Research Topics: Cultural Implications

How useful is Said’s Theory of Orientalism? Support your answer with specific examples from fashion.

‘’Edward Said would have a field day with the reified Orient implicitly characterized as a sexually ardent yet passive female, whose booty has been bought and fought over by active western males. There believes that Asian fashions are also created by Asian designers as the cultures tend to make representations of foreign cultures, the better to master or in some way control them. But, not all cultures make representations of foreign cultures and master or control them as the author believes as a distinction of modern Western cultures.’’ (  2000 ‘Fashion orientalism and the limits of counter culture: Abstract’)                                   The usefulness of Said’s orientalism has paved the way for the globalization of Asian dress as it becomes an important aspect of the culture of people as the Western styles is changing people in terms of fashion and the way they dress were being inspired by ideals of orientalism as there were dress practices being followed due to globalization in a way of re-orienting fashion as the process of Said’s theory have garnered attention for Asian fashion that reflects the oreintalizing Asian people and its respected culture. (2003) As Sandra Niessen focus on the Asian practices that sheds light on ways integrating such ways of fashion globalization of how fashion operates and its aspects that are useful for recognizing the contribution of orientalism to fashion. Accordingly, the idea to which Asian dress is re-orienting fashion provides factors on who is performing under certain circumstances and the type of audience. Orientalism was crucial to the emerging Western style fashions like, in constructing a hand-woven cloth and market indigenous fashion lines that relates to the global fashion stage. (2003 )                           Moreover, there were Western fashion dominance because of orientalism as it reflects how the people is responding to the modern styles of dress, orientalism gives indication to Western clothing systems that presents challenges to fashion icons and designers and approaches to fashion becomes more delicate and refined like the changes involved in batak clothing system as it changed from being an isolated tribe into a hierarchical society as Orientalism justifies the production of tribal dress to the making of global fashions as it supports to the daily life changes and lifestyle of the Western people and orientalism provides a great influence to the modifications of the Batak clothing as the cloth has its identity and spiritual significance and the people has learned to dress for new social roles and Western dress becomes popular that gives rise to better stability of fashion market impacting the greater society of fashionistas’ that implies a strong sense of Orientalism principles and values. (2003) There is an important characteristic of Said’s contribution that is achieved in Orientalism, where images and the role of imperialism are examined from a unified perspective, which seeks to do justice to the connections among them. The impact of orientalism implies to the widespread inclination that is found in Asian export statistics and product growth a justification for deriding economics, democracy and reason as the trifle of the backward West, whereas the Oriental is illogical, unusual, immature adheres the fact of several prodigious, independent economic achievement in Asia would be highly relevant in the oriental fashion respectively. (1982 )                 Thus, Said’s work was influential that ‘Orientalism’ has become a generic term of anthropological thought by the power the West wielded over Asian societies since the Westerners were implicated in that dominance. The usefulness of orientalism emphasizes that fashion is a global phenomenon that is indisputable and there is persistent momentum in the perception of fashion as a Western phenomenon is equally indisputable. (Niessen et al., 2003 p. 221) An unquestioned, popular understanding of what fashion is can be found in any fashion magazine, on the fashion page of any newspaper, on the fashion channel of any social scenario everywhere in the world. It is also realized in the fashion world on haute couture airstrips that fashion is a Western phenomenon involving central component in the package of assumptions about fashion. (Niessen et al., 2003 p. 225) However, a conclusion was drawn from a narrow concentration on genre painting and fails to note that by the turn of the century Orientalist images in making the popular impact in Europe. Aside, changes in technology has marked a dramatic increase in the diffusion of Orientalist images of the veil and harem. (1982 )                         The type reinforced the image of eastern women as well eroticize while, through the allegory of unveiling and disclosure of the harem, the Western eye asserted a colonial invasion and violation of the central values of Muslim society. ( 1978 ) There were indulging in the erotic fantasy and possession of the female has simultaneously underlined the inferiority and barbaric nature of Islamic society which enslaved women, through polygamy and force, to the horrible lust of cruel sultans. (1990) The key importance of Orientalism is that the representations of veiling, the harem and dancing bore little if any relationship to any social reality, almost no use was made of North African actors, except as background figures, while dress and architectural sets were a strange imitation of Egyptian, Indian, Hindu and other country styles. Erotic dancing featured an ‘improbable melange of Spanish and Indian dances combined with a touch of Arabian belly-dancing’. (1990,) There was then, a dramatic shift in the volume of press reports on Islam, as well as in the way in which Muslims were represented, both reflected and helped to generate and deepen these new concerns. (1990) The point to the ideological process has been the careful construction and manipulation, in image and text, of the veil, a type of fabrication that has been able to draw upon and reshape an older tradition of Orientalism and one in which the veiled women are shown carrying weapons, establishing an equation between the oppression of women, fanaticism and terrorism. (1990)               There are simply of veiled women, but in which the editorial preference has been for photographs which show the maximum or contextually most bizarre dress forms. The messages here are fairly obvious: the veil is the signifier, just as it was in the colonial period, of an entire social, political and cultural. (1984) For example, in Britain and the United States there have been numerous popular ‘authentic expose’ accounts by Western women of captive life in the harem, reviving an old Orientalist favorite (1996;1995 ). The characteristics of the French press use of images of veiling is that, as with earlier forms of Orientalism, less attention is paid to the sociological specificity of Muslim dress. (1996 ;1995 ) For instance, a magazine may select from its photographic bank a picture of an Iranian woman in complete length chador to exemplify a story on Islam in France and such misrepresentation can be interpreted as political construct rather than as editorial convenience. As with colonial Orientalism, the veiled woman is chosen as the symbol for an entire social and religious order, the immigrant community. (1996 ;1995) There are multiple levels of meaning such as that, the maximum veil indicates a barbaric order in which women are the victims of