The Importance of Integrating Intercultural Communication in The Operations of Organizations

Public institutions in the United States endeavored to provide a better societal experience for citizens. From education and crime prevention to housing and labor efforts, public organizations seek to impact the lives of people in a bevy of ways. Leadership and management strategies and tactics have become an integral part to the success of organizations across the country. Specifically, embracing diversity and ethics are key components for these organizations to achieve their goals. By integrating people from a variety of backgrounds and aspiring to operate on a higher plane ethically, these organizations enhance their ability to effectively nurture positive change and better address the needs of the people they serve.

Developing approaches in organizations that address matters of diversity are crucial for public organizations that serve a public that is becoming more diverse, whereby public organizations will be better equipped to serve the public at large. Organization, thus, should develop a medley of tactics to prove their sensitivity and commitment to the diverse communities they serve. These approaches can stem from developing support structures for their managers, seeking input from the various communities they serve, provide easy access to the services they provide, developing communications in a variety of languages, promoting minority-owned businesses to serve to their respective communities, and understanding cultural differences as well as facilitate communication between diverse communities.

Ultimately, this essay will argue that organizations should strive to operate by emphasizing intercultural communication as a cornerstone of their operations. This approach will precipitate the best outcomes for the populations they serve while emboldening their organizations with the requisite capacities to identify and capitalize on future trends in their domain to provide the best outcomes for the American citizenry.

Intercultural organization communication can be seen throughout the world in national governments, corporations, and non-profit organizations. Adaptability and perceptiveness are required when interacting with individuals from various backgrounds (Farley, 2004). This capacity is measures by an individual’s cultural intelligence (CQ). Persons with high CQ often experience great success in pragmatic settings, as they are able to touch and motivate a bevy of people to realize larger organizational goals (2004).

These leaders seamlessly blend and employ three components of communication and leadership, namely motivational, physical and cognitive approaches to deliver impactful outcomes. In every aspect of CQ, Farley (2004) found that most mangers are not equally strong. Yet, he believes that they can employ training and perspectives to bolster their skills and efficacy within an organization setting where intercultural communication is required.

Building on the approach forwarded by Farley, Javidan (2006), developed an impactful platform for conceptualizing global leadership differences. Javidan employed findings from the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE)to develop the approach. Javidan looked at a model featuring a hypothetical American executive, managing four similar teams in China, Egypt, France and Brazil (2006). In order to be interactive with the employees from various cultures effectively using the hypothetical case involving five different countries enabled Javidan to provide in-depth action oriented and context specific recommendations, congruent with GLOBE findings, whereby executives are empowered with th toolbox and cultural sensitivity to impact change.

Moreover, the standard multicultural approach no longer sufficiently explains the emerging trends of the globalized and digital economy. Local managers are having to integrate both regional and international approaches to organization structure and management in formulating impactful intercultural communications (Shimoni, 2006). In other words, they must expand their approaches to account for a bevy of styles and approaches that the global nature of the economy mandates. Corporations as well, Shimoni (2006) suggests, should study the resulting hybrid form of management. This hybridization is exemplified by interviews with Israeli, Mexican and Thai management practitioners of global corporation’s headquartered throughout the world.

Practice of intelligent, cultural, emotional and cognitive leadership was promoted by Vincent de Paul and many of his followers. Their example was not only spiritual inspiring, as Tavanti (2005) argues but also possessing vision in terms of more earthly endeavors. Qualities such as envisioning the impossible and treating the least entity as most significant one require both great spiritual and cultural intelligence. This approach of doing good and doing it well and being creative vigilant serve as renowned pillars of Vincentian leadership models(2005).

In other words, leadership positions are fluid, whereby their vision is enhanced by their spiritual and cultural intelligence. Hence, a leader is able to operate with a sense of humility with a balanced self-perception. The leader stands of more than being the promoter of self- interest and organizational interest. Leadership attains it true value and meaning when it is grounded in the values of meaning.

When ostensibly speaking the same language, French and Americans and indeed any members of various cultures can still misinterpret each other, as rendered by Raymonde Carroll in an intriguing and thoughtful analysis of intercultural communication. According to Carroll (1990), cultural misunderstanding occur unexpectedly and unintentionally not only in organizational but personal settings as well. Carroll explores these differences and how approaches to them may prove fruitful in cross-cultural organizational endeavors.

The development of new technological applications and digital models may well facilitate the ability of organizations to develop superior intercultural communication outcomes into more impactful societal implications. Data analytics, smart technology, and more sophisticated computer modeling may well provide the key to identifying better ways to better engage communities as well as develop long terms outcomes in terms of reversing adverse trends. Although these measures will not be full proof, they may well prove potent in reducing many of the circumstances that contribute to inhibiting optimal outcomes in terms of intercultural organizational communications.

Moreover, the usage of social media and other digital platforms may well provide impactful solutions for organizations and groups seeking to superior intercultural communication outcomes and how to transform them. There citizens, regardless of their cultural background, may receive insight, mentoring and resources on how to best ensure their social agency as well as remain abreast to the developments within education regarding the matter.

Of course, the very nature of organizational and communication trends as well as technology involve constant change and evolution, whereby complacency is punished by new evolutions and the destruction of old models. It will be imperative that those individuals and institutions that are entrusted with providing and developing strategies and tactics to empower organizations and their members across demographic lines remain vigilant, life-long learners in their ability to recognize and leverage new trends in this realm.

Success in enhancing intercultural organizational communications may well prove beneficial in developing approaches for larger outcomes related to nations as they cope with strategies to integrate themselves into a more globalized and interconnected economy. In other words, establishing a more compelling understanding of nurturing superior intercultural communications with in organizations may well prove transformative in establishing better practices and approaches for eradicating ethnic, religious and racial tensions between nations that have been held back in terms emerging fully on the global stage. Divisions between Russian and Ukraine or North Korea and South Korea are two examples that may benefit from enhanced approaches.

Unpacking insight from intercultural communication approaches within organizations will be critical for groups seeking to enhance their productivity and efficacy, but also will provide intellectual fodder for researchers and theoreticians as they unpack the evolving nature of how human dynamics and communication approaches shape the social realities of nations. This may well prove impactful in learning how to better make markets, criminal justice systems and healthcare institutions, among other organizations, to serve people better, especially within an ever-increasingly globalized and interconnected economic landscape, whereby wealth creation serves not only the capital owners but those that depend on markets to provide them with jobs and the means to realize their ambitions and opportunity to enhance their livelihood.

Moreover, for scholars exploring intercultural communications with organizational structures employing a transnational approach may well prove superior in illuminating the evolution of the practice at this time, while also illustrating how the role of communication translates into geopolitical and economic realities throughout the global landscape, particularly in dealing with political and social matters such as poverty and education.