Cultural Issues
“Cultures provide people with ways of thinking – ways of seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world” (www.colorado.edu, 2005, para. 1). Everyone seeing, hearing, and interpreting information differently can cause numerous cultural issues that can be problematic, or even detrimental to an organizations ability to be successful on a global level. Within this work an examination of four different videos will be completed, the objective is to identify five cultural issues in the videos and select a framework that could be used to analyze and understand the cultural issues. In the four videos the issues that arise are behavioral constraints, emotional constraints, communication restraints. Sociology constraints, and psychological constraints so lets take a closer look at how the factors of the frameworks would apply to the issues seen in the videos.
Acquisition
Mcguire, (2007), speaks of the demanding and complicated force of business acquisitions and how some cultures take off and run with the opportunity and other cultures become complacent because they are not proactive in seizing the opportunity. Being that Mr. Mcquire is the CEO of the company this roundabout answer to the business approach is very difficult for a low context culture to follow and understand, which could play a role in why Tweeter became complacent in certain areas. The cultural issue present was identified using the sociology framework of activity orientation, which according to Ahlstrom and Bruton, (2010) “refers to how proactive individuals are in society” (p. 45). This cultural issue presents itself clearest when, Mcquire, (2007), explains chains purchased that bought into the culture and thrived and other cultures never buying into the c...
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...ues select frameworks were used to analyzed and understand the cultural issues more clearly.
References
Ahlstrom, D., & Bruton, G.D. (2010). International management: strategy and culture in the
emerging world. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning
Lui, S. (2007, November 23). Chinese Business Etiquette Instructional Video [video file].
Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XHioryoMes
Manian, R. (2009, May). Global Adjustments Cross Cultural Training [Video File]. Retrieved
from www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ1XLwgKDjQ
McGuire, J. (2007, December 16). Resolving Culture Conflicts in Corporate Acquisitions [Video
File]. Retrieved from www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO4VpcO2ERU&feature=related
www.colorado.edu. (2005). Cultural barriers to effective communication. Retrieved from
www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/problem/cultrbar.htm
Geert Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 2001
In the article The Clash of Cultures, William Cronon and Richard White delve into “the interrelations between people and their environment,” (11) specifically, between the American Indians and the Europeans and the Americas. The reason Cronon and White wrote this article was, “In part, a result of our current concern with pollution and the exhaustion of valuable natural resources, but it has also proved to be a valuable way of learning more about how people of past generations and different cultures dealt with nature and with one another.” (11)
America is defined as one country, culturally that statement is false, but geologically it is true. Some situations can involve us all, yet there is a mass amount of days where it is individual. But the structure is still there. All laws should pertain to each citizen. The article, The Bill of Rights, can prove these statements with ease. On the other hand, though, America is also fluctuating. Views never really stay the same, and the articles, Andrew Jackson’s Speech to Congress on “Indian Removal” and “Cultural Common Ground Gets Harder To Come By” can prove this. These articles both show a contrast between the views of American citizens. Finally, the whole daily life of an American can be vastly different depending on whose shoes you step into. Articles like, “What Is An American”, “Cultural Common Ground Gets Harder to Come By”, and a speech by Franklin
“Death to God, all hail reason!”, cries out the secular world, fervent for nothing but themselves. The new age of skepticism has come, ushered in by God-hating men and dictators bound to satan; and its zealots follow in the footsteps of the rest of the world. They lay down cheerfully in valleys of dry bones and their banner stands, waving through air that is choked by the smoke that rises from their fathers burning in Hell, its motto, “Love and Tolerance.” Words bought by the blood of anyone who dissented. This is the fruit of the religion of Atheism.
