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Essential questions on cultural diversity
Why is cultural diversity important essay
Why is cultural diversity important essay
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Whether you belong to a certain race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, geographical region or you identify with a certain sex you belong to a particular culture. Culture as define by Shiraev and Levy (2013), “Is a set of attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared by a large group of people and usually communicated from one generation to the next” (p. ). In other words, we are a product of what has been handed down to us from the generations before. However, culture is evolving and it changes all the time. Hence the reason, no one group has a unique culture, since we are all influenced by each other’s way of life. As a result of this influence, we form relationships with people we know little about and share our values and beliefs with each other. Thereby creating a cross-cultural mix.
In this cross-cultural mix, there will be cultural difficulties encountered by different members in these groups. For example, a young lady from Nigeria found it a little difficult to acculturate in Grenada because of the communication barrier that exist. She found it very difficult to gather information from her lecturers because of the manner in which they speak and pronounce their words.
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In the Grenadian culture, everyone is greeted the same way however, in the Nigerian culture their greetings are very symbolic. Because in the Nigerian culture, one’s age and social status demands respect. Whenever you meet an elderly man or woman, you must greet them in a particular way; you extend your hands to them and bow your heads. Also, you must take time to ask about their health and well-being. Because, rushing a greeting is considered as being rude. Unlike the Grenadian culture, there is no set way in which we should greet anyone, furthermore, greeting people is a matter of choice. One can choose to greet or not to greet anyone, either way it can be considered as being
An individual's identity is reflected through the uniqueness of their character, which is portrayed through distinct qualities such as habits, aspirations, or values. These factors are unique to each person, yet the most influential aspect towards one's identity is most arguably their cultural background. Culture is most commonly defined as the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social or ethnic group. Therefore, culture is a powerfully impressionable factor behind character formation; it imposes customs which ultimately manifest through a person's defining sense of identity. This clear link between culture and identity suggests that a cultural collision, or a conflict tied directly to one's culture, will ultimately affect one's sense of self.
Humans who live in different places that have different geographical conditions create culture, and people in different geographical conditions have different lifestyle, different demand, and different daily activities. Humans’ basic requirement of life was fulfilled with the development of human societies, then the new demand and problems occurred. As time went on, human started to analyze orthodox things, and that was the “prototype” of culture. Cultures in the current human’s society have many disparities due to their unique living environment, but people cannot make the judgment of different cultures. The existence of culture led the developing of human’s society; any country in the world cannot survive without its traditional culture. People should work on the interchange and communication on diverse cultures, but not look down on some other cultures.
Culture defines people’s values, beliefs, and personal interests. Culture is important because it allows people to maintain a unique identity society. Many cultures have common interests, while others may have customs that differ greatly from that of another. Technology has had a huge impact on present day cultures. Many culture have been altered including my own, and some have been created due to the rise of technology. Cultures differ so greatly that someone belonging to one culture may not agree with the values of another, which then causes social and ethical issues. My culture shares many similarities with others around the world; most of which have connected more people in recent years than ever before. Cultural gaps, and lack of understanding for peoples’ values and beliefs are significant reasons why cultures fail to understand one another.
The term “culture” first originated in the 18th century to signify a way of living, and in the mid-19th century, scientists referred to it as a wide span of living space. Culture has come a long way, with many different meanings and ideas. The basic concept of culture is the basis of all human behaviors, traditions, customs, and actions, which were inherited through sharing and learned through generation. In his essay “Culture is Ordinary”, Raymond Williams states that, “Culture is ordinary: that is the first fact. Every human society has its own shape, its own purposes, and its own meanings. Every human society expresses these, in institutions, and in arts and learning…” In many social sciences, culture is defined differently. For instance, according to Kottak and Kozaitis, Anthropologists began to refer to culture as the main aspects of human traditions, beliefs, and symbols that control behavior (Page 9).
