Factors to Consider In Cultural and Intercultural Awareness

Culture and cultural awareness refer to a state of having consciousness and understanding one’s culture and those of other people’s cultures. It involves having knowledge about the similarities and differences in those cultures. The similarities and differences that matter when interacting with a person from a different cultural background are beliefs, behaviors, and values. Having cultural and intercultural awareness has become one of the most important aspects in the world today. This is because there is an increase in diversity and the society also encourages multiculturalism. Therefore, understanding the differences in cultures of people around creates real interactions hence enhancing unity and productivity in a working environment (Northouse, 2016).

Lack of cultural and intercultural awareness can limit an organization from expansion. People like expatriates, people who work globally; individuals who work in multicultural teams and tourists, and even business leaders should have the intercultural awareness because they represent a given country or organization. To maintain a goodwill one is not supposed to offend another culture and these can be done by awareness (Esposito, 2007). 

Communication

Effective communication can save a lot, especially when dealing with culture and intercultural awareness. Communication can be verbally or non-verbally. This is one of the aspects that bring a challenge to most people in the world. Every employee should have basic communication skills because they are important to the organization that has people from different cultures. Communication can keep customers and business partners or chase them away (Graf & Mertesacker, 2010, pp. 3-27).

In verbal communication, the focus is on how the message is portrayed. The message can be one to one as one is the speaker and another the listener. This type of communication mostly associates with language, tone, volume, and emphasis. The person listening or the receiver can interpret the message using these factors. Due to intercultural differences, some vocabularies and expressions have different meanings. Therefore it is important for one to understand what is acceptable and that one which is not (Chen et al., 2009, pp. 196-208).

Nonverbal communication is one that is communicated without words though at times it is accompanied by words. Nonverbal cues include; facial expressions, gestures, body movement, clothing, posture and even eye contact. The nonverbal cues help the receiver understand the message better. These signals vary according to cultures, and one has to be sure when using them. For example, in one culture raising a hand can be a way of stopping someone from talking while another is showing you want to contribute (Fleming, 2012).

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory

Observations and sensitivity

If one wants to understand other people’s culture, they will talk less listen more and observe keenly. If for example, one has gone to do business in a foreign country, it is good to study how the people in that country carry themselves around and how they operate their businesses. To have cultural awareness one must also be very sensitive. Being insensitive in a business environment can offend your clients, therefore, leading to losses. One has to consider the issue of sensitivity when selling product and even when carrying out adverts.

Flexibility

This is a situation where one has to adjust to the culture of others to maintain healthy relationships with other people in the business. For example, one can face a situation where they have no answer or control to it. One has to deal with uncertainty in such cases and get composed. This is mostly experienced in cultures where their form of communication is subtle and nuanced than that of your culture. In a situation like this, one has to focus on the main thing, for example, keeping good relations with customers and partners by being patient with them (Messner & Schafer, 2012).

Self-Awareness

This is a situation where a person can understand their cultures backgrounds and also those of other people. Understanding your culture and that of others helps one understand their way of life. This helps one stop narrowing their minds and being stereotypic, hence appreciating others peoples cultures. Our culture and those of other people are the ones that make us be individuals. Therefore we should recognize differences in clothing, religions, holidays and other things within cultures (Lustig & Koester, 2010).

Working with people of different cultures cannot be easy because everyone has their own beliefs and norms. Cultural differences are barriers to interaction and even motivation to employees. For one to understand the differences and have cultural awareness, of different cultures, this report focuses on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. This can help even employers know why employees behave differently and why they have different attributes.

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory is an eye-opener to cross-cultural relationships. Leaders and managers can understand their subjects’ behaviors through this theory. His research to come up with the different dimensions were based on IBM employees. They helped him understand and explain the various cultural differences in the world. Hofstede defines culture as a program of the mind that differentiates members of one group from the other. Hofstede’s theory is based on six cultural dimensions; these are the power-distance index, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty- avoidance index, long- term orientation versus short-term orientation, and indulgence versus restraint. These different dimensions have helped Hofstede attribute them to various national cultures (Adeoye & Tomei, 2014).

Power – distance index

This is how inequalities are viewed and perceived by the society. It is also the difference that exists between people that have power and those that do not, and it is still accepted by the community. This dimension does not show how power is distributed in a particular culture, but how people feel about the distribution. When there is high power distance index, it signifies that the society allows uneven hierarchical distribution of power, which means the hierarchy is evident in the society. Low power distance index shows that power is dispersed widely, and the society does not accept that kind of power distribution. That is, people in the community are not satisfied with it, and they try to distribute power (Deardorff, 2009b, pp. 477-491).

For example, people in certain industries or companies cannot accomplish anything without supervision. If the supervisor does not take charge, they possibly may think the task allocated is not very important. The workers like to be directed, and they expect the supervisor or the boss to follow the up. Therefore this shows how the society perceives power differently because there are those that can work without supervision (Hogan, 2013).

Individualism versus collectivism

This refers to how people show closeness to others in their community or society. Individualism is where one has no strong ties with people that are not family members. Ones do not take responsibility for anyone’s actions expect of themselves and their families. There are those cultures that are individualistic, and their main aim is to attain their personal goals (Moskowitz, 2009).

