Diversity in business

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Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

2. Develop communication strategies for various cross-cultural workplaces. 2.1 Develop a communication strategy for bridging cultural diversity in the workplace.

5. Analyze workplace situations for successful professional communication with diverse audiences.

5.1 Discuss inclusion and diversity in workplace communication.

6. Illustrate appropriate problem-solving skills for effective professional communication. 6.1 Describe tools to achieve successful intercultural or cross-cultural communication.

Course/Unit

Learning Outcomes Learning Activity

2.1

Unit Lesson Article: “Small Businesses Can Commit to Diversity, Too” Article: “Ethiopia: Communication in a Multicultural Country” Unit III Assignment

5.1

Unit Lesson Video: TEDTalks: Janet Stovall—How to Get Serious about Diversity and

Inclusion in the Workplace Article: “We’re Talking About Racism. We Never Talked About This Before” Unit III Assignment

6.1

Unit Lesson Article: “Q&A: We Were Not Interested in Creating Programs, but More of a

Culture Change Strategy” Article: “A Lifetime Work: Strategies for Successful Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” Article: “The Need for Cross-Cultural Communication Instruction in U.S.

Business Communication Courses” Unit III Assignment

Required Unit Resources In order to access the following resources, click the links below. Video The transcript for this video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab to the right of the video in the Films on Demand database. TED (Producer). (2018). TED Talks: Janet Stovall–How to get serious about diversity and inclusion in the

workplace [Video]. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPl aylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=209793

Articles Abrams, R. (2021, January 14). Small businesses can commit to diversity, too. USA Today, 03B.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A648352790/AONE?u=oran95108&sid=bookmark- AONE&xid=650d9f92

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE Intercultural/Cross-Cultural Communication in a Global Workplace

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Agovino, T. (2020, Fall). 'We're talking about racism. We never talked about this before.'. HRMagazine, 65(3), 32. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A636516445/ITOF?u=oran95108&sid=bookmark- ITOF&xid=9cba94b3

Chandler, N. (Ed.). (2020, December 16). A lifetime work: Strategies for successful diversity, equity, inclusion.

New Orleans CityBusiness. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A646123104/ITOF?u=oran95108&sid=ITOF&xid=bb6b0e08

Minas, G. (2021, May 18). Ethiopia: Communication in a multicultural country. The Ethiopian Herald.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A662123185/STND?u=oran95108&sid=STND&xid=39049e41 Smallwood, M. G. (2020). The need for cross-cultural communication instruction in U.S. business

communication courses. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 83(2), 133–152. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=bsu&AN=143231511&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Weinstock, M. (2021, February 15). Q&A: We were not interested in creating programs, but more of a culture

change strategy. Modern Healthcare, 51(7). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A652224621/ITOF?u=oran95108&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=66f155e6

Unit Lesson

Overview In this unit, our focus is how we can successfully communicate across cultures as well as why the foundation for diversity in the workplace is communication.

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Culture Defined

As the diagram above indicates, many factors define culture. Culture can comprise a person’s religion, race, age, nationality, socio-economic status, education, generation, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and gender. All of these factors can create noise, thus, creating conflict. Here are a few examples. One day your supervisor introduces a new employee, and that new employee is the only male at your workplace. As a customer have you ever felt ignored because of your race? How does your age cause noise when communicating with your team leader who is significantly older or younger than you? How can we communicate when all these cultural factors, in effect, stream static through communication channels to prevent a clear message from reaching a receiver?

Cross-Cultural/Intercultural Communication Defined Cross-cultural or intercultural communication can be challenging to define. The simplest definition is communication between us and others unlike us. We may be from a different country, speak a different language, or practice a different religion. This can create noise. Silencing the static of culture within our communication begins with an understanding that culture is an engrained part of who we are—all factors that define culture. How then can we separate these factors when we communicate? We cannot. What we can do is learn how to communicate across cultures.

Communicating Across Cultures Our previous units discussed communication tools that can be used to decrease conflict. Culture is a noisemaker; thus, culture can and will cause conflict. The tools already learned can help us communicate across cultures. Let’s review these tools. Active listening can be defined as paying attention, then asking questions.

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Perception checking includes active listening in its three-step process:

Step 1: Description: Description of noticed behavior Step 2: Interpretation: Two possible interpretations of the noticed behavior Step 3: Clarification: Asking a question While these two tools are important to the communication process, they are not the only tools that can help us build a bridge to communicate across cultures.

Empathy: A Bridge to Cross Cultures Empathy, unlike sympathy, focuses on the understanding of each other’s feelings even if we do not share those feelings. We often confuse these concepts and offer the message I’m sorry when we really mean to say, I understand. For example, your coworker is nervous because they are about to present a new training method. You are not part of this presentation, so you do not feel nervous (what they feel), but you understand why your coworker is nervous. Thus, your message to your coworker would be empathetic: I understand, not the sympathetic, I’m sorry.

(Pressmaster, n.d.)

Successful communication across cultures also relies on empathy. One way to approach communication is to think about communication across cultures as a network (Minas, 2021).

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If the network fails, then the message sent cannot cross a channel to the receiver and all communication ends. Successfully networking across cultures relies on communication. Using tools such as active listening, perception checking, and empathy will help us successfully communicate across cultures. For example, imagine being introduced to a new coworker, Jackson. You notice that Jackson smiles but only mumbles a shy “hello” and head nod. Your first impression is that Jackson may be another coworker who hides in their office or the coworker who says nothing at meetings. With your busy work schedule and projects, you decide to not take the time to formally introduce yourself to Jackson. At lunch, you see Jackson smiling and laughing with another coworker as they speak together in a foreign language. What if you applied perception checking and empathy before making a judgement about Jackson? Perhaps Jackson’s shyness was first day on the job jitters as well as a language barrier? Could you have understood Jackson’s jitters by remembering your first day on the job?

