Concept of Cultural Differences in Society Essay

Introduction, the secret life of bees, cultural factors, cultural differences, cultural identity and cultural bias as displayed in the film, the concept of cultural patterns, verbal and non-verbal intercultural communication.

The history of cultures is as old as human existence and generally involves the values of a community, society, or a group of people living or working together.

People’s way of interpreting issues including verbal and non-verbal communication signals or body language, events, dressing modes, and general lifestyles lead to creation of a particular cultural pattern of a specific community or social set up.

These similar attributes of a particular lifestyle to a specific community or group of people contribute to the cultural identity of that community. People with the same cultural identity interpret experiences the same, behave the same, lead a similar lifestyle, and understand the world from a similar point of view.

However, cultural identities differ from one community to another and from country to the other. With little knowledge on the cultural differences, one can easily assume some conventions, notions, and taboos and interpret them differently not knowing that different values mean different things across different cultures.

In cases where one culture assumes other cultures, then cultural biasness hulks which in most cases causes adverse effects including frustration even in public.

Cultural differences also are of importance in the business world; for instance, during or after business negotiation, a handshake may signify different things in different cultures. In some cultures, it may mean a deal has been sealed or an agreement reached while others may interpret it as the start of serious negotiations.

The aspects of cultural differences remain of great importance to the peaceful coexistence of different people of the world, good business performances, healthy families and good relationships.

Many films and movies together with many volumes of books seeking to exemplify the importance of upholding and acknowledging the diversity of cultural differences focus on bring out the cultural factors and dimensions of cultural patterns across different communities and societies.

One of the many films of such calibre is “The secret life of bees.” This film contains a story of Lily, a fourteen-year-old girl and the setting of the story is South Carolina in 1964 directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The story entirely revolves around the lives of Lily, her caregiver Rosaleen, and her father T. Ray.

Lily’s mother dies when Lily is just four years of age. The death of Lily’s mother leaves Lily under the care of her father and a caregiver, Rosaleen.

The relationship between Lily and her father is poor and at the age of fourteen, Lily and the caregiver run away from the family especially the father to other town. Lily’s family is probably nuclear because there is no mention of her uncles, aunts or anyone else from an extended family.

This insight might underscore the reason why upon the death of Lily’s mother, she remains under the care of an unloving father. According to Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural patterns, this family practised individualism, it lived separated from the extended family and only integrated between the members of the nuclear family.

The resources of this family provided only to its members. Moreover, the events surrounding the death of Lily’s mother indicate strongly that the family is nuclear.

Shortly before the death of Lily’s mother, Lily sits close to her mother and immediately her father comes in, a quarrel ensures and lily’s mother packs her belongings ready to leave the house and probably the estranged marriage.

Amidst the heated quarrel, Lily’s mother picks a gun ready to kill her husband but the gun ends up in the hands of Lily’s father then to the floor and finally in the hands of Lily who shoots her mother and this typifies Hofstede’s individualistic cultural pattern.

Conventionally, many societies, communities, and cultures hold that men should be superior to women; that is before the emergence of the affirmative action that ‘threatens’ manhood as many men would love to think.

From Lily’s family, it is clear that, their culture is deeply rooted in this believe. Lily’s mother wants to kill Lily’s father but she fails utterly for no apparent reason; perhaps being a woman, she is weak to kill a man.

Given the cultural misconstrued conceptions of male dominancy and superiority, Lily’s father has to struggle under all means and get the gun out of his wife’s hands and he succeeds to the chagrin of the berated woman.

Furthermore, this aspect of masculinity dominance spiced with chauvinism comes out clearly, when Rosaleen is beaten and arrested; she admits, “…I was beaten by Posey and other men” (Prince-Bythewood).

Rosaleen insults some men playing cards and in retaliation, the best way for these men to punish seemingly uncouth woman is by beating her thoroughly.

Lily hates the punishment her father gives her of kneeling on the white grit on the kitchen floor for going to the peach orchard. All these uncalled mistreatment of women typifies a society characterized by chauvinism.

Another major cultural factor, which many cultures look into, involves avoidance of uncertainties. This factor rotates around the search by the members of the society to know the truth about why things are the way they are.

Lily in this film runs away from her father to another town, which bears the history of her mother. In that town, she even cheats by claiming that she is orphaned simply because she fears to tell the truth but she looks for ways of acceptance as she seeks the truth about her mother. Lily says, “…that’s what I knew about myself.

She was all what I wanted but I took her away…” (Prince-Bythewood, 2008). By the time Lily’s mother dies, Lily has known little about her and this fact is among other reasons why she chooses to run away.

She wants to know more about her mother; a cultural factor that most cultures withhold. Cultures often seek to establish issues like their origin among other things and Lily follows the same line when she seeks to know the truth regarding her mother’s ancestry and origin.

According to Edward Hall’s perspective, cultural differences occurring across cultures involve context, time, and space. Some cultures have their values and beliefs explained clearly and in details in what Hall terms high contextual culture while others assume many details with no clarity of the cultural values and therefore, every person views the world differently to form the low contextual culture.

Lily’s culture is in the low contextual culture because, what Rosaleen tells her about bees is what she believes. Rosaleen tells Lily that bees’ swarms are omen that usually heralds death. Lily believes this version of story simply because her culture does not give details and meaning of bees swarming.

The August house where Lily and Rosaleen are living is a big house with many cots, beekeeping area, and honey processing chambers. The cots are spacious and the entire territory remains under the custody of a woman called August.

Some people naturally want to dominate in terms of space such as owning a big house, big car, big office and/or even big living room, which is the culture in Augusts’ house.

This family is also different from the family, which Lily has known since birth. August lives here with her sister keeping bees for their livelihood. People here love one another and culture of relationships with opposite sex is allowed. Lily’s gets a boyfriend and nobody punishes her contrary to what happened back at home when her father finds her in the peach orchard garden at night only to think she is with a man.

In the August’s community where Lily and Rosaleen live after running away from Lily’s father, has unique identity. Women are actively involved in beekeeping and to the Lily’s surprise; the honey from bees is used in many ways apart from what Lily thinks. Lily says, “They eat it, bathe in it, take it as medicine and make candles with it” (Prince-Bythewood).

Most cultures use honey as food but they do not bathe in it, but in this culture, things are different. In this community also, women work; they are not homemakers only. Lily says, “I enjoyed learning how to tend to August honey making machine” (Prince-Bythewood, 2008). These are specific cultural identities for the August’s community.

On the other hand, Lily’s community is characterised by male superiority leading to male biasness both in power leadership and in economy.

Community cultural patterns also come out in the film through worship and people’s beliefs. In Lily’s community, nothing is said concerning worship whatsoever.

Therefore, presumably most of the people in this (Lily’s) community are atheists. Nevertheless, to the August’s community, worship forms part of their lifestyles; the honey containers bear the image of Virgin Mary.

Back in the August’s house, there is also the statue of the ‘black’ Mary where people from the community come to pray during turbulent times. For instance, Zach’s mother prays before the black Madonna when Zach disappears from home. Zach finally comes back even though May has killed herself because of Zach’s disappearance.

The Lily’s community bears a unique characteristic of people running away from sour marriages and poor performing families. Those running away normally have little instinct of coming back.

In a conversation between Lily and her father, the father says, “…your mother was packing to go away and never return back to us” (Prince-Bythewood, 2008).

The mother wanted to ran away from problems in her marriage and family other than solving them. In addition, Lily and her caregiver run away from the unloving father and when the father finds her in August’s house, Lily refuses to go home with him and this prompts her father to give August the permission to take care of her.

Placing the long statue of Virgin Mary in the living room signifies and conveys the message that the family believes in one true God. This phenomenon non-verbally shows that, members of the community worship a heavenly being whose mother was Virgin Mary.

On verbal communication, Lily looks straight to her father’s eyes and says, “People who tell lies like you should burn in hell” (Prince-Bythewood, 2008) which shows boldness and sincerity of the heart; in fact, Lily is tired with her father and so she simply puts her feelings plainly.

To some communities, it is a taboo to talk straight to the eyes of elders especially parents but Lily’s culture seems different. However, in August’s community, things are different; people write the things disturbing them in pieces of paper and paste them in cracks of a wall that typifies a notice board.

People like May die out of frustration which would have otherwise been solved by speaking out of her mind if the culture allowed such. The forms of communication highlighted in the two scenarios, relate to the acculturation and the adjustment theory of intercultural communication in that, Lily and Rosaleen, from a different culture adjust their cultural patterns to fit in August’s culture.

On a more general overview on the economic growth globally, many modern multinational and multicultural organizations are now in existence comprising employees from different diverse communities.

In such organizations, therefore intercultural communication becomes of great importance. Acceptance, understanding and appreciating other cultures in these organizations creates a sense of belong which culminates into friendship, togetherness and good performance.

As Lusting & Koester observe, “The international business world contains a mix of diverse cultural backgrounds and work experiences resulting in the demand to know what the other culture is all about” (2010, p. 279).

Good Intercultural relations created by good intercultural verbal and non-verbal communication among the different cultures in these organizations would help good business performance and economic targets realization.

Cultural differences do exist between different communities and these differences in most cases cut across all communities and societies locally and internationally.

Cultural patterns strengthen the cultural values and beliefs, which comprise the cultural identification of a particular community. The differences in the cultures across communities call for a clear understanding of the cultures before one can interpret an experience to avoid cultural biasness and frustrations because different things mean or signify different issues in different communities.

Furthermore, in businesses and work places, cultural differences remain an important aspect of concern because signals in one culture might imply something different in another culture.

Lusting, M., & Koester, J. (2010). Intercultural competence: Interpersonal Communication Across cultures (6 th Ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Prince-Bythewood, G. (Director). (2008). The Secret of Bees. [Film]. USA: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

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Cultural Diversity Essay & Community Essay Examples

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If you’ve started to research college application requirements for the schools on your list, you might have come across the “cultural diversity essay.” In this guide, we’ll explore the cultural diversity essay in depth. We will compare the cultural diversity essay to the community essay and discuss how to approach these kinds of supplements. We’ll also provide examples of diversity essays and community essay examples. But first, let’s discuss exactly what a cultural diversity essay is. 

The purpose of the cultural diversity essay in college applications is to show the admissions committee what makes you unique. The cultural diversity essay also lets you describe what type of “ diversity ” you would bring to campus.

We’ll also highlight a diversity essay sample for three college applications. These include the Georgetown application essay , Rice application essay , and Williams application essay . We’ll provide examples of diversity essays for each college. Then, for each of these college essays that worked, we will analyze their strengths to help you craft your own essays. 

Finally, we’ll give you some tips on how to write a cultural diversity essay that will make your applications shine. 

But first, let’s explore the types of college essays you might encounter on your college applications. 

Types of College Essays

cultural diversity essay

College application requirements will differ among schools. However, you’ll submit one piece of writing to nearly every school on your list—the personal statement . A strong personal statement can help you stand out in the admissions process. 

