Skills required for effective communication for multicultural background – Term Paper

Abstract

Effective communication proves to be a key interpersonal skill that has great benefits to the humanity, and this proves the need for the society to master the skill and improve on personal and professional communication of both the social and the professional lives (Cornelissen, 2014, p121). With effective communication, there is bound to be increased success in peoples lives, and this is due to the requirement of many jobs and professions in the society to have effective communication skills. Moreover, statistics also prove that individuals that poses effective communication skills tend to have prosperity better in the social arena and that they enjoy better interpersonal relationships with friends, workmates, and the family members. In this light, it is the onus of every individual to acquire effective communication skills in the society and enjoy the various benefits that come with such skills (Miller, 2014, p201).

The fact that effective communication is a great requirement for professionals in the various fields of work prove the great need of effective communication in multinational companies and thus directly translates to the success in such companies in the society. Psychologists have therefore done various research works with the main aim of suggesting the skills that employees in the multinational companies should posses to ensure that they maintain the high standards of service and professionalism in the various fields that they meet in the society (Cummings, 2014, p300). The need to acquire effective communications helps the employees of the multinational companies to reduce stress and anxiety in the course of their operation as they deal with a more divergent and diverse customer base. In this essence, such employees need to have better and improved mental health and maintain cordial relationships with friends to hell act as a buffer for the feeling of low mood and anxiety that they might experience in the course of their duty.

Skills required for effective communication

There are various skills that employees in the multinational companies need to poses and such help in improving success in such companies. Some of the skills required for effective communication for multinational companies are discussed below.

Be relatable

The employees and the employers in the multinational companies need to understand the various complexities that come with running multinational companies in the society. One of the greatest effective communication skills that CEOs of the multinational companies needs to possess is to be relatable. Every CEO of any multinational company needs to make the effort to know his employees and his team as individuals and to encourage interpersonal bonding (Daim, 2012, p200). In many cases, the CEOs of the multinational companies tend to lose touch with the employees, and this is due to the great number of employees that such individuals need to handle. Furthermore, the high numbers of clients that such CEOs need to interact with lead to the professional detachment between the employees and their bosses.   

For the CEOs of the multinational companies to develop the skill of being relatable, they need to develop the interest in various activities. The top managers and the CEOs can be relatable by occasionally walking around the office and engage in informal chats with the employees and get to understand the employees more personally. In this manner, the employees get to interact with the top managers and discuss the various issues affecting the workers and the company that the CEOs might not have the knowledge about (Welch, 2015, p170). Moreover, the CEOs can also develop the skill of being relatable by showing interest in the lives of his constituents among them being customers, partners, and employees among others. Additionally, the CEOs need to share their personal experiences with their constituents and share some personal details about their lives. This would help in motivating the employees in the multinational companies and improve their performance in the organizations. The skill of being relatable work on the perception that the lower your pedestal, the more they will rally behind you. 

Keep a good sense of humor

Making people, among them the employees and the customers, to laugh and maintain a light mood at the workplace helps in improving success in the multinational companies in the society. This is a skill that cuts across the tactical, strategic and the operational, managerial positions. The employees also need to develop and keep a good sense of humor among themselves and with the employees to maintain cordial relationships with the customers and develop customer loyalty. Maintaining and developing a sense of humor naturally helps people to relate a lot more. This can be done by occasionally coming up with comedy that creates a friendly atmosphere at the workplaces. However, there should be restrictions to ensure that the comedy and the jokes at the workplaces do not go overboard hence should be maintained within professional limits (West, 2012, p98). Keeping humor within the limits ensures that the comedies do not offend other people at the workplace. Developing a sense of humor in the multinational companies helps in loosening the mood and conveys the right tone of messages of the companies to maintain company standards.

Respond promptly

Timely response is a key skill in the multinational companies, and there is great need for the employees maintain taking leadership roles to develop effective communication. The prompt response manner should cut across every niche of the multinational organization from the employees to the vendors and the prospects. The managers should develop the skill of responding effectively and maintain customer confidence in the cases of handling customer complaints. This is a skill that has great benefits to multinational companies as it helps in identifying the challenges facing the companies in a timely manner and tackles the issues effectively. This also helps in identifying the changes of customer tastes and preferences and advice the recommended changes in the production units (Kerzner, 2013, P140). Developing the skill of responding promptly calls for returning phone calls as fast as possible regardless of the caller. Timely response helps in building the reputation of the company and has great benefits to the multinational companies. The timely response makes the teams feel appreciated, and attracts love from the customers. This opens doors for referrals and introductions to new customers.

Actively listen

Developing the skill of actively listening to the senior, customers and other stakeholders of the multinational companies has great benefits to the success of the organizations. Researchers prove that part of great communication is listening actively. In multinational companies, employees and the top management need to deal with diverse customer base and divergent complaints and suggestions from the customers. Active listening therefore proves to be a main skill for the multinational companies to distinguish the genuine complaints and the unwarranted complaints (Lundby, 2013, p26). This is because competitors of the multinational companies have various techniques to destabilize the working of other multinational companies through the complaints that are not genuine. Active listening therefore helps employees to develop respect with one another and the customers and understand their point of view, this also helps in articulating a response that is meaningful and beneficial to both the company and the customers.

