Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Chapter 2 Understanding Culture and the Workplace
There is a good chance that you will be involved with a multinational corporation in the near future, if you already haven't. It is important to be able to communicate with people of a different culture in business and in everyday society. The book has multiple definitions of culture the one I liked the best was "a system of learned beliefs and values that influences attitudes and actions." Culture can be categorized in different groups such as: race, ethnicity, nationality and religion, it can also be broken down into subcultures. Every ones culture is "normal" to them. It is important to think outside the box and take the time to look at other cultures, it is easier to communicate with other cultures when you understand them. There are two different kinds of businesses global and local. It is important to remember the difference; globalization works across borders, where as localization reflects the local culture. There are culture differences all around the world. These distinctions characterize all nations. One of the most visible aspects of a national culture is language. English is the first or second language in five continents, but often not the first language of a country. For this reason people must acknowledge and understand this to be respectful to their cultures. English is not the same in each country and/or culture. The same word may have a different definition or multiple meanings. A culture with similar characteristics is a discourse community, many times people belong to several discourse communities. Often times they belong to the same group or organization, which usually leads to a common use of language. Proxemics is the physical difference from people, which varies depending on the type of space it is between the people. The space can be as little 18 inches with intimate space, but can be as much as 12 feet with public space. There are two types of time, monochronic people are inflexible and tangible, whereas polychronic are flexible and fluent. Because work time varies from cultures conflicts can occur. This is one situation that you should be prompt and patient in order to avoid any conflict. Organizational culture is a key tool to be aware of in order to have relationships with businesses around the world. Personal factors move people into subcultures that could affect people professionally. Being knowledgeable with the above characteristics of communication will increase your awareness when interacting with other cultures. It is essential to observe, listen, show respect, and have interest when in a unfamiliar setting. Before entering a new culture it will be beneficial to understand the culture's customs, language, hierarchy, and who you will be working with. If you approach a situation safe, smart, and welcome new experiences it will increase your level of success. Remember to remain patient, be flexible, and engage in conversation.
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This chapter seems very similar to my speech class that I took last semester. We learned much about the differences in cultures, as well as the difference between intimate to public space. I very much agree with the statement about understanding the cultures traditions, customs and language. You must make a professional impact on that culture, so it is very important to show them that you are educated in what they believe in and how they speak. I also agree with the fact that you should be able to communicate with others of different culture. In my high-school we had to take at-least 2 years of a different language. I took Spanish, so when I visited Mexico for a school trip, I could communicate and understand what was going on around me.
I thought that the summary was very well written, with plenty of examples which related it to our everyday lives. This made it easier to think of a situation where I have come across the information mentioned in this chapter. I took a class on marketing and saw that video that showed the top misguided ads. In the video they played ads from American companies that played in other countries and had a part of the slogan lost in translation. For example, a vacuum company wanted to express that their vacuum picked up dirt well, and how it came out was “Our vacuums suck the most”. There were a few other funny ones, but it just shows that you have to be very careful, because what something means in our culture could be different in another. This becomes extremely important with the amount of globalization that is going on in the world today.
In a country with multiple races and ethnicities it is important to understand various cultures. Different cultures have different norms and values. There are taboos out there that could be uncomfortable if you violate one of them. For example it would be inappropriate to show someone from the middle east the bottom of your feet. You wouldn't want to have your feet hiked up on something when someone who might take it as offensive walks by. In a country without a national language it is also important to understand different languages. English is spoken as a first or second language in only 49% of the world's population (p. 53) Other ethnicities are not as individualistic as your average American. They are very family oriented, again more so than the average American family. Understanding other cultures has become so important that Universities are starting to require a cultural diversity class to graduate. MSU-Mankato is one of them.
I agree that it is very important that people understand other cultures even if they do not necessarily agree with a certain culture. One class I thought was very useful in high school was a world cultures class I took. The class taught the students each of the major cultures in the world. I think if more people were required to take classes such as these, a lot of prejudice and ignorance could be erased. I know that I personally had many prejudices against other cultures until I took the time to actually learn about them. It is important for cultures to learn about each other. A really good way for cultures to learn about each other is through the use of technology. One reason why technology is such a good tool is that it can bring people from very far away, close to one another. Technology also gives us endless amounts of information. These two tools that technology provides can effectively and efficiently bring cultures together, which can move the world as we know it, one step in the right direction.
