Europe's perspective
According to prof. Geert Hofstede Europe's best cultural researchers study a different culture having at the core of the object of research a common trait according to the reseracher's country of origin.
- Latin Europe: power
- Central Europe, including Germany: truth
- Eastern Europe: efficiency
- Northern Europe: change
Individual vs society approach
A scientific paper (Segall, Dasen, Berry and Poorting (1990)) argues that when it is abou cultural research the steps should be the following:
- Begin research in your own country
- Transport it to the other country
- Discover the other culture
- Compare the two cultures
- If the cultures overlap, the the comparison is possible and then the result is a derived etic.
The conclusion: When you go abroad, be aware of the characteristics of your own culture. (If you need a start point in what to take into consideration check prof. Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions). Futher on you will need strong objectivity skills to make the difference between the individual's features and the whole society's traits.
In order to understand the individual you need to take into consideration three pyramidal 'constants':
- Culture: the cultural background and the upbringing will affect a individual's opinions and decision.
- Company: considerate the organizational and professional culture of a foreign colleague. You will understand better where the gap is and what do you need to do in order to cover it.
- Character: each individual has his own values, motives and moods.
This one is a joke in Romanian. For the potential Latin language readers, try and see if your language is simillar to Romanian:) ;)
For the ones who know Romanian enjoy:
Stimate om alb ! Eu, cand am venit pe lume, eram negru. Am crescut mare si sunt tot negru. Ma duc la plaja si raman negru. Cand mi-e frig, sunt tot negru. Cand ceva ma infurie, raman negru. Cand sunt bolnav, fata mi-e neagra. Cand voi muri, pielea-mi va fi neagra. In timp ce tu, omule alb… Cand ai venit pe lume erai roz, Ai crescut si ai devenit alb, Te duci la plaja si devii maro, Cand ti-e frig, te nvinetesti, Cand te nfurii te nrosesti la fata, Cand te nbolnavesti, pielea ti-e galbena, Cand vei muri pielea-ti va deveni cenusie…. … si, dupa toate acestea, mai ai si tupeul sa ma numesti “OM DE CULOARE
It's all about understanding.
Well actually theory says that the core of cultural disenssion are the values.
This blog is meant to be a collection of theories about culture, graphs, useful links, cultural based jokes.