patriarchal oppression, seclusion and well-known practices like child/marriage and polygamy. (1995) The cultural distance between Muslims and French ‘civilization’ is made as wide as possible so as to suggest the impossibility of integration and to maximize the dangers presented to Republican values and unity. (1982 )                 Orientalism composes a strong presence as it adheres and functions for such political service as the orientalist scholarship provided the means through which Europeans could take over Oriental lands. So, Edward Said is quite clear about the fundamental chain as being justified by Orientalism rather its realities that matter to the fashion world. (1985) Therefore, Said’s Orientalism demonstrates the process of change of such harmless philological masterpiece in terms of capacity for managing movement in politics as well as the administration of fashion within the ways of civil mission. (1985) The usefulness of Orientalism has successfully determined the self-image of the Western as it has less to do with the Orient than it does with the world. (1985) The construction of identity as well as societies has involved the establishing of fame of the Orientals as it implies every development and maintenance of heritage and culture requiring the upheaval of fashion ways as influenced by Orientalism within certain adaptability to such culture and provided Europe the wisdom seen in such ways of logical control. (1985) As the Western people have realized that they are vibrant, novel in fashion culture as well as the spectator, the judge and jury of each surface of Oriental performance.                                   Furthermore, Said had argued that Orientalism created a sense of invalid description of the Arabs and the Islamic culture because of the essentialist scenery that involves the belief within possibilities that has identified the necessary qualities of the Arab people and also the Islamic culture. (1978) The Orient, defined as a position secluded from types of human development found in sciences and arts process. Henceforth, Orientalism sensuality, inclination to absolutism, state of mind, custom of imprecision and the backward state. (1978) Where the Orientalism in the sense of fashion goes beyond in  ways reflects the assumption that the Islamic culture has possessed a unity which can be read into each aspect of the modern fashion society. (1978 ) The functionality of Orientalism in fashion is visible also in China as part of Asia as the most fascinating civilizations, is an endless surprise of styles, colors, in fabrics, jewels, and fashion ways. (1980 ) The Western women look for the precious fabrics, the colored silks, the streamlined forms, the balance of contrasts and the accurate finish of Chinese craftsmen integrates the assumption of orientalism in its sense particularly, the Hong Kong fashion stylists that were stimulating and familiar in the process. (1980) So, there are small details that provide strength and spirits to tradition and the usefulness and the advances as achieved with fabrics and details pointing towards oriental tastes and compositions. (1980)       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

How useful is Said’s Theory of Orientalism? Support your answer with specific examples from fashion.

‘’Edward Said would have a field day with the reified Orient implicitly characterized as a sexually ardent yet passiv...

Discuss the impact cultural diversity has on relationships anf families

Globalization and Media Media plays a significant role in our daily lives. Many of our ideas about the world, the sense that what is happening everyday, or even the values come from beyond our individual daily or experiences usually come to us via the media. The media has a very strong influence on individuals and society, as our ideas of the world are derived from ‘packaged’ versions of events and issues in their output (1998). Yet, globalization has become a big and popular topic, therefore this essay will focus on cultural imperialism. The best known model of cultural globalization is cultural imperialism theory. To understand more about cultural globalization, we need to examine the economic organizations and political institution which contribute to it or attempt to respond to it. This essay argues that the success evidence of cultural imperialism can be seen in the marketing strategies of major media compare. Cultural globalization refers to the transmission across national borders of different forms of media and the arts. Mainly the circulation of cultural products appears to be between developed countries, especially those countries which constitute desirable markets for the media. Globalization is seen as a complex and diverse phenomenon consisting of global cultures, initiated from various nations and regions. Assuming that social identities and social relations are constructed and deconstructed by all forms of culture, cultural globalization brings out important issues concerning the affect on national or local cultures and their responses.  (1990), the theory of cultural imperialism emerged in the 1960s. A part of Marxist critique of advanced capitalist cultures, including their emphasis on mass communication and consumerism. The theory of cultural imperialism theory refers to ‘the imposition on the other countries of a specific nation’s beliefs, values, knowledge, behaviour norms and style of life’ ( 1991 ). It is also defined as a kind of cultural domination by stronger and more powerful nations over the weaker ones. Because cultural imperialism corresponds to the political interests of the United States and some other powerful capitalist societies, it is viewed as purposeful and intentional. Reflecting the attitudes and values of the western countries, especially America, capitalist societies, views are very pervasive and are leading to the homogenization of global culture ( 1993). According to an Australian scholar  (1983), the Americanization process becomes much more formidable while the basic concepts of a national identity of a society are remodeled in the American image. The concept of cultural imperialism concept is inherently unclear and includes a negative evaluation of the behaviour and intentions of advanced countries, particularly the United States ( 1995). Some scholars criticize that the term ‘imperialism’ because it implies the imposition of power from rich to poor, from powerful to weak and implies a degree of political control by powerful countries that is no longer exists. The idea of imperialism contains the idea of an intended project, ‘the intended spread of a social system from one center of power across the globe’ ( 1991 ).  