Abstract
Work settings that lack harmony in communication among their employees may lead to poor work ethic, low work performance, employee distress, and increased turnover rates. With the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity in many organizations and businesses today, employees may be faced with cultural practices and communication styles that differ from their own. The current study was conducted to understand differences in communication styles with employees of different cultural orientations and placed in different conflict situations. Eighty-six employees from public, private, and non-profit organizations served as participants and completed a vignette packet. The results indicated that Asian Americans were more collectivistic and used more indirect communication than White Americans. However, the results did not show communication styles to vary as a function of cultural orientation and the status of others in conflict situations.