Premium Essay

Cultural Differences In American Culture Essay

Submitted By
Words 664
Pages 3
Since 2008, American Forces have suffered a drastic increase in the number of insider (Green on Blue) attacks in the Afghanistan Area of Responsibility (AOR). Although the Taliban typically claims responsibility for these attacks, an estimated 90% are due to cultural differences.1 As America increases its role in advisement, the need for a complete cultural understanding is essential to ensure the survival of our troops. Using aspects of the Afghan culture as an example, we can see how the most basic awareness, if taught prior or during deployment, could potentially prevent the needless loss of life.

The Pashtun code of conduct is based off of eight guiding principles: Seyali (competition), Ezzat (honor), Gundi (rivalry), Qawm (tribe), …show more content…
Honor is viewed as one aspect of Afghan life that if disrespected, may be regained through the use of any means necessary. In American military culture, constructive criticism is often sought after. The American military believes that this criticism develops better professionals who learn from identified mistakes. When advising the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), it is important to consider their beliefs regarding honor and respect preceding conveyance of corrective action so that is will be well received and …show more content…
Historically, Afghans do not seek compromise when their honor is questioned or family has been shamed; violence against the offender is the culturally accepted response. In Knowing this, a mentor, when making corrective action, should do so with positive reinforcement allowing the subject of the corrective action to save face in front of his men. Therefore, he would not feel dishonored or shamed and would not be required to defend his honor. Understanding these aspects prior to a deployment and partnership will give American forces the ability to develop an approach to mentorship and

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Topic for Conversation

...Differences In Conversation Between Vietnamese And Americans Cultural Studies Essay Conversation is a dialogue using all the possibilities mentioned. The purpose is to reach highest degree of communication, understanding, and, where necessary agreement. Disputes may occur, but they have only the purpose of classification. The leading purpose must be mutual understanding and, in some cases, the attempt to reach agreements if possible and to create pragmatics solutions for conflicts in case of disagreement. (Anindita Niyogi Balslev, cross – cultural conversation, pp 166 - 167). As we know, conversation is communication between two or more people. It is a social skill that is not difficult for most individuals. Conversations are the ideal form of communication in some respects, since they allow people with different views on a topic to learn from each other. A speech, on the other hand, is an oral presentation by one person directed at a group. For a successful conversation, the partners must achieve a workable balance of contributions. Find out more from UK Essays here: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/cultural-studies/differences-in-conversation-between-vietnamese-and-americans-cultural-studies-essay.php#ixzz3LvVR2EAQ The subject matter of a dialogue has influence on its formal structure. There are some fields in which disputation and argument will be an essential part of the argument, and in which procedures for compromising are most lawgiving binding all partners involved. (Anindita...

Words: 1566 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Communication in an Assumptive World

...exiling each other based on numerous cultural differences and classifications. For millennia, millions of humans lived and died seeing and interacting with only those geographically nearby. Mankind was, as a whole, a species organized by relatively low-population “tribes,” each with their own language, culture and societal mores. Clashes between societies based on cultural differences became evident as nations stretched further in the pursuit of conquest, with far-traveling conquerors arriving on the shores of the “savage” natives, and the misunderstandings that disrupted native life in the interest of the expansion of more “civilized” establishments. Planned or not, connected people living in the world today are going to have to face the issues Dean Barlund and Amy Tan chronicled due to the world-wide nature of the internet and the inherent differences of the connected cultures. Dean Barnlund explains in his essay the assumptive world in which we live today. He foretold the cultural difficulties that he saw to be an issue in communication; globally and locally. He described the presumptive perceptions humans have toward each other. Each culture is subject to their own way of living. He explains, “It is the differences in meaning, far more than mere differences in vocabulary, that isolate cultures, and that cause them to regard each other as strange or even barbaric (Barnlund, 7).” Barnlund explains that ones own perception of another culture is skewed by his or her own non-linguistic...

Words: 1605 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Cultural Differences

...4 Cross Cultural Issues in Business" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Japan There are many advantages in a company seeking to expand into the Japanese Market, it is one of the world’s large economies.   There are also cross cultural issues in an American Company marketing to Japanese Society.   A company can very easily “make it” or “break it” if not sensitive to the culture and etiquette in their marketing strategies.   The Japanese Culture is ancient and full of traditions that make up why someone of this descent may act or carry themselves in a certain way.   This would also affect the decisions an individual makes regarding product selection.   A commercial that is attractive to an American housewife may not be attractive to a Japanese housewife.   A few of the differences in American and Japanese culture are importance of hierarchy, group harmony, using certain numbers   in advertising and language barriers. Cross Cultural Issues Hierarchy is highly respected in Japan personally and professionally, yet in America hierarchy exists but is not held to as high of standards or tradition.   This is so engrained in the Japanese Culture that children even refer to their senior and junior classmates with specific names.   Personally this hierarchy is based on age, the eldest would be seated at a place of honor at the dinner table and be the first person to start eating.   The significance placed on hierarchy can cause issues...

