Answer to Question 1
Answer: Today's increasingly diverse workforce encompasses a wide range of skills, traditions, backgrounds, experiences, outlooks, and attitudes toward workall of which can affect communication in the workplace. Supervisors face the challenge of connecting with these diverse employees, motivating them, and fostering cooperation and harmony among them. Teams face the challenge of working together closely, and companies are challenged to coexist peacefully with business partners and with the community as a whole. Elements of human diversity can affect communication at every stage of the communication process.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: Chances are good that you'll be working across international borders sometime in your career. Thanks to communication and transportation technologies, natural boundaries and national borders are no longer the impassable barriers they once were. Local markets are opening to worldwide competition as businesses of all sizes look for new growth opportunities outside their own countries. Not surprisingly, effective communication is key to cross-cultural and global business. In a recent survey, nearly 90 percent of executives said their companies' profit, revenue, and market share would all improve with better international communication skills. In addition, half of these executives said communication or collaboration breakdowns had affected major international business efforts in their companies. The good news here is that improving your cultural communication skills could make you a more valuable job candidate at every stage of your career.