Ethnocentrism–The case of the “Iron Chief”
Ethnocentrism is a sociological term used to describe human behaviours in different cultural and social settings. Global scholars have defined the concept ethnocentrism as the act of judging other people’s culture by the standards and values of one popular cultural practice (John, 2008). The effect of ethnocentrism is mostly experienced by employees in modern multinational corporations especially those that have adopted cultural diversity (Salter, 2002). The knowledge on the affects of ethnocentrism on individual, societies, and multinational corporations are therefore critical in understanding behaviours and activities in modern complicated society.
The Japanese television show, the “Iron Chief” presents a good example of the impacts of the application of ethnocentrism in the modern society. The show presents a case in which judges from different cultural backgrounds were in a state of perplexity in making a judgement in a competition between two chefs. The judges were expected to make a ruling on who between the two chefs won the competition. In this show, there were four judges, two Japanese judges and two French judges. The two Japanese judges gave the French chef low marks while the French judges gave the chef high scores. There was confusion in trying to arrive at a consensus on who between the two chefs deserved the crown. According to Japanese judges, the food that was cooked by French chef was of low quality and did not meet the standards of human consumption. On the other hand, the French judges claimed that the French chef food was one of the most effectively prepared foods in the competition.
Based on the show under study, it is clear that different people have diverse perception of the quality of food and other consumable substances (Hammond and Axelrod, 2006). Therefore, the core rationale that explains why people are ethnocentric is because, human beings from different cultural backgrounds have diverse experiences and perceptions on their reality. Individual experiences play a critical role in organising life experiences and the meaning attached to daily occurrences and activities. However, the main challenge with ethnocentrism is that human beings views daily unfolding in the context of their life experiences and beliefs but not on the context of other people understandings.
Studies have so far confirmed that different societies have diverse ways of explaining daily happenings and activities. In the cases under study, the Japanese and French cultures have different description on quality and acceptable food. As a result, an aspect presumed by one culture to be of high quality may not be viewed vital in another culture. Ethnocentrism is especially experienced when an individual move from one cultural background to another for occupational purposes.
The role and impact of ethnocentrism is relevant in multinational corporations when there emerges differences in social interactions and engagements (Ankerl, 2000). In most instances, there is continuous interaction confusion among professionals from different cultures in multinational corporations. To avert cultural and social confusion, organization leaders need to come up with an acceptable mechanism of engagement. It is apparent that no cultural belief or practice is superior over others in multinational corporations (Reynolds, Falger, & Vine, 1987). Organisational culture is therefore critical in enhancing harmonious interaction in modern multinational corporations.
In the cases under study, the mystification experienced between the judges on who is supposed to be the winner in the context was due to the existences of cultural differences. Different judges held diverse suggestions and beliefs on the nature of the quality food. This means that to prosper in modern society, knowledge on the requirements and practices of different cultures is vital.
References
Ankerl, G. (2000). Coexisting Contemporary Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western. Geneva: INU PRESS
Hammond, R., and Axelrod, R. (2006). The Evolution of Ethnocentrism. Journal of Conflict Resolution 50 (6): 926–936
John T. O. (2008). Thinking like an Anthropologist: A practical introduction to Cultural Anthropology. New York, NY:Mc Graw Hill
Reynolds, V. Falger, V., & Vine, I. (Eds.) (1987). The Sociobiology of Ethnocentrism. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press
Salter, F. K. (2002). Risky Transactions. Trust, Kinship, and Ethnicity. New York, NY: Berghahn
