This scenario occurred when I was doing a vacation job overseas during my summer vacation. The work environment was quite diverse, with employees coming from different parts of the world.
It was a busy workday and everyone was busy. As such, we were required to prepare food efficiently such as ensuring a constant supply of ready-made fries by frying them regularly. As the staff were from different countries, there were some staff who were not proficient in speaking and understanding English. And so it happens that this Western manager told one of the less proficient in English staff to prepare the fries by dropping them into the frying oil. However, as the staff did not understand what the manager said, she did not do as told and proceeded on her other duties. Enraged by what was not done, the manager proceeded to scold her stupid in front of other colleagues. Viewed by her friends as a personal attack due to their nationality and their inability to understand English well, they wrote to a local newspaper complaining about this injustice.
From my understanding, a Westerner is direct in verbal communication. Hence, they will be more inclined to voice their opinions out as shown in the scenario above. A Westerner is also inclined to voice out his agreements or disagreements. An Asian on the other hand usually responds in an indirect manner and is not likely to voice their opinions out.
The fundamentals of effective communication involves being able to understand and distinguish between universal signs which may or may not have similar meanings across different cultures. In this scenario, it seems that the Western manager was not able to handle the situation effectively and can do it better. As the employee at fault is of Eastern origins, he could have repeated his instructions again to her when she did not respond to his instructions. Even if he was agitated or angry at what was happening, he could have adapted his style accordingly and speak to the employee in private. Labeling the employee as stupid is insensitive universally and should not be mentioned in the first place. This will reduce any potential disgruntlement amongst the foreign staff who may find offense with his handling style.
In the case of the employee and her friends, they could have approached another manager to report about this apparent injustice instead of choosing the method of reporting to a local newspaper as the best possible mode of communication. Furthermore, as Westerners are more open to communication, it would have been a better alternative for them to approach other staff or even the manager himself.
Hence, the basic concept involving effective communication is about keeping communication channels open and resolving any issues in an amicable manner.
