There are various opinions about the ways globalization influences the society and individuals. The reality is that the globalization results in changing scale and scope of individual, social and business operations. The different ways, in which people and social groups in the globalized world develop their relationships outline the diversity from cultural, racial, business and other perspectives. While one can argue that the impact of globalization on the cultural landscape is destructive, others will find globalization extremely beneficial for the enhancement of cultural literacy and diversity-awareness. The development of technology, business diversification and the growth of international mobility among individuals result in significant changes in the ways people perceive and see the culture. It is not a secret that the impact, which globalization has on the social, political and business landscapes is not possible to be seen from a unique perspective. Indeed, while in some aspects globalization is a positive occurrence, in others; it can bring significant damage to the society.
The fact is that when thinking about the globalization, it is critical to see it in more broad terms and look for the ways it influences the culture from a multifaceted perspective. Globalization can and should be always seen through the manner in which it impacts the development of the new culture, the influence of the internationalization on the existing cultures and the proliferation of the pop culture in the communities. In addition to this attempt to catalogue the influences of the globalization on the culture, one should be able to understand and differentiate the extent to which these influences are positive or negative. The prominent question which surrounds the relationships of globalization and culture, however, is whether globalization increases or reduces the cultural diversity. The fact is that the influence of one culture on another today is significantly more relevant than it was some decades ago and international mobility and cultural mix are the two critical constructs of this process (Wild and Wild, 2012). Many people blame western culture for promoting and, even introducing, smoking, alcohol consumption, dislocation and dissatisfaction with personal identity in other cultures and increased risk behavior. Others, at the same time, argue that the increase in intercultural communication and exchange of experiences can positively influence the process of communication, increase tolerance and understanding between individuals from different cultures and even nations. With that in mind, the concept of seemliness and individuality, created by the globalization is the question of personal reading and experience. While for some individuals the experience of increased cultural exposure can become extremely positive from personal and professional development standpoint, for others, such process can build on serious issues of the loss of cultural identity (Cuccioletta, 2002). Similarly, the relationships between the nations are often influenced by globalization, as well as local culture, and this process of interaction can cause the development as well as strong cultural conflict and clash of interest. We could evidence this controversy in the development of the US influence on the global political and economic arena back in 1960s, the dominance of Chinese culture in the Japan cultural arena back in the 19th century and many other examples in the history, which outline the nature of relationships between the nations and states. Hofstede (2001) argues that the cultural dimensions, which should be seen as the attribute of the national identity, are critical for building on the relationships in the globalized world. The differences in masculinity, power distance and other elements outline the degree of success with which nations can build business and social relationships.
Thomson (2006) notes that in the rise of fundamentalism the concept of sameness can become the key for the functioning of the international system. The author argues that the globalization is the result of the loss of ideological certainties, which are replaced with a desire to conceptualize and standardize. What is the main argument in favor of the statement that the globalization dilutes cultural identity and negatively influences the individuality? The gap between rich and poor is, certainly, an important argument. The fact is that international business and relationships in general are constraint by the national characteristics. Once international mobility comes to play, such concepts as globality and modernity, become relevant. There is a certain need, developed by groups and individuals, to standardize and conceptualize their cultures, in order to become more understood (Tomlinson, 1999). This result in deterioration of the national culture and local community concept, as the individual seeks to differentiate and isolate themselves from the closed identity of their unique culture. As such Western vision have penetrated any states and the influence of this pop culture and modernized society built on the cultural issues in Asian, African and other societies, influenced by the West (Albrow, Eade, Washbournem, 1994). When we talk about the American popular culture, one can see the ways in which this occurrence has impacted the other nations. This influence is seen in music, food, general habits, sports and other elements of our daily lives. Japan, Indonesia and China, the cultures with one of the most differentiated approaches to cuisine and strong identity experience McDonald´s boom and listen to American singers. The reality is that such influence of Western and American culture specifically, without a shadow of the doubt, erases the identity of the local culture and makes younger generations’ willingly more international “fit-for-all” individuals.
On the positive side, culture is a complex set of relationships, which are not permanent and rather static, where players in the local communities and international arena influence their cultural setting as much as the culture influences their individuality. Some may see culture as history, tradition and authenticity of one or another social group. Others, at the same time, can believe that culture is somewhat similar to the comfort zone and one can belong to various cultural groups. Depending on the standpoint, which we take describing and viewing culture, we can find different answers with regards to the positive influence of globalization. The reality is that the globalization is the key for international development. These phenomena brought into the picture such elements as international mobility, widening of educational boundaries and economic and cultural exchange. That said, globalization is responsible for cultural enrichment of individuals, businesses and even nations. One of the bright examples of the globalization influence on culture is the business setting, where marketing, Human Resource Management and finance functions have evolved and transformed to meet the reality of the contemporary extremely diverse business environment. Another example of the positive influence of globalization on the cultural setting is the development of the language capabilities in individuals. As such, over 30% of the global population today speaks two or more languages, while this figure twenty years ago did not reach even 12% (Cowen, 2002). It is important to note that globalization as a whole allowed for spread of cultural knowledge, products, customs and other elements, which make individuals more culturally aware and provide nations and countries with access to goods and services, which they did not have before.