contrasts the concepts of ‘globalization’ and imperialism and suggests that ‘interconnection and interdependency of all global areas happening in a far less purposeful way’ ( 1991 ). Despite these arguments, cultural imperialism has been reconceptualized as media imperialism. It is still a helpful perspective because it can be used to analyze which national actors have more impact on global culture, and therefore how cultural values and identities are being shaped and reshaped ( 1995). Moreover, there are some important issues because the influence of the global cultures is expanding rapidly. Next section of this essay will be focus on the changes from cultural imperialism to global capitalism and media imperialism. According to  (1999), economies and organizations are the major forces that lead to cultural globalization. Cultural globalization needs an organization infrastructure. One form of globalization appears as a result of the activities in developed countries of news and entertainment media that produce music, television programs and movies and also distribute them all around the world. In the global media marketplace, the dominance of a particular country is more a function of economic than cultural factors. American corporations have gained considerable benefit specifically from the size of their national market and the availability of funds for investment. Although there is a small number of media groups which are based in some western countries, they still dominate the production and global distribution of the media, such as films, popular music, television program and book publishing. According to  (1999), the new technologies and the deregulation of national media industries have occurred because of the existence of a global media market. The level of the investment needs to be high because of the high production costs and costs of distribution. These combined corporations make a big profit by selling the same product in various media. For example, a film can be shown in the cinema and on pay television, sold in the form of DVDs or even as books. The production of merchandise are mainly based on the film generates additional profits and a spin-off they may be use for a drama series. The US would be incapable of competing in the global market without these corporations.   Although some of the global media conglomerates are European, American media products still dominate in global markets because foreign conglomerate owners invest heavily in American media companies. Although few foreign companies have bought several major American film studios this had some little effects on the nature of the Hollywood movie industry. The Australian-American media magnate Rupert Murdoch, owns more American television stations than the local entrepreneurs. Also he has created a thriving television network, Fox, which competes with three main American television networks. This is a good example of globalization where have an Australian controlling media interests in another country. America companies can earn enormous profits by producing and distributing films because of the huge audience for films in United States. Therefore, American producers are able to spend more on the production of films than their competitors in other countries and this in turn gain more profits. The more expensive a movie is to produce, the more profits are more likely to be make (1998). However, the expensive films represent ‘a type of homogenous, uniform culture permeated by western capitalistic values’ ( 2002,). They are full of elaborate technical effects and focus on stunts, action, and violence instead of character and emotion. Action movies are more easily understood in diverse, non-English-speaking cultures than other type of films. Given the huge cultural differences among the potential audiences for globally marketed films, film producers have to find a common denominator that is universal and will attract different audiences in various countries. Nowadays, Hollywood dominates the international market for films as well as its local market. Compared with local film companies, American film companies have been creating film distribution networks successfully in competitive with these. Therefore film industries in many other countries have declined. However, there are two exceptions, which are India with its big internal market and the other one is France, which has subsidized this form of popular culture. India is the worldwide leading producer of fiction films, and while there are a few exceptions, they circulate entirely within Indian Asia and Indian Africa ( 1997). Over the past year the Australian government has been involved in a series of high-level negotiations with the US for a bilateral trade agreement, Australian have to agree some things the Americans put to them. This is a good marketing strategy by the US film industry to compete successfully globally. Even though the film industry is governed by investment and profit, it does spread cultural imperialism by accident. This support  (1991) means the cultural imperialism is not as purposeful as suggested. The United States also predominates in the production of television programs, which is more to economic factors than to the spread of cultural attitudes and values ( 1997).  and  (1990) claim that the reason of American television programs are so successful in the international market is the conditions under which they are produced. The size and wealth of the country means that successful programs are very profitable. As a result, the high cost of television production can be covered internally so that the programs can be exported at substantially with lower prices. For example, in Latin America, American companies have been sued for flooding the media scene by ‘dumping’ old films and television shows ( 1991). In some countries, United States television represents about 50% of the programs. Many of other countries are not able to invest at the same level as America in television programming because they cannot reach the cost of production through distribution in their own countries nor are they able to afford the distributing and marketing costs in other countries. The cost of an imported television series drama can be less than one-tenth of the costs of producing an original one ( 1990). Therefore, cultural imperialism occurs by default, simply because of the economics advantage provided to producers by the huge US populations,. According to (1990), the technology changing in developing countries has led to an increase in the transnational dissemination of the television program and spread of demand for programs worldwide. International satellites have been a important delivery system, disseminating television programs from advanced countries to some less advanced countries. In Latin America, increases in the number of VCRs, cable TV, and direct satellite reception program facilities has expanded the audiences for United States and European television. In some countries, there are some media restrictions or limitations, however the foreign programming greatly increases the range of the cultural choices. On the other hand, the countries that have powerful capital and resources behind their media,industry, can dominate the dissemination of programs globally. This reduces the profitability of national programming and also limits the range of cultural choices. However, there are many less developed countries which have their own media resources and inadequate resources to buy in media from powerful US conglomerates ( 1996). These countries will not be affected by western cultural imperialism simply because they cannot afford it. The developed world has nearly six times as many radios per capita as the developing world and nearly nine times as many TV sets. The level of communication in many poor countries is also indicated by the fact that approximately half the people in the world have never made a telephone call ( 1998). In conclusion, it is cultural imperialism on just economic imperialism. The essay supports the view that cultural imperialism is an accident of economic power. The enormity of financial support for the media industry in the US, and the US capitalist device for profits has led to the world being swamped with cultural products.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Discuss the impact cultural diversity has on relationships anf families

Globalization and Media Media plays a significant role in our daily lives. Many of our ideas about the world, the sense that what is happe...