So, how do you know what to write about? That depends on the type of college essay included in your college application requirements. 

There are a few main types of college essays that you might encounter in the college admissions process. Theese include the “Why School ” essay, the “Why Major ” essay, and the extracurricular activity essay. This also includes the type of essay we will focus on in this guide—the cultural diversity essay. 

“Why School” essay

The “Why School ” essay is exactly what it sounds like. For this type of college essay, you’ll need to underscore why you want to go to this particular school. 

However, don’t make the mistake of just listing off what you like about the school. Additionally, don’t just reiterate information you can find on their admissions website. Instead, you’ll want to make connections between what the school offers and how you are a great fit for that college community. 

“Why Major” essay

The idea behind the “Why Major ” essay is similar to that of the “Why School ” essay above. However, instead of writing about the school at large, this essay should highlight why you plan to study your chosen major.

There are plenty of directions you could take with this type of essay. For instance, you might describe how you chose this major, what career you plan to pursue upon graduation, or other details.

Extracurricular Activity essay

The extracurricular activity essay asks you to elaborate on one of the activities that you participated in outside of the classroom. 

For this type of college essay, you’ll need to select an extracurricular activity that you pursued while you were in high school. Bonus points if you can tie your extracurricular activity into your future major, career goals, or other extracurricular activities for college. Overall, your extracurricular activity essay should go beyond your activities list. In doing so, it should highlight why your chosen activity matters to you.

Cultural Diversity essay

The cultural diversity essay is your chance to expound upon diversity in all its forms. Before you write your cultural diversity essay, you should ask yourself some key questions. These questions can include: How will you bring diversity to your future college campus? What unique perspective do you bring to the table? 

Another sub-category of the cultural diversity essay is the gender diversity essay. As its name suggests, this essay would center around the author’s gender. This essay would highlight how gender shapes the way the writer understands the world around them. 

Later, we’ll look at examples of diversity essays and other college essays that worked. But before we do, let’s figure out how to identify a cultural diversity essay in the first place. 

How to identify a ‘cultural diversity’ essay

cultural diversity essay

So, you’re wondering how you’ll be able to identify a cultural diversity essay as you review your college application requirements. 

Aside from the major giveaway of having the word “diversity” in the prompt, a cultural diversity essay will ask you to describe what makes you different from other applicants. In other words, what aspects of your unique culture(s) have influenced your perspective and shaped you into who you are today?

Diversity can refer to race, ethnicity, first-generation status, gender, or anything in between. You can write about a myriad of things in a cultural diversity essay. For instance, you might discuss your personal background, identity, values, experiences, or how you’ve overcome challenges in your life. 

However, don’t feel limited in what you can address in a cultural diversity essay. The words “culture” and “diversity” mean different things to different people. Above all, you’ll want your diversity essays for college to be personal and sincere. 

How is a ‘community’ essay different? 

cultural diversity essay

A community essay can also be considered a cultural diversity essay. In fact, you can think of the community essay as a subcategory of the cultural diversity essay. However, there is a key difference between a community essay and a cultural diversity essay, which we will illustrate below. 

You might have already seen some community essay examples while you were researching college application requirements. But how exactly is a community essay different from a cultural diversity essay?

One way to tell the difference between community essay examples and cultural diversity essay examples is by the prompt. A community essay will highlight, well, community . This means it will focus on how your identity will shape your interactions on campus—not just how it informs your own experiences.

Two common forms to look out for

Community essay examples can take two forms. First, you’ll find community essay examples about your past experiences. These let you show the admissions team how you have positively influenced your own community. 

Other community essay examples, however, will focus on the future. These community essay examples will ask you to detail how you will contribute to your future college community. We refer to these as college community essay examples.

In college community essay examples, you’ll see applicants detail how they might interact with their fellow students. These essays may also discuss how students plan to positively contribute to the campus community. 

As we mentioned above, the community essay, along with community essay examples and college community essay examples, fit into the larger category of the cultural diversity essay. Although we do not have specific community essay examples or college community essay examples in this guide, we will continue to highlight the subtle differences between the two. 

Before we continue the discussion of community essay examples and college community essay examples, let’s start with some examples of cultural diversity essay prompts. For each of the cultural diversity essay prompts, we’ll name the institutions that include these diversity essays for college as part of their college application requirements. 

What are some examples of ‘cultural diversity’ essays? 

Now, you have a better understanding of the similarities and differences between the cultural diversity essay and the community essay. So, next, let’s look at some examples of cultural diversity essay prompts.

The prompts below are from the Georgetown application, Rice application, and Williams application, respectively. As we discuss the similarities and differences between prompts, remember the framework we provided above for what constitutes a cultural diversity essay and a community essay. 

Later in this guide, we’ll provide real examples of diversity essays, including Georgetown essay examples, Rice University essay examples, and Williams supplemental essays examples. These are all considered college essays that worked—meaning that the author was accepted into that particular institution. 

Georgetown Supplementals Essays

cultural diversity essay

Later, we’ll look at Georgetown supplemental essay examples. Diversity essays for Georgetown are a product of this prompt: 

As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you. 

You might have noticed two keywords in this prompt right away: “diverse” and “community.” These buzzwords indicate that this prompt is a cultural diversity essay. You could even argue that responses to this prompt would result in college community essay examples. After all, the prompt refers to the Georgetown community. 

For this prompt, you’ll want to produce a diversity essay sample that highlights who you are. In order to do that successfully, you’ll need to self-reflect before putting pen to paper. What aspects of your background, personality, or values best describe who you are? How might your presence at Georgetown influence or contribute to their diverse community? 

Additionally, this cultural diversity essay can be personal or creative. So, you have more flexibility with the Georgetown supplemental essays than with other similar diversity essay prompts. Depending on the direction you go, your response to this prompt could be considered a cultural diversity essay, gender diversity essay, or a college community essay. 

Rice University Essays

cultural diversity essay

The current Rice acceptance rate is just 9% , making it a highly selective school. Because the Rice acceptance rate is so low, your personal statement and supplemental essays can make a huge difference. 

The Rice University essay examples we’ll provide below are based on this prompt: 

The quality of Rice’s academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective would you contribute to life at Rice? 

Breaking down the prompt.

Like the prompt above, this cultural diversity essay asks about your “life experiences,” “cultural traditions,” and personal “perspectives.” These phrases indicate a cultural diversity essay. Keep in mind this may not be the exact prompt you’ll have to answer in your own Rice application. However, future Rice prompts will likely follow a similar framework as this diversity essay sample.

Although this prompt is not as flexible as the Georgetown prompt, it does let you discuss aspects of Rice’s academic life and Residential College System that appeal to you. You can also highlight how your experiences have influenced your personal perspective. 

The prompt also asks about how you would contribute to life at Rice. So, your response could also fall in line with college community essay examples. Remember, college community essay examples are another sub-category of community essay examples. Successful college community essay examples will illustrate the ways in which students would contribute to their future campus community. 

Williams Supplemental Essays

cultural diversity essay

Like the Rice acceptance rate, the Williams acceptance rate is also 9% . Because the Williams acceptance rate is so low, you’ll want to pay close attention to the Williams supplemental essays examples as you begin the writing process. 

The Williams supplemental essays examples below are based on this prompt: 

Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry – a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives, and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an Entry? What perspective would you add to the conversation with your peer(s)?

Reflecting on the prompt.

Immediately, words like “diverse,” “backgrounds,” “perspectives,” “interests,” and “differentiate” should stand out to you. These keywords highlight the fact that this is a cultural diversity essay. Similar to the Rice essay, this may not be the exact prompt you’ll face on your Williams application. However, we can still learn from it.

Like the Georgetown essay, this prompt requires you to put in some self-reflection before you start writing. What aspects of your background differentiate you from other people? How would these differences impact your interactions with peers? 

This prompt also touches on the “student community” and how you would “add to the conversation with your peer(s).” By extension, any strong responses to this prompt could also be considered as college community essay examples. 

Community Essays

All of the prompts above mention campus community. So, you could argue that they are also examples of community essays. 

Like we mentioned above, you can think of community essays as a subcategory of the cultural diversity essay. If the prompt alludes to the campus community, or if your response is centered on how you would interact within that community, your essay likely falls into the world of college community essay examples. 

Regardless of what you would classify the essay as, all successful essays will be thoughtful, personal, and rich with details. We’ll show you examples of this in our “college essays that worked” section below. 

Which schools require a cultural diversity or community essay? 

Besides Georgetown, Rice, and Williams, many other college applications require a cultural diversity essay or community essay. In fact, from the Ivy League to HBCUs and state schools, the cultural diversity essay is a staple across college applications. 

Although we will not provide a diversity essay sample for each of the colleges below, it is helpful to read the prompts. This will build your familiarity with other college applications that require a cultural diversity essay or community essay. Some schools that require a cultural diversity essay or community essay include New York University , Duke University , Harvard University , Johns Hopkins University , and University of Michigan . 

New York University

cultural diversity essay

NYU listed a cultural diversity essay as part of its 2022-2023 college application requirements. Here is the prompt:

NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience. We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community.

Duke university.

cultural diversity essay

Duke is well-known for its community essay: 

What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well.

cultural diversity essay

A top-ranked Ivy League institution, Harvard University also has a cultural diversity essay as part of its college application requirements: 

Harvard has long recognized the importance of student body diversity of all kinds. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, personal development, or the intellectual interests you might bring to your Harvard classmates.

Johns hopkins university.

cultural diversity essay

The Johns Hopkins supplement is another example of a cultural diversity essay: 

Founded in the spirit of exploration and discovery, Johns Hopkins University encourages students to share their perspectives, develop their interests, and pursue new experiences. Use this space to share something you’d like the admissions committee to know about you (your interests, your background, your identity, or your community), and how it has shaped what you want to get out of your college experience at Hopkins. 

University of michigan.

cultural diversity essay

The University of Michigan requires a community essay for its application: 

Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong and describe that community and your place within it. 

Community essay examples.

The Duke and Michigan prompts are perfect illustrations of community essay examples. However, they have some critical differences. So, if you apply to both of these schools, you’ll have to change the way you approach either of these community essays. 

The Duke prompt asks you to highlight why you are a good match for the Duke community. You’ll also see this prompt in other community essay examples. To write a successful response to this prompt, you’ll need to reference offerings specific to Duke (or whichever college requires this essay). In order to know what to reference, you’ll need to do your research before you start writing. 

Consider the following questions as you write your diversity essay sample if the prompt is similar to Duke University’s

  • What values does this college community have? 
  • How do these tie in with what you value? 
  • Is there something that this college offers that matches your interests, personality, or background?  

On the other hand, the Michigan essay prompt asks you to describe a community that you belong to as well as your place within that community. This is another variation of the prompt for community essay examples. 

To write a successful response to this prompt, you’ll need to identify a community that you belong to. Then, you’ll need to think critically about how you interact with that community. 