Words: 689 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

How Cultural Differences Influence Negotiations and Negotiating Behaviour

...not just about nationalities, it is also about cultures. Cultures influence negotiation styles, values and communications. Image a situation where a Japanese supermarket manager negotiating with an American salmon supplier with their own negotiation styles: the Japanese negotiator want to extent the length of negotiation in order to seek the best result of the deal, but the American negotiator treats time as money and he/she wants to quickly reach the agreement (Evans & Richardson, 2010). This essay will firstly discuss the definitions of culture and negotiation, and then it will discuss cultural influence on negotiation and its behaviour; finally it will suggest possible strategies in addressing difficulties caused by cultural differences. This essay will argue that cultural impacts increase the difficulties of cross-culture negotiation, but negotiators can successfully manage the difficulties by increasing their knowledge of different cultures and continuously practise relevant strategies. Culture Culture is a term that can be explained in many different ways. According to Alon and Brett (2007), culture is a process of socialisation that people learn a shared pattern of behaviour and affective understandings. These patterns distinguish one group of people from another. Carrell, Shank and Barbero (2009) also state that culture is not physical elements but the perceptions that members consider them. People from the same culture usually perceive the tangible and intangible...

Words: 1872 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Negotiation: Theory and Practice

...PRACTICE RESEARCH ESSAY Q2: According to Fells (2012, p.207) “As a negotiation unfolds, it is easy to attribute any behaviour, particularly behaviour that is different to your own, to culture and so ignore the many similarities”. Consider this statement with reference to contemporary research on cross-cultural negotiation and use examples to illustrate your analysis Introduction: Former President and charismatic leader of the United States John F. Kennedy once stated that, “We cannot negotiate with people who say what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable” (Kennedy, 1961). This timeless quotation epitomizes and typifies in essence what can commonly be regarded as cooperative negotiation. Formally, the term negotiation is commonly defined as two or more parties or groups deliberating amongst each other endeavoring to achieve a decisive result, which is mutually beneficial for both entities. When considering the process of negotiation across contrasting geographic locations or countries, negotiators have to understand the repercussions which heterogeneous cultures have in the final outcome of a potential deliberation. Culture is defined as the ‘unwritten rules of society’ (Hofstede et al, 2010) and most typically refers to those characteristics or values, which are unconsciously embedded in a large group of citizens through the ongoing processes of tradition and various forms of education. Understanding the pertinence of cultural differences and the significance...

Words: 2536 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Cultural Differences

...Cultural Differences Christina Bacon Psych/535 March 16, 2015 Cindy Ojeda Cultural Differences There are different cultures that come into people’s lives and into the United States every day. Different cultures is what makes the world an interesting place to live, whether it be a person’s gender identity or their cultural identity, people tend to judge others on their gender and their cultural identity. This essay will discuss the multicultural concepts on both gender identity and cultural identity and will talk about understanding the cultural differences. Gender identity Dictionary.com (2015) defines gender identity as an inner sense of a person and whether or not they are male or female. This identity usually happens during early childhood and as a result of how the child’s parents raise them and the social influences that happen during puberty by the changes in hormones. When children reach their teen years they start to feel differently about themselves, teens ask themselves if they were actually supposed to be female instead of male and vice versa, and when others hear about it then that is where the differences come from. In the transgender culture they are accepted because other teens and young adults like them have gone through the same things, but in other cultures they are looked down on. In our culture we are called transgender or homosexual or heterosexual, etc. but in the world of the Native American they are called two-spirits. According to Jacobs...

