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Do you agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are “creatures of our culture” and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our cultures?
Yes, I agree with Ruth Benedict when she states we are “creatures of our culture” and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our cultures.
According to Sarah Trenholm, in order to “become a more open communicator and break thorough the limits of our cultures we need to: open yourself to new contacts, learn about the history and experiences of people from diverse cultures, examine yourself for possible stereotypes, responsible and open communicators are willing and able to role-take, and work on becoming more self-confident” [Trenholm 2008, p. 364]. A great example is my work environment. Within the four departments that I support, there are people that represent cultures from Asia, Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Since each project consists of teams made up of about 50 cross-functional people, everyone must be able to work together in order to meet their bonus able milestones. Each member of the team must be open and respect other people’s (cultural) perspective. Each team member must be knowledgeable of their team’s diverse cultures and have a tolerance for the differences. Finally, each team member must challenge themselves to see if they have any prejudices with their thinking and be understanding, patient and accommodating with each other.
Hi Paris!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a great spring break!
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading your response to question #1. I know I've said this before, but I work at a bank and a lot of my coworkers are different ethnicities. We see a lot of things in different view points when it comes to obstacles that we need to overcome. Alot of people rely on other opinions or family traditions when problems arise. Patience is also a virtue that we see a lot in retail banking and it seems to be different with each co-worker of mine. Some have a lot of patience with one another and some just don't have any patience at all. It is frustrating at times because we think that we are all equal and because we are the same age that we have the same view point, but it's not the case at all. There can be two people with different view points due to the fact that their cultures are different.
Goober - Thanks for your comments.
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