Below are some questions to consider as you write your diversity essay sample for colleges like Michigan: 

  • Out of all the communities you belong to, which can you highlight in your response? 
  • How have you impacted this community? 
  • How has this community impacted you?

Now, in the next few sections, we’ll dive into the Georgetown supplemental essay examples, the Rice university essay examples, and the Williams supplemental essays examples. After each diversity essay sample, we’ll include a breakdown of why these are considered college essays that worked. 

Georgetown Essay Examples

cultural diversity essay

As a reminder, the Georgetown essay examples respond to this prompt: 

As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.

Here is the excerpt of the diversity essay sample from our Georgetown essay examples: 

Georgetown University Essay Example

The best thing I ever did was skip eight days of school in a row. Despite the protests of teachers over missed class time, I told them that the world is my classroom. The lessons I remember most are those that took place during my annual family vacation to coastal Maine. That rural world is the most authentic and incredible classroom where learning simply happens and becomes exponential. 

Years ago, as I hunted through the rocks and seaweed for seaglass and mussels, I befriended a Maine local hauling her battered kayak on the shore. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I had found a kindred spirit in Jeanne. Jeanne is a year-round resident who is more than the hard working, rugged Mainer that meets the eye; reserved and humble in nature, she is a wealth of knowledge and is self-taught through necessity. With thoughtful attention to detail, I engineered a primitive ramp made of driftwood and a pulley system to haul her kayak up the cliff. We diligently figured out complex problems and developed solutions through trial and error.

After running out of conventional materials, I recycled and reimagined items that had washed ashore. We expected to succeed, but were not afraid to fail. Working with Jeanne has been the best classroom in the world; without textbooks or technology, she has made a difference in my life. Whether building a basic irrigation system for her organic garden or installing solar panels to harness the sun’s energy, every project has shown me the value of taking action and making an impact. Each year brings a different project with new excitement and unique challenges. My resourcefulness, problem solving ability, and innovative thinking have advanced under her tutelage. 

While exploring the rocky coast of Maine, I embrace every experience as an unparalleled educational opportunity that transcends any classroom environment. I discovered that firsthand experience and real-world application of science are my best teachers. In school, applications of complex calculations and abstract theories are sometimes obscured by grades and structure. In Maine, I expand my love of science and renourish my curious spirit. I am a highly independent, frugal, resilient Mainer living as a southern girl in NC. 

Why this essay worked

This is one of the Georgetown supplemental essay examples that works, and here’s why. The author starts the essay with an interesting hook, which makes the reader want to learn more about this person and their perspective. 

Throughout the essay, the author illustrates their intellectual curiosity. From befriending Jeanne and creating a pulley system to engineering other projects on the rocky coast of Maine, the author demonstrates how they welcome challenges and work to solve problems. 

Further, the author mentions values that matter to them—taking action and making an impact. Both facets are also part of Georgetown’s core values . By making these connections in their essay, the author shows the admissions committee exactly how they would be a great fit for the Georgetown community. 

Finally, the author uses their experience in Maine to showcase their love of science, which is likely the field they will study at Georgetown. Like this writer, you should try to include most important parts of your identity into your essay. This includes things like life experiences, passions, majors, extracurricular activities for college, and more. 

Rice University Essay Examples

cultural diversity essay

The Rice University essay examples are from this prompt: 

The quality of Rice’s academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective would you contribute to life at Rice? (500-word limit)

Rice university essay example.

Like every applicant, I also have a story to share. A story that makes me who I am and consists of chapters about my life experiences and adventures. Having been born in a different country, my journey to America was one of the most difficult things I had ever experienced. Everything felt different. The atmosphere, the places, the food, and especially the people. Everywhere I looked, I saw something new. Although it was a bit overwhelming, one thing had not changed.

The caring nature of the people was still prevalent in everyday interactions. I was overwhelmed by how supportive and understanding people were of one another. Whether it is race, religion, or culture, everyone was accepted and appreciated. I knew that I could be whoever I wanted to be and that the only limitation was my imagination. Through hard work and persistence I put my all in everything that I did. I get this work ethic from my father since he is living proof that anything can be accomplished with continued determination. Listening to the childhood stories he told me, my dad would reminisce about how he was born in an impoverished area in a third world country during a turbulent and unpredictable time.

Even with a passion for learning, he had to work a laborious job in an attempt to help his parents make ends meet. He talked about how he would study under the street lights when the power went out at home. His parents wanted something better for him, as did he. Not living in America changed nothing about their work ethic. His parents continued to work hard daily, in an attempt to provide for their son. My dad worked and studied countless hours, paying his way through school with jobs and scholarships. His efforts paid off when he finally moved to America and opened his own business. None of it would have been possible without tremendous effort and dedication needed for a better life, values that are instilled within me as well, and this is the perspective that I wish to bring to Rice. 

This diversity essay sample references the author’s unique life experiences and personal perspective, which makes it one example of college essays that worked. The author begins the essay by alluding to their unique story—they were born in a different country and then came to America. Instead of facing this change as a challenge, the author shows how this new experience helped them to feel comfortable with all kinds of people. They also highlight how their diversity was accepted and appreciated. 

Additionally, the author incorporates information about their father’s story, which helps to frame their own values and where those values came from. The values that they chose to highlight also fall in line with the values of the Rice community. 

Williams Supplemental Essay Examples

cultural diversity essay

Let’s read the prompt that inspired so many strong Williams supplemental essays examples again: 

Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry—a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an entry? What perspective(s) would you add to the conversation with your peers?

Williams college essay example.

Through the flow in my head

See you clad in red

But not just the clothes

It’s your whole being

Covering in this sickening blanket

Of heat and pain

Are you in agony, I wonder?

Is this the hell they told me about?

Have we been condemned?

Reduced to nothing but pain

At least we have each other

In our envelopes of crimson

I try in vain

“Take my hands” I shriek

“Let’s protect each other, 

You and me, through this hell”

My body contorts

And deforms into nothingness

You remain the same

Clad in red

With faraway eyes

You, like a statue

Your eyes fixed somewhere else

You never see me

Just the red briefcase in your heart

We aren’t together

It’s always been me alone

While you stand there, aloof, with the briefcase in your heart.

I wrote this poem the day my prayer request for the Uighur Muslims got denied at school. At the time, I was stunned. I was taught to have empathy for those around me. Yet, that empathy disappears when told to extend it to someone different. I can’t comprehend this contradiction and I refuse to. 

At Williams, I hope to become a Community Engagement Fellow at the Davis Center. I hope to use Williams’ support for social justice and advocacy to educate my fellow classmates on social issues around the world. Williams students are not just scholars but also leaders and changemakers. Together, we can strive to better the world through advocacy.

Human’s capability for love is endless. We just need to open our hearts to everyone. 

It’s time to let the briefcase go and look at those around us with our real human eyes.

We see you now. Please forgive us.

As we mentioned above, the Williams acceptance rate is incredibly low. This makes the supplemental essay that much more important. 

This diversity essay sample works because it is personal and memorable. The author chooses to start the essay off with a poem. Which, if done right, will immediately grab the reader’s attention. 

Further, the author contextualizes the poem by explaining the circumstances surrounding it—they wrote it in response to a prayer request that was denied at school. In doing so, they also highlight their own values of empathy and embracing diversity. 

Finally, the author ends their cultural diversity essay by describing what excites them about Williams. They also discuss how they see themselves interacting within the Williams community. This is a key piece of the essay, as it helps the reader understand how the author would be a good fit for Williams. 

The examples provided within this essay also touch on issues that are important to the author, which provides a glimpse into the type of student the author would be on campus. Additionally, this response shows what potential extracurricular activities for college the author might be interested in pursuing while at Williams. 

How to Write a Cultural Diversity Essay

You want your diversity essay to stand out from any other diversity essay sample. But how do you write a successful cultural diversity essay? 

First, consider what pieces of your identity you want to highlight in your essay. Of course, race and ethnicity are important facets of diversity. However, there are plenty of other factors to consider. 

As you brainstorm, think outside the box to figure out what aspects of your identity help make up who you are. Because identity and diversity fall on a spectrum, there is no right or wrong answer here. 

Fit your ideas to the specific school

Once you’ve decided on what you want to represent in your cultural diversity essay, think about how that fits into the college of your choice. Use your cultural diversity essay to make connections to the school. If your college has specific values or programs that align with your identity, then include them in your cultural diversity essay! 

Above all, you should write about something that is important to you. Your cultural diversity essay, gender diversity essay, or community essay will succeed if you are passionate about your topic and willing to get personal. 

Additional Tips for Community & Cultural Diversity Essays

cultural diversity essay

1. Start Early

In order to create the strongest diversity essay possible, you’ll want to start early. Filling out college applications is already a time-consuming process. So, you can cut back on additional stress and anxiety by writing your cultural diversity essay as early as possible. 

2. Brainstorm

Writing a cultural diversity essay or community essay is a personal process. To set yourself up for success, take time to brainstorm and reflect on your topic. Overall, you want your cultural diversity essay to be a good indication of who you are and what makes you a unique applicant. 

3. Proofread

We can’t stress this final tip enough. Be sure to proofread your cultural diversity essay before you hit the submit button. Additionally, you can read your essay aloud to hear how it flows. You can also can ask someone you trust, like your college advisor or a teacher, to help proofread your essay as well.

Other CollegeAdvisor Essay Resources to Explore

Looking for additional resources on supplemental essays for the colleges we mentioned above? Do you need help with incorporating extracurricular activities for college into your essays or crafting a strong diversity essay sample? We’ve got you covered. 

Our how to get into Georgetown guide covers additional tips on how to approach the supplemental diversity essay. If you’re wondering how to write about community in your essay, check out our campus community article for an insider’s perspective on Williams College.

Want to learn strategies for writing compelling cultural diversity essays? Check out this Q&A webinar, featuring a former Georgetown admissions officer. And, if you’re still unsure of what to highlight in your community essay, try getting inspiration from a virtual college tour . 

Cultural Diversity Essay & Community Essay Examples – Final Thoughts

Your supplemental essays are an important piece of the college application puzzle. With colleges becoming more competitive than ever, you’ll want to do everything you can to create a strong candidate profile. This includes writing well-crafted responses for a cultural diversity essay, gender diversity essay, or community essay. 

We hope our cultural diversity essay guide helped you learn more about this common type of supplemental essay. As you are writing your own cultural diversity essay or community essay, use the essay examples from Georgetown, Rice, and Williams above as your guide. 

Getting into top schools takes a lot more than a strong resume. Writing specific, thoughtful, and personal responses for a cultural diversity essay, gender diversity essay, or community essay will put you one step closer to maximizing your chances of admission. Good luck!

CollegeAdvisor.com is here to help you with every aspect of the college admissions process. From taking a gap year to completing enrollment , we’re here to help. Register today to receive one-on-one support from an admissions expert as you begin your college application journey.

cultural differences essay conclusion

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15 Cultural Differences Examples

cultural differences examples and definition, explained below

Examples of cultural differences include differences in values, norms , beliefs, mores , rituals , mannerisms, and expressions between different societies.