Words: 1382 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Cultural Diversity

...grew up? In the essay “They’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”, Susan Brady Konig shares her experience about Cultural Diversity Month at her daughter, Sarah’s, preschool. During Cultural Diversity Month, Miss Laura is teaching the little preschoolers about the differences in each one of their cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The kids are being taught where their family came from, what race the kids are, and how it makes them all unique or different. Little preschoolers should probably have some type of knowledge of their background but not at two or three years old. One would agree with Susan Brady Konig that the idea of teaching multiculturalism in schools can cause cultural divides in this country. If it were to be taught in school, it should be taught later in life when students are able to comprehend and process the differences between ethnic cultures. Kids should be taught the alphabet and how to count instead of learning the color of their skin. They should grow up and learn the American culture before learning about their ancestral heritage. If a child wants to know where they came from or what their culture is, let their parents explain to them why their skin is that color and why their hair is that color and texture. Why force race, religion, or cultures on a child who can barely spell what country their ancestors are from? Pushing these thoughts and ideas on preschoolers can divide the classroom because little kids will only see the physical difference between each other...

Words: 918 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Location of Culture

...The Location of Culture, by Homi K. Bhabha; 285 pp. New York: Routledge, 1994, $49.95. This book assembles several of Homi Bhabha's most significant essays, allowing for an examination of his contribution to contemporary literary theory. As a self-described postcolonial critic, often compared with Edward Said or Gayatri Spivak, Bhabha is perhaps most well-known for his theory of cultural hybridity, which he develops in "Signs Taken For Wonders" and several other essays included in this collection. Bhabha argues that hybridity results from various forms of colonization, which lead to cultural collisions and interchanges. In the attempt to assert colonial power in order to create anglicized subjects, "[t]he trace of what is disavowed is not repressed but repeated as something different--a mutation, a hybrid" (p. 111). This hybrid trace contradicts both the attempt to fix and control indigenous cultures and the illusion of cultural isolation or purity. His project thus adapts poststructuralist challenges to stable or fixed identities, attempting to "rename" postmodernism from a postcolonial perspective (p. 175), and allowing sustained attention to the ways in which race, gender, community, and nationality converge. One of his major contributions to theories of cultural production and identity is that he examines these various intersections closely, and avoids simply listing them or elevating one aspect of his analysis over others. Eight of the twelve chapters in this volume have...

Words: 1233 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Paper

...2015 Culture Constitutes Live As social animals, human beings find their values and senses of existence in association with others. Therefore, the process of interaction between human beings and their surrounding formed culture. Furthermore, the shaped culture for a long time makes up for people’ s cognizes and tradition. It means, different regions and countries shape different cultures that constitute normal behavior of human beings. Today, as a "melting pot", the world turns into a multicultural society. With the development of society and technology, people have more opportunity to meet others all over the world. While such kind of impact, limited by various factors such as the era, region, cultural cognition, presents various forms and differences. Ethan Watters, the author of “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan” who addresses a story of an American pharmaceutical company finds out that their product is not popular in Japan. The reason is the Japanese have a different conception of depression with the American. In order to open the Japanese market, the American company attempts to convince the Japanese to change their cultural perceptions of depressions and accepts a new language to describe depression. Due to the diverse background, personal experiences and cultural assumptions, people have the discrepancy to the same thing. Shared common assumptions impact the everyday lives of people in constitutes normal cultural cognition; however, different cultural models...

Words: 1270 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Stereotypes In 'An Indian Father's Plea' By Robert Lake

...religion, etc. How can stereotypes be made? Our own cultures reflect how we think, how we act, and how we look. Now, if we see another person who looks different, acts different, and thinks different, we are automatically making assumptions, opinions… and stereotypes. Since we know that everyone has their own unique culture, it is obvious that some cultures may conflict more with certain cultures than they do with others. Depending on the aspects of culture you express and follow, you could create a negative or positive...

Words: 1219 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Emily Rose

...Essay #1 - What are the four fields of anthropology and how do they relate to each other and to history, sociology, political science, philosophy and psychology. The four fields are: Physical Anthropology, Archaeology, Linguistic Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology or Ethnology. Anthropology is the study of humankind which can entail uniqueness, racial division, physical characteristics, geographical division and social relations of his or her environment. Anthropologist tries to discover if there are structural similarities and all four subfields bridge the gap between the knowledge and the human race. Physical anthropology is the human adaptation or alteration comes from this research for example genetics and forensics. Archaeologists seek and examine artifacts whether it is trash, historic or prehistoric. Linguistic anthropology is how language is used and acquired in a social network of humans historically from caveman’s to modern language today. Cultural anthropology or ethnology is the study of progressive culture throughout the world. Political Science relates to anthropology is tremendous as modern research is racial divide, customs and habits of man which has helped us the real background and development of the primitive man or woman. The behavior of man is biased by his racial origin and surroundings in which he or she resides. Sociology is the study of human culture or societal relations which relates to our four subfields of anthropology as sociology is part of...