Collectivism, on the other hand, is where people in the society have strong ties that make extended families and other groups feel like one in the society. In collectivism, they aim at attaining group goals rather than those of individuals. In the group, people are loyal and take responsibility for others actions for the well-being of the entire group (Hogan, 2007).

For example, in some countries, there is little individualism. In Indonesia, when one wants to be elected as a leader, they ensure people feel that all their interests are being addressed by the politician ant the politician does not target a particular group. The politician considers the people’s interests before they see themselves. This is because people want to feel the politician is part of them (Ailon, 2008).

Masculinity versus femininity

These are different kinds of roles that are located to men and women. The various functions assigned to these different genders brings inequality in societies. Most cultures in the world have given preference to the masculine gender and consider this gender as heroic, assertive, materialistic, and achievers of success. This gender in most societies is given the power to dominate. The feminine gender is considered to accept change and emphasizes on human relationships and nature. Cultures that are more masculine are competitive and ambitious. Those that have fewer scores on this dimension rely more on building good relations and have fewer differences in gender (Nwosu, 2009, pp. 158-178).  

An example is Japan and Sweden. In Japan, the masculine nature dominates the society. Children both male and female learn about competition and winning from a very young age. Women in this country find it hard as they also work for long hours like men yet they have families to look after. For the case of Sweden, people rely on building healthy relationships through compromise and negotiations as it is very feminine (Petrakis, 2014, pp. 250).

Uncertainty -avoidance index

This is how a distinct society deals with unexpected situation or events.  It is also the nation’s ability to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity. Cultures and organizations scoring high in this dimension have rigid rules, implementations, and laws that do not tolerate change. While those scoring lowest in this dimension have fewer rules and laws, therefore, allowing change. Therefore cultures and organizations that have tolerance to uncertainty can take risks and even expand (Deardorff, 2009b,  pp. 477-491).

An example is Greece that scores high in this index. If one is having a discussion with a member from Greece, one has to tell them the importance of taking risks. Most people from the country like having conservative decisions that do not involve uncertainties. While it will be contrary with Singapore as most people from this nation are open minded and like to take risks, though it is also advantageous to have some limitations to solutions and options (Minkov, 2007).

Long-term orientation versus short-term orientation

It is almost similar to uncertainty. This dimension shows how different societies or cultures are ready to embrace new things and change. Cultures with short- term orientation focus on their traditional practices and are not good a building new relationships. Those with long-term orientation are ready to embrace change and learn new things (Spitzberg & Gabrielle, 2009, pp. 2-52). This long term encompasses modern ways, and they want to know a better way of doing things, that is why do not deal with the past or the future. An example is the U.S which is short-term orientated. Therefore it does not embrace change as much as other countries do.

Indulgence versus Restraint

This is the culture being able to look after immediate needs and personal desires of their members and make sure they are satisfied. Cultures that value constraints have strict rules and norms that discourage people from fulfilling their desires. Indulgence is a society that allows people to enjoy and have fun with no strict rules (Deardorff, 2009a). The culture that practice indulgence believes to have control over their lives and emotions, therefore not factors should control them. An example, there are countries like Russia that have strict rules that limit people from indulging in leisure practices. They have a restrained culture that guides them.  

The first tier is the parochial stage- at this level, people feel their way is the only way and ignores the aspect of cultural differences. They move to the second tier which is called ethnocentric stage, in this stage, a person views cultural differences as a source of problems. The still consider their way as the best even though they have a clue about other ways (Petrakis, 2014, pp. 250).

The third stage is the synergistic stage. In this level, people realize both the advantages and disadvantages of cultural differences. They use the differences in cultures to come up with ideas, solutions, and alternatives. They choose the best way according to the situation they face (my way and their way). The final level is participatory third culture stage (our way). People in this level interact from several cultural backgrounds, and together they come up with shared meanings (Deardorff, 2010). New definitions are created and even new rules for the needs of an individual situation.

Having the culture and intercultural awareness helps one to see both the positive and negative issues of cultural differences. An organization can use the diversity and use people to bring in new business ideas. The difference can help create new skills and behaviors that can be of great benefit to an organization. One’s cultural diversity is taken positively, then even problem solving will be easy (Deardorff, 2008, pp. 32-52).

Intercultural awareness helps us to understand that we are not all the same and therefore appreciate our differences. A person realizes that both similarities and differences are important in carrying out our daily duties. Due to cultural diversity, people understand different situations require different solutions. Through this, people can have some ways to achieve the same goal in organizations (Zaharna, 2009, pp. 179-195).

Geert Hofstede has helped people understand the cultural differences and appreciate them. One can know what to expect from other people and how to react to people from different cultures and backgrounds. People should try their best to minimize misinterpretations and misunderstandings. Therefore, to respect our intercultural relationships, one has to be aware that cultures are different (Hofstede &Rottgers, 2012).

Conclusion

In conclusion, culture and intercultural awareness play a colossal role in creating interpersonal relationships. When one is growing up in a certain culture, people take the behaviors and practices of those cultures. But it comes a time when one has to go out and meet other people from different cultures. This involves going to school, work and tours. One may find it hard to interact and therefore have a hard time coping with the new environment.

Through Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, one can find it easy relating with others. One will not be stereotypic about peoples’ cultures and behaviors. For example, if one has to work in another country away from home, they can understand the importance of every culture and appreciate every one’s culture. No culture is superior to the other, just as everybody is unique in their way, every culture is unique in its way, and no society is perfect.

References

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