Effective Communication Working in a diverse culture can be confusing and frustrating; when working with individuals from different ethnic groups. Many times a misconception or misunderstanding is always in the way of finishing a project or meeting eye to eye. Working with different cultures can be difficult and having to establish a rule, and respectful can be challenging. The Mexican and American cultures are two cultures to be reviewed, in this paper. The Mexican culture is one that is rich in family, religion and history. The Mexican culture is one of dedication to family and culture. This culture is one rooted in traditions and a belief system that men are the ones who earn money while the wife stays home to raise the children. Boys have more freedom than the girls in the families because the girls will stay with their parents until they get married. These traditions have changed; however, girls usually stay home until marriage, or have a family of their own. This is a part of their culture and one that is practiced still to this day.
Mexicans are very tight and usually their family entails mother, father, brother, sister, cousins first and second generation. They also celebrate the dead and to celebrate their life once a year by having a reunion in the cemetery once a year, called The Day of the Dead. According to (Erichsen, 2014) “Specifics of the celebration vary with region, but one of the most common customs is the making of elaborate altars to welcome departed spirits home; vigils and families often go to cemeteries to fix up the graves of their departed relatives.”
Americans are different; they have their faith but are much more about today than yesterday. Tradition and family are important but on a much smaller scale. We are much more about time and getting things done now than later. Americans are much more about the title held in the work place than the gender of that person. Working with some of Mexicans, I have found that gender does become a factor for the older males because females are charge of the home, not the workplace, and friction between these two cultures can cause some issues in the workplace. Also, word definition can also pose an issue when words mean something different than what you are trying to convey. This adds to stress but one a new level because you cannot speak the language but also your gender. According to (Frost, 2014)“The United States is generally skeptical or hostile toward socialist and communist ideologies, but some of the related movements, such as the labor movement, became a defining part of America's heritage after the New Deal. The country was less affected by socialist ideas in the 20th century than was Europe, and the McCarthy Era and the Cold War as a whole demonstrated a deeply felt hostility to communism, which, especially at that time, was perceived as anti-individualist, undemocratic, and essentially anti-American.” Multicultural communication is extremely important for all members of different societies to communicate effectively but have the ability to live together in harmony. When words taken out of connected, and there is not follow-up to what an individual’s means this can cause anxiety, anger and resentment towards that ethnic group. This can lead to a misrepresentation of that ethnic group and for hostile feelings to develop.
It is always important to understand your audience to ensure your information represented correctly. Respect is earned, and a miscommunication between ethnic groups can cause many to have a false representation of others. This can cause some to form prejudices against others under a false conception due to others behaviors. Some of the challenges that I have faced when dealing with those from Mexican ethnic group women are observed differently than men. I have had issues telling men of other ethnic groups what needs to be completed, and having to rely on can be