INTRODUCTION

Experience is frequently what allows a professional to get their foot in the door at a

new job. However, being truly influential in most organisations requires more than just skill.

Companies in a variety of industries seek candidates who are tactful, communicative,

dependable, and generally pleasant to work with. Generally speaking, they seek those who

possess professional behaviour in the workplace. The way you appear and behave in the

workplace can send a variety of messages to hiring managers and co-workers. Employees

who exhibit professionalism in the workplace are frequently perceived as more competent

and valuable. It is also important to recognise that almost everyone can improve their

workplace etiquette. By being professional in profession, communication and relationship

with people enable every individual to find success easily in every aspect of his or her life. In

the workplace, professionalism includes how every person carries themselves, their attitude,

and how they communicate with others.

Being professional can help individual to make a good first impression, build successful

interpersonal relationships, and establish a solid reputation within his or her organisation and

industry. Professionalism often related to work etiquette. In an office setting, one has to be

critically thoughtful in their interactions, acknowledging other people's time, and how they

treat their workspace. Workplace etiquette and professionalism are essential because both

ensures that individual presence will not interfere with anyone else's work experience. To

achieve this, it is importance to stressed on the realization of effective governance and the

value of etiquette and professionalism practices in all organisations and workers.

DEFINITION OF PROFESSIONALISM

Professionalism can be defined as set of skills and values that characterize the essence

of humanism in professional work (Vivanco & Bolton, 2015). Merriam-Webster Dictionary

give a general definition of professionalism as the conduct, aims, or rates that characterize or

mark a profession. This description alludes to certain participated particular characteristics

and behaviours which reflect social morals that one is anticipated to cleave to within that part,

without explicitly defining what these might be (Taylor et al, 2017). The term ‘profession’

has been recognised and used for a very long time and it indicate a meaning of a well-

defined group of individuals who had experienced formal training or learning to gain a body

of specialised knowledge in order to carry out a particular form of work, over which they had

monopoly and tone- regulation, in return for placing the interests of others before themselves

(Wearn et al, 2010). This description of profession however only fit in the healthcare sector,

which may not fit in the description for other sectors or industries due to the sectors

background and complexity.

For example, professionalism from a business perspective may look veritably different to that

defined in healthcare. Professionalism in management and business industry has been used to

present companies as superior in providing services compared to competitors and and also to

used motivate workers. (Evetts, 2013). In healthcare, Cruess et al (2009) clearly stated that

the used of word professionalism should be specifically used only in medical professional

terms as it backed up by a strong academic and literature research, not by other irrelevant

sectors.

PROFESSIONALISM FROM VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES

Firstly, considering the traditional part and description of a profession, one way of

viewing and defining professionalism in term of sociological study is that of a contract with

society. Historically, society granted self-regulation and self-control to the profession such as

healthcare, business or education in return for their services and contributions to the public.

Scandals and abuse of power by these professionals had cause public distrust and resulted in
society and government taking greater control over the professions (Cruess et al, 2009). By

exerting more control, public and government had increased legislation and statutory to

control misbehaviour, misconduct and abuse of power. These professions also have a duty to

report and inform any issues or problems pertaining to their company, sectors or industries, to

be more transparent and follow explicit guidance and codes of conduct provided by

regulatory bodies. As a result, the concept of professionalism had changed over time as

society becoming more demanding in term of seeking transparency, control and responsibility

of these professions (Cruess et al, 2009). In addition, financial challenges and economic

uncertainties had cause governmental organisations to intervene and trying to review

professionalism in order to redirect management agenda on how to deal with resources

scarcity and rationalisation of care within budgets (Evetts, 2013).

Secondly, professionalism also can be reviewed and described as a set of values, traits

and attributes. Most of the literatures that defined professionals from this perspective come

from social philosophers and educators. It suggests that professionalism stems from internal

values and traits, that professionals are innately good people with good manners and

behaviours. Conceptualising professionalism in such a way could advance itself to the

conception of personification of professionalism by individual, generating empathy, caring

and trust between people and society (Hirvonen, 2014). Brody & Doukas (2014) further

explained that conceptualisation of professionalism is being made up by two components

which is professionalism as a trust generating promise and professionalism as operation of

virtue. This implies that any observed conduct and behaviours actually stem from an

underpinning set of values. This an educational point of view suggests that the selection of

qualified individuals for the profession is of the utmost importance because these qualities

and professionalism traits are difficult to teach. Despite this, selecting participants based on
their personal values and traits can be difficult because a person's actions may not correspond

to their underlying beliefs and values.

