I will not take credit for the statement, but when a senior colleague said this, it struck me as a powerful statement.
It's true isn't it. Given all the cultural, regional , racial differences that we may have in the global workplace today, we are still more alike than we are different.
Some examples
*Management - Promoter-run companies show the same pattern of management - be it australia, india, china or the states. Obviously there will be differences in culture, but the management behaviour tends to be very similar and most promoter-ceo's tend to show the same behavior. One would think that an American company vs an Asian company run by promoters would show different levels of professionalism? Probably not.
*Employee behavior - Our motivations are very similar; we are all driven by similar aspirations and are emotionally affected in a similar way.
*Relationships - Family relationships take precedence(or not) in a very similar fashion for people from most cultures
There are many more, but the bottom-line is very simple - if we are all so similar, why do we have issues at all. It boils down to empathy and communication. The lack of it leads to prejudices and create a chain effect on the drift in relationships and mutual understanding at the workplace.
Very simple, see the other person as you and just make sure your words mean the same as they mean to the other person. Coz in the great words of Amitabh Bachchan - "English is a phunny language. Bharoin becomes baron and baron becomes bhairon because their minds are very narrow"
It's true isn't it. Given all the cultural, regional , racial differences that we may have in the global workplace today, we are still more alike than we are different.
Some examples
*Management - Promoter-run companies show the same pattern of management - be it australia, india, china or the states. Obviously there will be differences in culture, but the management behaviour tends to be very similar and most promoter-ceo's tend to show the same behavior. One would think that an American company vs an Asian company run by promoters would show different levels of professionalism? Probably not.
*Employee behavior - Our motivations are very similar; we are all driven by similar aspirations and are emotionally affected in a similar way.
*Relationships - Family relationships take precedence(or not) in a very similar fashion for people from most cultures
There are many more, but the bottom-line is very simple - if we are all so similar, why do we have issues at all. It boils down to empathy and communication. The lack of it leads to prejudices and create a chain effect on the drift in relationships and mutual understanding at the workplace.
Very simple, see the other person as you and just make sure your words mean the same as they mean to the other person. Coz in the great words of Amitabh Bachchan - "English is a phunny language. Bharoin becomes baron and baron becomes bhairon because their minds are very narrow"