Words: 2765 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

"Polite but Thirsty" Summarize

...In the essay "Polite but Thirsty," Yaping Tang describes her experience as well as the Chinese students's experience when they first arrive in The United States. The purpose of her writing this essay is to give the ESL teachers who work with Chinese students a comprehensive and more judicious look about the differences between Chinese and American cultures. She explains cultural adjustment process and culture shock in terms of five different customs between the Chinese and American cultures: name - calling, directness, giving and receiving compliments, giving gifts, and tipping. The most effective supporting detail is her description about the directness of Americans. To support her idea she gives many supporting details. For examples, to point out the differences in the ways Chinese and Americans respond when they are offered something, she tells her own story which was happened when she went to visit her advisor two days after she arrived in America. That story shows that people from eastern cultures usually esteem the so - called politeness which is never showed in Americans. "Americans are very direct. When they want something they say "yes" and when they don't they say "no"" (Polite but Thirsty 5). One thing I do not like about the essay is the author's work on the tipping part. I think it't not clear enough and she should have given more supporting details or examples to help the readers understanding that part easier. Everyday there are newcomers from everywhere...

Words: 331 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Usso Harlem Renaissance Final Paper

..."negro/black American" culture and it was centered here in Harlem of New York City. It was a culture movement that began around 1920s. Before it was called the Harlem renaissance it was known as the "New Negro Movement", that was named after the anthology edited by Alain Locke in 1925. The Harlem Renaissance grew out of the changes that had taken place in the black community since the abolition of slavery, and which had been accelerated as a consequence of the First World War. It can also be seen as specifically African-American response to an expression of the great social and cultural change taking place in America in the early 20th century under the influence of industrialization and the emergence of a new mass culture. This movement impacted urban centers throughout the United States. Across the cultural spectrum (literature, drama, music, art, dance) and also in social thought (sociology, philosophy), artists and intellectuals found new ways to explore the historical experiences of black America and the contemporary experiences of black life in the urban North. Challenging white superiority and racism, African-American artists and intellectuals rejected merely imitating the styles of Europeans and white Americans and instead celebrated black dignity and creativity. Asserting their freedom to express themselves on their own terms as artists, they explored their identities as black Americans, celebrating the black culture that had emerged out of slavery and their cultural ties to...

Words: 1744 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

English Essay

...Essay summary: Suki Kim’s “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits” Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits is an insightful essay published in New York by the author Suki Kim. In this essay, she shares various challenges that she had to overcome in order to adapt to a new life of poverty and cultural diversity in New York after leaving behind her affluent and luxurious life in South Korea. This article discusses the author’s point of view as 13-year-old Korean immigrant who moved to United States out of desperation and financial tragedy rather than in search of a better life. The author’s main idea in this essay is to convey the message that the foundation of divided immigrant groups, cultural differences and generation gap are so deeply rooted even in the United States that it is impossible to eradicate them from the mindset of people. The author emphasizes on the fact that her wealthy and sheltered background in Korea created confusion. Thus, making it difficult for her to identify with people’s perception of her race in America “One new fact that took more time to absorb was that I was now Asian, a term that I had heard mentioned only in social studies class”, stated author Suki Kim in her article. She continued, “In Korea, yellow was the color of the forsythia that bloomed every spring along the fence that separated our estate from the houses down the hill. I certainly never thought of my skin as being the same shade.” The author struggled to accept the fact that...

Words: 804 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Cultural Studies

...Cultural Syncretism and its Impact Joanna Abele, Cassandra Drapeau, Amanda Lawson, Brandon Nelson, and Crystal Wooten American Intercontinental University – Online March 3, 2013 Abstract In gaining an understanding of how early civilizations lived, we can see what impact they have had as they migrated to the New World. By examining what they left behind we can also see the impact they have had on many diverse cultures and societies today. Cultural Syncretism and its Impact Introduction Cultural syncretism occurs when two opposite cultures mix and blend their cultural beliefs, whether they be political or religious, to produce or to start a new culture or religion. Historically, syncretism has been seen as an attempt to reconcile disparities between various cultures. Africa and the Americas both had help with other factors like weapons, religion, and technological advancements. When it came to cultural beliefs, China and India’s values were very different. They would operate from outside of the traditional beliefs, which made them much more resistant to syncretism. Compare and contrast the legacies of cultural syncretism in Africa and the Americas with the resistance to cultural change Westerners encountered in China and India. When different aspects of cultural philosophies or religions blend together and disparities are compromised, cultural syncretism occurs. According to the 1830 American census 2.3 million people were of African descent and there was only...

Words: 1106 - Pages: 5