globlization.docx

globlization.docx

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globlization

EB4602THEESSAY

Submittedby:

TerryJiRuan

TUTOR:

MunLingShields

DEADLINE:

25-01-2009

DepartmentofLanguagesandInternationalStudies

UniversityofCentralLancashire

MAIBC

Thesecondtopicofthewriting:

TheoriespresentedbyHofstedeandTrompenaarswereprimarilybasedonverylargesurveysconductedinmanycountries.Discusstherelevanceoftheirconceptsandclassificationsinthecontextoftoday's"globalvillage".

TheInvisibleBordersinthe"Globalvillage"

Duringthelastthreedecades,thewholeworldhasincreasinglypromotedconnectionsandcooperationtosuchadegreethatthe"globalvillage"seemstobenotacatchwordanylonger.GlobalvillageisatermcoinedbyWyndhamLewisinhisbookAmericaandCosmicMan（1948）,whichcanberegardedasatermfordescribingtheworldasaplacewherepeopleareconsideredtoliveinaplanetwithoutbordersorboundaries.Timeandspaceshrink,distancesareshortened;thewholeworldbecomesasmall"village".Peoplecantraveltoanywhereveryquickly;cansharethesameenjoyment;canconsumethesamefoods,thesameservicesandthesameproductsfromallovertheworld.

But,istheplanetweliveina“globalvillage”now?

Itseemsthatwearejumpingtooearlytothisconclusionbecauseofculturaldifferences,whichbecomethe"invisibleborders",impactonalmostallaspectsoftheglobalizationprocessandenlargethedistanceamongpeople.Themoreglobal,themoreculturematterswewillmeet.Nomatterpeopledointernationaltrade,travelandstudyoverseas,workinaninternationalteamorshareinformationbyusingtheinternet,peoplefindmoreandmoreculturalclashesandderivativeconflictsaroundthem,whichmaybringalotoftroublesbothintheirlifeandtheirwork.

GeertHofstedecallsculturethe"softwareofthemind"（Hofstede,2003）.Inotherwords,whilehumanbeingsallhavethesame"hardware",thehumanbrain,our"software”or"programming"isverydifferent.SomepeoplemayberunningWindowsXP,somemayberunningWindowsVista,andsomemayberunningLinux.Itisfineforyourcomputertorunprogramsforyouroperatingsystembutwhenyouwanttorunprogramsforanothersystemonthiscomputer,youwillgeterrormessages!

Itisthesameexperiencewhenyouinteractwithsomeonefromadifferentculture–theirwords,rules,tacitmodels,assumptions,gestures,manners,values,andotheraspectsoftheirculturewillnotmakesensewhentransferredtoyourframeofreference.

Therearethreeindispensableconditionsfortheworldtobecomeaglobalvillage:

themodernizationofcommunicationnetworks,high-speedtraffic,andculturalblending.Obviously,inrecentyears,themodernizationofcommunicationnetworksandthehigh-speedtraffichavebeendevelopingdramatically.Particularly,newerinformationandcommunicationsystemsarebindingtheworldtogetherinunprecedentedways. Interactionbetweencommunities,regionsandcountrieshasthusbeengreatlyenhanced. 

However,therearestilltoomanyculturalclashesandderivativeconflictswhichcanbecalledthe"invisibleborders",bringingsomuchtroubletoallaspectsofpeople'sliveintoday'sglobalizedcircumstances.Inotherwords,intermsofthemodernizationofcommunicationnetworksandhigh-speedtrafficsystem,thisworldisquitelikea“globalvillage”,butintermsoftheculturalclashesandderivativeconflicts,itisnotappropriatetocalltheworlda“globalvillage”becausethe"invisibleborders"separatethepeopleinthe"village"whichisnomoreglobal.

Inthisessay,theimpactofculturaldifferencesinthe"globalvillage”willbediscussedfromtheaspectsofinternationalbusiness,internationalhumanresource,internationaltravellinganddiplomacy,thensomesuggestionsforbuildingthe“globalvillage”intoday'sglobalizingworldwillbegiven.

Intermsofinternationalbusiness,itseemsthatwearelivinginaglobalvillagewheremanagerscanmorerapidlytravel.Or,withoutleavingourcountry,evenourhome,wecanworkforaforeign-ownedcompany,buyrawmaterialsabroad,sellproductstonon-nativecustomersandhaveregularconferencecallswithourcolleaguesfromallovertheworld.

