PMAL101: Cross-Cultural

Communication
Unit 4: Working in Cross-cultural Settings

a) Apply the key terms or concepts from Chapter 8 to describe Mr. Griffith’s
experience from the above link.
Response:

Mr. Griffith who came from a Caribbean-English style background when appointed for a mission in
Mexico City was unknown of the language, culture and the work environment in the Latin America.
He encountered numerous issues such as the language, cultural synergy and the biggest challenge
that of developing and handling an international team. He found it difficult to understand and adapt
to the local culture. Along with the language issues he had to deal with different mentalities that of
the director and the bureaucratic administration. Even though he was responsible and committed to
deliver the results he was not willing to adapt to the way of work and wanted to keep the same rules
and regulations. Mr. Griffith never took the effort to understand the culture and kept on criticizing
the team which resulted in creation of an uncomfortable environment. Even though the Spanish
classes were paid for him he never took the interest. The 2 years spent in Latin America were one of
the worst due to the cultural shock and ignorance of the individual to practice cultural diversity as a
tool.

b) What strategies should Mr. Griffith adopt to improve the effectiveness and his
experience of working with his international co-workers?
Response:

Some of the strategies that could have proved to be helpful> 1. Building Trust: When working with
multicultural teams it becomes crucial to develop an atmosphere of trust and building relationships.
2. Cultural synergy: Individual work is far less effective than an assembled team that produces the
work. Mr. Griffith could have preserved the culture rather than criticize. 3. Language issues could
have been handled by learning some Spanish rather than using the translators. 4. Use of humor:
Humor is a positive sign of trust and engagement. 5. Participation: He lacked the required
involvement with the team which could have avoided the negative atmosphere. More participation
with the team activities would have resulted in the achievement of the objectives.