Cross Cultural Difference Case Study 2022

Cross Cultural difference 1
CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCE.
by (Name)
The Name of the Class (Course)
Professor (Tutor)
The Name of the School (University)
The City and State where it is located
The Date

Cross Cultural difference 2
Introduction
Culture is basically the way people live their day to day lives. Cultural inclination
originates from a people character and knowledge which manifests in cuisine, arts, music,
language, religion and social habits. Therefore, each community has their own culture starting
from the smallest unit which is the family. Despite the cultural difference present in the world,
co-existence among people from different societies is important (Bock, P. 1970). Notable
international cultures are Western, Eastern, Latin, Middle East and African cultures. The
Western culture is present in European dominant countries, Eastern culture refers to the way of
life in countries in Far East Asia such as Japan, Vietnam and China. Latina culture is practiced in
Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries like Mexico, Brazil and Portugal. Countries in
Middle East are diverse but they share given aspects of their culture. Lastly, the African culture.
According to scholars the African continent is an important research tool for culture since history
shows it’s the cradle of man-kind. Therefore, the human culture started in Africa.
Understanding different cultural groupings and their expectations helps individuals to
adapt into new environments. The world is a global village as people get to interact easily both
by the help of technology and also physically. People move from their original homes to new
places with various intentions ranging from leisure, business, work, treatment and adventure. In
the process of movement, different cultures rub shoulders and this can lead to culture shock.
Culture shock happens in the early stages of interactions between different cultures. The situation
may get dire when an individual finds it difficult to adapt or gel into his/her new environment.
The shock may be as a result of language barrier, environmental difference and how people act
generally. This article therefore seeks to answer the question on how to manage cross-cultural
difference in places of work. The case study is an African employee from Ghana who is

Cross Cultural difference 3
currently working in Australia. The process will involve a series of questions to the Employee on
his journey as a worker in a foreign country.
Interviewee’s Background
Originally, the interviewee comes from Ghana. Ghana is country in the Western parts of
Africa with a population of about 30 million people. Just as most African countries which adopt
the language of their colonizers, Ghana uses English as their official language. The interviewee
was born in Ghana’s capital City Accra in 1980. He is the first born in a family of five children.
His Mother originates from Nigeria while his father is from Ghana. In the Africa culture is
therefore of Ghanaian dissect. From when he was young, he had aspirations of being a software
engineer and his dreams came true when he graduated from the University of Ghana with a
bachelor’s degree in software engineering. He landed a job with a telecomm company
(Vodaphone) in Ghana as an optimization engineer. He went up the ladder and he exited the
company as a project manager. In the quest of greener pastures, he got opportunity to join a non-
governmental organization known as World Vision in Australia as team leader. While working at
Vodaphone in Ghana he had the opportunity to interact with experts from other parts of the
world such as China, Sweden, Pakistan and India. His experience with cross-cultural
management in Ghana was better because he was home. In Australia the cultural difference was
too big and he also felt lonely as he had travelled alone for work purposes.
Cultural diversity in Ghana
This segment of the paper looks into the cultural diversity in Ghana and Australia where
the interviewee has worked before. To start with, is his home country Ghana which was earlier
known as the Gold coast. Ghana was the first country to gain independence in sub-Saharan
Africa in 1957. It was formerly under the British colony. Ghana has a rich history and boosts of

Cross Cultural difference 4
a strong cultural heritage which has brought together people from different ethnic groupings
(Marbell and Grolnick 2013). Currently Ghana has a population of approximately 30 million
people who come from different ethnic groupings such as the MoleDagbani, Ga-Adangbe, the
Ewe and the Akan. However, English is the official language in Ghana. Interestingly, most
Ghanaians speak three traditional languages. Religiously, 60% of the population are inclined to
Christianity, 35% are Muslims and 5% subscribe to other religions. In the West African region
Ghana is the country with most Christians. The Ghanaian economy is highly dependent on
agriculture and minerals. Globally, the country is ranked among the leading producers of gold. In
the agricultural sector cocoa is the most profitable cash crop. Most the cocoa produce are exports
to various parts of the world. Additionally, Ghana is rich in diamond. When it comes to dressing,
Ghana’s popular attire is the Kente clothe which earlier was only a reserve for the well off in the
society. Today, only the Akan people still hold the kente clothes in high regard despite its
ballooning popularity.
People in Ghana love and adore their food. The most popular starches in Ghana are fufu
and rice. Rice is popular because it is readily available and also easy to prepare. Fufu is a meal
made from pounded plantain, cassava or yam. Fufu and rice go together with proteins and
vegetables. Also, soups are part of the meals. Groundnut soup is one of the popular soups in
Ghana. Just as most West African countries, pepper is common in most of the meals because
they like to consume hot food.
The most popular sport in Ghana is Football. A group of students started playing football
in 1903 and with time the sport became popular. Kwame Nkrumah particularly used football to
ensure that unity among the Ghanaians remained strong. He organized for tournaments that