Cross cultural communication Essay

There are six principals in cross-cultural communication. The first principal states that the greater the cultural difference the greater the chance is for the communication ti break down. The second principal says that when communication breakdowns occur during cross-cultural encounters, the breakdowns are most often attributed to cultural differences. The third principal states that communicating across cultures often leads people to be more conscious about their own communication. The fourth one states that cultures vary with respect to the number and kind of â€Å"do’s and taboos† that are required of its members. The fifth one states that a person should remember that learning what is normal in the culture the are communicating with helps you understand that group. The last principal states that as long as you see others as friendly and cooperative barriers will easily be broken down (Cheesebro, O’Connor, & Rios, Chapter Chapter 3, Cultural Diversity, 2010). I chose to write about Hispanics. There healthcare experience is similar to African American, which is my race. First there is the language barrier. They speak another language and it can sometimes be hard to explain things when there is not a translator present. Things get lost in translation. Another issue is that they don’t have healthcare. They don’t have insurance so they don’t go to a doctor and in turn they have poor health (Bzostek, Goldman, & Pebley, 2007). When it comes to communications, there are many barriers. Providers communicate differently when it comes to Hispanics. Studies have shown that when providers deal with the Spanish speaking patients they ask less open ended question and probes for patient understanding because of the language barrier (Mayo, Windsor, Sundarwaran & Crew 2007). A seconds study states that when providers relied on interpreters for communicating with their patients, but lack of availability of the interpreters and patient waiting were reported as barriers in using interpreters effectively (Mayo, Windsor, Sundarwaran & Crew 2007). This barrier led providers to turn to English speaking family n members and bilingual staff who made the communication dull (Mayo, Windsor, Sundarwaran & Crew 2007). In my opinion these are just some of the barriers that stand in between Hispanics and non-Hispanic providers. To me language is the most common one. When people have this barriere they are less likely to want to communicate because they don’t thing the other party will understand the message they are trying to send. So if they do communicate there will be a lack of enthusiasm and the message will not come across correctly. References Cheesebro, T., O’Connor, L., & Rios, F. (2010). Communicating in the Workplace. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection. Bzostek, S., Goldman, N., & Pebley, A. (2007, September). Why do Hispanics in the USA report poor health?. Social Science & Medicine, 65(5), 990 – 1003.