COMMUNICATION AND PROFESSIONALISM

In professionalism setting, either in personal or work life, communication is a crucial

aspect especially with regards to create or maintain a harmonious relationship with people

around an individual or society. A good and effective communication not only able to

provide clear instructions and stories, but also enhance ability for people to understand us and

clear out any misunderstanding. Communication derived from the Latin word communis.

Lunenberg (2010) defined the word as common, as put together the definition as a message

which being communicated between sender and receiver, which have the same common

understanding and views from both sides. The majority of studies viewed that communication

is a social interaction. There is typically a sender (or source) and a receiver in

communication. It involves the exchange of signals between the speakers. These signals

could be verbal or graphic, gestural or visual (photographic), or a combination of the two

(Fatimayin, 2018). Essentially, codes that are used with the eyes, body movement, or voice

are used in communication. On matter by how it is done, there is generally a cycle in which

somebody starts a significance aim that is passed to the conversationalist (beneficiary).

According to Daniel (2016), the communication process has completed its full circle when

feedback has been sent to the sender (source), which involves the receiver initiating another

circle of meaning exchange in response to the signal. According to Giffin & Patten (1976),

communication is also the process of assigning meaning to words. It is the process interaction

and sharing of ideas between two individuals or more. Communication is defined by the

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (2004) as the act or process of

expressing ideas and feelings or providing information to others. It is safe to say that

communication is the process of passing messages and information from one person to
another and from one location to another. The Online Business Dictionary refers to

communication as a two-way process in a similar vein. Beyond simply encoding and

decoding information, news, concepts, and emotions, it requires participants to come to a

mutual understanding with one another. According to Daniel (2013), it is crucial that they

also create and distribute the messages' meaning content. Communication is also viewed as a

means of connecting individuals or places. Because an organization cannot function without

communication between levels, departments, and employees, it is also regarded as a crucial

management function (Okenimpkpe, 2010). In an organization and for professionals, having

an effective communication is important to avoid unneeded issues internally or externally.

Communication is deemed effective when it accomplishes the intended goal. According to

Daniel (2016), effective communication is one in which there is no noise in the process of

communication. It works because the communicator gets what they want or intended during

the communication process. It achieves its intended effect and serves its intended purpose.

Some of the goals might be to inform a certain audience or get them to act in a certain way,

like getting people to buy a company's products. Other goals might be to clear up confusion

or show a position.

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

In a professional relationship, communication is a key factor that drive the success of

one’s in the organisation and the organisation success itself. One of the importance of

communication to professionalism is that communication helps in mitigating conflict in a

workplace or organisation. Professionals can also use their communication skills to avoid

conflict in their work. At some point, there will be tension or conflict in every workplace, and

poor communication is almost always to blame. Conflict tends to surface beneath the surface

when someone feels misunderstood. Being able to communicate effectively, get to the bottom

of a problem, and resolve conflicts is crucial in any leadership or management position. It is

possible to have a positive effect that extended beyond internal issues by creating an

atmosphere that fosters less conflict. Leaders or management in the organisation can assist

others in developing communication skills that can be used to diffuse potential external

conflicts by cultivating a culture of effective communication. For instance, a customer service

team that has been trained to communicate effectively even in difficult circumstances can

assist in de-escalating short-term disagreements. This has the potential to strengthen customer

loyalty over time.

Communication also is importance in creating job satisfaction. Adu-Oppong &

Agyin-Birikorang (2014) justified that employee turnover is lower in businesses that

encourage open and easy communication between supervisors and subordinates. They are

more likely to perform at their best and to feel valued by the organization in a friendly work

environment where subordinates and peers are encouraged to share their thoughts with

supervisors and management about work-related issues and their feedback is being

considered. As a result, increased job satisfaction can be attributed to improved

communication in the workplace, which contributes to the development of trust and loyalty.

