Campbell 2009). In this regard, skilled interpersonal communication is important to organizational management in two ways. First, it allows managers to disseminate information and given orders to junior employees more effectively. Secondly, it allows employees to interact and form strong teams, which improves efficiency and productivity. In the globalized business environment, however, it takes more than linguistic competence to communicate eff ectively. Debrah Smith (2003) observe that as business operations transcend national borders, they bring together people from different cultures, creating a diverse and complex workplace environment. At the same time, globalization has paved the way for big businesses to establish branches in different parts of the world, where they employ locals and as well as tap into the local market for raw materials and to sell finished products. Good examples include American multinationals Coca Cola, Pepsi, and McDonalds which operate in more than 100 countries around the world. In many of the international branches, there are employees of different nationalities, more so due to the need to bring in foreign expatriates to oversee technical aspects of production. In such business environments, communication becomes a complex and difficult process due to the different languages used by employees from different nationalities, as well as conflicting cultural beliefs and attitudes among employees of different cultural backgrounds. This situation describes a potentially chaotic workplace environment if there is no effective communication to all these diverse employees to work together. Consequently, it becomes imperative for managers to develop interpersonal communication skills not only to enable them manage employees effectively, but equally important, to function in different cultural environments.Intercultural communication is defined as the sharing of information across different social groups and cultures, including with and among individuals with diverse, and sometimes conflicting religious, social, and ethnic backgrounds (Neuliep 2014; 5). Intercultural communication skills help individuals to understand and appreciate differences in the way people from different cultures act, perceive the world around them, and communicate. In the context of international management, culture has a huge impact on the way people negotiate and conduct business. Accordingly, intercultur al communications skills are critical in determining the success of business organizations in doing business globally. Lack of cultural understanding of diverse employee groups, customers and the local market will not only alienate workers and offend prospective clients, but also hinder organizations from establishing mutual trust and long term relationships with international business partners (Neuliep 2014). This situation will have far reaching negative consequences on a businesss bottom line, hence the need for managers and employees to develop effective interpersonal communication skills as a means of enabling them function in different business settings. One of the areas in which interpersonal communication skills are important is in solving intergenerational conflicts (Wayne State University 2008; 48). The modern business environment is characterized not only by cultural diversity, but also by generational differences among employees. Technological revolutions in the business world have compelled organizations to develop a diverse human resource pool in terms of experience, skills, and technical knowledge. As a result, it is common to have young employees, who represent the techno-savvy generation X and Y peers, and the more experienced baby-boomer generation. Due to the different cultural conditioning of the two groups and varied approach to doing things, conflicts are bound to occur when these two groups work together. For instance, the new generation of young employees is operating in a work environment that promotes creativity and innovation, hence enjoys more freedom and autonomy in decision making. In contrast, the older generation is coming out of a workplace culture that promotes bureaucracy and conservative approaches to doing business. Intergenerational conflict arises when these two groups are forced to work in teams, especially under employee mentorship programs whereby new and young employees are paired with older and experienced employees. While one set of workers prefers to follow rules and consult with management on how to carry out tasks, the other group (the younger generation) prefers to take initiative and deliver results regardless whether they followed laid-down procedures. Interpersonal communication skills will play a big role in enabling this set of employees to work together by understanding the uniqueness of their background and way of doing things. At the same time, it will allow managers to act as mediators between the two groups by making them see and appreciate the positive contributions of each groups approach to doing things. In diverse workplace environments such as global supply chains, managers coordinate the activities of diverse work groups. Interpersonal communication skills are important tools, in this regard, for enabling managers to plan, organize, direct, and control the activities of various employees (Campbell 2009). The challenge of managers in the globalized workplace environment is t o act as a link between employees from various cultural backgrounds. It is the managers responsibility, for instance, to articulate and communicate the organizations goals and performance targets to employees. Failure to communicate these targets and goals will hinder employees from understanding and executing their duties effectively. This is because duties and all other business activities should contribute towards achieving organizational goals. Managers play the important role of making employees to work together towards the realization of shared goals. Managers will not achieve this critical goal of promoting cooperation among employees if they do not possess interpersonal communication skills to articulate and communicate the organizations goals. According to Hannigan (2000; 145), managers spend 70 to 90 percent of their time communicating with employees, clients, and other stakeholders. This is due to the nature of their responsibility which not only requires them to provide accurate information and directions to junior employees, but also to receive and act on feedback. This back-and-forth process of interaction between managers and employees is communication-intensive. Whether information is communicated electronically, such as through email, or orally, managers need to understand their target audience in terms of the way they interpret and perceive different forms of communication. For instance, it is common for managers in busy American workplace environments to shout orders at employees without intending to show contempt. At the same time, some English language expressions such as what the hell is going on is a common occurrence in the American context, for example when a manager is following up on late assignments. The target audience- the employee responsible for the job- can accurately interpret this expression as a show of frustration and impatience on the part of the manag...