...RUNNING HEADING: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES University of Phoneix September 23, 2013 Dr. Victoria Anyikwa Culture refers to a set of shared values, beliefs, and norms held by individuals of a group. Culture includes customs, material artifacts, and language that is transmitted from generation to generation. In the United States alone, there are several cultural differences. People do not dress the same, have the same religion, people have different perceptions of the world around them, have different languages, and also have different ways of expressing their personality. Differences between individuals within a culture are much greater than differences within groups. A person's belief, personality, sexual preferences, social standing, education, among other factors affect human behavior and culture. Recognizing and understanding differences in cultural patterns provides a framework for interpreting goals and behaviors of others. The purpose of this paper is to analyze religion and sexual identify/ orientation and point out their significance in understanding cultural differences. Religion Religions throughout the world are distinct in differences and relationship, with some having faith in saints, some in sacrifices and some in multiple gods. Religion is observed throughout the world in unlike traditions in few factors or other and can affect an individual’s behavior in his or her own tradition. According to Santrock (2010), people in numerous traditions will carry...
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...Cultural Differences Introduction Cultural diversity is the norm in today’s workplace. If you work for a large corporation, you most likely deal with people from various backgrounds and countries all day long. It is a difficult enough situation to have such cultural diversity amongst your peers but if you are a manager facing these demographics, you really face the challenge of learning the make-up and background of your team. In order to be an effective leader you will have to use various management styles as every team has different personality types, however, you will also have to be sensitive to and educated on what the cultural differences on your team are and how to tie it all together. Relationship building within your teams and reaching a diverse group with effective communication is a daunting challenge but necessary for success in today’s workforce. Millennials are the most ethnically and racially diverse generation ever in the history of the U.S. One out of three or thirty percent of Millennials is ethnically or racially diverse (Blain, 2008). The workforce is getting more and more diverse requiring effective communication, tolerance of others, and education about cultural differences. This paper will take a closer look at the cultural differences in Hofstede’s Five Dimensions between the United States and India. Cultural Differences in Hofstede’s Five Dimensions The workplace is getting more challenging to manage but Dr. Geert Hofstede and his Five...
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...Cultural Differences Paper Com/360 March 23, 2015 Cultural Differences All of us have been confronted with cultural differences at some point in time. Cultural differences often lead to misunderstandings however this can also have a serious impact on our personal relationships and business relationships. Culture is a strong part of people's lives. It influences their views, their values, their humor, their hopes, their loyalties, and their worries and fears. However, working with people and building relationship helps to have some perspective and understanding of their cultures. The differences among people stems from being in another nationality, ethnicity, and culture, from family background and from individual experiences. In which these differences affect our beliefs, practices, and behavior and also influence our expectations for one another. Cultural differences are important to identity for it provides us with a sense of belonging. A person's culture is often very important to them, because it has been apart of them since birth. Cultures aren't simply the differences between nations, the differences within communities and within your own back yard. Edward Hall When you want to seek to align and gain greater influence with other people of different culture, first you must understand the personal, national or organizational culture. When working across cultures, you must take note to the key factors. Anthropologist, Edward T. Hall’s introduced a theory about...
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...Asian Social Science October, 2008 A Cross-cultural Study of Daily Communication between Chinese and American -- From the Perspective of High Context and Low Context Jianeng Wang Foreign Languages College, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou 310018, China E-mail: jianeng101@163.com Abstract In cross-cultural communication, ignorance of contexts usually leads to misunderstanding and conflicts. Based on Edward. T. Hall’s notion of high-context and low-context, this paper aims to generalize the basic distinctive characteristics of the two contexts by analyzing the actual cases in daily communication between American and Chinese. This paper also tries to conclude some tips for communication crossing the two contexts in accordance with the case analysis. Keywords: High-context, Low-context, Communicatio, Culture 1. About Hall’s high-context and low-context Context is important in all communication, but it is relatively more important in some situations than in others. There are also significant differences across cultures in the ways and the extent to which people communicate through context. One of the main distinctions between cultures has been the notion of high and low context cultures, proposed by the American anthropologies Edward. T. Hall in his 1976 classic, Beyond Culture (Hall, 2000). 1.1 What is high/low-context? Edward T. Hall has described cultural differences in the use of language and context in communication. He calls communication that occurs mostly through...
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...TITLE: Managing cultural differences By Name Course Professor University City/State Date Contents Introduction 3 Discussion of cultural frameworks 3 My cultural background and discussion of my cultural scores 6 Recommendation on cross cultural management 7 Conclusion 8 References list 9 Introduction Cultural practices in different regions of the world are different. In managing a firm in a particular region, a manager should thus understand the effective cultural practices in the region so as to conduct management in an effective manner (Joint, 2013). The cultural practices determine the expectations of the workforce from the manager and the conditions required by the workforce in a firm so as to yield an optimal output. The knowledge on cultural diversity is greatly applicable in the advertising and branding activities of the firm. It enables one to understand the consumer behavior and thus make informed decisions on the strategies to be undertaken (Verhoest et al., 2010). From the concept and impact of the difference in the cultural practices, then it is crucial for all managers to understand the cultural differences in the regions they conduct their management. In an aim to analyze the cultural frameworks, various cultural frameworks have been generated. The most preferred cultural framework for analysis is the Hofstede’s cultural framework (Dong et al., 2010). Discussion of cultural frameworks In this essay, one analyzes the nature and dimensions of the Hofstede’s...
