Cultural Communication

Shannon Ford
Cultural Communication and Creativity
Organizational Culture and Communication LDR 630-OB
March 1, 2015
Dr. David Lucas

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Abstract
Cultural Communication
This paper will discuss cultural communication and creativity within the workplace and how it
pertains to the cultural conceptual blocks. Cultural communication is a broad subject and
correlates to a plethora of different situations. All communication is cultural and there are
different ways in which one might communicate. However, as a leader you have to figure out
what works for you and your team. Communicating can lead to making the best decisions and
taking your organization to the next level. Communication is the key to creating a successful
business.

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Cultural Communication
Communication creates a culture; with that being said cultures can be created at the work
place, home, school, and other places that might come to mind. When creating a culture you are
creating rules and enforcing ideas on how you like task completed. Once this culture has been
created it is shared upon newcomers and the path continues to grow. This path includes behavior
patterns and thought processes that are formed together which creates a group. This is said to be
done in workplaces. Culture can be the way the office is set up, the way meetings are conducted,
and the type of leadership styles.
Communication is used in our everyday lives this is how information is processed on a
daily basis. However, effective communication is what makes communicating successful. There
is more to it than swapping out information. The main goal is for you to receive the information
and understand it. This is part of being an excellent leader; this type of communicating can be
taught to your team. Displaying effective communication can teach them how to work as a great
team, make positive decisions, and help with the process and elimination of problem solving
techniques. As you practice communicating more effectively with others the better one will get at
it considering it is a learned skill. According to research conducted by Lawrence Robinson,
Jeanne Segal, Ph. D., and Robert Segal, M.A. (2015) effective communication can be enhanced
if body language is used. You can enhance effective communication by using open body
language. Such as uncrossing of the arms, sitting on the corner of you chair, standing a certain
way, and keeping eye contact with the individual you are speaking with.
As a leader it your responsibility to lead your team and make supporting decisions, use
the best problem solving techniques, and at the same time be creative. Your team looks up to you

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to make the right decision. However, at the same time they can be involved in the decision
making process, but ultimately it lies within you. It is imperative that leaders use critical thinking
processes during the process of elimination. In order to come up with the mastery plan that will
take the team to the next level. (Zaccaro, S. 2002) A key point in considering such relationships
is the reciprocal influence, whereby both leadership and team processes influence each other
Reiter-Palmon, R., & Illies J.J. (2004) state that solving problems creatively requires
extensive and effortful cognitive processing. An example of this on my end would be concerning
the spreadsheets that are sent from American Eagle that list all item numbers and descriptions for
each item. If these items arrive to the warehouse without being loaded in to the system we
receive a docked point for the items not being loaded in a timely manner. In order for this not to
transpire the team needs to be quick on their feet. The goal at all time is to think of a plan to get
the problem solved. Using quick thinking and problem solving techniques the team use the
packing slips that were sent over with the shipments to load the items. Once the spreadsheets are
received from American Eagle the remaining information can be uploaded.
The four conceptual blocks from Whetten and Cameron can be used in different ways for
different organizations. These conceptual blocks consist of Constancy, Commitment,
Compression, and Complacency. Constancy is one of the four blocks conceptual blocks that
consist of being devoted to solving a problem the same way at all times. Organizations use this
method to solve key problems when they arise. It is defined as vertical thinking and thinking in
one language. The vertical-thinking conceptual block arises from not being able to view the
problem from multiple perspectivesto drill several holesor to think laterally as well as
vertically in problem solving (Whetten pg.168). Whetten states The more languages available
to problem solvers, the better and more creative will be their solutions (pg.168). These steps

