Culture

We all communicate with others all the time -- in our homes, in our workplaces, in the groups we belong to, and in the community. No matter how well we think we understand each other, communication is hard. Just think, for example, how often we hear things like, "He doesn't get it," or "She didn't really hear what I meant to say." "Culture" is often at the root of communication challenges. Our culture influences how we approach problems, and how we participate in groups and in communities. When we participate in groups we are often surprised at how differently people approach their work together.

Culture is a complex concept, with many different definitions. But, simply put, "culture" refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the world. It includes groups that we are born into, such as gender, race, or national origin. It also includes groups we join or become part of. For example, we can acquire a new culture by moving to a new region, by a change in our economic status, or by becoming disabled. When we think of culture this broadly, we realize we all belong to many cultures at once.

Our histories are a critical piece of our cultures. Historical experiences -- whether of five years ago or of ten generations back -- shape who we are. Knowledge of our history can help us understand ourselves and one another better. Exploring the ways in which various groups within our society have related to each other is key to opening channels for cross-cultural communication.

In a world as complex as ours, each of us is shaped by many factors, and culture is one of the powerful forces that acts on us. Anthropologists Kevin Avruch and Peter Black explain the importance of culture this way:

...One's own culture provides the "lens" through which we view the world; the "logic"... by which we order it; the "grammar" ... by which it makes sense. (Avruch and Black, 1993)

In other words, culture is central to what we see, how we make sense of what we see, and how we express ourselves. As people from different cultural groups take on the exciting challenge of working together, cultural values sometimes conflict. We can misunderstand each other, and react in ways that can hinder what are otherwise promising partnerships. Oftentimes, we aren't aware that culture is acting upon us. Sometimes, we are not even aware that we have cultural values or assumptions that are different from others!

Six fundamental patterns of cultural differences -- ways in which cultures, as a whole, tend to vary from one another -- are described below. The descriptions point out some of the recurring causes of cross-cultural communication difficulties.1 As you enter into multicultural dialogue or collaboration, keep these generalized differences in mind. Next time you find yourself in a confusing situation, and you suspect that cross-cultural differences are at play, try reviewing this list. Ask yourself how culture may be shaping your own reactions, and try to see the world from others' points of view. (heyu)

Communication

In our daily life communication skill is very important. If we want to send information to others, we can user our own way to communicate with them. Communication can be done via verbal, speech, signals, writing, or behavior.

Speech communication is the aural form of transferring ideas, thoughts, instructions and/or directives utilizing the speaker’s vocal cords and mouth to stimulate the air, thus causing waves of sound to strike the audible receptors of the hearer, resulting in a transformation back into mental images and/or symbols to allow the receiver to process the meaning of what has been said.

In many companies, language skill needed for communication process. This is including business communication between company and intra communication between employee in the company. English language skill is very important, because English language used in so many country in the world.

The study of speech communication is the study of human symbolic behavior in many forms. Speech is the oldest academic discipline, (tracing its roots to Aristotle), and one of the most modern in its concern with interpersonal relationships. First taught in the schools of ancient Greece from about 450 B.C., speech communication retains value because of its practical nature.

Communication helps us form relationships, allows cultures to evolve, encourages understanding among people; in short, communication is the thing that makes us human. Without it, we would perish. The study of speech is based on the assumption that one’s ability to communicate in an effective manner is vital to successful human interaction.

Four major areas are included in the speech discipline, each of which focus on unique characteristics of particular situations. Interpersonal communication includes the study of symbolic behavior in dyadic, two person, relationships. Group communication concentrates on the small group of three to seven persons. Organizational communication examines the effects that organizational structure and membership have on human communication. Rhetoric and public address is the study of discourse and its role in shaping public perceptions and practices. All areas emphasize effective oral and written communication. (heyu)

Knowledge For Our Work

Knowledge is essential for our life, especially in our work. It once started with family clans, where knowledge was passed on from our parent to us by a long process of learning. So, the first knowledge that we got is on our family. When we child, everyday we get something to learned from our parents. Time by time, we learned anything surrounding our life. And that make our knowledge is grow up.

In our work, knowledge is increasingly considered the most important asset of company or organisations and it is assumed that every experience is reusable. It’s means that any knowledge can be reused by others in similar tasks by adopting this knowledge to new situations. One of the purpose of knowledge management is to make knowledge usable for more than one individual, for example for an organisations as a whole. With the coming up of teamwork, people were supposed to work closer together to benefit from the synergy of their joint knowledge.

The characteristic of modern business world is dynamic, changing markets and continous technological advance. To answer this trends, company must become more flexible and one certain way for them to do so is to strengthen their potential to learn as organisations. Today, ‘Knowledge’ become an essential organisational driver and a key factor in value creation. Successful company need to absorb and utilise an increasing amount of knowledge to keep up with this development.

“Knowledge management is really about recognizing that regardless of what business you are in, you are competing based on the knowledge of your employees.”
Cindy Johnson, Director of Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing at Texas Instruments