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...MGMT978 Cross Cultural Management Cultural Management Concepts and Theories Spring 2014 – week 3 Dr. Alison Thirlwall alisonthirlwall@uowdubai.ac.ae Learning Agenda • Recap on Hofstede – what did you find? – do you agree? – what kind of issues did you identify? • Who read “The Country of the Blind?” – What did it tell you? • Seven dimensions of cultural difference – Trompenaars • Ethics for interviewers and interviewees – background – form • Have you completed your project proposal and had it approved? • Group work - assessments 1 and 2 Dimensions of difference • Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2004) built on the work of Hofstede, resulting in the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Universalism or Particularism Individualism or Communitarianism Specific or Diffusion Neutral or Affective Achievement or Ascription Inner direction or Outer direction Sequential time or Synchronic time Universalism or Particularism • Universalism – Rules, codes, laws, and generalisations • Particularism – Exceptions, special circumstances, unique relations Think: If you were sitting in the passenger seat when your best friend drove his/her car into a pedestrian, would you tell the truth about the accident to the police? Individualism or Communitarianism • Individualism – Focus on the rights, motivations, rewards, and freedom of individuals • Communitarianism – Focus on the care and advancement of the whole community Specificity or Diffusion • Specificity ...
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...This study aims to analyse the international cross cultures differences and negotiation styles that arises in the Chinese and Australian business dealings. It is crucial being able to be culturally adaptive and reactive in the international business environment, as cultural differences can have an impact on the organisation profitability and reputation therefore by acquiring a well knowledge on these topics, it will allows the organisation to gain a competitive advantage. Australia is known to be 6th largest country and smallest continent in the world, with the approximate populations of 23 million people and the accumulated GDP value of USD$1.4 Trillion in 2014. (“Australia GDP”, 2015) (“Basic facts about Australia”, 2013) The Australian...
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...Researching cross-cultural differences and values Dimension | United States | Philippines | Power Distance | 40 | 94 | Individualism/Collectivism | 91 | 32 | Masculinity/Femininity | 62 | 64 | Uncertainty Avoidance | 46 | 44 | Long-term Orientation | 29 | 19 | Most Interesting Dimension: Long-term orientation How will this affect negotiations? As the United States and the Philippines are relatively close in this score it is likely that there is not as much difference in expectations between the two countries in this regard. Understanding each other’s reasoning and values by way of having many of the same would be strength for both going in. It also is a weakness for both in negotiations if neither party can compromise or gain leverage somehow. * Before – Preparing should be uncomplicated due to the sharing of so many characteristics in this dimension. * During – Both a strength and a weakness if neither has more leverage than the other or is geared towards a mutually beneficial agreement. That is usually present in closer relationships such as friendships or family, not unrelated business people. * After – Possible animosity or resentment if one side feels that they were treated unfairly or manipulated. Strategy to manage this difference: To begin with I would use role reversal. Given the similarities, I would basically be negotiating their side with myself/team to find any pitfalls or weak points prior to the actual meeting. I would also look at...
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...Cross-cultural Differences in Management If you talk about the culture can tell that it is an issue that causes a great impact on society since each person have different ways of seeing and resolve things, values and habits that we have been implemented throughout our lives, depending on the place where we grew up. This may affect our workplace, because today we live in a globalized society. Human beings have different perceptions about the way in which we work on every day in our work. For example, there are countries where they are used to work collaboratively and in others not prefer to do so individually. We can say that culture is dynamic, since this is something that you can go transforming and molding in accordance with time and experiences that live or that we need to experiment. What should be clear is that there are no social classes in the culture, and we should not be discriminated against by this. From this concept born intelligent culture where we see the adaptability of staff with their environment, to overcome obstacles and be able to adapt to the way of working in a company or in another place, we must not forget that we live in a globalized world. The cultural management is a professional activity that is linked to the existence of a project, facilitating the realization of a fact of any nature. A cultural Manager seeks to promote, encourage, design and/or carry out projects, from any field. Cultural management is not more than the efficient and effective...