CROSS CULTUAL AWARENESS

Intercultural Communication: its Key Elements, Development and Hindrances               Module name and code:   Student’s Informatics ID, NRIC/Passport No. and UOP Hemis Number:   Class code:   Name of lecturer:   Submission date:       Intercultural Communication: its Key Elements, Development and Hindrances                 Communication is inevitable as people by nature are expected to communicate using all means possible. Communication may be defined as the transmission of meaning and information from one person to another ( &  1998). While the transmission itself may appear to be a simple task, the interpretation of the message being relayed through communication poses a challenge, particularly on the establishment of human relations. In general, communication becomes effective when both parties involved are honest and open to share information and have the ability to decipher the meaning of their messages. Effective communication must always be practiced as it is significant to individual beings as well as for the creation of positive relationships.             Intercultural communication theories seeks to understand how people from different countries and cultures behave, communicate and perceive the world around them. Working in a multinational corporation magnifies the significance and practice of intercultural communications. This paper discusses the key elements of communicating across cultures by using illustrative examples.   Intercultural Communication One can never fully understand culture as it remains relative to any given population. Culture may be everything that a person think and do. It has behavioral, cognitive and affective aspects. Or it is “The values, norms and material goods characteristic of a given group” ( 1997, ).  (1973) stated, “Cultural analysis is always incomplete… the more deeply it goes, the less complete it is” (). It becomes even more complicated when embark on studies on cross-cultural comparative analysis. It is an utterly futile and meaningless attempt to compare cultures in general. Meaningful comparison between cultures can be conducted only on similar standards of human conduct ( 1970).             Intercultural communication or cross-cultural communication focuses on the understanding of people, culture and society in general ( 2004). It is the core study on how people originating from different cultural backgrounds and orientations manage to communicate effectively. In business, particularly those that operates within international borders, the issue of intercultural communication necessitate every manager to see to it that communication is libertarian and constructive rather than oppressive and destructive.  (2000) stipulated that “in intercultural business communication the business strategies, goals, objectives, and practices become an integral part of the communication process and help create a new environment out of the synergy of culture, communication, and business” (). The presence of these attributes makes way to an enhanced communication strategy that serves the overall business environment. However, (1999) argued that the knowledge in intercultural communication is a precondition for successful intercultural business communication, but by itself it is not enough. Therefore, there is a need for business enthusiasts and managers to identify the key elements, development and hindrances of intercultural communication to fully understand its real functions, potentialities, and overall applications.   Key Elements of Intercultural Communication             The concept of intercultural communication logically means two important key elements: culture and communication. In these two key elements, several attributes are associated. Culture – As previously mentioned, culture is something that is relative. It reflects people’s thoughts and way of doing things. There has been numerous definition of culture yet it is still an argumentative area of inquiry today. On this case, there are three types of culture that every business person must know namely: the national culture, the general business culture, and the specific corporate culture ( 2000). The national culture is very much distinct in every given country. As this is the main mechanism that dictates how people should act and behave on ways that are acceptable to the standards of the specified environment. At times, this is the main factors that identify a person from the rest of the crowd. The need to understand national culture allows business administrators to create appropriate communication strategies that are in accordance to the standards of general or national culture of the host country. In a multicultural setting, such as those of outsourced companies, the customs, beliefs and practices of the native country the company has set up its business contributes in the development of a corporate culture. As man mingles with different kinds of people, he/she tries different kinds of ways in living life, cultures has been evolving through time and changes brought by such circumstances. In dealing with these concepts, such ideas as orientalism and assimilation break through the theme. Emigrant managers should be familiar with the host culture ( 1993). Believing that the cultural incorporation will solve all of the cross-cultural problems, it is essential that the expatriate need not to be only technically proficient but to have an overly simplistic view of the cultural integration of the firm’s activities and existing culture on the host culture. According to and  (1991), using an integrator can help. It will give an idea on how will a foreign culture will mix up with a host culture. Examples of integrators are managers and other individuals that are inhabitant to the host culture. Their presence will be used in communicating with people involve in some business circumstances. Before engaging in a business enterprise in an international environment, one must take into consideration some essential ingredients to make the business success. Economics, society, politics, geographic, and cultural aspects are very important matters to consider in coping up with the challenges that the business may face in the future. Through this, success in a business enterprise is assured. The general business culture is another type of culture that affects the communication process. This could be rooted in the trends in a given area of business operation or industry. For example, the general business culture of Hong Kong allows integration of both Western and Eastern business traditions in the restaurant industry ( &  1995). In the said region, the restaurant industry maintains a general acceptance of the uniqueness of products and services offered by various brands and restaurant outlets.  (2000) affirmed that business people must understand the impact of key organizational concepts such as hiring practices, promotion policies, decision making, competitive environment, financial regulations, business laws, and governmental requirements on the intercultural business communication process. These activities have general descriptions that go hand in hand with the acceptable requirements of general business culture. Business people then must also understand the relationship of business and culture in a particular environment. In a cross-cultural environment, the role of communication is to establish and understand how people from different cultures communicate with each other. Their aim is to produce some guidelines with which they can use to better communicate with each other. Using the idea of general business culture, cooperation among players of the industry is ensured. Lastly, the specific corporate culture is the nearest when it comes to the business environment. Corporate culture is defined as the habits, behaviors and rules that a group of coworkers use to interact with one another ( 2002). It refers to both formal and written company policies which cover everything from the dress code to employee relationships as well as the informal behaviors that are accepted and tolerated by the organization. It is developed and established over time through the interactions between employers and employees and reflects the collective beliefs, values and expectations of an organization transferred from one generation of employees to the next ( 2002). Corporate culture is often associated with organizational culture. In particular, an organization’s shared history and stability can contribute to the internalization and institutionalization of specific attitudes in individuals ( &  1987). Organizational culture is the pattern of basic assumptions that are invented, discovered or developed to help cope with problems of external adaptation and internal integration within an organization ( 1990). The patterns of assumptions may incorporate values, norms, rules, myths, stories and rituals; must have worked well enough in the past to be considered valid; and must be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to the external and internal problems encountered by the organization. In the intercultural business communication process, the participants also bring with them their own corporate cultures ( 2000). Out of all of these parts, the new transactional culture emerges. The result is a complex system of layers of culture, communication, and business. In the case of intercultural communication, corporate or organizational culture serve as