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In the video for this week's discussion, Ricardo Fernandez details his experience managing a team of thirty people across ten nationalities remotely. He highlights how his team uses virtual electronic communication tools such as video conference and emails that come with its daily challenges. He explains how context, cultural differences, and inclusivity skills go a long way when communicating across a 100 percent remote environment. When dealing with context as a manager, it is important to embrace the use of "Global English" which is described as a skill used when dealing with non-native English team members to show tolerance of differences in common language by accepting, learning, and allowing it into the work environment (Mateen, 2015). Ricardo gives us an example of why context is important. During a conversation with one of his Indian team members, he used the phrase "killing it" in a contextual way of how we understand this phrase, we would agree that this was considered a form of enthusiasm, and a compliment just as Ricardo did. However, his team member did not take it as such and thought there was an issue when it came down to their work performance. Speaking simply and speaking clearly are two skills managers need to avoid issues like this occurring in the work setting. Though we may think having a "creative" vocabulary is a great approach in communicating, when dealing with a geographically dispersed team , it is more important to use simple words when communicating to avoid confusion (Mateen, 2015). To ensure inclusivity in practiced while communicating in a virtual environment, it is important to develop cultural competence while managing such a diverse team. Cultural differences greatly impact our levels of communication with team members. It is important to learn and adapt to cultural norms of others to show respect, determine if formally written or verbal communication makes a difference, and understand the norms for group interactions based on individual approaches (Mateen, 2015). For relevancy in this, we can refer back to Ricardo's conversation with one of his South African team members who requested to meet with him after a conference call. The phrase "just now" was used by the team member, in which Ricardo assumed that the team member wanted to meet right away, but in actuality this is not the case. To further explain some of the communication norms in South Africa, the team member sent Ricardo a visual on how they define time so that they both understand the cultural differences that could ultimately affect meetings with external clients who may not be privy to this cultural difference.

While workplace engagement is already at a disadvantage in a remote environment, it is important that managers can effectively build and maintain relationships amongst team members. Ricardo gives another great example of being a manager and dealing with this challenge. He had a few team members that were at odds that created tension in the work environment. Seeing this becoming a major issue, he used the technique of self-awareness through distributing a book called The Culture Map to all of his employees. This book explained how cultural differences can impact, but also influence a positive team. In result of this, he seemed to have gotten positive feedback using this approach. Being a part of a group that displays both socio-emotional and inclusive methods in the work domain constitutes as an area of substantial importance (Lauring & Jonasson, 2022). Those methods build feelings and perceptions of team members that are dependent on positive relationships being built and maintained in the work environment. Relationships in a virtual environment also impact how well teams achieve specific goals, as well as how the team members interact with one another realizing that individual needs and expectations are equally important with common tasks and planning (Robak, 2022).

Culture diversity and inclusion has a significant impact on management communication. It is important for managers to understand that with diverse teams, understanding their own biases and comparing relevant experiences and values help shape the lens of the entire organization (SHRM, n.d.). It is important for managers to ensure they have the ability to cultivate trust amongst such a diverse team, overcome the challenges of little to no face-to-face contact, as well flexibility in the type of tools and resources used to align goals and ensure objectives are clarified for all. In the context of managing communication amongst different cultures, ages, and genders, applying effective technological resources that provide the simplicity for all team members would be key here. Managers should ensure that interpersonal and group issues are addressed appropriately so that team members feel they play an integral role in team activities (Purdy, 2020). Interpersonal communication is used to identify special styles of behavior that are influenced by personalities, attitudes, and reaction both verbally and nonverbally. For example, if I had an older team member that did not feel comfortable with using a Teams channel to chat, upload documents, and communicate due to inexperience with the application, I would adjust to their communication norm of using emails, and phone conferences. However, it is also important that this team member get the training and development needed to become comfortable and proficient with using the application.