B-Comm summary for C. 12, Culture: Inside & Out

Our class is composed up of people from several cultures around the world. A culture is “A communally produced and shared model of reality that communicates how people are expected to behave, think, and feel.” Our cultures characterize how we live and view the world as members of a society. “Culturally acceptable behaviors” are learned from the people around us, who are closest to us. We learn our cultures through socialization, which is learning from human interaction. When people work with or do business with individuals from other cultures they sometimes forget that not everyone communicates in the same style or gives value to the same things. In some cultures of Asia and the Middle East people prefer using an indirect style of communication. A direct style can be considered disrespectful, and pushy. However, in North America and some European countries people use a direct style of communication. When a professional does not use a direct style of communication in these countries it can be misinterpreted as being dishonest and indecisive. Multinational business is very prevalent in today’s world. Business professionals do spend some time communicating with businesspeople from other countries. You will most likely need to adjust your communication style and learn appropriate behavior in order to communicate effectively with people from other cultures. It is very important to communicate in a way that is clear and appropriate when it comes to speaking and writing. When conducting business with an individual from another country it is a good idea to read up on their culture and learn some basic words and phrases in their language. However it would be helpful to hire an interpreter also. English is the most commonly used language in international business. Most international business professionals know how to read and write at least some English. When communicating in writing make sure you address the person with as much respect as possible and write conservatively. Don’t use ambiguous language but do use concrete language. Diversity involves people from many backgrounds and perspectives. Worker diversity includes, race, ethnicity, age, economic level, gender, sexual orientation, and physical disability. It is important to have mutual respect and consideration for people and their differences, both inside and outside of the work place. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture is superior to others. Attitudes such as this sabotage productive working relationships. A corporate culture is the way the organization operates, how it is structured, how members are expected to behave, and what the organization believes is important. Co-cultures like organizations, are smaller groups that exist within the larger culture and have their own values, beliefs, and codes for behavior. A deep culture is the organization’s identity or personality of what it believes, perceives, and considers important. Values represent a set of shared principles defining what is important to members of an organization. Beliefs are feelings or opinions about what is right and true. A perspective is a particular way of thinking about the world. I highly enjoy the fact that I have my own perspective of the world. I see the world for myself and I don’t let anyone else see it for me. Companies also have a vision, a set of norms, heroes and organizational lore, which are stories and legends that travel through the organization on the grapevine. Whether it is the culture of the work place or the culture we live in society that we speak of, culture is something that has to be learned. We are not born with our cultures imbedded into our memories. We learn “culturally accepted behavior” from the people we are closest to. Every time you are set to do business with an individual from a new culture, it is a wise idea to read up on their culture. For a business professional learning about different cultures should be a career life long process.