Trees Our Best Friend Essay Example

members of one group or category of people from another.  The position that the ideas, meanings, beliefs and values people learn as members of society determines human nature.

People are what they learn. Optimistic version of cultural determinism place no limits on the abilities of human beings to do or to be whatever they want. Some anthropologists suggest that there is no universal "right way" of being human. "Right way" is almost always "our way"; that "our way" in one society almost never corresponds to "our way" in any other society.

Proper attitude of an informed human being could only be that of tolerance.  The optimistic version of this theory postulates that human nature being infinitely malleable, human being can choose the ways of life they prefer.  The pessimistic version maintains that people are what they are conditioned to be; this is something over which they have no control.Human beings are passive creatures and do whatever their culture tells them to do. This explanation leads to behaviorism that locates the causes of human behavior in a realm that is totally beyond human control. Different cultural groups think, feel, and act differently.

There is no scientific standards for considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to another. Studying differences in culture among groups and societies presupposes a position of cultural relativism. It does not imply normalcy for oneself, nor for one's society.It, however, calls for judgment when dealing with groups or societies different from one's own.

Information about the nature of cultural differences between societies, their roots, and their consequences should precede judgment and action. Negotiation is more likely to succeed when the parties concerned understand the reasons for

the differences in viewpoints. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to that of other cultures. It is a form of reductionism that reduces the "other way" of life to a distorted version of one's own. This is particularly important in case of global dealings when a company or an individual is imbued with the idea that methods, materials, or ideas that worked in the home country will also work abroad. Environmental differences are, therefore, ignored.

Ethnocentrism, in relation to global dealings, can be categorized as follows: o Important factors in business are overlooked because of the obsession with certain cause-effect relationships in one's own country. It is always a good idea to refer to checklists of human variables in order to be assured that all major factors have been at least considered while working abroad. Even though one may recognize the environmental differences and problems associated with change, but may focus only on achieving objectives related to the home country. This may result in the loss of effectiveness of a company or an individual in terms of international competitiveness. The objectives set for global operations should also be global.

o The differences are recognized, but it is assumed that associated changes are so basic that they can be achieved effortlessly. It is always a good idea to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the changes proposed. Sometimes a change may upset important values and thereby may face resistance from being implemented. The cost of some changes may exceed the benefits derived from the implementation of such changes.

Cultural differences manifest themselves in different ways and differing levels of depth. Symbols represent the most superficial and

values the deepest manifestations of culture, with heroes and rituals in between. Symbols are words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning which is only recognized by those who share a particular culture. New symbols easily develop, old ones disappear.

Symbols from one particular group are regularly copied by others. This is why symbols represent the outermost layer of a culture. • Heroes are persons, past or present, real or fictitious, who possess characteristics that are highly prized in a culture. They also serve as models for behavior.  Rituals are collective activities, sometimes superfluous in reaching desired objectives, but are considered as socially essential.

They are therefore carried out most of the times for their own sake (ways of greetings, paying respect to others, religious and social ceremonies, etc. .  The core of a culture is formed by values. They are broad tendencies for preferences of certain state of affairs to others (good-evil, right-wrong, natural-unnatural). Many values remain unconscious to those who hold them. Therefore they often cannot be discussed, nor they can be directly observed by others.

Values can only be inferred from the way people act under different circumstances. Symbols, heroes, and rituals are the tangible or visual aspects of the practices of a culture. The true cultural meaning of the practices is intangible; this is revealed only when the practices are interpreted by the insiders.

Manifestation of Culture at Different Levels of Depth People even within the same culture carry several layers of mental programming within themselves. Different layers of culture exist at the following levels:

• The national level: Associated with the nation as a whole.
• The regional level: Associated with ethnic, linguistic, or
  

religious differences that exist within a nation.

Hofstede (1997) has devised a composite-measure technique to measure cultural differences among different societies:

• Power distance index:  The index measures the degree of inequality that exists in a society.
• Uncertainty avoidance index: The index measures the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain or ambiguous situations.
• Individualism index: The index measure the extent to which a society is individualistic.

Individualism refers to a loosely knit social framework in a society in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and their immediate families only.The other end of the spectrum would be collectivism that occurs when there is a tight social framework in which people distinguish between in-groups and out-groups; they expect their in-groups (relatives, clans, organizations) to look after them in exchange for absolute loyalty. Masculinity index.

Most of the times the differences are not very apparent or tangible. Certain aspects of a culture may be learned consciously (e. g. ethods of greeting people), some other differences are learned subconsciously (e. g. methods of problem solving). The building of cultural awareness may not be an easy task, but once accomplished, it definitely helps a job done efficiently in a foreign environment.  Discussions and reading about other cultures definitely helps build cultural awareness, but opinions presented must be carefully measured. Sometimes they may represent unwarranted stereotypes, an assessment of only a subgroup of a particular group of people, or a situation that has since undergone drastic changes. It is always a good idea to get

varied viewpoints about the same culture. Clustering cultures:  Some countries may share many attributes that help mold their cultures (the modifiers may be language, religion, geographical location, etc. ). Based on this data obtained from past cross-cultural studies, countries may be grouped by similarities in values and attitudes. Fewer differences may be expected when moving within a cluster than when moving from one cluster to another. Determining the extent of global involvement: All enterprises operating globally need not have the same degree of cultural awareness.

Language and cultural differences can't be ignored either. Addressing them sensibly can unlock many opportunities for success. The U. S. government's conference on rebuilding Afghanistan, held in Chicago last week, went a long way to outline opportunities there. These outreach programs are a good start because many firms need an education on how to work abroad.

The first lesson is to drop ethnocentric views that the world should accommodate our method of contracting rather than the other way around. In a separate meeting, also held in Chicago last week, ENR brought together construction executives at its annual leadership conference. U. S. firms interested in China's Olympic building plans and other work, particularly those willing to listen patiently through translation, heard rich detail from Chinese representatives.

Patience, attentiveness and sensitivity are not common construction traits, but they can help in cultures different from our own. Language and cultural differences can be treacherous to negotiate. [ ENR (2003). Culture shock challenges firms looking abroad. Implications of Cultural Differences for Cross-Cultural Management Research and Practice Abstract Although observation is a common research technique, little attention has been given to the effects of culture on observer judgment making.

These researches argue that consideration of cultural differences is critical when applying observation techniques in cross-cultural research as well as in the applied contexts of performance appraisal and international management.A laboratory study was conducted to examine the potential for discrepancies in observer judgment making among Asian American and Caucasian American subjects. The results of the study affirm the importance of cultural influences in research and management.