CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN A VUCA WORLD Lesson 2

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN A VUCA WORLD

Lesson 2: What is Culture? LEARNING OBJECTIVE • It is essential to understand the importance of culture’s influence on society and how it shapes values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. KEY TAKEAWAY • • Define the traditional meaning culture. Explain why culture is abstract, complicated, and paradoxical. Explore whether you take a surface or deep approach to culture learning. Create your own personal definition of culture based upon how you imagine culture. LEADERSHIP APPLICATIONS • CQ leaders are able to grasp the importance of knowing about culture’s impact on all of life, and then work towards understanding culture’s complexity in all human relationships.

Example: Why do we do the things we do? From the film: Narnia – the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Watch the video clip: • What happened in this encounter between two fundamentally different “beings” and their initial meeting? • What were some of the specific things that Lucy and Mr. Tumnus said to each other? • What are some of your experiences when “bumping” into cultural differences?

Culture Definition Culture is: The underlying values, beliefs, attitudes, and beliefs of a group (both accepted and expected) that are expressed through behaviors. § § Shared and invisible Learned and enduring Powerful influence on behavior Systematic and organized

Front-Stage / Back-Stage Culture: v. What we see on the surface = behaviors and practices, but also: § Customs § Foods § Dress § Holidays § Symbols § Greetings § Outward religious practices v. The hidden dimensions that are below the surface: § Values § Beliefs § Attitudes § The explanations of WHY we do things in a certain manner

Cultural Metaphor • An innovative method for understanding the cultural mindset of a nation = looking for cultural cues. • Identifies some phenomenon, activity, or institution of a nation’s culture that all or most of its members consider to be very important and with which they identify cognitively and/or emotionally. • This is supported by a research method that analyzes these phenomena/activities/institutions through the ‘constant comparison method’ and use a variety people from that culture to confirm or disconfirm the findings. • The characteristics of the metaphor then become the basis for describing and understanding the essential features of the society. 6

Cultural Metaphor • Metaphors are not stereotypes – rather, they rely on the features of one critical phenomenon/activity in a society to describe the entire society. • Americans love football and are passionate about it. • The characteristics of this metaphor then become the basis for describing and understanding the essential features of the society. • Speed, constant movement, high degree of specialization, consistent aggressiveness, and intense competition sum up the nature of American Football. 7

Paradox • A paradox is a statement that seems to be untrue but is in fact true. It is the simultaneous existence of two contradictory or inconsistent elements that represents the essence of paradox. • Paradoxes are complicated since we can agree or disagree with them based upon our individual experiences. Just because you prove a paradox exists does not eliminate it.

Paradox • A paradox is a statement that seems to be untrue but is in fact true. It is the simultaneous existence of two contradictory or inconsistent elements that represents the essence of paradox. • Paradoxes are complicated since we can agree or disagree with them based upon our individual experiences. Just because you prove a paradox exists does not eliminate it. Source: Monk. Thailand. Fotolia_1917 6406. Ana

Summary It is essential to understand the importance of culture’s influence on society and how it shapes values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. • Culture is the collection of values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of a group of people who are expected to behave a certain way. • Culture can be viewed as “front-stage” (superficial) or “back-stage” (deep). Global leaders need to pursue a deep cultural understanding. • Culture is complicated, abstract, and paradoxical; therefore we can only make generalizations of any group of people as differences will surely exist in any society. • Cultural metaphor can help us grasp the elusive nature of culture by bringing it into each of our present day reality and experience.