Partners: Cole & Elena
Building Cross-cultural Bridges to Communication
-You are a 30 year old German female. Your company has recently purchased a Russian business and you are assigned to manage an office in a small Russian village. The current office supervisor is a 55 years old Russian male. He will remain in the office and report directly to you. All of the employees are Russian and they have been reporting directly to him.
As you discuss these scenarios, please consider the following questions:
Scenario: Female from German is sent to Russia to lead a male team.
-what communication barriers are evident in this scenario?
– Language barriers
– Age and Gender barriers
– Germans have a low-context and individualistic communication style
– misinterpretations
-what cultural factors may be related to the barrier(s)?
– one german member and the rest of the office russian
– imbalance in power dynamics based on culture
– mentality
-how might the barrier(s) impact relationships? Team functioning? Workplace productivity?
– impact top down functioning
– Slow down workplace productivity by trying to find a middle ground
– it will take longer to establish clear and trustful relationships
-what specific behaviors could help decrease or remove the barrier(s)?
– Pay attention to nonverbal communication
– Share cultural knowledge
– Diversity training
– Prepare ahead of time, do research and explore the location/culture