the most relevant and nearest mechanism in controlling acceptable behaviors within the working environment in which the workers and all related individuals in the business organization are expected to comply. Organizational or corporate culture is the sole basis in developing communication strategies. Communication – Communication will always play a fundamental function in all areas of human activity. According to ,  and  (1996), “the more and better the communication, the greater the amount of information shared or extracted, and the greater the build-up of trust, the more likely is the possibility of creating the satisfaction” (). In a cross-cultural environment, the role of communication is to establish and understand how people from different cultures communicate with each other. Their aim is to produce some guidelines with which they can use to better communicate with each other. Communication within a group or inter-professional team goes beyond the concepts of effective speaking or listening, or what is commonly considered as linear communication ( 1993). It is an interactive model which deals with feedback and reciprocal exchanges. According to surveys focusing on areas of improvement among corporations, communication is usually ranked first as an important element within the organization ( 1993). Specifically, communication is recognized as an important aspect of an organization as it keeps employees well-informed and open to communication channels. Moreover, organizational communication enables the employees to comply with company standards, leading to efficiency and accuracy.             The process of communication can be done through a number of styles. However, regardless on whether the style applied is verbal or nonverbal, the communication process always involves a sender and a receiver. This process involves five steps: 1) idea struck the sender, 2) the sender then encodes the message, 3) the message is carried through a channel, 4) the receiver will have the message decoded, and 5) a feedback will be given by the receiver ( &  1998). People speak through face-to-face conversations, telephone, mail, and other vehicles of communication. Though, communication is not always verbally done. Communication is also present through signs, gestures, body movements, facial expressions, and codes (e.g. the Morse code or the sign language). This is called non-verbal communication. On this case, intercultural communication includes both type of communication – verbal and non-verbal. Thus, what is important is the clear manifestation and effective application of the communication process.             In addition, they must be aware of individual communication styles. After all, cultures do not communicate with each other; individuals do ( 1997). According to  and  (1995) “Chinese culture cannot talk to Japanese culture except through the discourse of individual Chinese and individual Japanese people” ( ). The focus on individuals also helps avoid the traditional tendency to talk about the “categorical Chinese, Japanese, or Arab audience” ( 1999, ). As a general rule according to  (2000), Japanese culture is more group-oriented than is U.S. culture. Without any generalizations, meaningful intercultural business communication would become even more difficult than it is already. To concentrate only on the individual and approach every intercultural communication situation from ground zero would be exhausting and not very productive.   Development of Intercultural Communication Developing or enhancing intercultural communication necessitates a good amount of planning and application among business owners and managers. There are guiding principles that can be used in dealing with cultural diversity and for better intercultural communication. First, create contact with other cultural groups. Initiation of contact usually lessens and sometimes brings down the cultural barrier. The best way is to have a friendly approach and never to be discouraged by some negative perceptions and biases on that particular group. This will be helpful in being objective of the attitudes and values that they may have that may be necessarily different from yours. Further, a multitude of culturally different people leads to a casualness of being with them and unconsciously, accepting the differences and cherishing it. On the contrary, confining one’s self to a cultural group decreases the likelihood of ever understanding and accepting cultural diversity. Second, opening up with other cultural groups entails a prior knowledge of their background. This is not necessarily an academic knowledge or an extensive one. Just an overview of other cultures and some facts may help in dealing with them. This can be done through reading and even watching movies from their country. This may also trigger a more friendly contact with other cultures especially upon mention of anything that is familiar with them. Finally, age-old stereotypes and biases must be eliminated and downplayed. Further, ethnocentrism tends to be showcased by some groups. While there are more progressive countries, there are no superior civilizations. Each evolved and developed within contexts and thus, their progress is relative and subjective. Prior to the introduction of a business from a foreign location, managers must have a working knowledge of the culture in which they are operating. This generally calls for a sound cross-cultural training program for all managers destined for overseas assignments, and their families (, 1993). Initial planning and fact finding is also important. As information is power, the more information you can obtain about the other side, the better. This should begin well before any transaction commence and should involve learning about the organization, history, styles ad other related features of the other side. One should also identify all the potential issues to be discussed, prioritize the issues, establish a settlement range, and develop the strategies and tactics to be used during the course of action. If it is at all possible, one should assemble the team to conduct all preliminary discussions, individual assignments, and team organization to collect a satisfactory amount of information. Managers are responsible with this process because in the international business culture, managers “have many interests and reference points in common, and thus they converse easily among themselves” ( 1999, ). For example, a Mexican employee of Procter & Gamble may have completely accepted a corporate culture of timeliness and punctuality that, at least in the work setting, is replacing the traditional polychronic time orientation of Mexican culture ( 2000, ). Another instance, in the employee diversity in multinational corporations (MNCs), the knowledge of each other’s culture will lead to communal understanding and harmonious relationship bounded on respect and acceptance of individual and cultural differences (Adair 1997). Thus, it will lead to unified workforce that is directly oriented towards the growth and success of the business. Cross-cultural communication plays a vital role in any business world. The awareness and knowledge that they hold will provide needed information that could lessen up the problem of cultural resistance and differences. By doing it so, problems in communication could be minimized if not alleviated.   Hindrances in Intercultural Communication             As people exchange ideas, a lot of barriers may affect their communication process. Among the common and observable barriers of communication are ineffective listening skills, inconsistent verbal or nonverbal messages, resistance to change, individual bias, time limitations, distractions, personal assumptions as well as differences in race, culture, age, and religion. The issue is not so much the generalization about a culture but the reluctance to change one’s view as new evidence appears ( &  1995). Since personal individuality is definite, it is expected that there will always be hindrances in intercultural communication. Regardless of such identified barriers in the communication process, communication still plays a great role in good group performance ( 2001;  &  2000) especially to the operational functions present in the organization that operates worldwide. Thus, there is a mandatory need to improve the policies and frameworks in intercultural or cross-cultural communication.             In conclusion, the current business environment is a product of amalgamation of various factors contributed by business organizations themselves, its people, and emerging trends in the global business setting that affect operations and overall business conditions. With the forces of globalization and internationalization of industries, the communication process within business organizations is expected to level up or in some ways varies to support the demands of all areas and stakeholders concerned. The diversity in the workplace makes the communication even more wide-ranging and dynamic than expected. Considering the role of communication in business performance, it could be said that managing communication particularly in multicultural business setting is a basic necessity for business survival and maximum performance.   References   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

CROSS CULTUAL AWARENESS

Intercultural Communication: its Key Elements, Development and Hindrances Module name and code:...

