While many courses and textbooks quickly jump into an analysis of national cultures and provide frameworks to compare them with our own, it is important to realize that a national culture is filled with several microcultures. Generalizations about the best way to do things in one country or another is becoming insufficient in a globalized and increasingly diverse world.

Note: we will cover generalizations in greater detail in Module 6.

To better understand national cultures, we must also look at regional, community, neighborhood, organizational, and small group (sports, special interest, identity-based) cultures. This can be a very complex exercise indeed. So where do we begin? One possible place to start is by ‘taking inventory’ of our own cultural groups along with each piece of our individual identities.

  • Personality - At the core, we find that which makes us unique. This can be difficult, as there can be a fine line between what one may think is a personality trait, and something that’s been learned because of the enculturation process.
  • Internal Dimensions - Those things, at the next level, that are not possible or are difficult to change: age, gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, physical ability.
  • External Dimensions - Those things, at the next level, that are possible to change throughout life: appearance, geographic location, education, work experience, religion, habits, family status, income.
  • Organizational Dimensions - Those things, at the outer layer, which fit into our workplace or academic settings: seniority, location, department, affiliations/clubs, roles.

For a visual representation of these dimensions, go to: Link

By looking more closely at our formative experiences and our identities, we become more aware of how these manifest within various interactions. This, in turn, can provide insights into the assumptions we make, the biases we hold, and the values we internalize. This is a starting point to begin exploring opportunities for more effective cultural interactions.

Example:

Although I was born in Canada, I identify ethnically as Ukrainian. My parents, who were ‘no-nonsense’ homesteading farmers on the Canadian prairies, taught me to work hard, be direct, and task-driven. I took pride in the ‘Slavic sensibilities’ they had instilled in me – from my perspective, I was both efficient and effective with my work.

When working overseas, my task-based approach was not working well with colleagues, who from my perspective, were more indirect communicators and relationship-based. I judged ‘others’ as being inefficient and too driven by emotion to get things done well.

My way of doing things became a hindrance when working on projects, especially with teams, where I was seen as cold, uninterested in others’ feelings, and aggressive with my communication. I wasn’t aware of my own approach, and was more concerned with the frustrations of how others did (or didn’t do) their jobs.

Self-reflection:
Think about your different identities within the internal, external, and organizational dimensions and how they appear within different interactions; answer the following questions:

  • What one identity has helped support you in your work or studies?
  • How has that same identity hindered you in your work or studies.

End of Module Scenario Assignment: written submission (500-750 words)

You are a graduate student on an international exchange program. You’ve now been at the exchange university for one year and have been asked to speak at a pre-departure seminar to a small group of undergraduate students who will be going on an exchange to your home university. You are welcome to add context (e.g., your present exchange university, your home country, city, and/or university).

You decide that the best approach would be to walk them through the Iceberg Model:

  • What do you plan to discuss with them about their initial entry into your home country/city/university?

    As examples: What things might they notice immediately? What things might be familiar for them? What won’t be so familiar?

  • What will you relate to them about university life once they’ve ‘settled-in’ to a student routine (three months+)?

    As examples: How are classes, assignments, exams, extracurricular programs, etc., organized? How do people interact (e.g., student-professor, student-student)?

  • ⦁ Once you’ve had a chance to discuss these items with them, self-reflect on what you’ve shared, and what this says about your cultural beliefs, assumptions, and values. What things come up for you as these foundational pieces of your culture?

End of Module Summary

  • Culture is a complex concept to define, but has some elements that make it easier to understand. It is learned, shared, patterned, influenced over time, and internalized.
  • The Iceberg Model provides a representation of the visible and invisible features of culture. The ‘doing’ is above the waterline and immediately observable; the ‘thinking’ is just below the waterline and takes time to understand; and the ‘being’ is at the bottom of the iceberg, forms the foundation of culture (assumptions, beliefs, values) and takes a considerable amount of time to understand.
  • Human behavior can be largely attributed to culture, but it is also important to understand personal features which make every human unique, and the universal features which are shared by all humans.
  • In order to have a better understanding of culture, it is important to explore our individual identities by looking at personality traits, internal dimensions (things we can’t change), external dimensions (things that change over time), and organizational dimensions (things that manifest within work, academic, or other social settings).

References and further reading on concepts in this module:

Check out the following links.

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