Gider i lige kigge den her igennem

En engelsk stil som lige skal kigges igennem af nogen der har tid og evne til det. Bare kom med alt fra grammatiske fejl til hvad der kunne gøre den indholdsmæssigt bedre. Det er virkelighed much appreciated.


Meet James Richardson. When arriving home from school, he as hundreds of millions of other children turns on his computer and desperately awaits to meet his friends from all over the world. Sitting at his computer for hours each day, sociologists blame him and his peers for building up an unhealthy and uncurable disinterest towards outdoor life and what that has to offer of social activities. However, what sociologists apparently have not figured out is the fact that James’ multiple hours of keyboard tapping will gain him some advantages and abilities vital not only to today’s businesses but businesses of tomorrow as well.

James Richardson and peers will in years to come enter labour market with tremendous amount of knowledge about different cultures gathered from the innumerable hours spent looking into a screen. A knowledge which a teacher preaching about cultural differences could not give them and a knowledge which has come invaluable to companies who have figured out that cultural diversity is not going to go away in just a couple of days.

Knowing what people from other cultural backgrounds treasure comes especially in handy for enterprises who run subsidiaries in the Far East. In probably other place does the cultural diversity come more clear through than at business meetings between Westerns and Japanese. It probably does not come as a surprise to anyone that innumerable business meetings between Westerns and Japanese have ended simply because of munderstandings based in lack of knowledge of each other’s culture. Lots and lots of executives have left business meetings because they found their Japanese counterpart too aloof and too short on words. According to experts, the so-called anthropologists, who study human behaviour Japanese are indeed known for being short on words, aloof and having hard times making decisions at business meetings because they seek the consencus of their colleagues.

Although cultural knowledge is of outermost importance to companies thinking about starting up business in other parts of the world, the importance of knowing foreign people’s cultural traits is not restricted to businesses only. Average Joe can certainly also benefit from a little cultural insight when he or she decides to travel to a foreign country. Using Japan as an example again, you should by all means try learning what a person from the Land of the Rising Sun thinks of certain gestures. Scratching your head indeed shows you have misunderstood a point og something whereas the point of scratching your head in Japan is to show your anger. Depending of the situation that could lead to everything from look of disapproval to a day of imprisionment. And who would like to stay just one night in a cell?

In order not stay a day next to a criminal and to get the best out of visiting or setting up business in foreign countries, knowing their national traits and what they value the most becomes increasingly more important in an increasingly globalized world. However, where are you suppose seek out that knowledge besides reading dusty travel guides emphasizing information on sights embellished to attract foreigners deciding which country to visit?

Looking at it from a company’s point of view, knowledge of foreign people’s cultural traits could be gained the way the Simens Group, which makes electronicts for all kinds of industries, has gathered information needed to establish branches in order countries. Following the example the Siement Group has set with regards to learning what makes other cultures differ from its own, companies would have to establish sort of a cultural awareness enhancement programme aimed at and improving the teaching and learning of foreign people’s national traits and cultural history. In order to make such programmes turn out good, an anthropologist would come Employees would in that way be much more prepared to handle problems that would occur between them and their business partners. In most cases, they would even be able to prevent problems from happening.

To prevent cultural mistunderstandings from happening between foreign people and tourists who visit their country, measures – similar to the ones made to make businessmen aware of their counterpart’s cultural traits – could be taken into account. Establishing programmes not funded by companies would, however, require people who paying for them themselves. That would, in the long run, certainly not attract many people. If, on the other hand, travel agencies were willing offer such programmes to their customers, people would probably start attending them. Heaven only knows if people would actually spend time away from their jobs attending classes helping them to understand the customs and habits of a foreign country.

However, it is as sure as eggs are eggs that anthropologists at classes for cultural awareness enhancement would tell the participants of the importance of knowing their own roots. Anthropologists would state how much focus one should put on changing negative views of other cultures shaped by one’s own society. Negaive views which, needless to say, would destroy any chances at building a good partnership with a foreign business associate. However, as Edward T. Hall has said at several occasions, changing negative views shaped by society requires deep understanding of how society or culture works.