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informs you of the more ways you deliver information the better your chances are of transmitting
the information.
Within my organization constancy is something they strive on. The organization tries to
keep it the same across the board. There have been several years since my start date and the first
time seeing a major change was just this past year. This shows stability within the company and
it also shows that the cultural environment that was set up has continued to work. There will
always be some type of change within organizations. As long as it continues to build your brand
and are positives changes it would be good for business.
With that being said there has been past employers that had multiple changes in short
spans of time. It did not matter if the changes worked or if the problems were solved this was the
way these places conducted business every day. Certain tasks would be set in place such as
attendance policies. Employees would be placed on point systems and for every 10 minutes they
were late there would be a point given. This change would have been fine, if there was not a
maximum of five points you could get in one year. Not to mention the change was
communicated through email and was set to be in place the following week. This problem was
not well thought out and no creativity was used. This was their cultural environment that was set.
However, businesses like these are typically what some people steer clear of.
The second conceptual block is commitment; all leaders should carry this quality. There
have been plenty of times when situations has surfaced and prompted my leader to try to solve
the issue. However, the same solution is not the same answer for all issues. Stereotyping and
Ignoring commonalities go under the commitment umbrella. Handling past and present situations
the same way and allowing the past decisions to cloud the present view is stereotyping. This is an
issue I had with a past supervisor. There were weekly meetings we would have with the client

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and I noticed every time we met my voice would not be heard. The one time I tried to speak up
and add to the conversation my supervisor cut me off. It was mid blowing, because I did not
understand why I was in the meeting if my words did not count. My supervisor explained to me
there are some tasks they would like to keep the same. This angered me, because I felt as if my
position did not matter. Not to mention, some task should change in order to make progress.
Moving on to the third conceptual block compression which is (Whetten & Cameron
2002) Distinguishing figure and Artificial constraints which means not filtering out irrelevant
information or finding needed information from ground and defining the boundaries of a
problem too narrowly. (Whetten & Cameron 2002, pg. 172) at times people place limitations
around problems, or limit the approach to them; to the point where the problem becomes
impossible to solve. Anytime you compress something to the point it becomes too narrow to
change that can definitely cause issues.
This conceptual block is the easiest way to put limitations on any ongoing problems. At
times everyone is met with the issue of compressing a problem until it gets so meniscal nothing
is resolved. Working with groups of people that feel they have all types of ideas that can solve
the problem can have this issue. My team is a group of four and we all have bright ideas and at
times some of us have no so bright idea. However, the point is when you are trying to resolve an
issue, but you are continuously compressing the problem it will never get resolved.

The fourth conceptual block is complacency this block is defined as (Whetten &
Cameron, 2002 pg.167, pg.175) Noninquisitiveness which is not asking questions and
nonthinking which is a bias toward activity in place of mental work. It is the lack of asking
questions and being bias against thinking. Leaders should have a pen and notepad at all times to

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take down notes and much needed information. At my current workplace my director has an
executive assistant that takes thorough notes for him in every meeting. He asks a plethora of
questions and he also takes notes to make sure nothing is missed. He also goes out of his way to
make sure all employees understand what went on in the meeting. Not to mention, he has the
notes bullet pointed for everyone to see a break down. As a leader you need to ask a question that
is the only way you can relay the information back to your teams appropriately.
As a leader there are many obstacles you will need to go through. Anyone can claim to be
a leader, but you need to have certain traits that show your ability. As time goes on you will gain
strengths and knowledge to help you build your brand. Communicating properly and being open
and creative with what you do will help you soar. Problem solving is another ability you want to
make sure you instill in yourself. Behind every great leader is creative problem solving
techniques and effectively communicating with your group.

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References
Reiter-Palmon, R., & Illies, J. J. (2004). Leadership and creativity: Understanding
leadership from a creative problem-solving perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 1.
doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2003.12.005
Robinson, L., Segal, J., Ph. D, & Segal, R., M.A. (2015, February). Effective
Communication: Improving Communication Skills in Business and Relationships.
Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships/effectivecommunication.htm

Zaccaro, S. (2002). Team Leadership. Retrieved from http:// www.sciencedirect.com/science/

Whetten, D., & Cameron, K. (2002). Solving problems analytically and creatively.
(5th Ed.).