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...Cultural Differences Amongst Social Interaction Throughout this semester, I have found myself quite interested in the multitude of topics and theories that we have discussed up to this point. From the way a child grows and changes physically, mentally, and socially, to the basic research methods that allow scientists to make these discoveries, the subject of the developing life is simply mesmerizing. There are countless factors, both major and minor, that go into the recipe of who we are as individuals and it is within this mixture of the elements of our being that I find my topic of most appeal: culture. Culture is, at least in my own opinion, what transforms the basic, generic human being into the actual “person”. If the basic functioning process of the body and mind are the core of life, then culture is its framework and it determines who we are and how we interact with the diverse world around us. Culture is properly defined as the set of ideas, behaviors, attitudes, and traditions that exist within large groups of people. Within this definition of culture, and especially in the real world, these fundamentals interact with each other to create endless combinations of cultural influence. For example, a child who grows up in an environment that emphasizes dedication to the family may have a completely different set of beliefs, attitudes, and traditions than a child who grows up in a family that does not consider the strength of family relationships to be most important....
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...Culture, in my own opinion, is a unique system of values and norms that are believed by a group of people who live in the same society. Since culture is unique, Geert Hofstede tried to study the differences. After the study, he proposed five dimensions to measure the cultural difference between nations. The following parts will explain Hofstede Framework briefly. The first dimension is Power Distance. It is a tool to measure the power difference between levels in organization. In a group with high power distance, the majority of people would tend to respect in authority and establish hierarchy. When observing their behavior, they would have a great esteem on the class of social level. By contrary, a society with a low power distance would not fear authority and view themselves as equal with equal rights. Generally, the power distance in Oriental is higher than that in Occidental. The second dimension is Individualism vs. Collectivism. This index measures the preference of a group of people in considering self-benefit or group-benefit. In a society of collectivism, the society would have strong group cohesion and have higher responsibility on others well-being. Besides, the management level would tend to discuss with their subordinates before making a decision. By contrary, people will have loose ties and lack of interpersonal connection when a society prefers individualism. Generally, the Oriental prefer to focus on collectivism; the Occidental prefer to focus on the individualism...
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...Globalization Note Series Pankaj Ghemawat and Sebastian Reiche National Cultural Differences and Multinational Business The eminent Dutch psychologist, management researcher, and culture expert Geert Hofstede, early in his career, interviewed unsuccessfully for an engineering job with an American company. Later, he wrote of typical cross-cultural misunderstandings that crop up when American managers interview Dutch recruits and vice versa: “American applicants, to Dutch eyes, oversell themselves. Their CVs are worded in superlatives…during the interview they try to behave assertively, promising things they are very unlikely to realize…Dutch applicants in American eyes undersell themselves. They write modest and usually short CVs, counting on the interviewer to find out by asking how good they really are…they are very careful not to be seen as braggarts and not to make promises they are not absolutely sure they can fulfill. American interviewers know how to interpret American CVs and interviews and they tend to discount the information provided. Dutch interviewers, accustomed to Dutch applicants, tend to upgrade the information. To an uninitiated American interviewer an uninitiated Dutch applicant comes across as a sucker. To an uninitiated Dutch interviewer an uninitiated American applicant comes across as a braggart.”1 Cultural differences, while difficult to observe and measure, are obviously very important. Failure to appreciate and account for them can lead to embarrassing...
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...MANAGEMENT. THE IMPACT OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT Projects require cooperation amongst team members, who may be from different divisions in the same organisation, different industries or different countries. (Meredith and Mantel, 2012). Where project team members cut across countries and continents. Culture as defined by Meredith and Mantel (p.124) refers to the entire way of life for a group of people which encompasses every aspect of living. Cultural differences have a major impact on project success and requisite project manager competencies. Cultural differences differ between countries and organizations. Cultural differences between countries are usually from their traditional way of life, beliefs, and value systems. Organizational cultural differences are based on corporate identity, and practices. The knowledge of these differences, is an invaluable element for a PM working across multiple international boundaries. The skill sets required by a Project Manager (PM) continue to change with the rapidly evolving nature of today’s business environment. Kernzner (2006, p.156) posits that globalization which has expanded the frontier of the PM to include projects outside their home countries and cultures, and even into diverse continents has necessitated the transformation from purely technical managers to business managers. Rodrigruez and Sbagria (2011, p.42) state that low ethno-centrism, cultural intelligence, global mind-set, cultural flexibility, prior experience...
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...Cultural Differences between the United States and Japan Dena Lassley Saint Leo University There are many differences between the cultures of the United States and Japan. Some of these include religion, the food they eat, the clothes they wear and the way they view their people. According to Ivancevich and Konopaske, Hofstede believes that cultural differences are not changing, but work related norms and values may be. He also feels that those cultural views continue to have strong influences on the way organizations practice business. The differences between Japan and the United States as seen through Hofstede’s model can be seen in the chart below. As seen in this chart, Japan and the United States are only close in one of the six dimensions, Power Distance, Both countries are less likely to push for the symbols of authority and power in comparison to a culture with a higher power distance. They are also more likely to allow employees to give input into important decisions that have an impact on business practice. In the second dimension, individualism, Japan and the United States are very different. In the United States, emphasis is placed on the accomplishments and goals of the individual. In Japan, it is the achievements of the group that they find more important. In the sixth dimension, the United States also scored much higher than Japan. The United States is showing to be a more indulgent culture. They are more likely to have less control over their impulses...
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...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...
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