Slide 1

The Cultural Dimensions of Globalization

20-June-2011Tim Flood, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Management [Global] & Corporate CommunicationUNC Kenan-Flagler Business SchoolTim_Flood@unc.edu WorldViewGlobal Education Leaders ProgramWhat are We Talking About Today? Variations by culture in thought, action and reaction

Why talk about these variations? Because, as K-12 & community college administrators, you are Gatekeepers Mediators Motivators Standard-Setters But really, really busy and without enough time for all the fights and firesSo, Choices?Shortcuts?Awareness?Terminology?Studying Intercultural Communication: Key Images

Culture as an Iceberg:

The visible portion is but a fraction of the whole

The unseen portion offers foundation balance additional substance counterpoint hazzard to the unaware

The waterline represents the shift between known and unknownoccurs at various points for various people slides and waves and wanders for even the most culturally sensitive Studying Intercultural Communication: Key Images

The Visible Portion IncludesLanguageFashion MediaIndustryHeroesSportsOccupationsBiz Models Success EntertainmentGreetingsHolidaysGovernment LawsWaterline = A Lens, Filter or FrameTransparent, translucent or opaque?The Unseen Portion IncludesSense of SelfNeedsTrustSatisfactionInsightHopesAspirationsRespectFearsUnderstandingBeliefsValuesLikeability Leadership

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

Check, on Your Own TimeStudying Intercultural Communication: Key Images

Choices we can tell we makeChoices we often make without realizing

Circumstances we accept without thinking

Collective / Collectivist CulturesIndividual / Individualist CulturesTightly-knit societies where individuals look after each other & the common good, in exchange for loyalty and relative conformity. Loosely-knit societies where individuals take care of themselves and their circles of immediate family and friends. Eastern (Communist as companion term?) Western (Capitalist as companion term?) Emphasis on Place within a Society (Saving Face)Emphasis on Self (Getting Face Time)Attention to Following Leaders, Staying within Established Hierarchy, Castes Attention to Independence, Providing for Social Mobility, Individual Initiative Belief in Truth from Consensus (Relative) Belief in Truth from Institutions (Absolute) Longer Histories Relatively Shorter Histories Traditional, Attention to What Came Before Iconoclastic, Attentive to What Looms Ahead Cyclical, Circular Sense of Time Linear Sense of Time Long-Term Planning Short-Term Planning Delayed Gratification Immediate Gratification Focus on Harmony, Emphasis on Self-Denial Focus on Achievement, Emphasis on Self-Reliance Interdependence, Hierarchy, Cooperativeness, Commonality Autonomy, Equality, Competitiveness, Intellectual Property Slow to innovate but quick to embrace change once realized Quick to innovate but often without sense of consequence Connection to nature, environment, ancestors, holistic medicineConnection to technology, productivity, reactive (modern) medicine Confucius: Doctrine, Dialectic, Relations/Relativism (It depends) Aristotle: Eloquence, Logic, Forms and Classifications (It is) Pursuit of deep, meaningful relationshipsPursuit of sensible, effective bottom-lines The Foundation of All ModelsThe Foundation of All Models

Situation-Specific (Link)

Everyday Dealings (Link)

And Another World View?

The Richard Lewis ModelLewis Activity Matrices Linear Active: bases actions on facts, standards, customs, norms. Logical. Reactive: bases actions on the particulars of a specific time, incident, or collaborator. Situational. Multi-Active: bases actions on no one model, often acts from the heart or without thinking. Spontaneous. Bases truth on facts, data, science Prefers plans, schedules, timeframes Values credibility and individuality Rarely interrupts Rarely shows emotions in public situations Defers truth in favor of respect, saving face Seems time as fluid and flexible Values hierarchy and relationships Rarely interrupts or speaks out Prioritizes respectful responses in public Bases truth on immediate impact/outcome Rarely keeps schedules or holds to plans Values relationships and friendship Interrupts frequently Sees emotionality as essential The Richard Lewis ModelCultural Differences areReal, Pervasive,IndescribableInnate The Richard Lewis Model

Nice to meet you.Yeah, nice to meet you too.You are very kind.Hey gorgeous! My great pleasure is to meet you.Do you have your paperwork?Yes, two copies.Yes, thank you very much for your kind help.I dont; do you have copies I could fill out here?Do you understand what Im saying?Yes. (If they do understand)Yes. (Even if they dont )Im sorry; what were you saying? Our office is open 9:00 to 5:00.Great, thank you.See you at 8:45 but no rush. I cant get there until 6:30. Would you wait?Shall we meet at 11:00?See you at 11:00Doesnt say this out loud but thinks and doesIll arrive at 10:00 and wait Agrees but then actually behaves like this:Ill be glad to see you whenever I arrive No, I cant do that for you.Why not?Thank you.Sure you can; what about these options?Talking to someone who stole, misrepresented, failed to deliver on a promise Prove it.No, I would never do that. [Whether accurate or inaccurate]So what?

