Law, Ethics and Policy; Accounting and Cultural Diversity: Healthcare Essay

Total Length: 580 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 3

Page 1 of 2

Healthcare: Law, Ethics, And Policy; Accounting and Cultural Diversity

Barriers to communicating with others from diverse backgrounds

Communication is essential between people of different cultures as it enables them to exchange views, ideas, and understand the behavioral traits that distinguish different people. However, due to the variations in culture, there are bound to be barriers that make communication difficult. Some of these include:

Language barriers: Sometimes, misunderstandings occur during interactions between people speaking different languages. The same words may be assigned different meanings and words that are mispronounced may also distort the information being passed across. For example in Japanese, verbs are often positioned at the end of sentences. This could obviously distort the message being put across to someone who is not necessarily conversant with Japanese.

Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism: Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's cultural beliefs and values are better and superior to others. Cultural relativism, on the other hand, describes the situation where people of a certain culture judge others' sense of right and wrong. This may result in disrespect and downplaying of other people's views and opinions.

Nonverbal cues: Sometimes, nonverbal communication may be misinterpreted. For instance, in the U.S., eye contact may be interpreted as a sign of interest and respect, while in Asian countries, it may signify rudeness, disrespect or even rebelliousness.

Stuck Writing Your "Law, Ethics and Policy; Accounting and Cultural Diversity: Healthcare" Essay?

In Ghana, eye contact is also not as important as listening to the speaker.

Stereotypes: Sometimes, people assume that some character traits or mannerisms define all the members of a particular group (Samovar, Porter and Mac Daniel, 2009). These assumptions are often negative and they may lead to bias and hostility that could make communication difficult.

Ways to overcome communication barriers and improve intercultural communication skills

To eliminate these barriers, appreciation of other people's cultures and sensitivity to their views and opinions is essential. There are three ways people can improve their intercultural communication skills:

Learning other languages

According to Samovar, Porter, and Mac Daniel (2009), world societies have become more integrated, which makes it important for people to learn more than one language. This will help people learn other cultures' verbal and nonverbal communication. Samovar, Porter and MacDaniel also state that it will help reduce misunderstandings that arise from language barriers, as it provides more insight into other people's beliefs and emotions.

Disregarding cultural assumptions and stereotypes

Stereotypes and assumptions have to be abandoned as they are often false and….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Law Ethics And Policy Accounting And Cultural Diversity Healthcare" (2015, February 19) Retrieved May 17, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/law-ethics-policy-accounting-cultural-2148775

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Law Ethics And Policy Accounting And Cultural Diversity Healthcare" 19 February 2015. Web.17 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/law-ethics-policy-accounting-cultural-2148775>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Law Ethics And Policy Accounting And Cultural Diversity Healthcare", 19 February 2015, Accessed.17 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/law-ethics-policy-accounting-cultural-2148775