This chapter touches on a topic that will continue to grow exponentially as our world grows. With the use of technology intercultural communication has become an everyday occurrence. Cultures will continue to come together to find solutions for problems. In any industry I believe that intercultural communication is a very useful tool. Culture is in all of our lives, we will have to understand and accept it. We do not have to believe in the culture, but need to accept it to be able to live and work in peace with other people. In any job we get culture will be a boundary we will have to conquer.
You would think that with all of the emphasis these days placed on diversity and acceptance of other cultures, people would already know everything in this chapter. However, that just is not the case. The part of this blog that I believe to be most relevant is when they stated that, “It is essential to observe, listen, show respect and have interest when in an unfamiliar setting.” I think that too often, people of different cultures who are forced to work together become very frustrated with one another. Communication, of any kind, is a basic principle to not only success in business but in life as well. It is important to remember that the frustration is felt on both sides, not just your’s, so in order to break down the barriers, both parties must observe, listen and show respect.
I also had a speech class that talked alot about similar things that are mentioned in this chapter. There can be a great deal of descrepency and error with mis-communcations between cultures. Many people tend to assume similarities by thinking that ever culture is like there own. Some people are ethnocentric, where the automatically assume that there own culture is superior to all others. And of course, there is stereotyping, when people assume that everyone from one culture is exactly the same. People tend to forget about there simulatites with other people even with people in different cultures. We must remember to be open minded and understanding. Im not saying cultural differances should be ignored but they should be respected. I was in Espanol (spanish) for four years and have also been to Mexico. What I have learned was not only the language but that how people act non-verbally is also different. And how a people of different cultures act in professional settings is also very different but all was are very aceptably and should be treated as such.
I think the discussion about multicultural perspectives in teh workplace is especially interesting. It is so neat that there are so many different races, culture and religions in our country, but we have to sometimes take a step back and realize that other people see things from different backgrounds and approach situations differently. We also have to realize that just becuase different people may do their jobs differently in the workplace doesn't mean that one way is better than the others. Different perspectives mean that there can be more ideas about how to accomplish things. From my experience in the past, some people treated me differently at my job just because I looked different and it made me feel like an outcast. People need to get to know and understand their co- workers when they are working together because we all have some basic cultural ties in common. If we recognize and respect our cultural differences, that respect for each other can actually become another cultural tie that lets us live and work together better.
. I thought this summary was thought provoking and easy to follow throughout the chapter. I think its imperative to be able to communicate with individuals with different ethnic backgrounds. While working in an industry, I find it important to be able to communicate with people from various cultures. As a society we are constantly growing. We need to be able to compromise and find common interest with different cultures. If we are able to do this, we will form a strong industry. This summary touched an important topic on respect. I also believe that you must show respect and understand the culture’s customs. By showing respect and learning from one another, you will work more productively.
Culture is a very important aspect in people’s lives; especially, during these times when it is okay to express your beliefs. With so many cultures diverging and coming to America it is extremely important to be respectful and understanding of each others differences. Also understanding and respecting people in the workforce is important. Not only do the women go through getting a pass at them during work hours but so do men. I do understand how people are feeling overwhelmed when put in a situation with a different culture you have never seen none the less interacted before. Major culture shot, college was my experience but you get to know the people and realize you have more in common than different.
Culture always plays a large part in any business field. I remember hearing about what Gerber did years ago when they decided to bring their product overseas. I’m not sure on the country, but when people went into the grocery store and saw Gerber’s product, they were horrified. Not only was Gerber not making any sales, but people actually began hating the company. It turns out that this particular country was accustomed to putting a picture of what was inside the jar on the label. Obviously, nobody wanted to have baby for dinner. Now if Gerber had learned about this culture prior, they may have saved themselves some embarrassment.
