Culture and Values Narrative
That whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, laws, morals, customs, and any capabilities or habits acquired by one as a member of a certain group. Culture is shared by all or almost all members of a group. It is passed on from generation to generation, and it shapes our behavior and structures our perceptions.
Culture has both visible and invisible components. Visible culture includes those things we use our senses for, what we can see, taste, feel, or hear; for example, art, food, music, architecture, clothing, and so forth.
Invisible culture includes those things we do not see either because they are not visible (values) or because we don’t think to look for them (communication styles and nonverbal behaviors) or they are outside our consciousness (assumptions).
It is the invisible aspects of culture that create the greatest challenges, because we consider our own assumptions, values, behaviors, communication styles, and nonverbal behaviors to be “normal.” When someone acts differently from us, we often judge them negatively. Conversely, when they act like us, we either don’t pay much attention or we think they are okay. Either conclusion can be incorrect.
A. Terminal values represent the goal we want to achieve.
B. Instrumental values are the behaviors we use to get to the goal.
C. We can have similar terminal values and act differently, for example, family may be a value for two people—one person demonstrates that value through the nuclear family; another demonstrates it through the extended family.
D. We can have different terminal values but act the same; for example, two people work hard to make a lot of money. For one individual, the money is used to support a terminal value of long-term security for one’s family, while another person may be using the money to support a terminal value of material success for oneself.
We might exhibit a behavior with very good intentions, but it may have a negative impact on another person. If we call someone by her or his first name with the intent of being friendly and inclusive, and if that person has a different cultural perspective, our friendly gesture may be experienced as an insult or as disrespect because he or she expects to be addressed formally (Mr., Dr., Ms., Professor).
Similarly, someone may behave in a manner that has a negative impact on us. An Arab might ask, for example, “Why don’t you have children?” Our “natural” inclination is to be offended and to want to say, “It’s none of your business.” The safest assumption, however, is that the person’s intention is good. Effective intercultural skills include (a) sharing with others the impact their behavior has had on us and asking them to help us understand their intent, (b) asking about their intent without sharing the impact—which allows us to revise the impact, (c) stating our own intent before acting when behaviors can have multiple interpretations, and/or (d) seeking a wide range of interpretations for the behavior before negatively interpreting it—in other words, avoiding premature judgment.
Effective cross-cultural behavior includes the ability to seek as many alternative explanations for a person’s behavior as possible before evaluating or judging it. In Activity 27, “Visible and Invisible Values” (see page 95), participants will practice first matching behaviors with values and then taking those same behaviors and identifying a range of alternative value explanations for them.
The alignment of personal values with the team and/or organizational values influences performance and job satisfaction. It can also affect customer service, productivity, and profitability. In Activity 39, “Your Values Meet the Team’s Values” (see page 157), participants are asked to identify their personal values, then identify team values in small groups in order to determine any barriers to effectiveness based on values differences, and finally to design ways to remove those barriers.