“We live in a culture that barely acknowledges and rarely celebrates the arts or artists.”
Dana Gioia, Chair for the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.
How many writers, artists, scientists can the average American name? In a speech delivered to the graduating class of Stanford University , Dana Gioia decried the lack of interest in cultural figures (other than pop culture) in America today. He claims that the cultural entities of today are all for the sake of entertainment. And so ultimately it follows that everything today comes with a price tag. When celebrities appear on radio or TV talk shows, their main, and often only, purpose is to push their book, movie, new TV show, or a new vote.
What has happened to American culture?
Fifty years ago, Gioia says, Americans could rattle off a laundry list of names, names prominent throughout the country. Carl Sandburg, Rachel Carson, Georgia O’Keeffe, these names were familiar to Americans outside the university or literary circles. “I don’t think Americans were smarter then, but American culture was,” he says. “Even the mass media placed a greater emphasis on presenting a broad range of human achievement.”
According to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, the average American knows less about current events today than they did in 1989. That is, unless written about in People or flashed on Entertainment Tonight. An exception, one might claim, is those who watch the Daily Show; those watchers can identify figures in the news far more ably than those who watch Fox News, which purports to being “fair and balanced.”
Our American culture today is a world of popular icons which we spread throughout the world, dispersing our brand of entertainment widely and cheaply to others who desire Western culture. So that other countries can be part of pop culture, many countries end up with a double culture: their own indigenous one, plus our pop culture: tennis shoes and tee-shirts; Mickey Mouse and Britney Spears.
With the onset of instant information at our fingertips, via Google, Wikipedia and other Internet sources, we no longer need to study to access facts and/or ideas. The need to know is quickly rewarded by a click of the mouse. Without accessing other available resources for research (the “old-fashioned” kind, like the library, encyclopedia, dictionary) the fact seeker is rewarded with just that one fact they were seeking. No off chance of running into unsought information, extra facts gleaned from in-depth research on a subject, as you might experience in the library stacks or while poring over a reference book. No. Just that one fact, then…..next click.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Blink, about intuition and cognition, tells a story about a group of art experts studying a piece of Greek sculpture. Because of decades of training and bone-deep knowledge, they quickly evaluated the sculpture and pronounce it a fake. This knowledge did not come by typing in “Greek sculpture” on the Yahoo search box or spending five minutes scanning a Wikipedia page on the subject. It came from years of training, research and learning, not from instant fact gleaning.
In today’s world, it seems that ideas, not knowledge, reign in our culture. Instead of learning, retaining and knowing information, today’s internet sources — Google, Wikipedia, etc. — make the need to know information less critical than the ability to know WHERE to find good, reliable information and which site to look at for “creative” ideas.
But in the end, a broader understanding of a culture is valuable. Facts alone aren’t enough. Ideas alone aren’t enough. They need to connect. Where do the facts and ideas on the internet come from anyway? Undoubtedly from minds which have studied and learned and so possess a broad understanding of a culture, whether it’s about Greek sculpture, theater or the problems facing business.
In business, communication is key. And wouldn’t it be great if you tossed out a worthwhile name or a cultural figure (not pop culture) or a valued book and your audience knew what you were talking about. A shared cultural experience would hold great value if we could elevate it beyond Entertainment Tonight. If we learn only this fact, that fact, and the name of the newest slasher film, how will we be able to communicate with each other in a deeper sense?
By: Terry Gault
Posts Tagged ‘American Culture’
Leadership Development Across Different Cultures
September 27th, 2009Leadership Development Across Cultures
Everyday, more and more leaders around the world are working with people from countries other than their native country. Federal Express, UPS, Dell, GE, Delta Airlines, HP, IBM, American Express, Motorola, GM, Ford, Microsoft, Google are just a few companies in the United States who work with employees, suppliers, and customers in China, India, Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, Romania, Russia and other places. Often companies will send managers from the United States to manage their offices in foreign countries.
Many of these Americans leaders feel frustrated with their foreign employees. They grumble:
• It’s so difficult to understand their English!
• They don’t understand what I am trying to tell them?
• If they disagree, why don’t they speak up?
• They never look me in the eye when I talk to them, how can I size them up?
• Why can’t they get on with the business first?
• I can never get a straight answer!
Moreover, more foreign companies are establishing their businesses in the United States. Sony, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Sharp, Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mercedes, Volkswagen are considered old timers. Similarly, these Chinese, Korean, British, French, Australian executives working in the United States feel the same frustration with American culture as their American counter parts do in the foreign countries. These leaders complain:
• Why aren’t Americans more humble?
• Why can’t they be less confrontational?
• They are always in a hurry.
• All they want is to talk business.
• They don’t respect our ways.
• Why is the American media so out of control?
Additionally, if there are cultural issues, workers in the United States can feel frustrated with a boss or coworker from the other country. They may feel confused about what they are expected to accomplish, because there is a misunderstanding in either verbal or non verbal communication.
If you want to be effective in achieving business results in this cross cultural environment, offer leadership development opportunities to your employees. Start with the following ideas among many to develop your people:
1. Learn about the cultures of people that you have to interact with. Don’t trust your perceptions or preconceived stereotypes.
• Get a book from a bookstore or your local library. (Geert Hofstede, a well known cross cultural expert, has published a great deal of information about different cultures.)
• Take a cultural class from a college or university.
• Write other countries’ government embassies or cultural associations for information.
• Attend cultural events. Observe how other people respond to each other. Do they shake hands or bow? Do they look at each other or divert their eyes. What is considered appropriate personal space when talking?
• Spend time with someone from another culture. Don’t judge. Listen and be open to differences. You’ll be surprised how much more you’ll understand their perspective and the enjoyment you’ll gain.
2. Give extra time and effort when communicating. This step will help to minimize misunderstanding.
• Speak clearly, distinctly, and calmly. Don’t raise your voice, the other person can probably hear just fine.
• Ask for a confirmation of the message you transmitted. Good communication skills are crucial.
• Ensure that your message is received as you intended and it is understood.
• Limit using colloquialisms or slang terms. These can be confusing to someone who hasn’t live here very long.
3. Don’t give-up. With a good understanding of the cultural values of those people you lead and work with, you will be able to adjust your behavior and approach in your interaction with other cultures.
• Personal leadership development is about taking small steps towards improvement. Continually make adjustments, and when it works, try more.
• Ask for help and don’t be afraid to apologize for mistakes. People generally are appreciative that you are trying to understand them.
• Be consistent. The more you work on your approach, the better chance you have of becoming highly successful in your interactions with other cultures.
When you begin to see positive results from your new leadership approach, old stereotypes and perceptions of those cultures will be replaced not only personally but organization wide. You will find it easier for yourself and others to understand and respect the different cultures. One advantage, of course, will be improved productivity, communication skills, and teamwork within the organization. However and maybe more importantly, tensions between cultures can be used effectively in active discussions to lead to new innovative processes and systems. And as you begin to value cultural differences, you will find that these differences actually add to the success of your organization in a global marketplace.
CMOE has been assisting global organization with Leadership Development initiatives for 30 years. We invite you to learn more about how CMOE can help with your leadership training and development needs. Contact us at 888-262-2499 or email info@cmoe.com
By: 10x Marketing