Developing Cross-Cultural Capability: Oman

Developing Cross-Cultural Capability: Oman Executive Summary             Omani is a country that is considered as Middle Eastern country. Like other countries, Omani is also starting to build their strong relationship with other countries in the Middle East, Asia as well as the Western countries in terms of business. Like other countries, the country is also facing the primary problem of multinational countries, the cultural differences.             This paper will show the cultural differences of Oman against the culture of other countries that might affect the overall relationship of the country with the international market. In addition to that, it will also show solutions or strategy that might help to develop a healthy relationship between the country and the foreign companies. Introduction             Globalization, together with different technologies and the Internet are considered as the primary factors that affected the overall relation and connection of different companies and its important entities in the global market. Due to the said phenomenon, and the growing numbers of international and multinational companies, the need for international management is important. In addition to that, the role of a manager had emerged into the international responsibilities (Thomas 2002, p. xv). The responsibilities of the manager are becoming standard than the exclusion. Another important factor is that, managers are more prone in encountering different cultures (Thomas 2002, p. xv).             The field of international management is no longer restricted to the jet-setting corporate troubleshooters or even the experienced and veteran emigrant managers (Thomas 2002, p. 3). This is due to the fact that majority of businesses nowadays are considered as global business. That is why it is now hard to identify if a certain product or service is affected by the cross-boarder (Thomas 2002, p. 3).             Another important thing is that due to the remarkable change in terms of local and international aspect of economics, politics as well as the technology. All of the said aspects had helped to change and shape the roles and responsibilities of the international manager (Thomas 2002, pp. 3 – 4). International Management             There are different factors that had opened to the use of international management. Primarily, the disappearance of boundaries is one of the most important reasons. This has been the product of the free-trade system. It had resulted to the increasing numbers of the multinational corporations or the MNCs. The MNCs are operating their different activities such as production, sales and marketing as well as distribution in different headquarters in different countries. The said strategy is being done in order to take advantage of the different resources that can be used in convenience (Thomas 2002, p. 5). Example of this is the strategy of most of the companies to establish their branch or partner company in China, in order to take advantage of the low labor cost.             Introduction of different teams in the multicultural workplaces is in great need of change in the work methods, compensation system, level of employee involvement, the role of the first line managers as well as the leadership styles (Thomas 2002, p. 5).             Another important factor that had affected the international management is the impact of Information Technology of the IT. IT, together with the different technologies, that is related to it like the database, the Internet and the use of front-end programming language. It had helped many companies to centralize and standardize their processing of data. Furthermore, it had also helped many companies to control their data and information even with the presence of geographical gap. Cultural Implications of Oman             In the past 35 years, Oman has altered itself from a closed society to a progressive sultanate that benefit from a good relationship with the Arab nations as well as the West. Its 2.6 million inhabitants have a per capita of ,200, together with the reservation of crude oil of about 5.5 billion barrels. The said country is considered as a home of mostly Ibadhi Muslims, a sect that is traditional but open-minded (Moran & Harris 2007, p. 336).             Just like any country in the Arab World, Oman is also open for global or international relationship. Cultural differences are considered as one of the most important factor as well as dilemma that must be considered by any companies that are operating in the global market. That is the primary reason why most of the companies are implementing their thinking global and acting local strategies just like the Procter and Gamble. If a company goes into a business into another country and makes decisions and plan based on the operation of the mother company in the home country, then there is a big chance that it will create a bad decision and decrease the level of performance of the company in the global market (itim International 2003).             The Middle Eastern countries have a huge difference with the Western countries when it comes to business and organizational countries. Primarily, in Western countries, when they are negotiating, their main objective is to work toward a target mutual understanding as well as agreement. It will eventually lead to a shake-hand after reaching the mutual agreement. Shake-hand is the symbol for the end of the negotiation and the start of the process of working together. This is different from that of the Middle Eastern countries, negotiation takes place into an agreement that is symbolizes by shake-hand. But the deal is not yet over and completed, shake-hands is the cultural sign that the serious negotiation is just beginning (itim International 2003). Geert Hoftede Cultural Dimensions             Oman is part of the Arab World, together with other countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon etc. According to the result of the study of the itim International about the cultural characteristics of the Arab countries, the LPD and the UAI are considered as the most dominant dimension of the Hofstede. In general it’s Power Distance Index or PDI (80) and the Uncertainty Avoidance Index or UAI (68). The reason behind the result is that the countries that are belonging to the group are following their caste system that does not allow significant upward mobility of its citizens. They are also highly rule-oriented with the different laws, rules, regulations as well as the controls that helped them to reduce the amount of uncertainty, while inequalities of power and wealth have been allowed to grow within the society (itim International 2003).             In addition to that, the combination of the two said dimension had enabled to create a situation that helped the leaders to have an ultimate as well as strong authority with the help of different rules, laws as well as regulations. All of those aspects are developed via the reinforcement of their own leadership as well as control. That is why it is not extraordinary for a new headship to happen from an armed revolution using the definitive power, rather than using the political or the independent way of change (itim International 2003).             The ranking of the PDI indicates that it the country has a high level of inequality of power as well as wealth within the society. In addition to that, the citizens from the said countries have their expectation as well as acceptance that their leaders will be separating themselves from the group. Moreover, their condition is not necessarily threatened or weakened ahead the population, but they are considering it as part of their societal and cultural heritage (itim International 2003).             