Take a quick glance around you or at the newspaper and an interesting fact can be observed regarding 'teams'. By the term 'teams', I mean any types of team you can think of, from professional sports teams to even project groups in school. You may realise that most of the time, group members are rather mixed in terms of cultures and races. This is no doubt an increasingly common observation happening in this world. People of different cultural and racial backgrounds are working together in teams for a common purpose; an scenario quite impossible to imagine if you were living a few centuries ago, where humans are very bounded by restrictions to working with outsiders of their cultures.
My first impression that comes to mind, when mentioned about intercultural cooperation, would be the phenomenon that most hot-blooded Singaporean males (and presumably some females as well) would die for to watch, and that is the Barclays Premiership soccer from England. Increasingly, the governing body for the league has concerns about the amount of foreigners plying their trades for the clubs, as the percentage of home-grown players are reduced with each foreign arrival. However the fact remains that so many players of up to 30 different countries, and hence cultural backgrounds, are able to co-exist in peace and cooperating for a common aim speaks out the strength in intercultural communications within teams. The ability of the club managers to bond foreign players with the local boys is something worth noting, especially in a country where racial abuse is not uncommon.
Cultural tolerance and understanding are major parts we must learn in dealing with intercultural and interpersonal communication. Knowing the dos-and-don’ts for our teammates’ religious culture helps greatly in reducing the chances for possible conflicts, as it can be a very sensitive issue for certain religions. Also, our cultural beliefs, taught by the families that brought us up, directly shape our style of speaking and actions. Therefore, understanding your teammates’ cultures and interpreting their actions correctly is a key step towards achieving effective communication within the team, and hence forming a successful team.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Post #1 : Communication and teamwork: why they are important to me?
Undeniably, the basis of a formation of a human society are built upon the foundations of effective communication in between themselves and the strength of their unity and bonds, as they struggle against the hardships of nation-building. In other words, communication and teamwork are actually parts of our lives, in a sense that it is something we will engage in every single day.
On a personal note, communication holds a great portion in my life. I have lost count of how many misunderstandings I had created from the words coming out of my mouth for the past 20 years or so, and each time I reflected on why I commit such an avoidable mistake in the first place. I personally place much emphasis on communication because I cherish friendships, and to destroy one verbally is my worst nightmare. Sadly, it did happen a few times and I deeply regretted the lost friendships along the years of education.
To define strong teamwork, I would say "communicate effectively first before gauging how strong your teamwork is"; a group of students stepping all over each other as they attempt to complete an assignment just about sums up how strong their teamwork is. Some would say that both exists as a collective, a kind of "Which comes first? Chicken or egg?" question, but in my opinion a sturdy foundation of communication must be laid upon first before we even consider anything else during the formation of a team. A team communicating well within each other will naturally display an impressive amount of teamwork.
In NUS, working together as a team with strangers proves to be a testing challenge every semester. It is a difficult task, really. Setting up a good first impression, understanding each other, be sensitive when communicating within the group so as to reduce hostility, conflict management, dividing up a fair share of workload, the list just goes on endlessly. I am a believer in teamwork, because during my secondary school years in an uniformed group it was proven again and again the amount of achievement that can be accomplished with a successful team in a short amount of time. I sure hope I can apply all the lessons learnt during that period in my tenure in NUS, not solely for the grades but for the satisfaction gained upon every successful task done as a team.
On a personal note, communication holds a great portion in my life. I have lost count of how many misunderstandings I had created from the words coming out of my mouth for the past 20 years or so, and each time I reflected on why I commit such an avoidable mistake in the first place. I personally place much emphasis on communication because I cherish friendships, and to destroy one verbally is my worst nightmare. Sadly, it did happen a few times and I deeply regretted the lost friendships along the years of education.
To define strong teamwork, I would say "communicate effectively first before gauging how strong your teamwork is"; a group of students stepping all over each other as they attempt to complete an assignment just about sums up how strong their teamwork is. Some would say that both exists as a collective, a kind of "Which comes first? Chicken or egg?" question, but in my opinion a sturdy foundation of communication must be laid upon first before we even consider anything else during the formation of a team. A team communicating well within each other will naturally display an impressive amount of teamwork.
In NUS, working together as a team with strangers proves to be a testing challenge every semester. It is a difficult task, really. Setting up a good first impression, understanding each other, be sensitive when communicating within the group so as to reduce hostility, conflict management, dividing up a fair share of workload, the list just goes on endlessly. I am a believer in teamwork, because during my secondary school years in an uniformed group it was proven again and again the amount of achievement that can be accomplished with a successful team in a short amount of time. I sure hope I can apply all the lessons learnt during that period in my tenure in NUS, not solely for the grades but for the satisfaction gained upon every successful task done as a team.
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