Cross-cultural study - by Lulu
What is your opinion about culture and cross-cultural interactions? What is your experience living and working in other country that is culturally different to yours?
Today, people are more mobilised as this world becomes more globalised and flatten. When living abroad, individuals are frequently come across cultural conflicts when interacting and communicating with each other. Understanding culture is highlighted as it may constrain the mutual understanding and interpersonal relationships. Studies generally believe that the more culture discrepancies or cultural distance observed by individuals, the more difficult they are to adjust to a new cultural context.
Lacking of understanding of cultural differences, individuals are likely to be overwhelmed by the cultural norms, rituals, and values. Simultaneously, uncertainty occurred when experiencing such unfamiliar norms, as which are predefined by the particular cultural setting. Thus, individuals are confronting greater difficulties in a cultural diverse context. This is because culture is the unconscious "collective programming of the mind" that differentiates individuals by a thinking pattern which determined by a cultural background.
Hofstede et al. (1990) illustrated culture as a multilayered construct with symbols, heroes, and rituals as surface layers, whilst value is the core layer in this construct. Javidan and House (2001) also defined culture as a set of values shared by a community of people, and practices to support these values. Research has shown both surface and core layers of cultural diversity are influential for cross-cultural integration. As an apparent characteristic, surface level cultural novelties are easy to identified, whilst deep level culture, are underlying attributes that cannot be directly inferred, and are generally lacking understanding.
Therefore, in order to understand comprehensively other cultures, values of other cultures are important, as they underlie the outward behaviours of individuals. This is because the inherited values or perceptions determine behaviours such as how individuals communicate, perpetuate, and developing attitudes (Geertz, 1973).
According to Hofstede聮 (1983) Culture Value Dimensions, values differ in behavioural orientations in individual cultures, namely, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individual-collective, masculinity and long-term orientation dimensions. Cross-cultural studies typically highlighted power distance and individual-collective dimensions. Power distance refers to the level of acceptance by a society of the unequal distribution of power (Hofstede, 1983). For instance, Germans and Japanese are located at the each end of the continuum of power distance dimension.
Individualism-collectivism dimension is influential for cross-cultural interactions. Individualism,which is generally associated with Western culture, refers to a loose social framework, the tendency of be independent, and focus on self-achievement (Hofstede, 1983). On the other hand, a collective society such as most of Eastern countries, belief in group decisions and working dependently, and forming a harmonious relationship facilitates higher achievement (Earley, 1989).
As culture is dynamic and differs with respect to values, behaviours and ritual social norms, individuals are less likely to form a mutual understanding without the awareness and sufficient cultural knowledge in a cross-culture context. Therefore, understanding culture is critical in modern world, in order to interact with people from diverse background, which in turn reduces cultural conflicts and difficulties in cross-cultural interactions.
