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A reflective glance on cultural diversity
Cultural dimensions of brazil
Positive and negative effects of cultural diversity
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Recommended: A reflective glance on cultural diversity
We live in a society that is surrounded with people from all over the world. This culturally diverse environment creates a melting pot; a place where different peoples, styles, and theories are mixed together and coexist despite their cultural differences. This cultural diffusion can be seen in countries around the world. The book describes culture as a set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions held by a specific group of people. Wild (2014). There are numerous cultures with different views on the smallest of details fluctuating from the way you greet to the way you eat. Each culture has their unique characteristic that sets them apart from the next. Cultures have their various techniques to express their attitudes, respect, and communication …show more content…
Set aside the wonderful qualities this country can offer, you can focus at the spinal cord of how this country operates. Brazilians value a strong family foundation. Not only is their family tree long and extensive they manage to be tremendously close to one another as well, physically and emotionally. Brazilian’s dependents on their families and close loved ones is a bond that not even GOD can break. This comes to no surprise considering 75% of the country is Roman Catholic (Meyer, 2010). Etiquette and customs in Brazil much different compared to the United States. When saying hello to a stranger, a manager before a meeting or a friend customs in this country would be for women to greet with a kiss on each cheek and men to greet with a firm handshake (Meyer, 2010). During meetings, Brazilians are known for talking about current events and engaging in social conversation prior to discussing the assigned topic for the conference. Business’ will not engage with companies, but rather the individual themselves requiring the team members to be acquainted on a personal level (Meyer, 2010). The term dress to impress is stressed in Brazil’s culture tremendously. If attending a friend’s house for dinner it is expected for the guest to overdress in elegant apparel and to not dress casually. When attending a dinner or event, it is customary to bring a small gift (without the colors purple or black due to the connection of mourning) for the host as it shows gratitude. Brazilians, unlike other Latin American countries, are imperative on arriving early. Brazil’s culture has influenced the world especially the United
Culture often means an appreciation of the finer things in life; however, culture brings members of a society together. We have a sense of belonging because we share similar beliefs, values, and attitudes about what’s right and wrong. As a result, culture changes as people adapt to their surroundings. According to Bishop Donald, “let it begin with me and my children and grandchildren” (211). Among other things, culture influences what you eat; how you were raised and will raise your own children? If, when, and whom you will marry; how you make and spend money. Truth is culture is adaptive and always changing over time because
As we all know, Brazilians like to party a lot. That’s why we have this holiday, and it’s very different around the world. First of all I will answer some of your questions, and the first one is: what is that famous holiday that all Brazilians talk about? The Brazilian Carnaval is the best holiday ever for us. We have four days of fun, starting at Friday night, and ending at Wednesday at 12pm. Every city in Brazil celebrates that. And what is so cool about it besides four days of partying? The greatest thing about the Carnaval is that we can choose how much we can spend, if we want a public party, a private one, or
Brazil and the United States were both discovered and colonized by Europeans even though their population cultural patterns differ. The way that Brazilians and Americans relate to their families differ. While Americans are raised to be individualists, Brazilians are known to have a close-knit family; Consequently, supporting your family members in Brazil is considered an imperative value. As a result, young Americans achieve their independence much earlier than young Brazilians.
Introduction Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America. It is the 5th largest country worldwide in terms of both areas (more than 8.5 Mio. km2) and inhabitants (appr. 190 million).
Lets start by understanding that cultures are a melting pot of people’s beliefs, language, behaviors, values, material objects, and norms. Norms are written and non-written “expectations of behavior” that govern a certain location, place, or culture (26). These norms also vary from culture to culture meaning what is a norm in the U.S may not be a norm in India. For example, a norm in America would be tipping a waiter after a meal. Another would be acknowledging someone as you walk past him or her, typically done at work or in a public place. In all, norms are folkways, mores, taboos, and written laws that are an established standard of one’s behavior.
Brazil is far from being a paradise on Earth. There is still a lot to be done. But from the eyes of an expat, I can see clearer the results of continuous transformations in Brazil than my fellow compatriots who are living and experiencing every small change over time. I have seen more changes in education and health happening lately than during my entire lifetime. I grew up hearing from several sources that Brazil would some day be the "country of the future." I thought that I would not live to see this day. Today, I can say that we are closer to the promised "future" than we ever were. Brazil is not the same as it was ten years ago. This country can finally be proud to honor the words written on its flag - "Order and Progress."