The world today is one that is run by a global economy. This global economy involves many people of different cultures that are then forced to work with one another. This presents many problems because different cultures have different biases and constraints. People have to overcome these differences and to try to work together in an open environment. These differences go as far as to include even Proxemics, which is the study of peoples personal space. Everybody has an invisible bubble around them in which they feel comfortable about people inside that space. This space varies between cultures and even between genders. By acknowledging our differences as people we can better understand how to work with one another and respect the differences in people.
The ability to communicate in a business environment can be difficult at times. The presence of multiple cultures can make communication even more challenging. Today, almost every business employs people of different cultures, races, and religion. Also, many businesses work with businesses from other countries. In order to communicate effectively in this diverse environment you must have an understanding your co-workers culture and be respectful. I’ve experienced this firsthand many times during my work experience. Whether it is a co-worker or a customer, dealing with people from different cultures has been a challenge. But, it can’t be considered a barrier to communication.
This chapter explained how the groups we are in are all intertwined with each other. A group can be as simple as a the language you speak. The language we speak connects us to other people by our race, where we are from, and the things we are interested in. For example I speak the English language and I partake in traditional American traditions such as Christmas and so on, as do many other people who speak the English language. However there are several people who do speak the English language and don't do things how America is known to do so. This could be because they have a different background or have recently moved here from some where around the world. So thinking about it in that perspective, groups do all correlate, but a lot of times in different and more complex ways than we would think.
I think that chapter two is very important, especially in the business world you want to avoid insulting people or looking bad when you are dealing with another culture. The summary for this chapter was written very well and helped me think of a good example that I was told in my history class in High School. Well everyone knows President Nixon and his famous hand jesters of holding up peace signs( hold up only the index and middle fingers) well he decided to do this in Australia. Which in there culture the peace sign is like the middle finger in our country. This is why knowing other cultures is very important.
I work for an average sized home building company. I am either the assisant job sup, or assistant project manager, I kind of work under both of them. There is a mexican siding crew that alot of times do not have a person with the crew that can speak any english. There is also a mexican crew that do the foundations and poured walls. Alot of times there isn't any body with them that is able to communicate in english to the company. Nobody in my office can speak any kind of spnaish except for me, so I have to try to communicate with the mexican crews. It also isn't easy for me, because I am not fluent, I mainly know vocab and some more, but it ends up working out in the end.
I think that this summary is good. I live in a town of 8000 and even though it is not a large town there is a good range of cultures and languages. In order to better communicate people need to know about the other cultures. I think more importantly people of other cultures need to learn and understand about the area they are living or working in. As business evolves everyone will need to understand other cultures because of business expanding across countries. Without knowing other cultures it is impossible to market a product to that culture.
I agree that you before you enter a culture that you know very little facts or background about, that it would be wise for you to learn and understand the culture’s customs, practices, language, hierarchy and who you would be working with are all good points from the chapter. The better you take in to consideration of adjusting your approach to the different culture would benefit your success and knowledge of the world. The first this that you don’t want to do is offend someone culture. A person who hasn’t been exposed much too different culture will encounter a situation where they are going to communicate with someone from a different culture in their career fields.
Communication has now become the most important topic for this era. People from all around the world are indulging to work together and mutually resulting in globalization and cultural disperse. So every individual now should be considerate about all different kind of languages, cultures and ethnicity. I really like the idea posted in the summary about trying to learn and understand people from different orientation and background. For me all these discussions and views about the melting pot are very familiar. I have been in a situation where I had to learn about others and I also had conditions in workplaces where people have tried to learn and understand me. And doing this has always done a benefit.
This chapter was really useful for me on how to read a lot more efficiently and effectively. Usually when I’m reading to learn it will take a long time for me to finish reading a paragraph and have it process clearly in to my mind. I would have to read the document over again repeatedly until finally understanding it. Also the time I’ve spent on it was too long. I love it when there is an abstract available to help me understand the full documents a lot better. Knowing the objective, methodology, results, and conclusion of an abstract would save me a lot of time for me to easily go through the skimming and scanning process. Also my knowledge of the document would be increased a lot more.
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