Understanding the Cultural Frame of Reference- Reloaded

"The world indeed is a small place.. You never know what pops up next.. It all moves so quickly!"..

Ever heard that before? We bet you would have! But ever stopped for a moment and pondered over it? Why do some people believe this? Is it a mere exaggeration? Do they even mean it when they say that the world is becoming smaller? Is it shrinking physically or is there a colorful metaphor behind this thought?

Now, before we bombard you with more questions that may lead you to just close this page and flee, let us give you a slight background on who we are and what we are trying to do in this blog.

We are group 5 from MGT 3430 (Intercultural Communication for Business) S01 class. Our group name is "Criss Crossing Hitch Hiker" (finding the name a trifle weird? We shall elaborate on it) and the hitch hikers of this group are:

1. CHAU Philip Tak Wing (Photographer)

2. CHENG Choi Ling Janice (Researcher)

Hi, I am Cheng Choi Ling Janice. I am a year two student studying in BBA GBSM. I am a little bit indifferent when I meet people for the first time. But I become enthusiastic when I get to know them. I am an easygoing person. I love my family, especially, my grandma. I try to spend as much time as I can to be with her. I have a lot of friends. They are all very kind to me. My friends and I both have common interests- sports. I emphasis a lot on team sports because I like to co-operate and communicate with people. I train very hard and take all the trainings seriously so as to win in the game. And I am very satisfied with what I have.

3. LAM Lok Fei Maserati (Researcher)

My name is LAM Lok Fei Maserati. Hi! I am 22-year-old undergraduate. My major is Global Business System Management. I born in Guangzhou in China and immigrated to Hong Kong in 1997. It is a special memory because it was the time Hong Kong returned to China. I studied in local primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong for 11 years. I became a member of City University of Hong Kong in 2008. I like learning English very much. I am good at economics and accounting. I love to know more about the cultures around the world.

4. Gargi SHARMA (Blog Writer)

Hey! This is Gaargi Sharma. I am a 19 year old (yes, I am STILL a teenager!) year two, BBA GBSM student. Oh! I am also the writer of this blog. I hail from this lovely 'city of dreams' in the western part of India called Bombay. I came to Hong Kong just last year and I have been fascinated by this city ever since then! To talk about my hobbies- I love to read books of different genres, have been inclined towards music since the time I was a kid and I tend to call myself as a 'Freelance Writer' who loves to write in subtext and explore layers of meanings. I also love to do community service and my aim is to complete all the things that I have jotted down in my long 'to-do' things in life (one of which is to learn more about different cultures and languages!)

And we are going to be 'hitch hiking' in a 'criss cross' fashion on all the topics related to Intercultural Business Communication. So, elaborating on our group name. Intercultural Communication for us is more of intermingling of a variety of cultures in a very distinct pattern. Actually, it has no pattern; it is all just random which moves in and out of each other in a very systematic yet haphazard manner. According to us, this scenario could be best described by just two terms "Criss Cross". They are random yet neat. Systematic yet haphazard. Mysterious yet lovely. Moving on to the second half of the title "Hitch Hikers"; the meaning is very straight forward. Hitch hikers are the ones who travel anywhere and everywhere, especially by making the use of free rides and trying to take maximum possible risks. Hitch Hikers can be metaphorically associated with the current business tycoons who love to take the risk and expand their claws in the unknown territories. Since we are business students, for us, being like these 'hitch hikers' is the ultimate destination. Hence, we’ve the said term.

Terms like changing worlds, new markets, global initiatives, global sourcing, offshoring, virtual teams are not alien to us business students. But the major question that arises here is: Is the world prepared? Are we prepared? This video raises questions that enable us to understand the growing need to be prepared for changes. After all the only constant in this world is CHANGE, right?

Pick of the week:

The blog that we’ve chosen to review is titled “Day-to-day interaction in the US and Germany” from the typepad blog called ‘German Joys’ which is written by Andrew Hammel. Mr. Hammel is HawardLaw School graduate and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Duesseldorf. His blogs are meant solely for educational purposes, and they provide readers with a platform to exchange free opinions. The blog is mainly directed towards the Germans. This is quite explicit through the categories wherein most of the titles commence with the term ‘German’. Moreover, it might imply that it is usually the Germans who read and follow him based on the comments that he receives on his different posts.

What is so interesting, eh?

There is a stark contrast between their behaviour in the public sphere. While in US, there is a sheer minimisation of the boundaries between public and private sphere, there is a vast difference between these spheres in Germany. Public sphere cannot be easily transformed into friendships from a German's view point. Social distance, which is a common German characteristic, might be very uncomfortable for an American who would want to take even the public sphere to a personal level. This may lead to Germans visiting or living in the US to judge them subsequently as superficial and devoid of all substance. Thus, what the Americans see as arrogance is the German nature while what Germans see as superficial is the US nature. The insider and outsider division between the public and private places varies between an American and a German. This, most of the times, results in patterned misunderstandings at an interpersonal level of interaction. It is necessary to be aware of these cultural differences.

As Karan points out that Cultural differences are inevitable and it has been more vividly visible to us owing to the growing globalisation. It is impossible to understand all the cultural differences since every group, community, organization, institution and even country has its unique cultures. However, it can surely be avoided by being sensitive towards other cultures so that one can avoid unsavory interactions among diverse cultures. There are several other ways by which we could do this.

