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Cultural Identity and Cultural Biases
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Abstract For those of us located within the United States, we often take or granted the nornal day to day business operations. Though the United States has a mix of several distict cultures, most companies operate in the same manner. In fact, Americans often make the mistake of assuming that standard business models are the norm in other countries as well. For the corporate executive charged with creating an overseas operation, lack of local culture understanding and its influence on business methods will most likely result in greater start-up dificulties if not complete faliure. This paper hopes to develop a better awareness of various cultures and their influence on business methods and models. It will focus on the challenges in dealing with people from two different countries, Moroco and Pakistan, and offer some insight as to developing solutions to cultural differences. Literature Review Several sources of information were used in drafting this report. Due to the internet I was able to obtain current articles on both countries. Also, I even went so far as to log onto chat rooms specifically created for and attended by Pakistanis and Moroccans. There I asked questions regarding the motovations, beliefs, and values of the people from both countries. The repose was postive in that Moroccans and Pakistanis were more tham happy to answer my questions. Both parties seemed to be very nationalistic and pround of their countries. It is interesting to note that most of the people I was chating with were expatriots, most of whom are located on the United States. Though I found the chat rooms an interesting place to speak with Pakistanis and Moroccans, the information I gathered was limited. I attribute this to chat room formats that only allow a person to respond with short sentences. I later found a Pakistani chat room that allowed real time voice data transmission (www.pakison.com) which functioned like a two way radio. There people were able to express their thought and opinions regarding their home countries in more detail. The next couple of sections will detail the main differences between the cultures of Morocco and Pakistan. As I was conducting my reasearch on the two nations I quickly came to the conclusion that Morocco and Pakistan are more similar to each other than they are different. Though they have many commonalities, this does not mean that the challenges are any less for the international manager.
In her book Ahmed al-Mansur the Beginnings of Modern Morocco Mercedes Garcia-Arenal examines various aspects of interaction between Morocco and the much of the influential world that resulted in their military, political, economic and spiritual success. This success ensured that Morocco did not face the same colonization that their neighboring nations were subject to. Under the rule of Ahmed al-Mansur Morocco entered into the global class of influential nations becoming well connected with both regional affairs and global ones.
Understanding the business side and the country culture can help build a better understanding of how the business should come into the company and how the business should operate and viewed by members of the community. According to Professor Hofstede, “Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy.
Societies have different cultures and people in each culture are grown and raised with a set of norms, values, and beliefs. These shared values and beliefs are learned from their childhood through their adulthood. Culture is not something which everyone is born with, but it is something which everyone learns while growing up. It does not only influence the daily lives, but it also influences the business activities which take place in that particular society. Many of us work with people who have different backgrounds and that makes it important for us to understand the differences between cultures. So, although cultures might look similar, there are differences in many aspects which distinguish them from each other. There are five cultural
In any firm, having an effective management culture is critical to a firm’s success. But once you look at this topic on an international scale, culture can change based on what is right and wrong in a different country. To demonstrate this theory, I have interviewed two different people who have either came to work in the United States from another country, or born domestically and have experience working abroad. One of them is my father, James Lai (Exhibit A); he is an immigrant from Hong Kong, China and have worked extensively in the graphics design industry for many large companies. Some of these companies that he has worked for includes the following: Toymax (now currently a subsidiary of Jakk Pacific Inc.), TecnoZone, The Zone & ENE Group
The following sections explore the cultural differences encountered by all businesses desiring to expand their organizations internationally. There are many elements which comprise a country’s culture. Unfortunately, many of these elements are not obvious and are all too often overlooked. For most, international culture is typically associated with visible and/or audible elements such as language, food, music and fashion. In 1976 Edward T. Hall developed “The “Iceberg Model of Culture” (Figure 1) which provides a good visual aid to broaden one’s understanding of the plethora of cultural elements which businesses should understand and consider. The “Iceberg Model” illustrates both visible (surface)
The region of Maghreb, situated along the north-west African coast, has been an Arab-dominated area for more than a thousand years. Today’s Maghreb consists of five countries: Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Most of the indigenous population regard themselves as Arabs, though there are also many non-Arabs, too. Those include the Berbers, who also regard the Maghreb as their homeland. The region’s language is predominantly Arabic, but to better facilitate international trade and business activities, major languages such as English French, and Italian are also spoken in some Maghreb countries. Religion is overwhelmingly Muslim, with only the smallest percentage being those of the Christian and Jewish faiths. The political systems of the countries are similar. Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia, Libya all have presidents, while Morocco has a king. Following the Arab Spring, the transformation of power has changed Tunisia and Libya. Also, the king of Morocco pointed to a new constitution and a reduction of his power by elected government. The Mauritania military au...
Two blocks east of the ocean, stretch your legs at Santa Monica Place and the adjacent Third Street Promenade, an indoor/outdoor shopping area and icon of contemporary Southern California urban culture. The surrounding streets are among the liveliest in Southern California; people actually walk, enjoying street performers, trendy cafes, bookshops, and movie theaters.