We can also identify cultural differences in eating and drinking habits, religious beliefs, moral beliefs, rituals, time management, sanitation, greeting, gift giving, exchange, conformity , rebelliousness, sports, language, work ethic , marriage, and so on can all be cultural.

It is common to apply Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory to analyze different dimensions of cultures (Hofstede, 2011).

Cultural Differences Examples

  • Kinship – Kinship principles generally form the basis of societal organization. Families consisting of at least one parent and one child are customary in all societies, but there are many differences beyond this.
  • Marriage – Marriage and families seem to be human universals, but there is significant variability in customs related to these aspects of social life.
  • Sexuality – Interestingly enough, societies vary significantly in the degree to which they encourage or discourage intimacy and its different forms at different stages of life.
  • Art – Virtually all societies have some forms of art. Visual art, music, song, dance, literature, etc. of different cultures vary significantly.
  • Religion – Religious beliefs and practices are features of all known societies, but they vary significantly between cultures.
  • Gender – Categorizing children into the binary categories of female and male is fairly common, but there is significant cultural variability in the toleration of switching categories and the number of genders .
  • Sports – Games and sports seem to be human universals, but the types of games and sports played by different cultures vary.
  • Dwellings – Different societies, often due to environmental as well as cultural reasons, have very different types of houses or dwellings.
  • Celebrations – Cultural celebrations in different cultures include New Years Eve, Chinese new year, birthdays, and Diwali.
  • Cultural taboos – While there are some universal taboos, you’ll also notice that some cultures consider certain things you consider ‘normal’ to be very much taboo! For example, some cultures encourage eye contact while other cultures find it offensive.
  • Rites of passage – Rites of passage can include the walkabout in Indigenous Australian culture, baptisms in Christianity, school graduation ceremonies, and so forth.
  • Worldviews – In broad strokes, Western nations like the modern United States have had a strong history of individualism , while Indigenous cultures often embrace communalism and stewardship of nature.
  • Dress codes – When you travel the world, you quickly learn that some cultures encourage conservative dress, such as covering your shoulders and knees in public.
  • Food and eating habits ( foodways ) – This includes not only what you eat, but when. Go to Spain, for example, and learn all about very late dinners!
  • Educational methods – In 21 st Century Western nations, we are accustomed to formal education in classrooms and standardized testing. But go to Indigenous Australian communities, and we can see that they have their own learning styles heavily reliant on story sharing, symbolism, and non-verbal cues.

Thought Bubble: Are We Really All That Different?

Some anthropologists and biologists have argued against the empirical assumption that cultures are as variable as we might think.

These anthropologists argue that there are cultural universals – concepts that unite all cultures.

Kinship, mourning, birth, the experience of empathy and sympathy, fear, concepts of luck, the use of grammar, exchange, cooperation, competition, aggression, reciprocity, and the biological needs, are some of the constant elements of human experience that go against the assumption that world cultures are fundamentally different (Brown 2004).

Common Categories of Cultural Difference

Unlike many other mammals, human adults rarely live alone. Families are the basic building blocks of any society.

How big these families are and how they are composed varies significantly between cultures.

Consider this example: you are a parent worried about your children no longer living with you when you’re too old for productive work. Some children will grow up and get married. Once they’re married, some children will have to stop living with their parents.

It is, therefore, necessary to decide who lives where. Rules that determine this are called marital residence rules. They differ significantly between cultures (Ember, 2022).

The two most common marital residence rules specify the gender expected to stay and the one expected to leave. When the rule states that the daughter must stay and her husband must move to where her family resides, it is called a matrilocal residence rule.

The inverse is called a patrilocal residence rule. These account for around 85% of the cases social scientists know about, but patrilocal residence is far more common among cultures.

2. Marriage

Different cultures have varying rules for how many people one can be married to simultaneously, what kind of marriage partner one is allowed, and so on.

In virtually all societies known to social scientists today, it is prohibited to marry one’s brother, sister, or parent. Most societies extend this to include the entire kin group.

There are, however, significant cultural differences regarding community exogamy/endogamy, cousin marriage, arranged marriage, polygyny/polyandry, and so on (Ember, 2021).

Let’s take the example of community exogamy and endogamy. Community exogamy refers to marriage with a spouse from another community. Endogamy refers to marriage within the community.

The most common rule is to allow marriage both within and outside of the community, as it is accepted in, for example, European countries. Community exogamy occurs in around 33% of the world’s societies, while endogamy occurs in 7.5% (Kirby et al., 2016).

Another example of cultural variation can be observed in rules concerning the toleration of cousin marriage. Some societies, like the Selk’nam of Tierra del Fuego, are averse to marriage between related people (Gusinde, 1931). Others, like the Komachi of southern Iran, prefer being married to their kin (Bradburd, 1990, p. 115).

There are interesting differences regarding the arts of different cultures that can be seen through analysis.

For example, since egalitarian societies tend to value sameness and stratified societies tend to value hierarchies, the art of egalitarian societies will often contain more repetition than the art of stratified ones (Fischer, 1961).

4. Religion

Religious beliefs and practices vary significantly from culture to culture and change over time.

Different societies have different gods, spirits, types of rituals , and supernatural forces.

Religion itself appears to be common across many cultures, but the specifics are not. According to Émile Durkheim and his followers, religion is the glue that holds societies together (Atran & Henrich, 2010).

The vast body of research conducted by social scientists about human societies and cultures allows us to find, compare, and analyze human cultural universals and differences. If there are different cultures, there are differences between them. It is the task of social scientists to research those differences.

Atran, S., & Henrich, J. (2010). The Evolution of Religion: How Cognitive By-Products, Adaptive Learning Heuristics, Ritual Displays, and Group Competition Generate Deep Commitments to Prosocial Religions. Biological Theory , 5 (1), 18–30. https://doi.org/10.1162/BIOT_a_00018

Baghramian, M., & Carter, J. A. (2022). Relativism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2022). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/relativism/

Boas, F. (1940). Race, Language, and Culture . University of Chicago Press.

Bradburd, D. (1990). Ambiguous relations: Kin, class, and conflict among Komachi pastoralists . Smithsonian Institution Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=mgRuAAAAMAAJ

Broude, G. J. (1980). Extramarital Sex Norms in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Behavior Science Research , 15 (3), 181–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/106939718001500302

Broude, G. J. (2004). Sexual Attitudes and Practices. In C. R. Ember & M. Ember (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World’s Cultures Volume I: Topics and Cultures A-K Volume II: Cultures L-Z (pp. 177–186). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-29907-6_18

Brown, D. E. (2004). Human universals, human nature & human culture. Daedalus , 133 (4), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1162/0011526042365645

Ember, C. R. (2019). Sexuality . https://hraf.yale.edu/ehc/summaries/sexuality

Ember, C. R. (2021). Marriage and Family . https://hraf.yale.edu/ehc/summaries/marriage-and-family

Ember, C. R. (2022). Residence and Kinship . https://hraf.yale.edu/ehc/summaries/residence-and-kinship

Fischer, J. L. (1961). Art Styles as Cultural Cognitive Maps1. American Anthropologist , 63 (1), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1961.63.1.02a00050

Gusinde, M. (1931). The Fireland Indians: Vol. 1. The Selk’nam, on the life and thought of a hunting people of the Great Island of Tierra del Fuego . https://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/cultures/sh04/documents/001

Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture , 2 (1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014

Kirby, K. R., Gray, R. D., Greenhill, S. J., Jordan, F. M., Gomes-Ng, S., Bibiko, H.-J., Blasi, D. E., Botero, C. A., Bowern, C., Ember, C. R., Leehr, D., Low, B. S., McCarter, J., Divale, W., & Gavin, M. C. (2016). D-PLACE: A Global Database of Cultural, Linguistic and Environmental Diversity. PLOS ONE , 11 (7), e0158391. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158391

Lenard, P. T. (2020). Culture. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/culture/

van de Vijver, F. (2009). Types of Comparative Studies in Cross-Cultural Psychology . Online Readings in Psychology and Culture , 2 (2). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1017

Tio

Tio Gabunia (B.Arch, M.Arch)

Tio Gabunia is an academic writer and architect based in Tbilisi. He has studied architecture, design, and urban planning at the Georgian Technical University and the University of Lisbon. He has worked in these fields in Georgia, Portugal, and France. Most of Tio’s writings concern philosophy. Other writings include architecture, sociology, urban planning, and economics.

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Research: How Cultural Differences Can Impact Global Teams

  • Vasyl Taras,
  • Dan Caprar,
  • Alfredo Jiménez,
  • Fabian Froese

cultural differences essay conclusion

And what managers can do to help their international teams succeed.

Diversity can be both a benefit and a challenge to virtual teams, especially those which are global. The authors unpack their recent research on how diversity works in remote teams, concluding that benefits and drawbacks can be explained by how teams manage the two facets of diversity: personal and contextual. They find that contextual diversity is key to aiding creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving, while personal diversity does not. In their study, teams with higher contextual diversity produced higher-quality consulting reports, and their solutions were more creative and innovative. When it comes to the quality of work, teams that were higher on contextual diversity performed better. Therefore, the potential challenges caused by personal diversity should be anticipated and managed, but the benefits of contextual diversity are likely to outweigh such challenges.

A recent survey of employees from 90 countries found that 89 percent of white-collar workers “at least occasionally” complete projects in global virtual teams (GVTs), where team members are dispersed around the planet and rely on online tools for communication. This is not surprising. In a globalized — not to mention socially distanced — world, online collaboration is indispensable for bringing people together.

  • VT Vasyl Taras is an associate professor and the Director of the Master’s or Science in International Business program at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, USA. He is an associate editor of the Journal of International Management and the International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, and a founder of the X-Culture, an international business competition.
  • DB Dan Baack is an expert in international marketing. Dan’s work focuses on how the processing of information or cultural models influences international business. He recently published the 2nd edition of his textbook, International Marketing, with Sage Publications. Beyond academic success, he is an active consultant and expert witness. He has testified at the state and federal level regarding marketing ethics.
  • DC Dan Caprar is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Business School. His research, teaching, and consulting are focused on culture, identity, and leadership. Before completing his MBA and PhD as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Iowa (USA), Dan worked in a range of consulting and managerial roles in business, NGOs, and government organizations in Romania, the UK, and the US.
  • AJ Alfredo Jiménez is Associate Professor at KEDGE Business School (France). His research interests include internationalization, political risk, corruption, culture, and global virtual teams. He is a senior editor at the European Journal of International Management.
  • FF Fabian Froese is Chair Professor of Human Resource Management and Asian Business at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and Editor-in-Chief of Asian Business & Management. He obtained a doctorate in International Management from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and another doctorate in Sociology from Waseda University, Japan. His research interests lie in international human resource management and cross-cultural management.