International businesses have to be established and develop in very diverse and complex environment. This diversity is not only determined by the business factors, but also influenced by social, economic and cultural setting in which the business operates. Cultural awareness, therefore, is the key for the successful and sustainable business development. We have previously touched upon the cultural dimensions, outlined by Hofstede (2001). Indeed, religion, beliefs and practices in local cultures differ significantly, depending on the country and even social group. Cultures vary in various ways. Some of the most common characteristics include power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity of the society, and individualism as opposed to collectivism, achievement as opposed to nurturing and long-term orientation. These dimensions allow classifying the nations in groups and clusters, based on their cultural particularities, religious beliefs and other elements, influencing behavior in social and business setting. While there is a certain critique to Hofstede´s approach to analyzing cultural dimension, it demonstrates that the importance of cultural awareness and diversity consciousness for the businesses. Another interesting study, which should be mentioned when it comes to understanding of the importance of cultural and diversity awareness in business, is a research, conducted by Trompenaars. In some way, the author seconds Hofstede and outlines very similar dimensions. On the other hand, Trompenaars suggests that neutralism and emotional elements and environment play a paramount role in the development of the intercultural relationships. The fact is that in both studies, the authors demonstrate and prove with their empirical studies that such elements as beliefs and religion have tremendous influence on the ways people perceive business and social relationships. Consequently, understanding of the cultural backgrounds becomes essential for professionals, especially in contemporary diverse business environment.
QII: Cultural Literacy
- When we talk about culture and differences in individuals cultural backgrounds, a lot definitions and visions come to play. With that in mind, before moving to the discussion on the cultural literacy, it is critical to give a definition of culture, which will accompany this essay. According to Terstra and Davis (1985), “Culture is a learned, shared compelling, interrelated set of symbols whose meanings provide a set of orientations for members of a society. These orientations, taken together, provide solutions to problems that all societies must solve if they are to remain viable.” (Terpstra and David, 1985). Cultural literacy, therefore, is the ability to comprehend the cultural differences across and within nations and understand the ways in which business can and should be practiced in a particular place. With the above in mind, companies, which aim at building international presence, should always look for the internal expertise and knowledge, which can help them correctly identify the location for the operation and build this operation in a chosen setting. The fact is that all the business activities come at a certain cost and cultural awareness is a way to reduce the cost to a minimum. Moreover, it is often not enough to bring forward only cultural awareness as cultural competence is critical for the development of sustainable business.
- Organizations in the contemporary business environment should build on their in-house cultural competence to be able to attend to increasingly complex business environment. As such, cultural competence involves four major elements. First of all, an individual involved in business development through cultural perspective should have very clear self-awareness and understanding of his own worldview. Secondly, culturally-competent individuals are the ones that are able not only to recognize, but also manage and deal with diversity. Thirdly, cultural competence looks at the ability to recognize different cultural practices and worldviews. Finally, theoretical base is critical for professionals, building on cross-cultural business operations, but practical cross-cultural skills are essential for communication and interaction process with people across cultures (Wild and Wild, 2012).
- When it comes to the understanding of the culture, one should recognize that there are several layers of culture, which can be attributed to an individual or a nation. Very often culture is compared with iceberg, like what is seen on the surface is only a small portion of a much larger whole. Similarly to the way we see iceberg, people see culture as a set of observable characteristics. The reality, however, is that the dance, music, religion and other visible elements are not even nearly all the cultural components and, rather, the external manifestation of deeper whole. The reality shows that simple interaction and communication process will be able to demonstrate the surface level of culture, but will fail to see the depth of this cultural whole. Similar to the underwater part of the iceberg, cultural core values are kept deep inside the “water” and are not visible to a stranger. These values include the ideas, learned un subconscious level by individuals about what is good, bad, acceptable, desirable and what are the elements that outline their notion of “rightness” and appropriateness in cognitive and emotional behavior. It is important to mention that in many situations this level of values can be shared by very different national and cultural backgrounds, as the general concepts, such as respect or honesty have very similar reading in many cultures. On the other side, the cultural literacy is as complex as it is because the existence of the concepts, mentioned above, does not necessarily mean that these cultures, which accept the notions actually represents and demonstrates identical or even similar reading of the same. The fact is that honesty and respect in China are as important as they are in Germany with the major difference that they are interpreted and treated differently on national and individual levels. These differences in values are explained by various factors, which in the majority of cases depend not only on the specific situation and experience in life, but rather explained by specific attitudes and viewpoints, developed from childhood and based on social and family values (Wild and Wild, 2012). The values that individuals have can only be observed by individuals and learned by them from the acts we perform, reactions we demonstrate to specific situations, words we use or similar human behavioral or emotional elements, which can outline the differences in behaviors and emotional response in the situations, which can be evaluated by the general concept, such as ethics, honesty, respect and the others. Finally, when it comes to the discussion about the underwater layers of culture, one of the most important characteristics of the core values is the fact that they do not easily change and evolve with time, like superficial attitudes, which individuals can demonstrate on a daily basis. The point that should be made, when we compare culture to iceberg is that the core values, hidden elements of inner-self of each individuals are the constructs of our personality, which are passed through generations and taught to us through various social institutions, which we include in our comfort zones. With the above in mind, the knowledge which can be received about the core values of individuals is always experiential, in contrary of the “above water” elements of culture, seen and possible to interpret by people with a minimum cultural literacy (Bucher, 2010).
