Cross Culture Studies | Essay

SOCIOLOGY
Cross culture studies
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SOCIOLOGY
Can people from different culture reconcile differences?
People from different cultures can overcome their differences and create a more reliable outcome
resulting in the real nourishment of a team. To set aside the cultural differences, individuals in an
organization must always recognize and respect the aspect of cultural diversity. Different
cultures have different ways and how they look at things. As such reconciliation allows both
parties to maintain what is essential to them, but still recognize the needs of the other. Each of
these cultures has different characteristics, and these distinctive characteristics affect marketing
strategies. There are as well as challenges of working in a global context. Still, cross-culture
management is very instrumental in addressing some of these challenges, and for that reason, it
applies to organizational culture.
Different cultural systems display so much variety in their beliefs and behavior patterns.
Evidence shows that some of these differences are attributed to the specific socioecological
threat facing a particular sub-group. The complexity and diversity of culture exist in three forms,
including underlying assumptions, norms and values, and artifacts and attitudes. Norms refer to
the rules and values that are associated with people, for instance, valuing money over integrity.
Artifacts and attitudes relate to behavioral patterns of a culture (Ashikali & Groeneveld, 2015).
Underlying assumptions, on the other hand, refers to what a group of people believes in.
Managers should recognize and accept the aspect of diversity in organizations because of some
of the enormous advantages it has. Some of the benefits associated with cultural diversity include
increased flexibility, more aware of consumer needs as well as being open to new ideas. It is,
therefore, clear that cultural diversity and diversity do exist in a culture because of the
differences in behavioral patterns, norms, and values among different people in an organization.

SOCIOLOGY
In most cases, cultural diversity is used interchangeably with the term multiculturalism. It refers
to a system that recognizes and respects the presence of diverse cultural groupings in an
organization or society. Here, the emphasis is on understanding cultural differences as well as
encouraging continued contribution towards a more inclusive cultural context (Berthon, Pitt,
Plangger, Shapiro, 2012). Culture is often regarded as a lens that is used by people to evaluate
everything around them. This ranges from what is reasonable to what is not, what is proper, and
what is not. Naturally, people use their own culture as a benchmark to judge other sand what
they believe in. This should not be the case; diversity should be appreciated and used for the
greater good in an organization. Cultural diversity creates an avenue where individuals can learn
from each other. It also makes it possible to recognize and respect ways of doing things that are
not necessarily our own.
Even though people from different cultural backgrounds can be reconciled, there are challenges
of working in a multicultural organization. First and foremost is the issue of different working
styles across different teams. If not well addressed, there can be an issue of working methods that
is directly attributed to the cultural values and compounding differences that exist among
members. If such differences are not addressed, the overall performance of an organization may
be affected (Bian & Forsythe, 2012). Apart from conflicting working styles, there is a challenge
of a different understanding of professional etiquette in an organization. Evidence shows that
people from different cultures bring with them different behaviors, workplace attitudes, and
etiquette and values (D'Netto, Shen, Chelliah, Monga, 2014). In as much as this may be very
instrumental in the development of an organization, it may also cause misunderstandings among
members. Problems may arise due to different approaches to punctuality, working hours, and
dealing with conflicts, among others.