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How to Write an Essay About Cultural Differences

How to Write Research Papers From Start to Finish

How to Write Research Papers From Start to Finish

Starting your cultural differences essay can be a challenging undertaking. After all, the traditions and social expectations of any culture are so broad that it can be difficult to find a starting point. Choosing a specific aspect of two cultures to research narrows down the topic, leaving you one or two issues to focus on in detail.

Pick Your Topic

When writing an essay on cultural differences, the first question to address is which cultures to write about. The assignment you are given may ask you to compare and contrast two different cultures, or to compare your own culture to a culture with which you are unfamiliar. Pick a culture you are interested in, within the constraints of your assignment. This could be a culture that exists side by side with yours in your town or city, or a culture that exists on the other side of the world. If you are already partially familiar with that culture, pick an aspect of the culture you would like to know more about to ensure that you are engaged in your research.

Conduct Your Research

An encyclopedia may be a good place to begin your search. While an encyclopedia does not go in-depth into the particulars of a culture, it provides a general picture of topics you might want to investigate. These reference books often direct you to more specific references on your topic of interest, such as books, journal articles and online sources. You are likely to find, for example, a variety of sources about different levels of formality expectations in two cultures.

While doing your research, try to note whenever an aspect of a culture strikes you as strange, and ask yourself whether it is a bias based on your own assumptions. This is especially important if you are writing about the differences between your culture and another culture; you do not want your biases to creep into your writing. If possible, interview a member of the culture you are studying to get input on perceived differences.

Structure Your Paper

The next step is writing a thesis statement -- a sentence that expresses the argument of your paper. Since you are writing about a cultural difference, your thesis statement should mention what difference you want to highlight or explain in your paper. For example, if you are an American comparing your social norms of privacy to those of British culture, your thesis statement might go like this:

"The differences in British and Americans standards of privacy are evident in each culture's approach to personal openness and humor."

Once you have your thesis statement, you can plan out the rest of your paper. Outline paragraphs that compare and contrast the two cultures in regard to the issues stated in your thesis. Describe and explore similarities and differences. If possible, provide an explanation for what about the two cultures causes the differences to exist.

Write Your Paper

Begin your paper with an introduction paragraph that includes your thesis statement and additional sentences that define specific topics your paper addresses. Think of your introduction as a way of letting your reader know the topics your paper will cover. Following a well-argued body with strong supporting examples, end your essay with a conclusion paragraph that restates your thesis and the most important points of your cultural comparisons. Ensure that you cite your sources according to the style guide requested by your instructor.

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  • Fulbright Commission: Cultural Differences
  • Beyond Intractability: Beyond Intractability: Communication Tools for Understanding Cultural Differences

Jon Zamboni began writing professionally in 2010. He has previously written for The Spiritual Herald, an urban health care and religious issues newspaper based in New York City, and online music magazine eBurban. Zamboni has a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from Wesleyan University.

The Cultural Differences Analysis

Every single individual is a member of a specific culture that influences their worldview, opinions about different phenomena, behaviors, and daily activities. Additionally, the technological advancements and traveling give people a possibility to interact with others from all around the world, establish strong personal relationships with them, and enrich knowledge. For this reason, it seems essential to understand the concept of culture better and start doing that as soon as possible in order to prevent the appearance of cultural misunderstandings and conflicts.

In order to understand culture, it is primarily essential to define what it is. As suggested by Zimmermann, “culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts” (2017). However, the definition can go much further by taking into consideration the distinguishing features of specific nationalities, behavioral patterns and interactions, socialization, and cognitive constructs. In general, every single thing, such as clothes, food, language, music, character, and many more, is the constituent of a specific culture that is authentic and different from any other one in the world.

Since it is clear that every single culture is unique, it is useful to know the exact differences that can be noticeable. One of the most obvious differences is individualism versus collectivism. Some cultures, such as the one in the United States, points out on the importance of personal development, realization, independency, and autonomy (“Nine cultural value differences,” n.d.). Thus, in individualistic cultures the focus is on the one person and their achievements. At the same time, in collectivistic cultures, people are more likely to see themselves as members of groups and communities (“Nine cultural value differences,” n.d.). Collective harmony, social interdependence, and family are extremely valued by these cultures.

Most of the cultural differences can be noticed in the specificities of communication. For example, highly people-oriented cultures are usually extremely open and easy going. Individuals are much more likely to remain in close proximity, engage in deep conversations, and keep eye contact (Atkinson, 2020). On the other hand, all the actions can be seen as inappropriate by people from cultures that value privacy and a small number of people that a close and can share the most important moments with them. Very often, this specific difference leads to misunderstandings between cultures and prevents people from developing relationships. Therefore, people have to start educating themselves and adapt their behavior in order to engage in respectful and appropriate communication with those around.

To summarize, culture is a complicated subject that has to be researched thoroughly. While having a possibility to travel around the world, meet new people, and establish personal relationships with them, individuals have to educate themselves about the cultural differences that exists and can lead to misunderstandings. The ones mentioned are only a few from many differences that arise in cross-cultural communication. Learning more about them and training oneself to adapt can not only save time but also contribute to the creation of a meaningful friendship with another person.

Atkinson, G. (2020). 6 examples of cultural differences in business communication . Berlitz. Web.

Nine cultural value differences you need to know . (n.d.). Web.

Zimmermann, K. A. (2017). What is culture? Live Science. Web.

Cite this paper

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StudyCorgi. (2023, February 6). The Cultural Differences Analysis. Retrieved from https://studycorgi.com/the-cultural-differences-analysis/

StudyCorgi. (2023, February 6). The Cultural Differences Analysis. https://studycorgi.com/the-cultural-differences-analysis/

"The Cultural Differences Analysis." StudyCorgi , 6 Feb. 2023, studycorgi.com/the-cultural-differences-analysis/.

1. StudyCorgi . "The Cultural Differences Analysis." February 6, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/the-cultural-differences-analysis/.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Cultural Diversity — Experiencing Different Cultures in my Life

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Cultivating My Culture While Being Away from Home

  • Categories: Cultural Diversity Diversity Multiculturalism

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Words: 1481 |

Published: Oct 22, 2018

Words: 1481 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Table of contents

Introduction: when have you experienced cultural differences, my understanding of culture, my culture and american culture.

  • 1. Spencer-Oatey, H., & Franklin, P. (2012). What is culture. A compilation of quotations. GlobalPAD Core Concepts, 1, 22. (https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/40397043/Spencer-Oatey_2012_What_is_Culture-libre.pdf?1448544489=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DSpencer_Oatey_2012_What_is_Culture.pdf&Expires=1676384354&Signature=YfFRPaaVNdxc7p2fpSnYaY1cehVsQ8nGiUOj03fher4OorY7Aq9nGAQDBB7vVZp3mIsnGeRTzxxEERCN5PihLNYTbhhlhF5rPnPMrUrIWAOMTl7lIsKHA1g2RmQpN1BeWhobM4WsEeu-EQFxS6hur4aMELzCaoLcM3vWrNrDvitfLD2K7U-30Pvua9~xhRWp1jjZNTJ5Ivs3Q6g3HcfXrI5CwMlc0oehyBV4smevWmyRSHExEXmm4ZdabOVdqZzzu3g7issJlVQbmAFAy3aaJqZTCKosboWP58QUUzxa-MBraP-DevZiUEGxAArsm~w38ZixjeSO3~7rLDgncSU3Tw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA)
  • Fowers, B. J., & Richardson, F. C. (1996). Why is multiculturalism good?. American psychologist, 51(6), 609. (https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0003-066X.51.6.609)
  • Carriere, K. R. (2014). Culture cultivating culture: The four products of the meaning-made world. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 48, 270-282. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12124-013-9252-0)
  • Lawrence, J. A., Dodds, A. E., & Valsiner, J. (2004). The many faces of everyday life: Some challenges to the psychology of cultural practice. Culture & Psychology, 10(4), 455-476. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1354067X04045746)
  • Oyserman, D. (2011). Culture as situated cognition: Cultural mindsets, cultural fluency, and meaning making. European review of social psychology, 22(1), 164-214. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10463283.2011.627187)

Should follow an “upside down” triangle format, meaning, the writer should start off broad and introduce the text and author or topic being discussed, and then get more specific to the thesis statement.

Provides a foundational overview, outlining the historical context and introducing key information that will be further explored in the essay, setting the stage for the argument to follow.

Cornerstone of the essay, presenting the central argument that will be elaborated upon and supported with evidence and analysis throughout the rest of the paper.

The topic sentence serves as the main point or focus of a paragraph in an essay, summarizing the key idea that will be discussed in that paragraph.

The body of each paragraph builds an argument in support of the topic sentence, citing information from sources as evidence.

After each piece of evidence is provided, the author should explain HOW and WHY the evidence supports the claim.

Should follow a right side up triangle format, meaning, specifics should be mentioned first such as restating the thesis, and then get more broad about the topic at hand. Lastly, leave the reader with something to think about and ponder once they are done reading.

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Cultural Differences in the Workplace, Essay Example

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Introduction

Considering the current condition of the modern society, it could be realized how diversity has become a normal scene to consider especially in workplaces. Relatively such occurrence in the society, being a common scene, affects the being of each individual therefore creating a connection between performance and the distinct normative situation that people have to deal with while they are at work. Due to the impact of globalization on several areas of the world, it has become rather important for workers to become adaptive to the modern ways of working culture that they have to contend with. It seems the cultural differences are to become a common-stay in work areas no matter what scale the business or the organization belongs to.

The research discussed through presentations shows a great connection on how cultural differences and general population diversity in the workplace does affect the condition of work and performance that each individual puts forward. The emotional degree of working with someone who has great differences with another appears to create a strong contrast on how one is able to perform at work. The team’s research proves such instances through experiential aspect which provides the research a stronger backbone that shows how cultural diversity is affecting work performances and how such issues could be dealt with through the application of proper management.

The research thrives on the consideration over the theories of globalization and how developments of businesses and work environments specifically call for better action of management. True, it defines the distinct diversity has already been a constant element in dealing with human resources ever since the beginning of time, especially relating to the rise of need for employment during the years after the years of the great depression. Notably though, such differences among the working body cannot amount to the intense diversity realized around the globe today. Problems and ethical considerations are expected to arise under the working condition that involves people from all ages, nationalities, culture, language and religion. Because of this, conflict between workers becomes an inevitable condition at work.

Managers are then given the grueling task of respond to each aspect of conflict and misunderstanding to make sure that the workflow of tasks given to the employees for completion need not be affected by such situations. Even pressured by the legal sanctions requiring organizations to take in every single individual who passes the requirements of positions opened for filling, no business organization is supposed to deny a person from being able to work at a job position that fits him just because of his nationality or other points of discrimination that could incriminate the organization to being biased and imbalanced in dealing with its responsibility towards the society of providing people equal opportunity of work.