Use of analogies

In the situation of communication key policy issues, strategies and goals of a multinational company, there is need for communicators to use analogies in the course of their communication. Due to the different levels of educations among the employees in a multinational company, analogies help the workers and the stakeholders of the multinational companies to see the big picture in the organizational goals. Analogies prove to be easy and great tools for great communication, this is because they put everyone in the company on the same page and help in building a cohesive force towards the achievement of organizational goals (Seeger, 2012, p231). Moreover, analogies help in resolving conflicts and maintaining customer confidence on the occasions when such issues arise. Other employees may have visions that are large and this might be different from the visions of other employees in the organizations. Therefore, analogies help everyone in any multinational company to envision the same end goal for the company.

Customize your communications style for each employee

Multinational companies have different employees from different educational, social and cultural backgrounds. In this manner, different employees require different communication styles to order for them to have the common understanding of the issues under discussion in the companies. The tactical, strategic and operational managers need to customize their communication styles to fit different employees in the organizations. This is because some employee in the organization likes to be told what to do systematically so that they can learn and understand the working of the companies while some people prefer doing it on their own and understand themselves (Daim, 2012, p201). Therefore, understanding the communication styles of various employees and customizing communication to fit each employee serve as an effective communication for the multinational companies in the society. Tailoring communication style to match the communication style of other employees and stakeholders of the multinational companies prove to be a great step towards ensuring success and longevity of the multinational companies in the modern society.

Ask before you speak

Due to the different levels of education and technical skills among the employees in a multinational company, there is need for the employees to ask before speaking out. There is need to avoid making assumptions that might lead to misinterpreting the perception of a client or a team leader thinks (Lundby, 2013, p27). The best move is to consult and ask when there are complex scenarios and when there is bound to arise potential disagreements in the running of the organizations. This is because perspective taking and confirmation often leads to better and more direct communication for the multinational companies in the society. 

Find own voice

When occupying the capacity as the CEO of a multinational company, there is need to find own voice that the employees can relate to and understand; this creates an avenue for clarity in the messages communicated. Finding own voice enables one as the CEO of a multinational firm to use a language that is distinct to himself and let other people know of own values during the communication process. Although the CEOs of the multinational companies need to be specific, they need to blend professional and the social communication well and avoid becoming overly specific during communication (Cornelissen, 2014, p125). In this light, the CEOs need not be strict to the corporate environment as this makes them not to become real about the natural factors affecting the employees and the company as a whole. By developing the humane perception as the CEO of a multinational firm, one would attract the allegiance of more employees in the organization. This is because it is human nature to respect authenticity and give allegiance to real leaders as opposed to corporate puppets (Miller, 2014, p205). Therefore, finding an own voice as the CEO of a multinational firm helps in developing goods leadership skills and ensures better control of the subordinates.

Be present

Great communication skills in multinational firms require that the top management needs to be present when deliberating on issues with the junior employees in the organizations. Being present when communicating helps in reading the non-verbal cues during communications, and this gives a chance to read the emotions of the subordinates in the organizations. Moreover, being present also helps in opening a channel to energy flow, and this makes the opportunity for people to be heard and understood (Welch, 2015, p173). At times, being present as the top-level manager is the greatest gift a person can offer to the employees as it makes the junior employees feel valued and appreciated. Additionally, being present also calls for being present emotionally and requires the managers and the CEOs to avoid distractions from phones, laptops and give full attention to the subordinates when taking part in the discussions or when engaging in meetings with others. Such gestures make the junior employees feel appreciated and valued hence motivating the workers.   

Always be prepared

The final skill to effective communication to the multinational companies is to be pre pared always, and this requires the skills of handling emergency issues in the organizations. There is the need to realize and understand that the employees are watching the CEOs of the multinational companies at all times and that they require the CEOs to respond to and communicate strategies to any unprecedented issues such as accidents that might affect the organization at any time (West, 2012, p104). Great and effective communicators are prepared to deliver a speech that can tackle the unprecedented issues at all times, and the subordinates are looking forward to the top managers at all times.

Conclusion

Due to the increasing dynamics in the running and operation of the multinational companies, there is a great need for the companies to adapt to the changes in the organizations and tackle issues that might affect normal operations of such firms. In this manner, communications serve as the bridge between effective planning and effective implementation of the plans. There is, therefore, the need for the society to understand the impact that communication has on the success of multinational companies and the need to develop and encourage effective communication in the multinational firms (Seeger, 2012, p231). Great pressure, however, is on the CEOs of the multinational firms as they are always on the spotlight. This requires them to have a certain communication skills that fit their job descriptions that ensure that the employees are happy with the operations of the company and keep them involved in the operations of the company as well. Effective communication, therefore, helps in setting the tone for the whole organization and channels the efforts in the right direction.

Bibliography

Cornelissen, J., 2014. Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. Sage.

Miller, K., 2014. Organizational communication: Approaches and processes. Cengage Learning.

Daim, T.U., Ha, A., Reutiman, S., Hughes, B., Pathak, U., Bynum, W. and Bhatla, A., 2012. Exploring the communication breakdown in global virtual teams. International Journal of Project Management, 30(2), pp.199-212.

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West, M.A., 2012. Effective teamwork: Practical lessons from organizational research. John Wiley & Sons.

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Seeger, M.W., Sellnow, T.L. and Ulmer, R.R., 2012. 6 Communication, Organization, and Crisis. Communication yearbook 21, p.231.