Avoiding slang and idioms and choosing words that convey only the most specific meaning is one way of achieving this, as noted by ilove3430. One must respect the local formalities and styles, watch for any changes in body language and investigate other's cultural perception of one’s own culture by reading literature about one’s culture through their eyes before communicating with them.

Now, moving back to Germans and Americans! Pleasantness and a good character are a few of the most important so-called 'criteria' for Germans to cultivate friendships. So, the Germans, unlike Americans, try not to establish relations ONLY on the interests. The direct way of thinking and speaking of Germans might prevent the fostering of a good friendship with Americans or for that matter, anyone who has this distinctive 'American style of thinking.'

Before moving on, we think it is important to recognize 2411Mr. Aphorism’s comment: “Cultural differences mean shocks, inspirations and creativity. They are like non-Asians discovering chopsticks stands and finally turning them into an innovation of pencil stands. These show how people can discover things they have never thought of through understanding other cultures.”

What do the Hitch Hikers think?

Mr. Hammel has spoken about the cultural differences that can be explicitly seen between Germans and Americans. The differences, he points out, stem from daily lives. He not only tries to put forth his own view points across but also takes the support of the article penned down by an American Sociologist named Stephen Kalberg, thereby making his blog more concrete and comprehensive. From the knowledge gaining point of view, this blog enables the readers from different nooks and corners of the world to understand the common day-to-day habits of Germans and Americans.

However, at the same time, lack of any personal thoughts makes the blog slightly unimpressive because it makes the reader think that he is merely reading an article taken out from Kalberg's book. Mr. Hammel's own perspective on the said issue would have given this topic another layer of thoughts, resulting in a better read for the readers. Furthermore, a tinge of personal tone, according to us would have done wonders to the flow of the post.

Tickle your grey cells:

It is important to note that we often forget about the different cultural frame of reference. Majority of people believe that 'globalisation would eventually lead to the elimination of cultural diversity'. One of the questions that you could chew on would be- Would the traits like these that are common in Germans and Americans be eliminated due to Globalisation? We got lovely responses from our fellow mates. We thought it would be much better to acknowledge it in a new section altogether. They deserve it!

3430_magic S^^ thinks that different cultures have their own cultural identities, which cannot be changed. For instance, a Chinese who migrates to the United States may still celebrate the Spring Festival when he gets old, and pass it on to his progeny. In the same way, a German may try to change his communication style when he needs to deal with an American, but he will stay the same when he comes in contact with the natives. We think that this is just a part of the picture. Globalisation has led people adopting different strategies like acculturation, assimilation, bicultural attitude and marginal attitude (also Hermit!). We will elaborate on it on our next blog (Now you know what our next blog is on. No prizes for guessing!)

3430_Robert explains further that in primitive societies, humanity formed a tribe and lived in a small area. However, nowadays people can go wherever they want to go. About five thousand years ago, theterritory of Xia Dynasty of China was only about one tenth of current territory of China. And Xia Dynasty contained hundreds of slave states. With the passage of time, many other cultures were integrated. China is just an example. Many other countries like India, European Nations, United States of America, etc. have similar history. Different cultures and countries will eventually be integrated. Hence, one day the world will become one world.

Some more treasure to dig in:

Apart from the above blog, we also came across another interesting blog one the similar lines titled ‘The minefield of intercultural communication’. This blog also explores the differences between a German and an American way of thinking, albeit by sticking onto the general examples and utilizing a much simpler lingo instead of jargons. We shouldbecome aware of the differences and not let the communication failures contribute to the perceived set of stereotypes. Since this blog was written by an average citizen, residing in Germany, we thought it would be a much better idea to select the blog which had a much wider scope and a comprehensive content.

Finally, the third most interesting blog that we would love you guys to go and read would be ‘How to understand people from different world views’. It talks about American-style culture and appropriate methods to cope with some of the culture differences like:

Shame vs Honour
Unapproved vs Approved
Disrespect vs Respect

Guilty vs Innocence
Right vs Wrong

Even here, the author tries to illustrate how the views within the culture, specifically, the North American culture changing. Yes, it brings us back to square one, right to where we began. Talking about the need for CHANGE and how necessary it is to be in sync with the world and abreast with the change taking place around us. The most appropriate solution to this would be trying to identify the cultural frame of reference. It ain’t as difficult as it sounds. In fact, reading books or talking to people from different cultural backgrounds might just highlight these cultural differences vividly, thereby, broadening your horizons and widening your perspectives!

That’s why we say,

"The world indeed is a small place.. You never know what pops up next.. It all moves so quickly!"..!

We would like to thank all the people who made an effort to comment on our blog and also to all the people who visited but could not comment. It has been a learning experience for us and your ideas, suggestions and views has egged us on further to do well and come up with better blogs. We had more than 450 visitors in these two weeks from different parts of the world- United States, Netherlands, India, China, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, etc. Yes, technology has advanced a great deal, right? It makes us feel great that all of you made the effort of hiking on to our blog. We are glad that you all appreciated our work. Reading your wonderful comments made us believe that all our efforts and pains were worth it! Please do keep on visiting us and giving us those valuable comments. The comments that you share will help us improve and be more knowledgeable individuals.