CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT

Cross Cultural Management

Cross Cultural Management

Application of Cross-Cultural Theory and Concepts to the PALS groups

In modern society, it is inevitable to have ongoing contact with people culturally different with us who not only speak different languages but also practice different traditions and customs. No doubt, this can case conflicts of identity due to the other features that we recognize as totally different in comparison of other things that we recognize ourselves or we question our ways of thinking and behaving (Browaeys & Price, 2008). Intercultural communication enriches our understanding of a number of concepts and different meanings that belong to people culturally different from us, which is why it requires patience, commitment and continual practice (Castillo & Mallard, 2012). PALS or Peer Action Learning Set is an effective tool in which intercultural communication takes place and cause intercultural learning.

My PALS consists of three group members in which one is from Nigeria and other one if from Cambodia who is also female and I belong to Jordan. It can be seen that my PALS not only has cultural diversity but also the gender diversity. My experience during this course has been amazing as I have been learning many things from people of other culture that were considered as unusual in mu culture. The most important thing to know is that I always had deep interest in meeting new people from various cultural backgrounds. It would not be wrong to say that through PALS I got this opportunity to not only meet new people but also know about their culture as well as present my culture in a way that is understandable to each member.

I believe that process of intercultural communication, especially within multicultural organizational contexts, is made problematic by many factors such as prejudice, discrimination, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, language and communication codes, values, and expectations. All factors inextricably linked to the culture of each people. Such conflicts could be effectively overcome only through an intercultural dialogue, collaborative and interactive through which subjects are compared, lower their defensive barriers, tune in and try to understand and accept others' differences. In these cases, a central role is played by effective communication practices and training for the development of multiculturalism in organizational contexts and facilitate the overcoming of the so-called universal barriers.

During this course I also realized that Intercultural training is conceived as a way to identify with their cultural community of belonging and create a sort of "interdependence" between it and the countless other cultural communities exist: to create a culture that is able to reflect in others, it is therefore necessary to acquire the right skills and know-how to interact with social groups, cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. In this regard, organizations rely on tools that foster intercultural training right and proper interaction within their multicultural staff. Intercultural communication is promoted and managed through the use of many tools, more and more global and innovative such as workshops, tutoring, mentoring, focus groups, or booklets, newsletters, and finally business and web TV, intranet ...