Cultures are infinitely complex. Culture, as Spradley (1979) defines it, is "the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experiences and generate social behavior" (p. 5). Spradley's emphasizes that culture involves the use of knowledge. While some aspects of culture can be neatly arranged into categories and quantified with numbers and statistics, much of culture is encoded in schema, or ways of thinking (Levinson & Ember, 1996, p. 418). In order to accurately understand a culture, one must apply the correct schema and make inferences which parallel those made my natives. Spradley suggests that culture is not merely a cognitive map of beliefs and behaviors that can be objectively charted; rather, it is a set of map-making skills through which cultural behaviors, customs, language, and artifacts must be plotted (p. 7). This definition of culture offers insight into ...
This forces cultures to influence each other. The. Therefore, problems must become worldly rather than then isolated the issues. This means the new vision must encompass worldly ideals into a mesh pot with old ideals. I will explore many isolated cultural views throughout the paper, which blend with new worldly views.
To conclude, cultures are a major part of our lives and they constitute the image we see the world in. cultures can sometimes influence us, even in ways we don’t expect. Sometimes we find ourselves forced in cultures with negative stereotypes but that does not mean we should be ashamed of those cultural groups but rather embrace our culture and stray from the negative characteristics of that
Culture has a big impact on how we all fit in as individuals in today’s society, and since this assignment is about that I decided to include some of my own experiences to illustrate my point of view and compare it with those of my classmates and some of the readings.
When one encounters a culture that has little in common with own, one may experience culture shock. This is a sense of confusion, anxiety, stress and loss one may experience. One of the barriers in effective intercultural communication is ethnocentrism. It stems from a conviction that one’s own cultural traditions and assumptions are superior to those of others. It leads to a tendency to look the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture. It is one of the fastest ways to create a barrier that inhibits, rather than enhances communication (Jandt, 2012).
Miller, K. (2012). Cultural Approaches. In Organizational communication: Approaches and processes (6.th ed., p. 81 to 93). Boston, Mass: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Italian culture has a rich history that includes art, classic architecture, music, popular traditions and customs. Many people who visit Italy are somewhat surprised by the diversity of the dialects, cuisines, architecture, and craftsmanship.
Cultural sensitivity occurs when people recognize and are aware that each country or various ethnic groups of people have their own set of experiences, beliefs, values, and language that affect their perceptions toward life. Addressing Cultural sensitivity permits people to comprehend that there are differences between cultures. Furthermore, having awareness in the differences between cultures permits a culturally competent person to communicate effectively with others that are outside of one’s realm. Some of the differences of Cultural sensitivity can be discovered while traveling outside of the country, such as through Cross-cultural sensitivity experiences. Likewise, a culture has its own norms and beliefs to how one should dress; how one should greet others, such as by referring to a significant individual by his or her first name or surname (comprehending which name should be stated first in foreign names); and/or what foods are permitted to eat or forbidden to eat or understanding what may offend a person (e.g. not accepting a home cooked meal). There are norms, taboos, cultural cues, and cultural etiquette standards that are significant to learning about one’s culture before exploring another country or while working with people who are from your country but who are part of another racial group. It takes time and patience to build a high level of Cultural sensitivity. Educating oneself with a culture’s psychology and its norms is significant toward achieving an increasing awareness toward Cultural sensitivity.
Learning is the most essential part of communication it shows that you can process multiple ideas at once and not judge but seek to understand where another person’s ideas are coming from as well. People have their own reasons and narratives that shape what they believe to be their goods and why they protect these goods. Each person’s goods are representative of their culture. Culture is a collection of ones history learned styles, patterns, and perceptions that continu...
unknown. (n.d.). The relationship between Culture and Communication. Retrieved November 20, 2010, from jrank.org: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6491/culture-and-communication.html
The word 'culture' is often described in terms of concrete ideas or social artifacts. Gary R. Weaver describes some common conceptions such as "good taste," "art or music," or "something that people in exotic foreign lands had."1 However, culture in the context of international assignments relates to how people perceive the world and the influence this perception has on their actions. It is culture on the interpersonal level. Different cultures can perceive the same thing differently, which leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding when one crosses into another culture not their own.