Juneja (2020) informed that when the communication is distorted and information does not

reach employees correctly, it will cause dissatisfaction among them. It is important in the

professional workplace to include them in important discussions where they can express their

thoughts and ideas. All employees will receive accurate information if there is good

communication, and no one will feel excluded from the system. Juneja (2020) also

highlighted the importance of employees’ satisfaction in organisation. The first advantage of

employee satisfaction is that people rarely consider quitting their current positions. In some

ways, employee satisfaction is necessary for employee retention. For long-term growth and

success, businesses must keep talented and deserving employees. It is essential for businesses

to have experienced individuals available to guide newly hired employees, so if employees

leave the organisation after receiving training, it will cause a significant mess. Second, to

ensure increased profits for the business, employee satisfaction is crucial. Until and unless

individuals develop a sense of attachment and loyalty toward their organisation, no amount of

training or motivation would be helpful. People who love their jobs rarely have time to get

involved in nasty office politics. Employees who are content are those who are willing to

assist their co-workers and work with the organisation, even in emergency situations. These

employees do not think about quitting their jobs in a crisis but rather willing to work together

to overcome obstacles and help organisation to get out of the situation as soon as possible.

They place their organisation first and everything else second. They do not run for office

solely for the money but rather they do so out of genuine concern for the organization and

belief in its objectives. Employees who are content not only spread positive word of mouth

but also always stand by one another. They believe that productive work will ultimately

benefit the organisation rather than wasting time with gossip and idleness. They put in a lot of

effort to boost the organisation's revenue and are proud to represent their organisations.

Communication also importance as leaders and management of the organisation are

only able to carry out each management role due to effective communication. All leaders

must be able to effectively convey their vision to the rest of the members of the organization

in order to plan and execute the organisation strategies successfully (Markovic & Omolaja,

2009). Management and leaders need to encourage free-flowing communication between

departments and colleagues, as well as up and down the hierarchy, in order to organise

successfully. Managers who communicate organizational goals to employees can lead

effectively and inspire employees to trust in their leadership and perform at their highest

possible levels.

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Employees who are not sensitive to the norms of the people with whom they must interact

run the risk of miscommunication in today's global, interconnected economy—and a

company need not be dealing with people from across the globe for this to apply. Even

people from different parts of the country communicate in different ways. For instance, the

slang language used by Kelantanese and Sarawakian people may not be understood by people

who lives in Selangor. The mother language used by Chinese and Indian people might not be

well understood by Malay, and the writing of Jawi may not be known by both Chinese and

Indian people. This intercultural communication and language have become a barrier to

create a harmonious society, which due to mistrust and miscommunication brought by

intercultural communication. Waldeck et al (2012) explained that when business

communicators begin to believe that the way people in their dominant culture communicate is

the only or best way, or when they fail to learn and appreciate the cultural norms of people

with whom they do business, intercultural communication can become particularly

challenging for them. According to Rogers & Steinfatt (1999), intercultural communication

refers to the exchange of information between people who are "unalike culturally." Lustig &

Koester (2007) also give a similar definition of intercultural communication as a symbolic,

interpretive, transactional, contextual process, in which people from different cultures create

shared meanings.

STEPS TO IMPROVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Organizations sometimes face difficulties in effectively communicating across

cultural divides. The most important thing is to get back to the basics of communication and

create a foundation on which everyone can agree. Most workplaces in today's society will

have employees from different countries and cultures. Additionally, despite the fact that

language barriers frequently present the most obvious obstacle to efficient communication in

this setting, cultural differences should not be discounted because of their potential impact on
a productive workplace. As a matter of fact, a global Culture Wizard survey conducted in

2016 revealed that 18% of respondents' businesses have lost business opportunities as a result

of cultural misunderstandings, and 68% of respondents stated that cultural barriers were the

greatest obstacle to global virtual team productivity (Vaughan, 2021). Thus, it is important

for both speaker and listener of intercultural communication to enable to understand and

develop themselves the ability to be competence in intercultural communication.

Bonacia (2021) explained the basic steps required to understand and prepare oneself

to communicate effectively in multicultural team and organisation. First, one has to be aware

and being mindful that everybody has a different background and does not communicate in

the same ways as one’s perceived. One should understand that his or her perspectives or

views on one thing may reflect differently from others’ perspectives. Thus, it is important for

an individual to understand and put awareness on these differences and that what one says or

the ways he or she communicate may either taken positively or negatively by the other

parties. It is important for an individual to study and conduct research on communication’s

cultures of different people such as taboo words or actions to avoid misperception. For

speakers, he or she must be mindful of the language used whether it is suitable and fit the

respective group. For example, Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, and

Southern parts of China in that vicinity while Mandarin is spoken in Mainland China and

Taiwan. Despite being tonal languages, neither Cantonese and Mandarin can be understood

by the respective other users. As a result, Cantonese speakers would be able to decipher

Mandarin writing, but they would be unable to comprehend Mandarin speaking language and

vice versa. As Mandarin is a tonal language, even the same sounds can have completely

different meanings when pronounced at different pitches. Many argue that mastering the

tones is the most difficult aspect of learning Chinese because the wrong tones can completely

alter a sentence's meaning.

