Organizational Behavior - Interpersonal Relationships and Action Analysis Paper

...

After tackling the issues that I had with my language barrier and the bad first impression that I demonstrated to the members of my team, I had to find once and for all a common ground involving my cultural and stylistic differences in comparison to my groups’. The cultural and stylistic differences that I had with my group members were a big part of the reason that I could not relate to them, which meant that it was difficult for me to work with them. Once I got the opportunity to know some of my group members at the beginning of the explore phase, I noticed, I did not do a great job. I realized that I was overstepping the friendship; I spoke to them too personally when we had just met. This is because in my culture, the more upfront one is, the better. Being too friendly is common in Latino based countries, but if one does that in the U.S., it might throw some people off. Because of this, I had a hard time creating friendships the first couple of weeks until I learned through the Organizational behavior classes that responding effectively towards cultural and stylistic differences requires cultural intelligence, which is the ability one has to understand others effectively across cultures. Since then, I have focused on both understanding and trying to gain the cultural intelligence required in order to maximize group interactions. In this effort to understand how individuals from different backgrounds work, my conflict handling preferences has varied. Now, I prefer to listen before speaking. That way, I do not assume that I am right while the other person is wrong.

Going through this experience has made me realize several things about myself. Being born in Panama has its pros and cons. Because I am an international student with a global perspective, I was able to fix my cultural and stylistic issues quicker than I thought. The downside is that I still had trouble communicating with my peers. I learned that until one is challenged, one would never know how good one is at something. A challenge I encountered was with my linguistic barrier. This had a large effect on me; it made me realize how strong the power of the mind is. While I knew I was fluent in English, my mind said the opposite. The mind also controls one’s confidence, which I think is the key to success. I realized that Babson is full of international students and not all people speak perfect English. Why should I be the one that feels insecure about their English? By experiencing this, I also began to notice how the education system has been embedded in me. After nearly giving up, the fear of getting a bad grade made me react. This is something I feel ashamed of because it does not reflect the values I was taught at home. My mother and father also taught me that giving a good first impression was crucial. Not thinking about my natal values made me start with the wrong foot in FME class. It took some time to erase the bad first impression that I showed my classmates. I knew all of these flaws were fixable, but in order to do this I had to change my cultural and stylistic ways. I learned that quick adaptation is the main quality that makes us human. For that reason, I was able to open my mind to new ways of handling myself. I was ready to expand my horizons for my own success and not for the grades.

As for future development, I will start doing things differently from now on. First, I will no longer feel ashamed of my English. I will embrace it and let people think what they want to think. Secondly, I will always remember to start with the right foot. Giving a good first impression will always be my first priority since I realized that things could get rough if done otherwise. Lastly, I will find a common ground when dealing with my peers in relation to my culture and style. I will adapt to situations in order to thrive in the best way possible. This is going to improve how I manage my relationships with people and will help me in the future when I have to step into the work field.

Cited Sources

Murphy, Wendy. "FME 1001-09." Foundations of MGMT and Entrepreneurs. Babson College, Wellesley. Lecture.

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPré. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2003. Print.

...