2. The manager in this factory brought in a cultural expert to improve understanding of the Hispanic employees and enhance communication. Do you think this effort was more likely to improve communication or just reinforce prejudices? Why?

Lori Madden, a teacher of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American culture, uses her cultural knowledge to help employers bridge language and cultural barriers with Spanish-speaking employees. One of her business clients was a cookie producer where about one-third of the line workers were Hispanic, mostly of Mexican origin. A union was attempting to organize the workers, and the company wanted to present its side of the decision more effectively.
Looking at the longer term, the company also saw the union-organizing effort as a sign that it needed to ensure that workers were satisfied.
The manager who hired Madden as a consultant took her on a tour of the factory. During that time, a Spanish-speaking janitor approached Madden and asked her to translate a question: When would he get a raise? The manager could only remind the janitor of the company’s wage structure and policies for granting raises, but the janitor already knew the policies.
As she translated the exchange, Madden realized that something else was going on. The janitor was concerned about his family role. His wife also worked for the same company, but as an office worker, she earned more than he did. According to the janitor’s cultural view of family roles, it was an embarrassment that he earned less than she did.
In this kind of situation, restating company policy would never lead to worker satisfaction. The manager could not expect to change his employee’s entire understanding of proper family roles. Nor could he violate company policy to make the employee happy.
However, he could identify this janitor as an employee who would be highly motivated to work overtime or gain the skills that would qualify him for higher-paying positions at the factory.
This problem came as a surprise to the manager.
Although he was able to bridge the language barrier with the janitor through an interpreter, the Hispanic employees generally did not speak up to air complaints or to put forward their opinions.
They had a culturally based understanding that such behavior would be disrespectful. Madden’s presence on the factory floor provided an opportunity for the janitor to raise the issue indirectly, as a question. Her cultural awareness gave her the insight that something lay behind the question, and she was able to probe for a greater understanding.