- While core values constitute the deepest level of culture and are the most difficult to learn about and analyze, there is another important cultural levels, which lies below the surface level. Some academics and professionals identify up to four cultural levels, which include, beyond core values, norms, rituals, heroes and symbols. The reality is that each of this levels demands differentiated approach to the analysis of individual behaviors and emotional responses and, often, outlines the depths and strengths of cultural literacy, which one or another individual demonstrate, One of the interesting approaches to “iceberg-shaped” vision of culture was demonstrated by Armstrong (2006), which seconds other researches and outlines three levels of culture, artifacts, visible to everyone, espoused values, such as strategic behaviors, philosophies and core values, such as taken for granted beliefs and perceptions, which build on the core of our identity. While artifacts remain on the surface, espoused values are the elements, which demark the sensitive line between cultural awareness and cultural literacy.
- An analysis of cultural literacy and awareness in a business context is in many ways similar to the an insight into the social environment, where the success and effectiveness of interpersonal communication depend on the ability of the parties to build on effective communication process and strategy. It is not a secret that this process is always complicated by the differences between personalities and individual views on the issue. The reality is that the process of interpersonal communication is already difficult by itself and it is even more complex, when diversity and cultural differences come to play. Similar to the way we build our relationships in all sorts of the social environment in childhood and adulthood, we are subject to the same process of communication in the business environment. Outlined and restricted by the general concepts, which were outlined above, business environment, at the same time, demands that individuals are able to manage the diversity and find ways to take out cultural differences from the way to open and effective communication process. With that in mind, cultural literacy plays a tremendous role in the development of the business. As it was previously mentioned, in the contemporary business environment, where individuals become more internationally mobile and organizations grow their international presence and ambitions, knowledge of diversity and the experience in cross-cultural communication and working in diverse groups becomes one of the major assets, which the companies look for and try to develop from within the core in their human capital (Cuccioletta, 2002). Moreover, more and more organizations realize the important contribution, which religion plays in development of business relationships, especially, when it comes to the cultures, where this cultural element is still strong in the business environment.
- What role does religion play in understanding the culture? To answer this question, it is important to give a definition to religion and outline the place of religion in the concept of culture as a whole. One way of looking at religion is as a set of beliefs and rituals, which help people explain powers and forces, as well as elements of the daily lives, which are seen as supernatural (Hofstede, 2001). Other view on religion is that it comprises system of thoughts, feelings and actions, which provide a group of individuals with an object of devotion and allows building on a set of tools to judge and evaluate behaviors and outline the consequences of these actions in the society (Wild and wild, 2012). Wild and Wild (2012) argue that culture is static and it may change, influenced by various external factors., The fact is that the elements of culture, which can fall in this “static” category are those, that are closer to the surface, according to the “iceberg” model. Core values, such as beliefs and religion will always remain unchanged as these values are passed through generations and learned by individuals from their “idols”. Religion is an element of culture, which is shared by the majority of the social group members and is something that shapes behaviors and worldviews on national and large group levels. As it was mentioned before in the discussion on the actual definition of religion, this cultural element supplies social groups with tools of guiding and evaluating behaviors. With that religion is able to bring specific and strict rules in our daily lives. As such, religion brings symbols and rules to the culture and influences it in social as well as business aspects. Days of the week, months, time and many other aspects, which human population around the world uses to measure and build their activities are obliged with its existence to religion. Moreover, religion in many cases dictates the relationships and the communication rules between individuals. In India, as an example, business is guided by such social phenomena as casts, in Islamic world, religion still outlines and strictly guides working hours and even explain the business rituals, which are, in fact are linked to religion, such as financial management.
- Understanding religion is critical to gain better knowledge and the first insight into the culture of the individuals, you are dealing with. Dagher (2011) notes, that, in financial services segment, as an example, it is critical to talk to the clients about religion, as it helps to shed light on their attitude and money management practices. When dealing with the clients from Asia or Arabic countries, it is important to outline the “spiritual values”, when dealing with financial element of the business as it is one of the ways to build on the long-term orientation and uncertainty avoidance. Another example of the contribution that religion can make to understanding the culture is seen through doing business with Chinese partners, where the celebration of the New Year and other holidays, based on the religious beliefs affects the business in a dramatic way. Knowing the traditions and beliefs of other cultures can help not only in planning the business relationships, but also understanding the underlying differences in behaviors. While the above are just small examples of the ways religion contributes towards cultural literacy, there are many situations, where knowledge religion can save the business.
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