Hence, the theory that binds this research entails the condition of providing employees with a better working environment amidst diversity among themselves and their colleagues. It is assumed that through this aspect of development in the working environment, tolerating differences between each other would be much workable; easing out any particular points of conflict that could cause commotion on the process of work that is adapted in the organization. Through the inclusion of different world views on the matter and involving the different aspects of diversity into close distinction, the research presented by the team defines the most crucial points of consideration especially when it comes to creating efficient procedures of management that would define the distinct capacity of an organization to become more capable of handling diversity as an organization’s “main-stay”.

It is believed that if the environment is changed, then the people would change. Considering this particular though, the research tries to explore different aspects of working condition that does impact the working capacities of employees. Given that humans are among the most critical elements of work, the research entails to show that working around factors that affect the attitude and the working condition of humans would provide them a better way of realizing their capacities while also embracing the fact that they are specifically different from others.

Instead of utilizing ‘diversity’ as a means of separating one group of individuals from the other, this research hopes to create a sense of unity among all others. Relatively seeking to create a connection among the individuals involved through exploring different aspects of their being as humans, this research tries to carry into consideration that diversity is a vital part of organizational development that administrators should specifically give attention to.

Recognizing such a fact is expected to give the administration a strong sense of control on how to manage the situations and the people in a more efficient manner that would provide them [the workers and the administrators] with the best benefits they deserve to receive for the efforts they put forth.

Research methods and sampling

The researchers specifically utilized particular references to serve as the basis of their study. These references provided the foundation for the exploration that the researchers established. To validate the research details that they have collected from the said references, the researchers conducted a questionnaire-based survey that involved several nationalities which they contacted through facebook and other social networking sites.

This approach allowed the researchers to get actual reactions from actual people allowing them to see the reality of the claims and theories they have read through the references they used for the discussion of the issue at hand. Ten individuals were considered for each country; these individuals are considered to represent the general members of the society that they represent based on their nationality. There were five nationalities involved in the process namely that of the Arabs, the Americans, the Asians, the Russians and the Swiss nationals. From their responses, it has been learned that dress code is very important among the Swiss nationals; this implies that when it comes to dressing up for work, there are instances when the Swiss nationals tend to become more specific as to what they wear, how they look like and how they are able to represent their country with what they are wearing.

When it comes to defining religious practices, the most specific individuals are the Arabs. Being that they come from a Muslim country, these individuals have a strong connection to their religion. They are used to compelling to particular religious practices that they are supposed to follow even when at work. Particular times dedicated to prayer should then be given attention to for these individuals. Customs also appear to be an important factor for the Arabs among all the other nationalities. Social Values could also be included in the line. It should be recognized that among all the other nationalities involved in the survey procedures, the Arabs are the most traditional ones, following their religion and cultural customs to the point. Hence, when working with them, administrators should know how to make sure that their cultural conditions are met and are balanced out with the original culture that the organization follows.

Family obligations on the other hand affect Swiss nationals the most. Being family-oriented and all, the Swiss nationals are noted to give high importance to occasions that involve family reunions. They are also notably family oriented, not letting anything come between them and the members of their family especially when it comes to special occasions like birthdays or particular school occasions that parents are supposed to attend to. Given such attention, administrators should be able to create policies that give their employees a sense of capacity to exercise such concentration on the obligations they have towards their families.

Analyzing and interpreting non-verbal behaviors become a crucial point in dealing with individuals who come from the Asian regions. Being highly sensitive as individuals, Asians tend to interpret matters even when they are not spoken directly. For instance, a glance or a look towards them might already create conflict if such action is misinterpreted by another individual. This is the reason why disseminating rules and regulations on open communications between members of the organization should be clarified during the point of orientation.

From the data collected through the survey procedure applied in the study, several points of understanding could be realized. Among such learning is the actual definition of workplace diversity. Relatively, such diversity involves different aspects of individualism. The said aspects include the following points:

As noted from the result, the Swiss nationals put high value to their families. This means that the administrators should be able to adjust to particular requirements involving their desire to complete particular tasks for their families. Should this be considered negative? Not necessarily. It should be remembered that it is also this value that makes them more reliable at work as they have the ‘reason’ to be at work and to complete their tasks thoroughly, they work for their family and not for themselves or the for the organization alone. Such motivation is strong enough to make sure that they perform at their best. Utilizing such option of motivation to the best benefits of the organization would help administrators find a way to make sure that the personal requirements of the workers relating to their family connections are seriously met.

Norms and Religion

Arabs were considered to be the highly religious individuals among the groups surveyed during the study. Their involvement in strict religious and cultural norms especially in relation to dress codes and appearances should be given serious attention to. Note that women from Arabia are expected to wear headdresses, the men are also expected to follow such norm but not as strict as to when it comes to the women. Whether or not they are working for an Arab company, they are commanded follow such rule.

Celebrations, occasions and other points of certainties that may not be connected to the regular holidays; these traditions are most often than not less important to some, but are highly crucial for the others. What then should the management do to create relative policies that could balance out the regular norms and traditions recognized by the general public with that of the traditions that are not considered that ‘normal’? When it comes to issues like this, it is best to know what those traditions are and how they may affect the working condition of a person.

Personal Perception

As based from the study performed, Asians were noted to be highly sensitive to non-verbal actuations. Conflicts often arise because of misunderstandings developed through personal perception. Hence, making sure that such occurrences are managed accordingly would be the only viable solution to the said matter.

Communication Behaviors

Language barriers between workers are specifically considered as the main problem that diversity brings into the workplace. Making sure that there is a single language used in the workplace is even hard to implicate. Extreme points of understanding and adjustment is then required from the management team as they lead the people to better options of seeing themselves as part of the team and not as outcasts of an organization.

Basing from the results garnered from the study, it is assumed that there are particular solutions that could be applied to develop a better sense of working environment that could hose several hundreds of workers coming in from different countries, carrying in them different attitudes and traditions that they ought to adjust with. Upon research, the study points out that there is one effective approach to create balance in a highly diversified nature of work and that is to establish an organizational culture.

What is an organizational culture? From the term culture, it denotes a distinct way of completing things and dealing with situations that involve worker-camaraderie. Given that the workers are expected to come from different nationalities and having different attitudes and behaviors towards each other and the different aspects of their being, they should be subjected to a culture that both identifies their uniqueness and establishes the unity that they should have as they work alongside each other.

To establish an organizational culture, the administrators should come up with a single yet generally acceptable mission [apart from making profit out of the work being completed in the business]. Being general, the said mission should be able to avoid any point of bias especially involving gender, religion or a differential consideration on the nationality that a person might belong to. What each organization desires is progress. In the field of dealing with the global pressures of being at work, it could be realized that each individual also desires progress among themselves and the families they are supposedly supporting with the jobs that they are involved in. The general indication of the desire to develop one’s life into a more progressive state is a considerable element to put in place alongside the business-defined-mission of an organization. This way, the organization does not only recognize its aim towards attaining growth, but it also allows the employees to see themselves being part of their dream and their personal missions to be a part of the said attainment of organizational goals. With such an approach, the administration binds itself with the people [no matter how different they may be from each other].

Along with the mission comes the establishment of the condition of work that the employees are to be subjected to. They ought to be given the chance to explore their capacities as individuals. Allowing them the chance to learn and improve as persons is an essential part of creating a workable organizational culture. People in general desire to learn and improve personally; developing their skills is one common ground that human individuals give high regard to. Giving importance to such concern could provide the administration a relative stance that makes their form of direction acceptable to the general population of their workers.

The freedom to communicate with their colleagues and the administration with their concerns is also a vital part of the organization’s capacity to embrace the need of assisting their employees to realize their position in the overall setup of work that the organization implies. With such freedom, they are given the chance to become a part of something bigger than their personal dreams shared with the organization.

Simple Analysis

Considering these primary aspects of operating as an organization, the management team [specifically the human resource department] should be able to come up with amicable policies that recognize diversity as a stepping stone towards organizational development. Allowing the people to grow and giving them the chance to embrace amicable progress shall give them enough motivation that they need to work alongside the organization’s goals and not against it. In dealing with human resources, managers should be able to recognize that they are indeed ‘humans’ and not robots who will simply accept and complete commandments given to them. They have their own perceptions about life, they have their own concerns and they have their own desires to achieve. Apart from gaining salary from the efforts they put forth at work, these individuals hope to be satisfied with what they do. Recognizing this fact apart from simply seeing how different they are from each other would help managers create a common ground that could assist the workers perform as one team directed towards the progressive stance of the organization.

What the people [employees] must develop is the idea that they, as a team, is a community working towards one goal. True, they may come from different nations and they may practice different beliefs. However, no matter what they do, as they enter an organization to gain a particular opportunity to earn money for their needs and that of their families’, they should recognize that they are entering another form of community that will define who they are and what they believe in. No, they are not to be asked to leave their old ways and take on a new one, but they are expected to adapt to the situation and the culture that their work-organizations imply them to follow.

The crucial point of making people realize how they are a part of a community when they are working within an organization intends to create a specific point of working focus that management administrators should give attention to. Gaining achievement from such challenge of operating with a highly diversified group of employees would provide an overall sense of satisfaction to the organization later on.

What constitutes a good organization is that of the policy it creates to bind the people that work for it. In a world challenged by the operations of a global community, business organizations are in need of finding better ways to equipping themselves in assuring that their employees would follow through a single culture that would unite them as individuals that have one specific goal. With progress and growth as the general condition of motivation that each person is likely dependent upon, human resource managers are expected to create policies grounded on such desire. While administrators are directed to specifically respond to the personal needs of their employees and give consideration to their thoughts and concerns about religion, social issues, norms and other traditions, they are also expected to create balance on how such options are given particular attention to.

Diversity of workers may indeed imply a sense of chaotic and conflicting situation among organizations. Nevertheless, working around these differences would provide administrators with the best tool of facing the challenges of global operations. Diversity in itself could be considered an advantage especially for organizations aiming to operate a larger global scale. Using the differences of the people to their advantage is a challenge that administrator should take into account. While doing so, they should also recognize the responsibility they have in providing their people with what they need and what they demand for at a relatively balanced scale of seeing how matters could best work for them, for their people, and for their organization as a whole. With this in mind, organizations [both small scale and large scale] would be equipped with the most important tools they need to deal with human resource diversity as needed in dealing with a highly modernized and global society.

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Cultural Differences Essay

The following sample essay on Cultural Differences Essay discusses it in detail, offering basic facts and pros and cons associated with it. To read the essay’s introduction, body and conclusion, scroll down.

In the case that Professor Zhao gave us we can see clearly that Mr. Moto met with a lot of serious problems in an intercultural negotiation. And all these problems had a bad influence on the international connect. The case also has left us two questions. The first is that whether the different between high context culture and low context culture is that important and whether the difference will destroy the negotiation if one can’t handle it properly.

The second question is that whether the only solution for the conflict is to give up one’s own culture and accept everything in another culture.

The first question So let’s first deal with the first question that whether the difference between two cultures is so important. In my opinion this difference really makes a very big problem.