The Kingdom of Morocco, which is located in Northwestern part of Africa, this is one of only three Kingdoms lefts on the continent of Africa. This countries Constitutional monarchy ran by a single king, has shown that there have been leaps and bounds of progression. The current king is trying to turn his country into something that more along the lines mimics a democracy, having freedom of expression, and equal rights among citizens. Even the military is comparable to what the United States has, there size is not comparable to our Armed Forces but how they have the military broken down in regiments, brigades, and battalions, and it mimics ours. Their Military would be a combination of our police and Armed Forces put together, carrying similar duties. The country of Morocco has an abundance of rich natural and cultural treasures; they are a plethora of interests that will not disappoint any type of traveler’s interests and desires, Morocco’s diverse country filled with many natural endeavors that would peak any type of interests. This beautiful country is an outdoorsman dream from the mountains you can hike and mountain bike, the lakes for even the amateur angler, and the snow packed mountaintops for the ski trails. Morocco has a copious amounts of different intriguing sites including medieval cities, the Saharan desert, valleys, the seas, and the mountains which where majority of their cultures thrives today. The cuisine of morocco considered one of the best and unmatched culinary that would please any types of consumers. It has reasonably been unchanged for generations with the strong cultures that have lived there for hundreds of years.
Morocco,is a country in the northwestern corner of Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the north and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. The Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, separates Morocco from Spain by only about 8 miles (13 kilometers). Fertile plains lie along Morocco's coasts, and forested mountains stretch across the middle of the country from southwest to northeast. Beyond the mountains lies a sun-baked desert, the Sahara. Rabat is Morocco's capital, and Casablanca is the largest city. Nearly all Moroccans are of mixed Arab and Spanish descent. But the people make up two distinct ethnic groups--Arab and Spanish--depending mainly on whether they speak Arabic or Spanish. Almost all Moroccans are Muslims. Farming is the chief occupation, and more than half the people live in rural areas. France and Spain controlled Morocco from the early 1900's until it won independence in 1956.
Introduction One of the mainly electrifying essentials of contemporary times is the urbanisation of the globe. For sociological reasons, a city is a relatively great, crowded and lasting community of diverse individuals. In metropolitan areas, urban sociology is the sociological research of life, human interaction and their role in the growth of society. Modern urban sociology is created from the work of sociologists such as Max Weber and Georg Simmel who put forward the economic, social and intellectual development of urbanisation and its consequences. The aim of this essay is to explain what life is like in the ‘big metropolis’, both objectively and subjectively.
As companies grow and put heavier weight on the importance of globalization, the need for companies to partake in cultural learning becomes more and more vital. With the various cultures worldwide, companies will find it highly beneficial to not only learn what makes the people within these cultures tick, but more importantly, apply it to their business strategies. In order to successfully manage, merge, or trade with other countries, one must understand how cultures differ from each other and what steps they need to take to be successful when conducting business with these cultures. The use of cultural anthropologists has proven beneficial for companies like Google, Intel, and Microsoft in implementing their business
Since the end of World War II, international operations have become a reality for an increasing number of corporations. Many of these initial efforts began as simple export schemes to sell goods overseas to supplement domestic sales. Over time, however, international operations have become increasingly more complex: from joint-ventures to purchasing existing foreign firms to ‘green-field’ start-ups. While export operations usually require no more than extended business trips overseas, more complex international operations demand long-term assignments of key personnel outside their home-country. What would normally be considered routine business transactions in the home country can become very complicated when they are conducted between individuals and organizations from different cultures. In this essay we will examine how this cultural gap can affect international business and joint ventures.
“Red is a positive color in Denmark, but represents witchcraft and death in many African countries,” (Understand and heed, 1991, p.1). Simple understandings, such as this one, can make the difference in a business’ success or failure in a foreign country. Various countries have different customs and beliefs that need to be accustomed to when business are to be successful. American businesses especially have difficulties with this concept. “At times in the past, Americans have not had a good track record of being sensitive to cultural distinctions,” (Understand and heed, 1991, p.3). Perhaps this is because America is made up of so many different cultures that American people have become so used to easily adjusting to each other’s differences that they forget that other cultures are not as flexible. Today, more American’s are becoming more sensitive to the differences of other cultures. This sensitivity and understanding has come with a price, after a long string of business failures. It is not until a business fails miserably in another country that they see the adjustments that should have been made in order for their success to be a possibility. With an understanding and sensitivity to the customs and beliefs of other cultures, it is possible for successful businesses that have originated in western cultures to also be successful in foreign countries as well.
Tylor has pointed out that "culture is complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society". According to this definition, it is easy to know that every nation has different cultural preferences, national tastes and value standards. These factors impact on every part of management in multinat...
The importance of communication gets magnified when dealing with different countries with contrasting cultures. The significance of the invisible but influential cultural differences in business communication would be impossible to neglect in pursuing success. Cultural factors assume a central role even though the market is increasingly becoming global. Still, nations continue to voice claims to their rights to culture even in international businesses. National culture remains a critical factor shaping demographic behavior, economic development and general business policies. The HR department has to approach this reality as an invisible to encounter in working with different countries. Being aware of and sensitive to differences in culture is essential to succeed for a transnational firm. It is essential, however, to acknowledge that cultural values keep changing. Especially in China and India, cultural values have been changing over the decades with their trend shifting from traditional collective values as a reflection of modernization, westernization and priority of the individual over the collective (Sparrow,