Diversity refers to the extent of differences when it comes to the identification of features among the individuals belonging to purposefully defined association or group. Such a group may be involved classification according to gender, age, culture, religion, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic, personality, physical attributes, mental health, and intelligence differences among others(Galván & LaRocque, 2010).
How Diversity affects Communication
The fact that workforces in organizations have increasingly become more diverse is an implication that organizations need to embrace the aspect of diversity in their culture and systems of communication. For instance, the general workforce in the United States has become increasingly diverse regarding race, ethnicity, origin, culture, age, and gender since the beginning of the 21st century. The kinds of techniques adopted for communication in any organizational or work environment have a crucial role to play in forming the basis of quality performance and productivity as well as workplace engagements and organizational success. Organizational or workplace diversity may result in certain communication challenges amongst employees and workers. Depending on the nature of workforce diversity, organizations are often expected to develop ways of enhancing the effectiveness of the communication systems and structures. For a diverse workplace, communication requires an organization to work towards inculcating an understanding of various diversity aspects among its members. Effective communication among the members of a diverse workforce is a crucial consideration in maintaining strong bonds of relationships among workers as well as between employees and the management (Galván & LaRocque, 2010).
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Ethics
Definition and description of Ethics
Ethics refer to a system comprising of moral principles that affect the manner in which individuals make decisions, behave and lead their lives. Moreover, the aspect of ethics places more focus and emphasis on acting in the best interest of the society and individuals through upholding a given set of moral philosophies. Ethics in communication entails the notion that the behaviors of the parties involved in a communication process are governed and influenced by a given set of moral standards. Communication ethics are usually concerned with the incorporation of morality and acceptable form of presentation. Ethics and ethical consideration are critical to the realization of effectiveness in various types of communication including mediated communication, mass communication, digital communication, and interpersonal communication (Martinovski, 2014).
Role of Ethics in Communication
Some important ethical elements play a critical role in improving the effectiveness of communication. One of such elements is the issue of transparency in communication which implies that ethical considerations demand that facts should not be hidden, obscured or distorted in the communication process that is expected to be effective. Lack of transparency in communication is usually regarded as unethical since it causes communication to deviate from its intended role owing to the incorporation of misleading or irrelevant information being disseminated from one party to the other. The other crucial ethical element in communication is integrity which entails the observation of honesty, trustworthiness, and credibility in communication. A communication process that happens based on integrity as one of its ethical elements has a higher likelihood of becoming more successful due to its accuracy and effectiveness. Ethical communication could also be established based on timeliness of delivery and consistency of facts therein. For instance, it is unethical to fail to communicate at an appropriate time in a manner that renders the delivered message irrelevant by the time it is being delivered (Martinovski, 2014).
Technology
Definition and description of Technology
Technology refers to a set of scientific skills and knowledge that are usually applied in an orderly and logical manner to enable humans and industries to modify their operations and materials in a manner that efficiently and effectively meets their environmental needs. Technology often responds to environmental needs through the creation of useful solutions (Belt, Harkonen & Mottonen, 2017).
Role of Technology in Communication between different Cultures
The emergence of technological aspects in communication often results in a corresponding emergence of different social patterns and behaviors that may influence intercultural communication. For instance, newspapers and magazines were expected to play a central role in shaping people's beliefs and behaviors to come up with a homogeneous culture. Additionally, the phone was introduced with the aim of facilitating communication taking place within a given specific environment. However, such roles have been modified and enhanced to include additional roles in a manner that has gone to the extent of altering certain fundamental ways of communication and interaction among people from different cultures. Going by the changes and developments that have been witnessed concerning the use of technology in communication over the last couple of decades, there is a clear expectation that intercultural communications and relations will be increasingly transformed in future. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that technological changes and advancements do not necessarily represent sole influencers of change in social interactions and behavior. Different cultures often tend to rely on various techniques of communication to pass information from one party to another. In that way, communications involving multiple cultures located in different geographical regions often employ technological aspects to eliminate barrier and minimize incompatibilities (Gerritsen, 2013).
Matrix Summary
| Galván & LaRocque | Martinovski | Belt, Harkonen & Mottonen; Gerritsen | |
|
Definition and description of issues related to communication |
Diversity refers to the extent of differences when it comes to the identification of features among the individuals belonging to purposefully defined association or group (Galván & LaRocque, 2010) |
Ethics refer to a system comprising of moral principles that affect the manner in which individuals make decisions, behave and lead their lives (Martinovski, 2014). |
Technology refers to a set of scientific skills and knowledge that are usually applied in an orderly and logical manner to enable humans and industries to modify their operations and materials in a manner that efficiently and effectively meets their environmental needs (Belt, Harkonen & Mottonen, 2017) |
| How different issues influence communication |
For a diverse workplace, communication requires an organization to work towards inculcating an understanding of various diversity aspects among its members. Effective communication among the members of a diverse workforce is a crucial consideration in maintaining strong bonds of relationships among workers as well as between employees and the management (Galván & LaRocque, 2010). |
A communication process that happens based on integrity as one of its ethical elements has a higher likelihood of becoming more successful due to its accuracy and effectiveness. Ethical communication could also be established based on timeliness of delivery and consistency of facts therein (Martinovski, 2014). |
Different cultures often tend to rely on different techniques of communication to pass information from one party to another. In that way, communications involving multiple cultures located in different geographical regions often employ technological aspects to eliminate barrier and minimize incompatibilities (Gerritsen, 2013) |
References
Belt, P., Harkonen, J., & Mottonen, M. (2017). Improving High-Tech Product Development through Communication Audits. Technology And Investment , 3(01), 18-25. doi:10.4236/ti.2012.31004
Galván, A., & LaRocque, L. (2010). Evaluation and Analyses of Cultural Diversity Training With Environmental Educators. Applied Environmental Education & Communication , 9 (4), 262-275. doi: 10.1080/1533015x.2010.530894
Gerritsen, M. (2013). The role of culture in communication: How knowledge of differences in communication between cultures may be the key to successful intercultural communication. South African Journal Of Linguistics , 16(sup35), 28-50. doi:10.1080/10118063.1998.9724387
Martinovski, B. (2014). The Ethical Turn: Communication as a Manifestation of the Ethical. Open Journal Of Social Sciences , 2(01), 119-133. doi: 10.4236/jss.2014.21012