And let’s see some examples. Once a Chinese enterprise wants to have a business negotiation with an America company. When meeting with the negotiator of the America Company the Chinese company sends him an expensive watch. So in the high context culture, a gift is really a way to show the respect or the willing to build a relationship with the receiver.

But in the eye of the American guy the gift is really a bride. So he refuses to accept the present.

cultural differences essay conclusion

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Chinese company insist in him accepting the gift, and finally he accepted it but after that he told the matter to his company and his company charged the Chinese company bride their officer and at last the business is failed because of this affair. So we can see that neglecting the difference of two cultures is really fatal. Let’s analyze why this culture difference can make such a big influence in intercultural negotiation.

Essay On Cultural Differences

I think this is because of the focus of the two cultures when connecting with others is different. In the high context culture, people mainly focus on build the relationship with others and even some times they will think that the result of the negotiation is not that important than the relationship they had already build up. But to the in the people in low context culture, they mainly think of the true purpose of the negotiation and in their mind other action is meaningless. In their mind the negotiation is the game of the profit.

Once they reach the balance point the negotiation can be over. So here we can see that the core difference between the two cultures is trust. In the high context culture people don’t trust others, so they want to build relationships to reduce the danger of being betrayed. All the other non-verbal behaviors is a way to show one’s respect and want to get the trust from others. While in the low context culture the trust problem is not that important, people will usually believe on what others had said and not suspect on others.

So when the two different cultures meet, the person in high context culture will usually find it’s very difficult to believe in the person in low context culture. Also when showing the respect by the non-verbal way such as gift or name card the person in low context will very likely doesn’t take it seriously and this will made the person in high context culture feel being offended and he is losing face. So from the analysis we can see the reason why the difference of the two cultures is so important. It’s very difficult to say whose fault it is, but both of the cultures will think the other unacceptable.

In my own experience I have also met with such kind of question. Once I had a lunch together with a guy called Josh from America. At first I introduced myself very politely and asked some questions about him, but him ignored my words and directly asked me some sensitive questions about Tibet and Taiwan. I am really very angry feeling that I’m offended by his attitude, but I still answered his questions. Then he rebuts my words and said something that offends our nation’s territorial integrity directly.

So all this make me really not that happy, and I had a debate with him that day. Besides that later he told me that he is an ABC (America-born-Chinese) this makes me even more angry since that being a Chinese, how can he say the territorial problem about China. And I no longer take him as a friend. But the second day he invited me to watch a basketball game together. All this makes me very obscured since we had a quarrel one day before and I don’t think I ‘m his friends. So I refused him and had never connected with him anymore.

So now I know that it’s really not his problem of performing like that, it’s just the difference between cultures, even his is a Chinese but all of his surrounding culture is in s low context way. The second question The second question is that whether the only solution for the conflict is to give up one’s own culture and accept everything in another culture. My answer to the question it is that, whether give up or give up how much depend on the situation. And unless in some extreme traditions it’s unnecessary for one to give up all culture traditional behavior.

I think that in the situation that you want to your company enter a country or you want to show your respect of that country, you shall give up some of your own culture problems that may conflict with the culture you want to connect with or accept some basic traditional culture behaviors. For example when Obama, president of the United States visit Shanghai and gave a public speech his first word is “DaJiaHao” in Shanghai tongue. This action makes us feel very friendly and can fully show his respect and willing to be a friend with China.

Also when you company want to make a contract with a company in another country has different culture with your country, and the contract is really very important to your company, this time you should give up most of your culture habits to make sure there will be no accident. But when in the situation that your position is equal or stronger to other company or country you can maintain mainly of your own culture customs, you need only pay attention to the culture point that may cause unnecessary problems. And I think sometimes some unique point in your own culture will make you more real and give you more benefits.

We can see that in the APEC held in 2003 China, when taking photos, the head of every country was taking Tang suit. All this shows the strong of China and gave the world a deep impression. I think the culture differences are not just the cause of most international conflicts. The culture difference can also cause the respect by others. In my opinion if a culture behavior is so unique and can doesn’t offend other cultures, it will very like to be the point that attract other’s attentions. And this called the attraction of unique culture customs.

So we can get a conclusion that the difference between high context culture and low context culture is very large. So it is very necessary to get a fully idea of the culture differences and have a preparation for it when someone wants to have an international business communication. And after collecting all the information about the culture difference, one should then analyze the situation. All the solution can be found in the situation above, and then all of them can know whether they should give up their own culture traditional behaviors. I believe that by dong all this there will less and less culture conflicts will happen.

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Cultural Differences Essay

Cultural differences essay

The only thing permanent in nature is ‘change’. As the time passes, the world evolves. One of those recent waves of change is that of globalization. The impact of globalization is more far reaching and lasting than any other trend. On one hand globalization provides an opportunity to business world, at the same time, it poses a great threat to people interacting with each other. The trend of globalization is therefore of particular significance to the business community. Since it expands the market, business try to go global.

However, this results into an interaction with a culture that may be quite different from the previous one. This issue is particularly for multinational companies as they send their managers on international assignments. This report is going to inquire and explore the challenges being faced by the expatriates in those assignments and how to deal with them. In the given case, there is the international assignment of a US manager in China. This assignment would definitely be full of challenges with respect to the cultural differences, as mentioned above.

To identify and analyze those challenges, it is important to overview the cultural differences that exist between the two. One of the most popular tools for analyzing the cultural differences is the set of 9 dimensions of cultural differences identified in the findings of project globe. These are performance orientation, uncertainty avoidance, humane orientation, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, assertiveness, gender egalitarianism, future orientation, and power distance. First of all, let us look at the dimension of performance orientation.

In US, the core focus is on individual performance and is therefore highly rewarded. As an implication, people try to give best of their performance, with giving much regards to what the group achieves as a whole. However, this is not the case with China. It is a collectivist society, where the efforts of group are more recognized, as compared to the individual ones. Therefore, if the manager is assigned to China, after reaching there, first of all, he should try to get adjusted and get in sync with his colleagues. Moreover, while motivating his staff, even then, he would need to keep this factor in mind.

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In term of uncertainty avoidance, China lies at moderate level, but slightly more inclined towards uncertainty acceptance, to an extent. This factor is quite similar in the two countries. Humane orientation is the extent to which the organization rewards and recognizes a person who values fair treatment with fellow workers, altruism and other such values. The humane factor seems more working in Chinese society as compared to the American society, thus, the expatriate will need to inculcate these features while interacting with the local people.

There is a sharp contrast in the two cultures in terms of individualism. American culture ranks quite high on individual values, while Chinese values are very much inclined towards collectivism. This is true for both, in-group collectivism as well as institutional one. On the measures of assertiveness too, we can see the Chinese are comparatively less assertive than do American. This feature will particularly. Gender egalitarianism is a bit higher in US than in China, thus, the manager on international assignments needs to take care of this since his subordinates would have both, males and females.

In terms of future orientations, there is a remarkable difference in the Chinese as well as the Americans. There is quite high long term orientation among Chinese than do Americans. The Chinese are more long term planner. Thus, while making the strategies and tactics, the long term orientation of the Chinese should also be kept in mind. In terms of power distances too, there is a sharp contrast, there is a high power distance in China, but this is not the case in United States. The power distance therefore calls for more respect and formal interaction with the bosses, quite contradictory to the informal business environment in America.

From the above discussion of the cultural differences at China, one can deduce the major challenges that the manager in the given case might encounter. First of all, while working in groups, he would need to focus on group achievements and should therefore move forward with his whole group, as this will matter the most in that culture. Secondly, the long term orientation of the Chinese culture would pose another challenge. While making future plans, strategies and tactics with his colleagues, he would need to reconcile his short term orientation with the long term ones with his Chinese colleagues and counterparts.

Moreover, this would be the behavior of general public as well, so if he belongs to some discipline that requires interaction with general public, in such case, this difference would become a huge challenge. Another important feature is power distance. In Chinese set up, the power is considered to be the decisive factor for level of formality. One cannot expect the Chinese youth to be very informal with their parents, which is often the case in America. Thus, the manager needs to be conscious about it in his workplace, especially while dealing with seniors. Thus, these are the major challenges that need to be taken care of by the manager.

There are few biggest cultural shocks that would be faced by the expatriates in the given case. Furthermore, the Chinese colleagues may also be realizing the cultural differences in terms of power distance, collectivism, and planning orientations. In order to avoid the situation of conflict due to cultural differences, several actions need to be taken. Top most priority for the actions to be taken depends on the profession and the industry of the expatriate. For this report, it is assumed that the expatriate will be relocated as the marketing manager for a FMCG.

Since marketing manager needs to decide for the product’s marketing mix which includes product, price, place and promotion, he would need to be extremely careful, especially in terms of whatever his brand communicates. This as well as other needs would require a number of proactive initiatives to be taken. Few of them will be discussed in this paper. First step that should be taken is to make expatriate selection process more thorough. Second being train the expatriate and the third is to keep a constant contact with the expatriate after he has been relocated.

It is estimated that the expatriate failure rates range between 16% and 40%. Such a high rate is on account of a number of reasons. So, first important thing is to ensure selection criteria that give weight to the cultural values of the host country. For example, in the given case, the human resource department should choose such an individual who, besides the required technical skills, do posses greater level of collectivism and other such traits which are prevalent in the Chinese culture. The second action that can be taken is to provide the pre-departure training about the cultural norms in China.

It should also include the teaching of Chinese language. The third aspect can be to keep constant contact and support mechanism, possibly a post-arrival session as well, after he has reached China. These steps may help in removing the cultural differences. Moreover, he should consult his Chinese fellows as well before making any crucial organizational communication. To sum up, the course of action required to minimize cultural shocks are careful selection procedure, pre-departure and post-arrival trainings and constant support through local people of targeted countries.

Sichelschmidt, H. , & Selmer, J. (1999). Culture shock in China? – Adjustment pattern of western expatriate business managers. International Business Review. 8, 515-534. Castro, S. , & Peterson, M. (2006). Measurement metrics at aggregate levels of analysis: Implications for organization culture research and the GLOBE project [An article from: The Leadership Quarterly]. St. Louis : Elsevier. Etheredge, J. (1989). The expatriate experience: Toward a model of cultural adjustment (BRC working paper series). Shatin Hong Kong: Business Research Centre, Hong Kong Baptist College. Hofstede, G. (2003).

Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. Mcginley, J. (2008). Expatriate Adjustment: Resources, Responses, and Outcomes. NYC: Vdm Verlag. Selmer, J. (2006). Language ability and adjustment: Western expatriates in China. Thunderbird International Business Review, 48(3), 347-368. The little firm that made it in China.. (2007, July 16). Australasian Business Intelligence, 3. To succeed in China, think Chinese; It’s a different culture; Western ways won’t cut it. (Viewpoint essay). (2007, September 3). Automotive News, 4.

