Analyze the communication incidents that are occurring within a fictional German electronics manufacturing firm, which recently outsourced their IT department to an Indian subsidiary. The employees from both the German and Indian organizations are finding it difficult to effectively communicate and therefore work with one another. As the Human Resources Manager, you are part of an “emergency” human resources team brought in by the German firm to analyze what went awry with the visit from the India IT team.
Write a summary report in Microsoft Word for the board members of the German firm by including the following in your report. You may include and group several of these in the same paragraph and use headings to guide your reader.
Outline the intercultural factors that caused tension between the German and Indian employees.
Recommend strategies on how to improve the working atmosphere for the German managers and the India IT professionals. Consider the following:
What actions should each group consider to improve relations with one another?
What questions should each group ask of the other to improve their working relationship?
What compromises should each group consider making, if any, to build rapport?
How can cultures that place different values on directness and hierarchy find a way to clarify issues and avoid misunderstandings? How can they get their questions resolved in a timely manner?
How do your suggestions encourage intercultural flexibility that does not interfere with either group’s feeling that they need to behave in contrast to their own culture?
Recommend measures that can help prevent similar incidents like these in the future to support other future partnerships across varying cultures. Consider the following:
Should prior training be considered for future organizational partnerships?
Explain why it is important to adopt strategies that are based on nonverbal communication.