Cultures are infinitely complex. Culture, as Spradley (1979) defines it, is "the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experiences and generate social behavior" (p. 5). Spradley's emphasizes that culture involves the use of knowledge. While some aspects of culture can be neatly arranged into categories and quantified with numbers and statistics, much of culture is encoded in schema, or ways of thinking (Levinson & Ember, 1996, p. 418). In order to accurately understand a culture, one must apply the correct schema and make inferences which parallel those made my natives. Spradley suggests that culture is not merely a cognitive map of beliefs and behaviors that can be objectively charted; rather, it is a set of map-making skills through which cultural behaviors, customs, language, and artifacts must be plotted (p. 7). This definition of culture offers insight into ...
The United States is a country with a diverse existing population today; this country is known as a melting pot of different cultures, each one unique in its own respect. Culture; differentiate one societal group from another by identification beliefs, behaviors, language, traditions, Art, fashion styles, food, religion, politics, and economic systems. Through lifelong, ever changing processes of learning, creativity, and sharing culture shapes our patterns of behavior as well thinking. The Culture’s significance is so intense that it touches almost every aspect of who and what we are. Culture becomes the telescope through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us. Trying to define the perplexing term of culture with varying component of distinguishable characteristics is difficult to restrict. Presenly, culture is viewed as consisting primarily of the symbolic, untouched and conception aspects of human societies.
The word 'culture' is often described in terms of concrete ideas or social artifacts. Gary R. Weaver describes some common conceptions such as "good taste," "art or music," or "something that people in exotic foreign lands had."1 However, culture in the context of international assignments relates to how people perceive the world and the influence this perception has on their actions. It is culture on the interpersonal level. Different cultures can perceive the same thing differently, which leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding when one crosses into another culture not their own.
The people of Brazil often have a very friendly and easy-going energy about them. There are a number of non-verbal dynamics that include touching, hand gestures, and high boundary tolerance. Brazilians have less sense of personal space than North Americans and are not bothered being packed together in crowded public places. While in some societies touching has sexual overtones, Brazilians equate it with friendship and a show of concern. According to iorworld.com “Touching forms a large part of Brazilian communication”.
According to Hofstede’s (1980), ‘culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another… culture in the sense, includes systems of values: and values are among the building blocks of culture.’ It is necessary to determine how culture impacts our communication behavior as culture directly influences our perception and understanding of the message that is transmitted from one party to another. People from different cultures encode and decode messages differently; this therefore increases the chances of misunderstanding. Intercultural communication refers to interactions between people whose cultural assumptions are so different that the communication between them is altered. Verderber, Verderber, & Sellnow, (2010).
Norms are by definition general society guidelines and expectations of appropriate behavioral conduct in a particular environment or society. These guidelines could be formal and written such as laws that prohibit stealing or they could be implicit such as behavioral conduct or dress code. Every society has its own way of endorsing and enforcing certain norms and standards of proper behavior while renouncing and sanctioning improper behavior. In general, norms are of a significant importance because they guide our behavior and maintain order in society by providing conformity. Furthermore, norms render behavior predictable rather than random, thus allowing us to predict and understand other people’s actions and behaviors in different situations. On the other hand, divergence from norms is termed “deviance” and can lead to chaos and instability. It is noteworthy to mention, that the culture background and context play an important role as each culture processes its own norms, values, standards and expectations. For instance, in certain cultures shaking hands between opposite sexes is inappropriate, and this is the case in Yemen. Thus our perception of norms in different culture is critical: either we choose to understand an individual’s behavior according to his own culture context and set of norms (cultural relativity) or we choose to understand an individual’s behavior according to our own culture which we believe to be more superior (ethnocentrism). An example of ethnocentrism where norms and values of a certain culture have been imposed on another is the banning of the veil worn by muslim women in France. In contrast, cultural relativism appears in Lebanon where muslim women are perceived in terms of their own culture and are a...
Culture, a word almost everyone hears whenever there is sociological discussion that transcends various formats ranging from scholarly articles to local news station broadcasts. Culture contains a myriad of definitions depending on the perspective and lenses used to view it. Since it is a difficult concept to grasp at first, we do not realize the true scale of culture and its responsibility in dictating many actions within our daily lives. Different cultures are found all throughout the world, from the ever increasing western culture to smaller tribal cultures such as the wintu in California (“Vanishing Voices”). What must be taken into account is the fact that culture is heavily intertwined within society, since they both interact with each other in some way.
Learning is the most essential part of communication it shows that you can process multiple ideas at once and not judge but seek to understand where another person’s ideas are coming from as well. People have their own reasons and narratives that shape what they believe to be their goods and why they protect these goods. Each person’s goods are representative of their culture. Culture is a collection of ones history learned styles, patterns, and perceptions that continu...
In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.