Whether it is for an engineering firm, politics, religion or for any other segment of our society / culture, Internal Coordination is much more difficult then the external coordination. You can validate this in any field.
I work in a company where almost 300 people are working. They are from different backgrounds, countries, languages, religions, and cultures. My job is mainly in Project Management, so the internal coordination is very much there in order to satisfy the needs of our Client. Sometimes (rather most of the times) Clients are unreasonable while demanding something not included in the Contract, but one doesn’t have any other chance except to fulfill the Clients requirements. What I experience, so far, that whenever you request to have something, the answer starts from ‘No, we don’t have it’. At this point your managerial / negotiations skills come into play. Sometimes I feel that I am begging not requesting as if it is my personal work. Why it is happening, my observations are as follows:
1. People working at the respectable post are not capable of doing their job properly.
2. They are not professional.
3. They are biased and make decision on the basis of nationality, education, religion, or your current status in the company.
4. It may be the nature of a people belong to a particular area (now it seems I am biased now)
My advise to all of you, especially those who are working in a multicultural working environment, that be a good listener, try to find the common things between yourselves, be humble and friendly, read about the cultures and people, etc.
ciao
Hawa Ka Jhonka 