2 Key Factors To Be Aware of. Multicultural Teams

FOREIGN WORK LINGO

Misunderstandings often happen with groups in the humanities and social science fields. Because the social environment is incredibly malleable and ever-developing specifically in the communicative aspects, problems may arise quite often. It is therefore essential for the group to sit down and have a chat about the "technical details" of the project at hand. Technical terms are often the root of the problem as new publications and appropriations of concepts are being published and adopted every year in this field. You will barely ever see a group of engineers having an argument about technical terms or misunderstandings other than regarding the metric system (if ever). The reason is: because they have an international system of measuring. Not only that but the "science" of Mathematics- which is the basis of all other sciences- is much older and much more difficult to change, proof or disproof than any other science.

COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

I have a friend who is conducting an international internship in a country whose main language she does not know. This has been a very difficult challenge for her as the main object of the internship is communicating effectively with not just team mates but also rendering accounts of the projects carried to superiors. The language barrier can be an impediment or it can be an opportunity for the team to work closely and delicately with each other to carry the project to the end in the most efficient manner possible and with respect to each of the group members, regardless of their native language or their inability to communicate verbally. The focus must be to communicate effectively by assigning fair and doable tasks to each person. The most important thing is to conduct and encourage productivity by working in harmony (not by being frustrated about the co-worker who doesn't speak a word of your language). That is the mark of a successful team.