Beyond Culture - summary

Beyond Culture Key Idea #1: Your actions and thoughts are shaped by the culture in which you grow up. Human beings are cultural by nature. Regardless of where a person is born and raised, her culture – the ideas, customs and social mores of her community – will inevitably have an effect on the way she acts and thinks throughout her life. ]]> From birth, we begin to learn from the people around us. In this way, a person’s actions are changeable, as they suit the cultural context in which the person exists. Over time, learned actions develop into ingrained habits. Eventually, these habits become second nature, almost automatic. By the time we’ve reached adulthood, these learned actions have become internalized, unconscious behaviours, specific to the culture in which we were raised. A good example of this can be found in the way people greet each other. While the Japanese bow, Inuits rub noses. Such behaviours are taken for granted within each culture and are performed automatically. Both actions, however different, convey respect or gratitude, yet only when performed in the context of each respective culture. Beyond Culture Key Idea #2: You perform learned cultural rituals on a daily basis – often without even realizing it. The sequence of actions that people perform together differs from culture to culture. Settling disputes is one particular practice that is often culturally determined. A person from England or America, for example, might first offer subtle verbal hints that something is wrong. He might then send a message through an emissary, before directly confronting the other party. If none of these actions resolve the dispute, he might resort to legal action.]]> People from Latin America or Mediterranean cultures, on the other hand, see handling disputes much differently. In general, people from these cultures try to avoid confrontation with co-workers or family members unless they feel that they must engage directly. Beyond Culture Key Idea #3: Different cultures have different ways of communicating, and each has its pros and cons. Have you ever struggled to plan an event with people from different cultural backgrounds? This situation isn’t uncommon and results from cultural differences in communication. In short, different cultures have different ways of communicating. Some communicate explicitly while others communicate implicitly. ]]> Cultures that communicate explicitly include those in Germany, Switzerland, the countries of Scandinavia and (although to a lesser extent) the United States. In the context of these cultures, plans are typically set clearly and plainly, using words. The downside of such communication is that a message must contain all the necessary information so there can be communication at all. This can slow things down, as messages are long and complex. Other cultures, however, rely more on implicit communication. This means that a lot of communicated information is embedded in context and the body language of the people involved. In Asian cultures, for example, people are on the lookout for verbal symbols or physical gestures as part of a conversation, and such gestures are easily understood by the group. Using implicit communication means that less attention can be paid to spoken words, which speeds up communication considerably. There are pros and cons, of course, to both styles. Explicit communication is slower, requiring more spoken information and longer messages. But the upside is that meanings can be changed quickly. Implicit communication, in contrast, is faster in the moment but much slower to change overall. Physical gestures, in particular, rely on historical tradition for meaning. Gestures can’t take on new meanings quickly, but spoken language can. If a culture is stable for a long time, people become more able to efficiently communicate, often through developing implicit signs to speed things up. But if a culture is changing rapidly, communication remains explicit, as it allows for more flexible communication. Beyond Culture Key Idea #4: Cultural differences shape the way you walk, and the way you perceive time. In Northern Europe and America, people view time as a straight line, moving forward into the future. Such a view leads people to schedule work hours strictly, setting deadlines for specific tasks. People from cultures in the Middle East and Latin America, in contrast, tend to focus on the present moment. They often prioritize tasks on the fly, based on what is most pressing at that moment. For people in these cultures, time is flexible, and deadlines are seldom hard or fast. Differences in the perception of time can certainly explain many cultural differences. For instance, being late to an appointment is much more tolerated in Latin America than it is in the United States. In Latin America, it is understood that you might need to prioritize an issue that you feel is more pressing than your appointment. Changing plans last minute, however, is seen as rude in the US and Northern Europe, as people from these cultures expect you to plan your schedule in advance. Beyond Culture Key Idea #5: You see the world through the lens of your culture, which can lead to a lot of misunderstanding. Actions deemed “appropriate” are in particular a sensitive area between cultures. You may be startled or even offended by the actions of a person from another culture, especially when the gesture clashes or conflicts with what you see as correct or acceptable. ]]> Japanese hotels offer a useful example. Here it’s common practice for hotel staff to move your luggage to a new room without asking your permission. Staff will do this if your room is needed urgently by another party (for example, a large family). For the Japanese, this is a completely normal practice, and even connotes familiarity and a sense of inclusion for the guest who is being moved. Yet American and European guests, when faced with such a situation, are often shocked and insulted. Why? People from Western cultures tend to associate space with private ownership and personal status. A stranger moving your stuff is just wrong. In Western cultures, children are trained to get ready for the job market, thus schooling is competitive and task-driven. Regular exams measure student achievement and awards are given to those who excel. In contrast, children of Pueblo Indian descent are educated by peers and role models, spending time with them and absorbing their knowledge. This system is informal, and children play more than study before their working lives begin. Pueblo Indians prefer this method, feeling that the Western system is unfair to children and therefore damaging to society. Beyond Culture Key Idea #6: It takes a lot of work to understand another culture, but it’s worth it. Understanding other cultures is difficult, often because it requires knowledge of a culture’s particular historical and social context.]]> In Japan, for example, people are expected to use an appropriate degree of politeness depending on their relationship to a person – whether the person is a superior, a teacher, a friend or family. This practice stems from Japan’s feudal history. Until recently, social standing was determined by a person’s status and wealth. People from lower ranks were required to show respect to people from higher ranks. Today’s degrees of politeness is just one consequence of the country’s former social organization. https://lifeclub.org/books/beyond-culture-edward-hall-review-summary)]]> implicit = suggested without being directly expressed; forming part of sth (although perhaps not directly expressed) explicit = (of a statement or piece of writing) clear and easy to understand ingrained = (of a habit, an attitude, etc.) that has existed for a long time and is therefore difficult to change emissary = /ˈemɪsərɪ/ person who is sent to deliver an official message, especially from one country to another, or to perform a special task resort = to make use of sth, especially sth bad, as a means of achieving sth, often because there is no other possible solution embedded = (of feelings) felt very strongly and difficult to change lookout = to watch carefully for sb/sth in order to avoid danger, etc. or in order to find sth you want pressing = needing to be dealt with immediately; urgent startled = excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement connote = to suggest a feeling, an idea, etc. as well as the main meaning role model = person that you admire and try to copy stem = to come from, to originate feudal = connected to the social system in medieval Europe whereby a vassal held land from a superior in exchange for allegiance and service