The knowledge and views of public servants on the impact of multiculturalism in verbal and nonverbal communication: A study in the national government departments.
Phetoane, Keabetswe
Phetoane, Keabetswe
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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine public servants’ (employees') knowledge of and their views on the impact of multiculturalism; to determine their knowledge of and insight into verbal and nonverbal communication; and to determine how they view multiculturalism in verbal and nonverbal communication. A descriptive survey research method will be used. A questionnaire consisting of four sections was developed and used as a measuring instrument. The questionnaire that was developed covered the following aspects: • Biographical data • Employees' knowledge of and their views on multiculturalism • Employees' knowledge of and insight into verbal and nonverbal communication • How employees view multiculturalism in verbal and nonverbal communication A random sample of nine national government departments in Pretoria was drawn. A total of 180 questionnaires was distributed to different government departments, aiming at a return rate of at least 70%. This was achieved, which provided the researcher with sufficient responses for a data analysis. To ensure a high degree of reliability and validity, the researcher conducted a pilot study. The department for the pilot study was selected on the basis that its employees were familiar with multicultural practices and therefore deviations could be identified easily. Data was processed by means of a statistics software package. Data analysis was done by means of a personal computer, using the SAS statistics package. The computer-aided statistical analysis looked at the trends found and the concerns of public servants. The data obtained indicated that the majority of the respondents valued the importance of sharing cultural ideas. Only a small number of the total population indicated that they did not share ideas on traditions, beliefs and values of other cultures at all. The latter implies that cultural differences and conflicts were limited. Furthermore, some of the respondents had very interesting suggestions, for example, encouraging employees to wear their traditional attire; publishing articles written about different cultures in an internal publication; and frequently using languages spoken by people in the department.
Description
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree Magister Technologiae: Language practice in the Department of Applied Languages Faculty of social sciences.
Date
2004-12-01
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Tshwane University of Technology
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Keywords
Multiculturalism, Public Servants, Verbal Communication, Nonverbal Communication, Government Departments