Diversity and Communication in the Workplace

A diverse workplace benefits the workplace and communication.

(Monkey Business Images, n.d.) Communication can ensure a workplace’s success or failure; however, what if messages being sent come from the same type of receiver? Feeling included in this workplace would be difficult. Whether you are the only female, the only Latinx. African American, or Asian, or the only member of LGBTQ+ community, being the only one of a specific culture within the dominant workplace culture can be challenging in and of itself. Now, imagine being the only one and trying to communicate with the majority. Not having a cultural connection in the workplace can stop communication before it can even begin. Chandler (2020) suggests that diversity in the workplace means that employees see no obstacles in bringing their full selves to work. Therefore, each employee feels included and respected. When we feel this way, our communication across cultures grows. Having a homogenous workplace may not only negatively impact its employees, but also negatively impact the business itself. If customers or clients are unable to see themselves in the business’ identity, then they may question if they belong or if they should continue to be customers or clients. Abrams (2021) notes that a diverse workplace not only benefits the employees but also the company or business. Customers and clients feel included when they see the company respect and welcome all cultures. In turn, the company or business grows.

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Although workplace diversity is beneficial for the employees and the business itself, the challenge is how to strive for and talk about diversity. Agovino (2020) suggests that recent current events have opened previously closed communication doors. Agovina (2020) further suggests the death of George Floyd and the messages of Black Lives Matter forced racism to now be openly discussed in the workplace. Moreover, listening to all cultures’ stories will then lead to more understanding and empathy by the majority culture that can then lead to more inclusion and diversity. To learn more about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, watch the video TEDTalks: Janet Stovall—How to Get Serious About Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace. The transcript for this video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab to the right of the video in the Films on Demand database.

Listening, Critical Thinking, and Workplace Diversity

Three tools discussed in this unit all rely on listening. Active listening or paying attention and asking questions; perception checking, where we must listen to describe the behavior as well as offer two possible interpretations of the behavior; and empathy, where we cannot understand without having to first listen to the messages being sent. Listening is part of critical thinking. We must listen so that we can make logical and reasonable decisions—to think critically. Yet, listening is often described as the most challenging communication skill and a skill not often practiced. Try this activity to see how well you listen:

In one conversation, track the number of minutes where you are the receiver versus the number of minutes you are the sender.

The results may be shocking as many of us value sending messages (or talking) versus receiving messages (listening). If we take this value of talking versus listening to the workplace, diversity will be a struggle to achieve. Majority voices may cause so much noise that the minority voices cannot be heard. However, some companies are challenging their employees to think critically and listen to diverse voices. Weinstock (2021) notes that programs, such as Courageous Conversations where dialogues, not debates, about diversity are the goal, have created a magical coming together of cultures.

Diversity and Communication in a Global Workplace Throughout this lesson you may have been thinking about communication in your own workplace as it relates to culture and diversity. Your workplace environment may be a small local business, or you may work at a state-wide U.S.-based company or even a multi-national corporation or in the military. Your hometown

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business may have a local brick-and-mortar base; however, the business sells their products nationally or even world-wide. Today, because of technology, workplaces from small to large have become global. Global workplaces have affected our communication. These effects may be as simple as learning a new word (maybe lift instead of elevator), or these effects may be as challenging as learning an entirely new language in order for all employees to feel included. No matter the size or reach of your workplace, diversity exists. It is communication that ensures that this diversity does not divide but joins us together so that we see the value in our workplace’s many cultures.

Summary In Unit I, we established the fundamentals of communication and began putting our professional communication puzzle together. In this unit, we continued building our puzzle by focusing on workplace relationships including conflict causers, conflict resolution, and stress management. In Unit III, we added another piece to our professional communication puzzle: crossing cultures.

References Abrams, R. A. (2021, January 14). Small businesses can commit to diversity, too. USA Today, 03B.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A648352790/AONE?u=oran95108&sid=bookmark- AONE&xid=650d9f92

Agovino, T. (2020, Fall). Companies try a new approach to diversity, equity and inclusion: Honest

conversations. HRMagazine, 65(3), 32. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A636516445/ITOF?u=oran95108&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9cba94b3

Chandler, N. (Ed.). (2020, December 16). A lifetime work: Strategies for successful diversity, equity, inclusion.

New Orleans CityBusiness. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A646123104/ITOF?u=oran95108&sid=ITOF&xid=bb6b0e08

Minas, G. (2021, May 18). Ethiopia: Communication in a multicultural country. The Ethiopian Herald.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A662123185/STND?u=oran95108&sid=STND&xid=39049e41 Monkey Business Images (n.d.). ID 5948708 [Photograph]. Dreamstime.

https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-portrait-firefighters-standing-fire-engine- image5948708

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Pressmaster. (n.d.). ID 101325793 [Photograph]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/support- colleagues-helpful-colleagues-supporting-comforting-their-associate-workplace-image101325793

Weinstock, M. (2021, February 15). Q&A: We were not interested in creating programs, but more of a culture

change strategy. Modern Healthcare, 51(7). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A652224621/ITOF?u=oran95108&sid=ITOF&xid=66f155e6