The Uncertainty Avoidance Index of the said country ranks to 68. It indicates that the society has a low tolerance for the different uncertainty. This is due to the fact that the government is doing their different rules, laws, policies as well as regulations that will help them to minimize or reduce the level of uncertainties of their citizens. The said effort had resulted into the high UAI characteristics. It only means that the society is not that ready to accept any change or risky adverse (itim International 2003).             In addition to that the Masculine index or the MAS also shows as the third highest among the Hoftede Dimension (52). This shows that the rights of the Arab women are somewhat limited. This can be explained via the influence of their religion (itim International 2003).             In terms of the Individualism, it had ranked at 38. It only means that the country is more of a collectivist rather than the individualist culture that is characterized by having a close and long-term commitment to the group such as family, extended family as well as other extended relationship. It also signifies that loyalty is a dominant in their culture and it is one of the most important factors in creating and establishing their different societal rules and policies (itim International 2003). Cultural Differences between Omani Organizations and Other Countries Individualism and Collectivism             Individualism is a cultural orientation that enables people to be belonged to the loose or free social framework. It also urges the people to think about their selves and their families. On the other hand the collectivism is the cultural orientation that enables the people to be involved in a tightly knit social framework. Primarily, these frameworks push the people to be dependent on their large as well as extended families or their clan (Nelson & Quick 2006, p. 40).             Omani organizations use the framework of collectivism as their primary strategy in managing as well as controlling their people. Like the collectivist managers from Japan as well as Columbia, Omani managers are also into the use of strategy in seeking different activities that will fit into the harmony and strong relationship of the group (Nelson & Quick 2006, p. 40). In addition to that, it also shows that the relationship between the employees and the employer is seen as family relationship. It encourages a strong loyalty on the part of the employee that is connected to the commitment of the employers to the security as well as the protection of their employees.  In addition to that, loyalty of the employees serve as an unwritten agreement that requires the employees to be faithful to the organization, their managers as well as their coworker and meet the expectations of the company by bringing out their best of ability (Mor-Barak 2005, p. 172). According to the study of 365 employees from different countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman; collectivist participatory is related with the strong group commitment and the belief about a common work ethics (cited in Mor-Barak 2005, p. 172).             The said mentality is somewhat different that of North American and British culture where in individualistic is being practice (Nelson & Quick 2006, p. 40). In addition to that, individualistic believe in individual reward system that will help to drive initiative and effort, while the collectivist believe in rewarding their employees by their group or team effort (cited in Mor-Barak 2005, p. 172). Men vs. Women             The Arabian Gulf society, where in Oman is included has been considered as the fortress of patriarchy and male chauvinism. The mentality of the Arabian countries or the Middle Eastern countries about their treatment and their allocation of rights for the woman had been affected by their religion (Al-Lamky 2007). This culture is somewhat different from other countries in West as well as Asia that considered men and women as equal.             Although, the country is now considered as one of those countries that are beginning to accept the role of the women in their business world,  the statistics of their working women in their government positions shows that the rights between the two sexes is not that equal (see appendix C). But the government is doing their effort in order to give their women citizens the equal rights with men. Omani women can participate with different public affairs, gather and form different associations as well as work in public offices (Al-Lamky 2007).             The issue about the sexuality is always one of the most talked subjects when it comes to the cultural differences. This is due to the fact that most of the American and European countries are open in putting female employees in higher position. This may create a conflict between the male employees in Oman if they will be handled by their female supervisor or manager. Management Style             The management styles that used by most of the Arab managers are the authoritarian and consultative. The authoritarian management style is somewhat not applicable for the American and European. But it is somewhat applicable for the Asian, due to the fact that their cultures are suitable for the authoritarian style. That is the primary reason why those employers from the Arabian Gulf prefer to have their Asian workers due to the fact that they are frequently reported as obedient to their superiors (Atiyyah 1996, p. 43).   Cultural Intelligence             Cultural intelligence is an important program that must be done by different companies in order to ensure that the cultural differences between their employees’ different nationality will not serve as a hindrance to the overall improvement of their performance. Cross-cultural Communication             Primarily, it is important to take a focus to the religion or the belief of their employees. This is due to the fact that lack of information or knowledge about the belief and tradition of a certain individual can be a cause of misunderstanding. A clear channel or mean of communication is important but it is also important to consider the non-verbal cues or the paralinguistic aspect of communication (cited in Earley & Ang 2003, p. 173). It pertains to the verbal behavior that is related to the beliefs, attitudes as well as the values of a person to another (Earley & Ang 2003p. 173). Role of Women             With accordance to the role of the women in an organization, it is important for the government to pursue more law that will totally give women their freedom in having a position in any government as well as private organization. In addition to that, each and every organization must also implement their different program that will ensure that their male workers will not make their female coworker to feel that they are being discriminated. In addition to that, they must also follow the orders of their female superiors.             It can be done by following the emotional or motivational level of cultural intelligence, where in the country must be able to follow the culture of other countries’ organization. This is due to the fact that most of the countries, more particularly from the Western countries, are not into the issue about sexes. Another thing is that the role of women in the international business had been one of the most important and the number of their success story had been growing. Collectivism and Individualism             In terms of collectivism and individualism, although the said management style or framework is considered as different, both of it has its own different applications. It means that there are particular case or scenario where in the collectivism will be helpful, so as the individualism.             