Cultural Differences

Hello friends!!

Culture is like the binder in the organizations. If attitude is to be chosen over skills, many of us will choose the former over the latter while forming our project teams.That does not lead to solutions always.  Do we really understand or rather tolerate cultural differences ? In this era of interdependent economies, can we really stand fast in our own cultural silos?

Culture is shaped by both the known & unknown forces. Familiarization can help & so can the buzz of being a global citizen. Job rotations across continents , training programs on cross-cultural literacy are already helping. Creating a global mindset requires to let go off the cultural stereotypes starting with elementary things in an individual's lifestyle.

Hostede's cultural typology creates segments culturally  based on parameters like individualism, power distance, time orientation & so on... However, when it comes to actual working environment many of us may not actually remember these categories & create cultural profiles of our co-workers. This may result in lower levels of participation & mutual trust, acceptance of etiquette & intent of co-existence.

Ethnicity, political history, economic disparities between nations also influence work environments some of them being tied up to the spirit of nationalism. These complexities can only be reduced in the long run through sharing of workspace with a positive attitude. 

Cultural tourism is fast catching up reflecting the scope of diffusion & acceptance. However, illegal immigrants can be a roadblock here. Re-routing of jobs across borders can be a contentious issue again. 

These aspects have to helped through a political agenda. 

Hoping we all are aware & receptive to the differences .....