November Post

Chase Sahlin

November Blog Post

            The business world can get very confusing and difficult sometimes, especially when you are conducting business across cultures. Business transactions can become very confusing when dealing with different cultures because every culture has a different belief on how to handle certain issues. For example, depending on what type of culture you are conducting business with, you may have to change your greeting, the way you dress, what time you show up, the type of language you use and countless other elements of a business meeting. It is absolutely vital that you do research on the company and the people you are doing business with so that you respect their norms that they have been taught to honor. Although doing business with different cultures presents many challenges, I believe the lessons you learn through these transactions will greatly outweigh the costs. This skill is a necessity to being a business manager now. This point is posed by the chapter Cross Cultural Diversity when it states, “The globalization of business has greatly increased the frequency and importance of cross-cultural interaction for business managers”.

            First, I think cross-culture interaction is extremely important because it teaches us that it is extremely important to understand other’s beliefs and different ways of doing things. I think a common misconception among any business is that there is only one correct way to do something. Now in some circumstances this is true, but I believe that most of the time this is a completely wrong belief. Every job I have had has taught me one correct way to do my job, when in reality I can do things in a different way and end up with a better result. I almost feel like a lot of the corporate world is terrified of not doing things by the book and only doing things in one certain way, when there could be a new and better way. I believe recognizing the cultural differences and the success these cultures have is a great step for people to realize there are many different ways to do things and all can lead to success.

            Also, the more we understand and respect everyone’s culture the more we will accept everyone for who they are and not try to change them. Many people don’t realize how important different ideas and opinions can be to the success of a company. If everyone in a workplace came from the same background and culture they would all present the same ideas, and businesses will stay the same and not be able to advance with a different culture. People who bring different cultures into the workplace bring different ideas with them.

            In conclusion, people from different cultures are vital in the workplace. They encourage companies to think outside of the box and to come up with new ideas rather than recycling the old ones. I think having different cultures in the workplace is extremely important because it will show people that there are many different ways to be successful. Standing out is usually a good thing.