We live in a society that is surrounded with people from all over the world. This culturally diverse environment creates a melting pot; a place where different peoples, styles, and theories are mixed together and coexist despite their cultural differences. This cultural diffusion can be seen in countries around the world. The book describes culture as a set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions held by a specific group of people. Wild (2014). There are numerous cultures with different views on the smallest of details fluctuating from the way you greet to the way you eat. Each culture has their unique characteristic that sets them apart from the next. Cultures have their various techniques to express their attitudes, respect, and communication
According to Geert Hofstede, culture is "a collective programmer of minds that differentiates human being from one group of people to the other." Culture is a shared system of understanding interrelationship, shaped by the members, experience with history and despite the fact that individuals are rarely clairvoyant of their own culture, yet it
Culture is an important part of society. It is a learned pattern of behavior, and influences the ways in which a person lives his or her life. Culture is essential because it binds people together. In the obvious sense of the term “culture” creates the music, food, art and even the texts of a society. However these are only the products of a culture which are followed by a society and cannot be defined as culture itself.
Culture can be showed through values, rituals, heroes and symbols; thought grouping and categorising people and the word around us we make up our mind of what is good or bad and right or wrong. Although, human come from different backgrounds and “if you only try to understand humans in individual basis you will not understand the person or its reasons … you cannot judge the behaviour of a different culture with your own values” (Tchelebi 2013).
As an adolescent and throughout our early young adult years we are continuously learning different cultures, whether it is from family, friends or in even social media. The culture you have learned from over the years will assist in shaping you into the adult you want to be. Culture is sometimes employed as a means for social exclusion. Cultures consists of world views, practices, beliefs, tastes, and behaviors shared by social groups such as ethnic groups, racial groups, age groups, interest groups, or groups based on taste preferences or religious identities (Warikoo, N. 2012). Furthermore, diversity can play a major role in a child or adults life, being diverse allows one to see both sides of the spectrum instead of being fixed on one side.
First and foremost, culture is a complex whole which includes habit, language, festival, food, values and beliefs etc. The diversity of culture in our world is caused by many factors including the various geographical environment, historical succession, religions, and even political system. It is part of our life in all aspects and during the whole life time. No matter where you go and who you are, you are living under the shadow of culture. As Albert Camus, who was a French philosopher said: without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why authentic creation is a gift to the future. (Kartha, D 2016). We can clearly to know the culture it is really important for us. Referring to
Culture is all socially transmitted behaviour, languages, beliefs, norms and traditions. It gives people their way of seeing the world and interpreting life. Culture refers to the different subgroups amongst society, ethnic background, residence, religion, or other factors unify the group, this however creates cultural barriers. Culture diversity makes communication difficult, as the mind-sets of people of different cultures are so divergent. Countries that command cultural influence are often synonymous with food, fashion, tradition and social norms, but there are measures being taken to prevent cultural communication barriers such as the development of multi-cultural and multi-ethnic
This definition of culture as a shared system of meaning, also contains within it, the notion of fluidity and change. With its mix of ethnic groups and different levels of acculturation, it is essential to remember that individuals in the United States may draw on several cultural models to respond to a given set of circumstances. Many of us have “cultures” rather than “a culture.” They shape us to be the people we are today.
First and foremost, Culture is something that we believe and something hold and perceive based on the person's attitude and the way they think. According to the Hofstede’s theory, culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others (Rajh, 2015). Thus, basically, there are 7 layers of culture, such as Global Culture, National Culture, Organization Culture, Group Culture, Individual, Cultural Self-representation, Top down, and Bottom Up. And the culture itself is often alluded to the unpredictable aggregation of learning, old stories, dialect, rules, ceremonies, propensities, ways of life, convictions, and traditions that connection and give a general character to a gathering of individuals. Communication in the Globalized World based on the researcher Analysis is basically a term that represents learning the different culture and understand about to whom you are talking to. It could be differing in many aspects in life, such as
Culture is one of the many words we use today that has an infinite amount of meaning depending on who is using it. Here I will list four different viewpoints of culture based on the reviews of sociology, education, political, and anthropology. According to the article, Culture and Society Defined (2016), states that culture “Consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society”. In other terms, it means to be knowledgeable in one’s arts and fashion whether it is standards of low or high culture (2016). Rather the definition of culture
In explaining the above question one must first acknowledge that research and understanding regarding ‘Culture’ as “a complex whole of life system which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, lore, custom, and any other capacities and habits acquired by man or woman as a member of society”. (Eagleton, 2013). In other words, culture is a way of life shared by any group of people or peoples’. Culture encompasses all that human beings have and do to produce and relate to each other and adapt to the physical environment, it is therefore holistic and interconnected.