Communication Barriers in the Workplace
Communication is a two-way mechanism, and the inability to do so exposes an entity to a variety of challenges that can stymie a successful and productive communication process. One of the impediments to workplace contact is the physical barrier. The organizational structure can have an impact on the divide between top management and their subordinates, resulting in apprehension and seclusion from contact between the two parties (Jablin & Putnam, 2000).
Language and Cultural Barriers
Language barriers among members of the company can impede interpersonal communication among employees, resulting in misunderstandings and false impressions when expressing their opinions. Cultural barriers can emerge where people from a diverse culture may exhibit issues at work regarding their religion, race, and place of origin. An individual's social status may vary from that of other people, resulting in challenges in the communication process. The ranking of people that is, the high and low-context cultures may impact on the interpretation of information among workers. Gender differences are another barrier, where one gender may have more favors than another thus discomfort of one group from communication with another team that might feel superior.
Organizational Strategies for Effective Communication
Within the organization, there is an embracement of an open organization structure to engage the members and make them feel inclusive. There is, however, entertainment programs that allow all members of the organization to mingle and interact freely. It is a company that encourages diversity training in different languages, especially for the minority cultural group in the firm to involve all its members without them feeling inferior to their workmates (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel & Roy, 2014).
Empowerment and Equal Opportunities
The organization gives clear chances for all members to play a role in the decision making process on the issues that affect them directly. By this, the workers can feel that their opinions and contributions are valued and have a sense of belonging to the firm. There's empowerment of both the female and male employees where there are equal rights and chances for both genders to abolish any barriers between the two (Jablin & Putnam, 2000). The organization values and offers same opportunities to the contribution of every single member irrespective of class and social status, as each person is of great importance in the work environment.
Benefits of Team-Based Communication
A team-based communication method in the workplace concentrates on the collaboration of its group members towards the achievement of universal organizational objectives. It facilitates trust, accountability, and empowerment to all members of the work environment. In teamwork, there is open communication that leads to better decision making and the most appropriate business strategies towards a common interest. Working together gives room for creativity and innovativeness for the growth and development of the company (Jablin & Putnam, 2000).
Transparency and Trust
Union among members in completing their tasks strengthens and brings motivation to achieve the goals of the organization. Team building brings about direct communication among group members; therefore, everyone can stay updated on issues that concern employees' performance in the workplace. It brings about prioritizing, flexibility, efficiency, team spirit, and clarity on work outline. Transparency and open communication channels eliminate fear and difficulty in discussing different matters and giving feedback, and this can enhance the trust among employees and therefore excellent performance.
Strategies for Intercultural Communication
There are various strategies to address intercultural communication in a work environment. In the global world, cross-cultural communication is essential in every organization due to interaction amongst people worldwide. Training and development programs on different cultures through the support of the organization can help promote effective communication. The workforce should be aware of their own culture, willing to learn, curious, listen and observe, and engage in various activities with different cultural groups at regular times. An organization should promote intercultural sensitivity to allow cohesiveness and the enrichment of the organization's cultural identity. Adoption of cross-cultural communication ensures that there is involvement of all workers where the organization concentrates on the employee behavior and not their cultural backgrounds (Samovar et al., 2014). Workshops, work trips, and other activities can help reconcile employees' differences, with their relationships built on respect for each other's way of life.
References
Jablin, F. M., & Putnam, L. L. (Eds.). (2000). The new handbook of organizational communication: Advances in theory, research, and methods. Sage Publications.
Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R., & Roy, C. S. (2014). Intercultural communication: A reader. Cengage Learning.