The physical level of cultural intelligence will be helpful in improving the relationship of the country’s organization to another. It is important for the country’s organization to know the culture of other countries when it comes to their framework of leadership by applying it to their daily operations up to their decision-making. In addition to that, the use of the framework will be based on the people and their acceptance to the specific framework. It is important to make sure that different nation prefer different framework of leadership. Management Style             In the management style, it is important to take the cognitive level, where in the organization will be able to learn different information about the beliefs, customs as well as the taboos of the different foreign culture. By doing this, it will be able to prepare an employee to handle different situation that pertains to the cultural differences.             In addition to that Omani organization must be able to understand the difference between their management styles with the other countries’ organization. It is also important to make sure that the management style that will be implemented will be suitable to the culture of their employees. The management style that is being used for the locals must not be used in order to maintain their motivation and enthusiasm. On the other hand, in order to make sure that organizations are working local, they must be able to handle their human resource based on their culture. Conclusion             Culture differences are an important factor in every organization in the world. It is also considered as one of the most important issue that is being faced by many of human resource management of every company. Working in a multi-cultural company is not an easy activity due to the fact that it can affect their working environment as well as the overall performance of each and every employee. In addition to that culture differences can also create an awkward environment that will affect the performance of an employee.               In addition to that culture details are important in decision-making in different areas of human resource management such as hiring and selection, controlling, as well as other motivation-driver aspect of HRM such as compensation and benefits. On the other hand, it can also help in policy-making and in making important rules and regulations, limitations as well as law that will govern the different parts or aspects as well as department of an organization.             In Oman, the three primary cultural issues is the management style, role of women in the business as well as in the society as well as the difference between the management and motivation framework. All of the said issues have a huge difference between cultures of organizations in other countries. All of the said issues can be prevented and resolved by implementing a clear and open means or channel of communication that will enable the different cultures to interact and know each other, therefore will create an understanding. The said solution will be able to maintain harmony and peace inside an organization that will eventually reflect to the overall performance of an organization that will helped to maintain its position in the global market.     References   Al-Lamky, A 2007, ‘Feminizing Leadership in Arab Societies: The Perspective of Omani Female Leaders’, Women in Management Review, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 46-67   Atiyyah, H 1996, ‘Expatriate Acculturation in Arab Gulf Countries’, Journal of Management Development, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 37 – 47   Earley, C & Ang, S 2003, Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures, Stanford University Press   Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions 2003, itim International, viewed 31 March 2008, <http://www.geert-hofstede.com/>   Moran, R, Harris, P, & Moran, S 2007, Managing Cultural Differences: Global Leadership for Strategies for the 21st Century, Butterworth-Heinemann   Mor-Barak, M 2005, Managing Diversity: Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace, SAGE   Nelson, D & Quick, J 2006, Organizational Behavior: Foundations, Realities and Challenges, Thomson South-Western   Thomas, D. 2002, Essentials of International Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, SAGE   UAE-Oman Seminar 2007, International Enterprise Singapore, viewed 31 March 2008, <http://activities.iesingapore.gov.sg/TFM/TFMEvents.nsf/f0cfbb2bb 63dd6df482570ce002f5d3c/48256eb700163e46482573920025ff16/$FILE/ATTYO04R/UAE%20Oman%20Sem.pdf>   US Department of Commerce 1993, International Business Practice, Diane Publishing     Appendices   Appendix A: Different Dimension of Geert Hofstede   Power Distance Index (PDI) that is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society’s level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that ‘all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others’. Individualism (IDV) on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are inte-grated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word ‘collectivism’ in this sense has no political meaning: it refers to the group, not to the state. Again, the issue addressed by this dimension is an extremely fundamental one, regarding all societies in the world. Masculinity (MAS) versus its opposite, femininity refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. The IBM studies revealed that (a) women’s values differ less among societies than men’s values; (b) men’s values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women’s values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women’s values on the other. The assertive pole has been called ‘masculine’ and the modest, caring pole ‘feminine’. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men’s values and women’s values. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man’s search for Truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown, surprising, different from usual. Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safety and security measures, and on the philosophical and religious level by a belief in absolute Truth; ‘there can only be one Truth and we have it’. People in uncertainty avoiding countries are also more emotional, and motivated by inner nervous energy. The opposite type, uncertainty accepting cultures, are more tolerant of opinions different from what they are used to; they try to have as few rules as possible, and on the philosophical and religious level they are relativist and allow many currents to flow side by side. People within these cultures are more phlegmatic and contemplative, and not expected by their environment to express emotions. Long-Term Orientation (LTO) versus short-term orientation: this fifth dimension was found in a study among students in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars It can be said to deal with Virtue regardless of Truth. Values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one’s ‘face’. Both the positively and the negatively rated values of this dimension are found in the teachings of Confucius, the most influential Chinese philosopher who lived around 500 B.C.; however, the dimension also applies to countries without a Confucian heritage. Source: (itim International 2003) Appendix B: Female and Male in the Sultanate of Oman: A Statistical Portrait   Occupation No. of Females No. of Males Percentage of Females to Total Undersecretary 3 28 9.7 Secretary General 0 11 0 Ambassador 1 28 3.4 Majilis A’Shara 2 80 2.4 Majis A’Dawla 5 37 11.9 Advisor 4 117 3.3 Director General 10 154 6.1 Total 25 455 5.2 Adapted from (cited in Al-Lamky 2007) Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Developing Cross-Cultural Capability: Oman

Developing Cross-Cultural Capability: Oman Executive Summary Omani is a country that is considered as Middle Eastern count...