CW 1 INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT SITUATION

NAME: SINGAPPULI MUDIYANSELAGE THARINDU NIPUN BANDARA

CU ID :14486258
PROFESSOR NAME: SHARMILA GOYAL AL
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Body ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Reference ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction
The exchange of ideas and information between individuals or groups with
different cultural origins is referred to as intercultural communication. Respecting and
acknowledging the many cultural differences among people is necessary. These
differences might include those in communication styles, attitudes, beliefs, and
practices. Good intercultural communication necessitates awareness, sensitivity, and
adaptability in order to handle any misconceptions and communicate successfully.
Many settings, such as international trade, higher education, the government, and
interpersonal relationships, might include this type of communication.

Body
A story that I've experienced myself was during my studies in Singapore
polytechnic. On that time, I was looking for a part time job and I found a Restaurant
for work. So on the first day of my working, I was guided by the seniors to learn the
culture and ways of working in the Restaurant. Throughout everything, most of the
seniors were speaking in Malay as the majority of them their race were Malay and they
were speaking Tamil, In Sri Lanka Tamil is a one of major Language. but I couldn't
understand as although my nationality was Sri Lankan and my skin colour brown, I
didn't speak much of it as my family culture strictly speaks English and Sinhala as we
are just used to speaking in that language. Halfway through the day, we had a event
in the night so we all needed to gather at 4 pm at the kitchen. Before starting with the
event, they held a briefing as they needed us to be in a particular section which were
dining area , food runner section ,bar, kitchen like that and also to understand our roles
before working the event but mind me I could not understand what they were saying
and I was too afraid to say anything because that was my very first day .During the
event I was really lost as I didn't know what my roles and tasks were and due to that,
I failed and lost my self. everyone was so busy and they didn't even had a time to talk
One of the manager who was leading the restaurant noticed my bad performance so
he decided to confront me and after explaining to him, he understood and apologized
for not asking if I was okay with the seniors speaking in the Malay language as they
assume I understand due to my name being so close to a Tamil name. From that day
onwards I learned to improve more on my Tamil language from them as we talked in
our second language on a daily basis when we were on duty and off duty.
The language, conduct, and communication aspects are the three that have
influenced my experience. The fact that both sides could not speak the same language
had a significant impact on my experience. It is important that we always try to speak
with one another in order to understand the distinctions and challenges that each of
us faces. Another instance would be when one of my seniors saw my attitude and
realized that I was lost based on my facial expression. This prompted him to get
worried and act, which is a nice gesture of kindness because it improved the situation.
It was also impacted by my own actions, as I chose to remain silent and not share my
feelings with my superiors since I was frightened of upsetting them and didn't want to
be rude since I was joining a new workplace with a culture, I didn't know anything
about.

Conclusion
In addition to what I've already mentioned, I have undoubtedly gained some
knowledge from it. It has taught me that, should I ever find myself in my senior's
position, I should never make assumptions about or pass judgment on someone
before getting to know them completely. Ignoring someone's behaviour because it
didn't seem essential to me is often considered disrespectful. For my part, I should not
have just remained silent and kept myself in the dark because doing so has led to
misunderstandings between the two sides and has made the issue worse when it
could have been prevented. By doing so, both sides have a deeper understanding of
one another and are able to support one another's growth and learning. As a result,
despite everything, I'm grateful that I've had the experiences I have since they have
helped me grow as a person and have opened my eyes to some things about the
world.

Reference
1. Ehlion Team (2020). Intercultural Communication - Definition, Theories,
Skills. [online] EHLION. Available at:
https://ehlion.com/magazine/intercultural-communication/.
2. Compoint, T. (2018). 6 barriers to cross cultural communications. [online]
Déclic International. Available at: https://declicinternational.com/6-
barriers-to-cross-cultural-communications/.
3. Gabriel, A. (2021). Barriers to Intercultural Communication. [online]
Medium. Available at: https://aderogabriel.medium.com/barriers-to-
intercultural-communication-e7b2658a8fb3.