 For listener, one need to adapt to be an active listener, be open-minded and having

empathy in oneself. For enhancing cross-cultural communication, active listening is an

extremely efficient method. An individual can try to understand what the other person has

said by rephrasing or summarizing it and frequently asking questions. This will help to

prevents important information from being missed or misunderstood and helps establish

rapport. Vaughan (2021) had further explained that by being active listener, one can build

trust and a relationship with the speaker because they will know that person is paying

attention to what they are saying.

Next, both speaker and listener have to learn basic cultural norms and words to

assimilate and familiarise themselves with other people cultures. This is important because

without basic knowledge or understanding on one’s cultures, he or she will be unable to

accept or respect any differences portrayed by cultures. In Malaysia itself, differences in

cultures can be seen from different races and what one culture perceive is okay may not be

okay for other culture. For example, crows are considered to be ancestors and a symbol of

karma for Indians. Therefore, feeding the birds is a means of calming the ancestors. In

contrast, other types of gift-giving are valued in Malaysia. The recipient's religious beliefs

should be respected when giving a gift. If you want to impress someone of the Muslim faith,

you should steer clear of anything with alcohol, pigskin, or dog imagery. If the person is a

vegetarian Hindu, you should steer clear of meat by-products. In addition, it is considered

unlucky to present a Chinese person with a clock. A Cantonese homophone for the word

"attending a funeral" is "to give a clock" and clock itself means to count down the days of

one’s life. Other example is that even though wrapping paper in black or white looks nice, it's

associated with death, which is not something you want to give to someone else. One also has

to familiarise him/herself with simple words or simple greeting in order to show appreciation

of cultures to the other parties. Leaning simple greeting such as thank you, goodbye, how are
you? and other basic communication conduct will show that one had put efforts and

appreciation towards other parties’ cultures. Thus, it will enable a stronger positive

relationship to be built between speakers and listeners.

The next step would be to avoid using slang words, keep it simple and talk slowly for

people to understand the language. When having conversations with people from different

cultures, it is much easier to keep things simple and straightforward. It is not necessary to use

a lot of big words or dialogue because doing so will only make things more difficult for both

parties. Keep in mind that words with two syllables are much simpler to comprehend than

words with three syllables. Regardless of how one normally phrases the sentence, he or she

need to always remember to give orders or make statements in the simplest format possible.

In addition, even if someone from another culture is able to speak English fluently, they may

still have difficulty understanding the language's idioms, slang, and sayings. Even if the

person says what was said, they will not be able to understand what it means in context,

which could make them even more confused or even cause them to be offended. Therefore, it

makes sense to avoid using such expressions in cross-cultural conversations generally. Also,

in a cross-cultural setting, it is not a good idea to speak at one usual conversational speed,

even if English is the common language. Modulating the pace, speaking clearly, and correctly

pronouncing the words will all help both speakers to be able to clearly inform the intended

meaning and for listeners to fully able to understand the information. Speaker has to give

his/her listeners time to translate and process his/her words and try to go by breaking up

sentences into sections that are short and easy to define. However, it is not polite to slow

down too much because it might look like the speaker try to being rude or mocking the

listeners. For listeners, do not be afraid to politely request to the speaker to slow down if they

are speaking too quickly or if their accent is making it hard to understand. In communication,
it is important that both parties understand the meaning of the said things to avoid confusion

and misunderstanding.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, Professionalism and communication are two indicators that always

interconnected with each other. Professionalism or professional behaviours is one of the

crucial parts of ensuring success of the organisation and communication is always a part of

professionalism traits that people like look upon when dealing with the organisation.

Communication is essential for establishing and maintaining productive relationships among

professionals. Effective communication in the workplace is important because every

administrative function and activity involves some form of direct or indirect communication.

Professional organizations' success is determined by communication and a professional

organization's success is always depend on effective communication. The organization's

objectives will be easily accomplished through effective communication because leaders will

be able to make decisions with a greater amount of information at their disposal.

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