5 Dimensions of Cultural AcclimationThe Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) -- http://www.idiinventory.com/

Denial: the state in which one's own culture is experienced as the only real one. Other cultures are avoided by maintaining psychological and/or physical isolation from differences.

Defense (Polarization or Reversal): the state in which one's own culture (or an adopted culture) is experienced as the only good one.

Minimization: the state in which elements of one's own cultural world view are experienced as universal. Because these absolutes obscure deep cultural differences, other cultures may be trivialized or romanticized.

Acceptance: the state in one's own culture is experienced as just one of a number of equally complex worldviews. Acceptance does not mean agreement - cultural difference may be judged negatively - but the judgment is not ethnocentric.

Adaptation: the state in which the experience of another culture yields perception and behavior appropriate to that culture. One's repertoire of culture behavior is expanded to include a variety of viable options. Ethno-Centric StagesEthno-Relative StagesThe Mitch Hammer ModelOkay, count.A whole mess of crap.

The Mitch Hammer Model

Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.

Johann Wolfgang von GoetheItem: And How We See ThemHow Do We Know What We Know?

Item: Consider How They See Us

How the World Sees the U.S. Any accuracy?

History happens very slowly. . . until it happens all at once.

?? Lets Look at the Arab Spring Current Ongoing Globally Impactful Teachable So far, a bit far from us

Demands Jobs Higher Wages Lower Day-to-Day Expenses Reinvigorated Subsidies on Essentials (Food, Gas, Electricity)

EgyptTurkeyMorocco United Arab Emirates

I know some smart people As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know.

We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.

But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know.

--Donald Rumsfeld

The Meaning BehindThe MessageThanks, Rachel and Janelle!

This sign hung above the stalls in (at least the) Womens Restrooms in the Ataturk Airport, Istanbul.

At first glance, the message seems senseless (flushing twice actually wastes water).

But assume an author with a thesaurus who starts with refresh (but sees that as a personal action), then moves to recycle (repeat a process with an eye toward improvement, environmental concerns), then to conserve (still tied to recycle, but we see the nuances), and then to savea short, easy word. That means the opposite of what we want to convey. [This thesaurus process is a guess, but a good snapshot into language-use pitfalls, just like in the Lingering Garden signs above.]28The Meaning BehindThe MessageThanks, Rachel and Janelle!

Save water by flushing twice?

Nonsense? The Meaning BehindThe MessageThanks, Rachel and Janelle!

Save water by flushing twice?

Nonsense. . . or not: by thesaurus The Meaning BehindThe MessageThanks, Dillon!

Save water by flushing twice?

Nonsense. . . or not:by translation Please, it is not necessary to flush a second time to dispose of liquid waste.Did this translator miss (or add) a not? See next slide.31The Meaning BehindThe MessageThanks, Eren!

Save water by flushing twice?

Nonsense. . . or not:by native fluencyPlease push the flush lever twice to stop unnecessary water use.

(You know some flush systems stop pumping additional water to the reservoir if you hit the flush button once more after flushing, so the statement actually makes sense if you know how they work.)Humor? Or Hate?

Word ChoiceHumor? Or Hate?Lets Look @ the Arab Spring

The Burj Al Arab Hotel & Resort (Dubai, UAE)Word ChoiceHumor? Or Hate?

Dominant ImagesHows That?

Dominant Images. But. . . ?

Curse of the First World

Important Ideas Weve Overlooked: Economic Success vs. Linguistic Failure Hows That?

Essential Realities We Might Misunderstand. Alternatives?Apologies in advance for these potentially-offensive next several slidesHumor? Or Hate?

Humor? Or Hate?

How we see them: Women as subjects

How they see us: Women as objects

How we see them: Women as subjects

How they see us: Women as objectsOr Are Both Expressions of Womens Beauty?Back to the Arab Spring These are economic issuesDid you blame post-Katrina folks for their crimes?

Egypt -->Rome Dr. Ibtisam Al Ketbi, Sociology Professor and Emirati Woman (not pictured below)

The US needs to create a protective framework for local people to make their own choices. . .

and then the US needs to let the locals make their own choices.

Whats the answer? Empower people but keep your opinions to yourself?UnitedArabEmirates What are We Talking About Today? Variations by culture in thought, action and reaction

Why talk about these variations? Because, as educators, we also need to create a protective framework. . . for people to make their own choices

If not us, then who? 5 Dimensions of Cultural AcclimationThe Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) -- http://www.idiinventory.com/

GermanyFranceThe UKEfforts toward multiculturalism have failed.

Bring me your poor, your weak, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free I Want You.With malice toward none; with charity for all; let us strive to . . . bind up the nation's wounds. . . [to] achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.I have a dream where [people] will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

What are We Talking About Today? Variations by culture in thought, action, reaction

Why talk about these variations? Because, as K-12 & community college administrators, you are Gatekeepers Mediators Motivators Standard-SettersThank You for Fighting the Good Fight.