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Essay On Cultural Differences

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Employment , Employee , Organization , Theory , Culture , Workplace , Management , China

Words: 2250

Published: 02/16/2020

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Introduction

Culture can be defined as the attitude, attributes and behavioral pattern that determine individual interaction. This is seen in all humans in the possession of certain personal attributes that assist in setting apart individuals from any generalization as it is known that not even two individuals can behave in the same manner which is the same way in which organizations posses specific values, policy, regulations and operating guidelines that are fundamental in creation of a personal image. As such it is important to understand that every organization posses a unique cultural setting that distinguishes it from other organizations and provides it with a sense of direction which is important for employees in gaining an understanding of their organizational culture and workplace environment so as to better position themselves for better work.

Comparing Hofsteded’s cultural differences framework and the Chinese Survey Values as organizational relational theories

Hofsteded's cultural theory is based on a dimensional cross cultural framework communication that describes the society cultural effects on the member values and the relation of these values to behavior. This theory further utilizes a derived structure based on factor analysis and has widely been used in varying paradigm research fields more so in cross-cultural psychology, international management and communication in a cross cultural setting (Simanskiene, 2009). This theory was developed by Geert Hofstede as an original model that was an outcome of the utilization of factor analysis in the examination of the outcomes of global employee surveys that were used by IBM in the 1960s and 70s which presented the theory as one of the initial frameworks that were quantifiable and relevant in the observed explanation of cultural differences (Violeta & Eleonora, 2009). As such the theory can be applied on the basis of several practical models such as international communication, negotiation, management and marketing. On the other hand we see a difference of the theoretical factors of the Hofsteded cultural theory in the Chinese Value Survey which was formulated by Bond in cooperation with several research workers in a collaboration known as the Chinese Culture Connection that was a response to the perceptions of measured needs and the cultural evaluations that exist within the social value system as Confucian ethos derivation (Chinedu, et al. 2010).. These valued perceptions emanated form the ethnical Chinese research findings as obtained by Bond with his colleagues that showed a variation from previous studies. This was more emphasized and apparent as shown in the responses of Chinese students when presented with Western study values that were subsequently compared to alternative measured instrumentation of the values of Eastern life. The interpretations based on the responses of the students show an appearance of an absence of validity in relation to western values as such Bond and his collaborators set about designing questionnaires that were in the nature of non-Western values (Ulijin, 2001). This presents the Chinese Value Survey as the outcome which comprises of Chinese’s cultural bias that is decisive although there are no previous assessments on other surveys based on Western values. In which case the underlying universal human measurements as measured by Bond and his colleagues cannot be fitted in any extend survey evaluations in response to Western values (Grenness, 2012). This shows another difference in the Hofsteded cultural theory whereby we see that the measured values of Bond and his colleagues continue to exist in a universal nature with the inclusion of certain values that are unique in a Confucian context (Hsu, et al. 2009). These can be outlined in examples such as human traditions respect, humility, filial piety and the protection of one's face. We cannot come to the conclusion however that these values are not found in Western cultures but rather as an implication of the reduced importance in comparison with Eastern culture. A search of western culture reveals a form of truth in the values of life and the people of Eastern culture virtue that is derived from the central teachings that aim to provide an understanding of the teachings of the Confucian theory (Vallet, 2010). The ethos of Confucian bears a tendency of formation towards dedication and motivation of the education of the population as a manifestation of the responsibilities and enhancement of the committed sense in respect to ideals and institutional settings in addition to the organizational identity and moral fiber that is an outcome of the desired establishment and results.

The effects of individualism and collectivism aspects in organizational management and leadership with the existence of differences in employee orientation

In this context we refer to organizational culture as the varying ideologies, beliefs and practices within an organization that create a difference between organizations. Workplace culture in any organizational setting creates a decision making scenario concerning the behaviors of employees among each other as well as external parties as well as the decisions that are involved in productive related tasks (Purlys, 2008). As such in accordance with Hofstede's cultural framework we can examine several factors that are influential in the cultural workplace environment. In relation to individualism and the differences that exist with the employee and employers as individuals we can look at the inter-relation of these groups in the organizational workplace setting and how they relate to the frameworks of Hofstede's cultural differences and the Chinese Value Survey (Claire, 2010). Take for instance the power distance factor which entails of the distribution of power in equal measure among the varying organizational groups irrespective of any designations with regards to all individuals irrespective of the hierarchical position enjoyed or equal rights and benefits. In another organizational setting we are presented with superiors that enjoy specialized treatment from those in management as well as team leaders which can be in the form of delegation of increased responsibilities in comparison with other members of the team (Joo & Lim, 2009). As such we can refer to power distance as the work differences that exist as per delegated power to employees whereby certain organizations believe in appointment of team leaders as seen in their responsibility in respective team settings in addition to possessing the technique of extracting challenge from members of the team. This differs from some organizations that hold every employee accountable to their own performance with no specialized assignment of individuals to take charge of employees (Lipinskiene, et al. 2006). In such situations the individuals cannot provide answers to anyone expect themselves with every employee receiving equal treatment from managers while taking full ownership of the work that has been assigned. We can also look at the issues of masculinity versus feminism which entails the differences that exist between male and female based value in the cultural context of an organization whereby certain organizations are dominated by male employees over their female counterparts while adhering to varying policies in comparison to organizational values (Wei, et al. 2010). Masculinity and feminism are one of the major five factors within the Hofsteded organizational cultural theory which shows how masculinity and feminism influences the behavior of an individual within an organization. As such we see that the different gender groups are influenced by different issues which play a role in their overall behavior and perception towards the workplace setting as it is known that male and female counterparts within an organization behave differently. In this prospective approach, the nature of individualism and personal inatia is ultimately expressed through a considerable range of principle of reason and understanding of the nature of work. Particular emphasis is hence established defensively within the framework of work function, work organization and the specific paradigm of management. In this approach, the choice is hence fully entrenched in a person’s right about a decision and work issues and thus by underlying principles of operations. Thus from this perspective, we derive a position which inspite of the phenomena of a society or individual that hence encapsulate the entity into collective management synthesis. Therefore there is a differentiation within organizations were female employees have a major contribution in the process of decision making within the organization as male employees are perceived to be more aggressive in comparison with female employees that would show more care and soft heartiness. Another existing variation would be the sex of the employees where female employees are rarely assigned a task that would require them to sit late and travel frequently (Barbara, 2000).

The effects of long and short term orientation on organization leadership and management based on employee differences

Individualism in the organizational structure can viewed from several angles as it is observed that in certain organizations there is the existence of a strong reliance on teamwork. This encourages individuals with common interest to collaborate in unison and work as a team. A belief is held in these organizations that there is an increase in output as individuals continually share ideas as well as discuss matters among themselves in the hope of coming up with innovative ideas which further encourages an environment of sharing among employees in a relationship that thrives on assisting each other when help is in need (Pan, et al. 2012). The Hofsteded theory presents a factor known as the uncertainty avoidance index which refers to a cultural setting where employees are aware of how they should respond to circumstances that may seem unusual or unforeseen. It entails in dealing with such situations with a measure of tolerance by the employees in a situation that is both comfortable and uncomfortable as organizations seek to avoid such circumstances while preparing their employees for any proper adjustments in all conditions (Cronje, 2011). In this case the long term orientation of certain organizations will emphasize on a long term relationship with its employees which is common in organizations that comprise of individuals that steadily approach situations and circumstances alike with by striving hard to meet the expectations of organizational management (Pheng & Yuquan, 2002). In such cases employees may become attached to the organization which can lead to setting of short term objectives which differs from certain organizations that posses employees that are more concerned with their position and image within the organization and will tend to adhere to a culture were individuals operate in short time spans with no action in regards to retaining these employees whereby these employees will show more focus on profits and targets and neglect the organizations when better opportunities are available (Sergui, 2011).

Organizational culture is important to any organization as it provides several benefits such as deciding employee interaction in the workplace environment as a healthy organizational culture encourages employees to remain motivated and loyal to the management of an organization. It also promotes competition in the workplace as employees strive to perform to their best expectation so as to be recognized and appreciated by their managers which is a motivation to employee performance. There is need for employees to have clarity in their responsibility and roles within the organization while knowing how tasks can be accomplished ahead of any deadlines. This is because it is known no two organizational can posses the same work culture as the individual work culture is a representation of distinction. The Hofsteded and Chinese Value Survey theories provide several factors that show the distinctions that exist within several organization structures that adopt these theories in addition to providing an insight into how certain organizations operate. It is important for every organization to have established guidelines for their employees to work in accordance as this cultural organization is a representation of specific policies that are predetermined as a way of guiding employees while providing them with a sense of direction within their workplace environment.

Simanskiene, L. (2009). The image of an organizational and its development in the search for connections, Transformation in Business Economics.8,110-127. Chinedu, B. Nwibere,M. Emecheta,C. (2010). The Nigerian experience in organizational culture and performance, International Journal of Business Public Administration.7,40-56. Ulijin, J. (2001). The identity of organizations and their culture, Organization Studeis Walter de Gruyter GmbH Co KG.22,100-250. Hsu, L. Cheng, H. Wen, C. Tien, Y. (2009). The intervening variable as organizational learning in the life insurance industry,The Business Review Cambridge.12, 174-186. Vallet, C. (2010). Exploration of the relation between organizational virtue and culture in higher education continuity, The Journal of Continuing Higher Education.58,130-142. Purlys, C. (2008). Organizational culture modeling, Organizaciju kulturos modeliavimas.2,132-139. Claire,P. (2010). Differential perceptions in organizational culture in relation to external accreditation, Academic Leadership.8,5-9. Joo,K. Lim, T. (2009). Organizational effects in job complexity perceptions and learning culture, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies.16,48-60. Lipinskiene, D. Judita, V. Murat, K, (2006). Organizational relation between culture and employee attitude to changes in the organization, Changes in Social and Business Enviroment.1, 114-119. Wei, Z. Yang , B. Gary, M. (2010). The link between organizational structure, strategy and effectiveness in the meditative role of knowledge management, Journal of Business Research.63, 763-771. Barbara,M. (2000). An interpretation of Chinese Value Survey in value scales with the consideration of preliminary results, International Education Journal. 1, 117-126. Pan, Y. Julie, R. Peterson, M. (2012). Chinese Cultural traditional structures in the emperical study of business employees, Management and Organization Review.8,77-95. Cronje, J. (2011). The use of Hofstede cultural dimensions in the interpretation of cross cultural blends, Computers and Education.56, 596-603. Pheng, L. Yuquan, S. (2002) .The exploratory study of Hofstede's cross cultural dimension, Management Decision.40,7-16. Sergui, P. (2011). Specific approach to cross cultural management research, Acta Universitatis Danubius Communicatio. 5, 16-35. Grenness, T. (2012). Revisiting Hofstede instrumentation in individual behavior, International Journal of Business and Management.7,75-85. Violeta, R. Eleonora, S. (2009). Organizational cultural change factors, Ekonomika.87,27-43.

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