Observation of Team Behaviour: Intercultural and Interpersonal Communication

Culture, by popular definition, is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group.

My first intercultural interaction was with a Malay family that I used to live next to when I was in kindergarten. They had a girl about my age, and we would frequently play with each other after school. Once, her family invited me over for lunch, and I remember staring at them when I saw they ate with their hands, instead of chopsticks like I did at home. As I was still young I couldn't understand why or how they could possibly hold the hot food with their fingers. Fortunately, they caught my shocked expression and offered me a fork and spoon so I didn’t have to awkwardly attempt to eat with one hand.

It was years after the incident that I learnt it was a part of their culture. This is a prime example of a wide array of cultural differences present in the diverse society of Singapore. Due to the variety of cultures here, it is easy to step over boundaries and cause insult without meaning to. However, it boils down to how you communicate with your friends to understand and prevent such clashes.

As stated in my previous post, teamwork is essential in the progress of any organization. And given the diffusion of the population in the world, there is a great chance that team mates will be of different cultures. Within the teams, diversity can be an asset, as it will help to reach out to a larger group of customers by understanding their needs, and accommodating any restrictions which they may follow. Intercultural communication therefore plays an integral role in building up a better future for the global community.

Communication and Teamwork

In the fast-paced world of information technology, communication is of utmost importance. Ideas, opinions, innovations, and products are frequent nouns that must be engaged in this field of work, and with them comes the need for effective communication skills. As a student studying for a degree which will land me in this industry, I am almost afraid to say that I'm introverted by nature.

Speaking has never been an easy task for me, and it has led to a more than desirable number of misunderstandings for me. I have always favored myself as a listener, but now I know that listening is not enough. Communication is not a one way road, it also involves feedback where I should reply and express my interpretations of the message which I received. This gives rise to the creation of the 7Cs of communication, guidelines to a successful transmission of the intent of a sender to the receiver.

The importance of communication is further emphasized by another unique characteristic of the IT industry, and that is the existence of teams. Of course, teams are present in many sectors of the economy, and are crucial to the success of any organization. I myself have experienced being a part of a production team in my junior college days. The essence of the team is based highly on the addressing of problems faced logistically, financially and artistically. Only by effectively communicating the nature of the problem, can we work together to find a solution. As everyone has a different way of thinking, a vague order from one can be interpreted in a wide array of ways by another, most of which not even close to the original instructions. Results of which, is total chaos.

Admittedly, communication plays a large role in maintaining a great team. But all talk and no actions will not bring any success. Team members, each and every one of them, must work to their comparative advantage to maximize productivity of the team, or they will be outdone by competitors in the market. This is of great relevance to me again through personal experience and with regards to my future line of work.

Importance of TEAM: Here