However,wehavetoknowthat,ifwelivedinarealglobalvillage,wewouldbeabletocommunicateeasilycrosscultureswithoutthe"invisibleborders".Thereductioninphysicaldistancehasmadeusmoreawareofculturaldifferenceswhicharestillabigbarrierforbusinessmen.Afewyearsago,IworkedforsomeceramicfactoriesinChinaasapart-timetranslatorandwhatproveddifficultwasnotthetranslation,buttheembarrassingsituationsIhadtoconfrontveryoftenbecausetheChinesebossesalwaysaskedmetotelltheforeigncustomerstochangethecontracts.Theproductshadtobemodifiedbecauseofsometechnologicalproblems.Theshippingdatehadtobedelayedbecausewewerehavingsomanyordersonhand;thepriceshadtobeincreasedbecausethematerialshadbecomemoreexpensive,etc.ThecustomersweresoannoyedbyourexplanationsandeverytimeIwasveryembarrassed.TheChinesebossesalwaysthinkthatthesituationhaschangedanditisimpossibleandunreasonabletofollowthecontracts.Otherwisethecustomerswillbeconsideredasunfriendlyandevenheartless.ButaccordingtothecustomersfromWesterncultures,aruleisarule,adealisadeal,noonecanchangeit.Trompenaarscallsituniversalism,whiletheChinesecultureisconsideredasparticularism（TrompenaarsandHampden-Turner,1993:

45）.Universalism-Purticularismelucidatesthetwocontrastingstrategiesofdevelopingcorecompetenceandgettingclosetothecustomer.Thatistosay,relationshipisveryimportanttoChinesebusinessmen.Itmayincludenotonlyjointlydevelopedstrategiesandsharedsecretsbutalso"helpeachother"whichmeans"flexibleinreaction".Accordingtothisculturedimension,foranotherexample,manyChinesepeoplemayspendalotofmoneyonestablishingrelationshipswiththecustomers,likebigdinners,goodentertainmentandvaluablegifts,inordertogetparticularinteraction,butthatwouldbenotnecessaryandsometimehasnegativeresultsasmostWesternersdonotthinkthesameway.Theyprefertheruleof“businessisbusiness”torelationships.

Additionally,accordingtoHofstede’sfifthculturedimension,"long-versus,short-termorientation",thevalueoflong-termorientationwouldbe“Relationshipsorderedbystatusandthisorderobserved.”“Mostimportanteventsinlifewilloccurinfuture.”“…consider‘persistent’animportantpersonalitytrait.”sotheChinesebusinessmentrytheirbesttoentertaintheircustomersverywellinordertogetafirmandlongtermrelationshipwiththecustomerssothattheycangetbenefitinthefutureeventhoughtheydonothavebenefitatpresent.However,somecustomersfromtheWestvaluethepresentbenefitandmaythinkbuildingparticularrelationshipakindofcorruption.Apparently,culturaldifferencesoftenbecomethebarrierofbusinesscommunication.

Also,someWesterncustomerscomplainthatChinesebusinessmenareimpolitebecausetheydonotlookatyoureyeswhentheyshakehandswithyou.ButaccordingtothevalueofsomeChinesepeople,lookingatsomeone’seyesometimesmightbeakindofchallenge.Moreover,whenaChinesepersonmeetmanypeople,heorshewouldhaseyecontactwitheveryonewhenheorsheshakeshandswithoneofthem,asheorsheneedtoshowhisorherfriendlinesstoallthepeople.Inthiscircumstance,theChinesecandomanythingsatatime,whichiscalled"synchronoustime”,whilesomeWesternculturesdoonlyoneactivityatatime,whichiscalled"sequentialtime"（TrompenaarsandHampden-Turner,1993）.

CulturalclashesnotonlyhappenbetweentheWesternandtheEasternbutalsoamongtheWesterncountries.WhenGermansdobusinessesinItaly,cultureshocksmayoccurbecausetheGermanCultureis"sequentialtime"whiletheItaliancultureismorelike"synchronoustime".AGermanmaybeannoyedbysomeinterruptingofphonecallsoraskingforsignaturewhenheishavingameetinginItalywithsomeItalianbusinessmen（TrompenaarsandHampden-Turner,1993）.

Globalbusinessisaveryimportantsymbolof"globalvillage".However,therearetoomanyculturalclashesandconflictsamongthebusinessmen,justlikeinvisibleborders,separatingthemfromcooperatingwitheachotherfurther.

Intermsofglobalhumanresource,theworkforcehasbecomemoremulticulturalasaresultofglobalizationaswell.Organizationsareamixofpeoplefromdifferentculturalbackgroundswhohavetounderstandeachother,interactonadailybasisandoftenworkinmorethanonecountry.Understandingculturaldiversity,aswellastheneedtocommunicateeffectivelyacrossculturaldivideshasbecomeimperativeifwearetocompeteeffectivelyintheglobalmarketplace.

Forinstance,inaninternationalteam,Chinesecolleaguesmaycontactyouanddiscussyourworkoutofworkingtimeandevenatmidnight.Astheyareinahighcollectivismculture,Chinesecolleaguesmayplacethesociety,companyorfamilyabovetheirownselves.Thereforetheymaynotcareaboutpersonaltimeandfreedomsomuch（Hofstede,G.H.2003:

51）.ButthatwouldreallyannoysomeWesternworkersfromahighindividualismculturewhichcaresaboutpersonaltimeandfreedomverymuch.Culturalclashesandderivativeconflictsoccur,whichmayinfluencetheunityandeffectivenessofthecompany.

AKoreanclassmatetoldmeastory:

anAmericanteacherteachingEnglishinanuniversityinKoreahada"badreputation"amongtheKoreanstudentsandteachers,becauseheoftentouchedtheshouldersandwaistsofthefemaleteachersandgirlsinhisclas