Kulturella missförstånd — det är ju klassiskt! Interkulturell kommunikation ur ett medarbetarperspektiv
(2013) SKOK01 20131Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Den ökade internationaliseringen av företag har skapat mångkulturella arbetsplat-ser. Medarbetare måste kommunicera effektivt för att uppnå gemensamma mål, men kulturella skillnader anses ofta vara en hindrande faktor för kommunikation-en. Syftet med studien har därför varit att undersöka kulturens betydelse för den dagliga kommunikationen mellan medarbetare i internationella företag. Genom en kvalitativ fallstudie på företaget Xylem har vi med hjälp av semistrukturerade in-tervjuer sökt förstå hur medarbetarna betraktar kulturella skillnader och interkul-turell kompetens. Resultaten visar att även kulturen är en naturlig del av kommu-nikationen på Xylem är den inte alltid vad som orsakar problem i kommunikat-ionen mellan de anställda,... (More)
- Den ökade internationaliseringen av företag har skapat mångkulturella arbetsplat-ser. Medarbetare måste kommunicera effektivt för att uppnå gemensamma mål, men kulturella skillnader anses ofta vara en hindrande faktor för kommunikation-en. Syftet med studien har därför varit att undersöka kulturens betydelse för den dagliga kommunikationen mellan medarbetare i internationella företag. Genom en kvalitativ fallstudie på företaget Xylem har vi med hjälp av semistrukturerade in-tervjuer sökt förstå hur medarbetarna betraktar kulturella skillnader och interkul-turell kompetens. Resultaten visar att även kulturen är en naturlig del av kommu-nikationen på Xylem är den inte alltid vad som orsakar problem i kommunikat-ionen mellan de anställda, istället påverkar faktorer som tidsskillnader och språk-kunskaper upplevelsen av kommunikationen. Medarbetarna föredrar att lära sig om individer snarare än om kulturer och därmed förvärvas interkulturell kompe-tens genom erfarenhet snarare än genom utbildning. De anser också att generella kompetenser som flexibilitet och öppenhet är viktigare än kunskap om specifika kulturer. (Less)
- Abstract
- As a result of globalization we are witnessing increasingly international work-places with employees from culturally diverse backgrounds. To achieve corporate goals and fulfill daily tasks employees at Xylem need to communicate effectively with colleagues that might not share similar frames of reference. Seeking to un-derstand the significance of cultural differences in the international workplace, this case study examines the role of culture, communication, and intercultural competence, through the eyes of the employees. The case study is based on a qualitative approach and the empirical data gathered through semi-structured in-terviews at Xylem, Sundbyberg, Sweden. The results show that although culture is an innate part of communication... (More)
- As a result of globalization we are witnessing increasingly international work-places with employees from culturally diverse backgrounds. To achieve corporate goals and fulfill daily tasks employees at Xylem need to communicate effectively with colleagues that might not share similar frames of reference. Seeking to un-derstand the significance of cultural differences in the international workplace, this case study examines the role of culture, communication, and intercultural competence, through the eyes of the employees. The case study is based on a qualitative approach and the empirical data gathered through semi-structured in-terviews at Xylem, Sundbyberg, Sweden. The results show that although culture is an innate part of communication at Xylem, it is not always what causes problems in the communication between the employees; instead factors such as time differ-ences and language skills affect the communication experience. The employees prefer to learn about individuals rather than about cultures and therefore intercul-tural competence is acquired through experience rather than through cultural train-ing. They also consider general competencies like flexibility and open-mindedness to be more important than knowledge about specific cultures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3807303
- author
- Ramsten, Anna LU and Von Garrelts, Therese LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Culture in the Limelight: Intercultural Communication in the International Workplace
- course
- SKOK01 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- interkulturell kommunikation, kultur, kulturella skillnader, interkulturell kompetens, medarbetare, internationella organisationer intercultural communication, culture, cultural differences, intercultural competence, employees, international organizations
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 3807303
- date added to LUP
- 2013-06-10 17:21:59
- date last changed
- 2014-09-04 08:36:23
@misc{3807303, abstract = {{As a result of globalization we are witnessing increasingly international work-places with employees from culturally diverse backgrounds. To achieve corporate goals and fulfill daily tasks employees at Xylem need to communicate effectively with colleagues that might not share similar frames of reference. Seeking to un-derstand the significance of cultural differences in the international workplace, this case study examines the role of culture, communication, and intercultural competence, through the eyes of the employees. The case study is based on a qualitative approach and the empirical data gathered through semi-structured in-terviews at Xylem, Sundbyberg, Sweden. The results show that although culture is an innate part of communication at Xylem, it is not always what causes problems in the communication between the employees; instead factors such as time differ-ences and language skills affect the communication experience. The employees prefer to learn about individuals rather than about cultures and therefore intercul-tural competence is acquired through experience rather than through cultural train-ing. They also consider general competencies like flexibility and open-mindedness to be more important than knowledge about specific cultures.}}, author = {{Ramsten, Anna and Von Garrelts, Therese}}, language = {{swe}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Kulturella missförstånd — det är ju klassiskt! Interkulturell kommunikation ur ett medarbetarperspektiv}}, year = {{2013}}, }