Cultural Awareness : The United States Of America

If we understand the complexities of the cultures around us, we can better relate to the people engaged in the other cultures. It also allows us to better understand why others are acting the way they are. At the hospital I work at, we are taught about how others use the word “yes.” For instance, I might ask if they understand the paperwork they are signing and they will respond with “yes.” However, to them the “yes” might not be an agreement with the understanding the paperwork but they are using “yes” to be respectful. One then must clarify whether they truly understand

Culture is the overall moral belief, customs, language, and attitudes a person is brought and raised into. Daily, we are exposed to diverse and different cultures everyday which allow us to learn the different values and traditions each culture possess. The importance of observing and learning different customs is beneficial because it can help us better adapt and prevent misunderstandings when we communicate and interact with others. Hispanics and Americans are two huge cultures that have been sharing the same living space for years but are an example of two different civilizations. While both, Hispanics and Americans, share many similarities they both differ in recognition of religion, language,

Culture is a behavior that consists of several critical elements, such as language, religion, race and ethnicity, clothing and politics. Culture is what one does in his/her daily life. In order to understand others, we must first keep in mind that every culture carries its own set of values and assumptions. Culture is an evolving, ever changing civilization, which includes several different groups people. For immigrants, America is a land of opportunity; for others it is just the best country in the world because of its economic success and/or its democratic political system. Americans usually value independence a lot, believe in equal opportunity, and have a direct communication style. In exploring the

America is greatly influenced and enhanced by the many versatile cultures which inhabit it. Cultural diversity has added to our economy in such a way that it brings innovated ideas and contact structures throughout the world. International cuisines have come to America through subcultures, have expanded the food industry, and have allowed English Americans to try new foods and flavors. Immigrants have brought with them religious values that greatly differ and vary from those at which were natural in the main stream American culture. The educational development through foreign nationals has led America, as a nation, to excel and be deemed one of the most intelligent nations in the world! Consequently, the subcultures have kept our

American culture encompasses customs or traditions in the United States. Customs or traditions include, but would not be limited to, values, language, religion, or how we communicate. The population in the United States is over 325 million, (United States Census Bureau, (n.d.) and is built on immigration. In comparison to other countries, the United States is considered cultural, as most nations unite, and later mix, their culture into American culture.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive” (Mahatma). Our culture identifies who we are and how we behave in social environments and provides us with a foundation in which to live our lives and raise our families. Each individual culture has certain customs and courtesies that are important. Exposure to the cultures of others can be intimidating and can leave a person feeling confused and unsure about how they fit in (Schaefer 60). Culture shock can leave a person feeling out of place in an unfamiliar culture (Schaefer 60). Our diverse societies demand understanding and acceptance of other cultures. Learning and understanding these cultures before being

Accepting the differences of others by expanding your own level of understanding begins with the awareness that your own culture

Therefore, the need to be culturally competent is paramount to fostering understanding. Cultural competency is about understanding another’s artifacts, beliefs, values and basic assumptions (Schein, 2010). Schein describes artifacts as the observable elements of a culture, such as ceremonies, non verbal cues, and language. He further describes, belief structures serve as guide posts and are useful in understanding a reason for a behavior. Finally, he states, assumptions are based on previous experience of what was and was not successful in the past for the individual or group. Recognizing and identifying these elements improves an outsider’s cultural

Cultural awareness: having an understanding and appreciation for different cultures as well as your own. Being culturally aware allows you gain more insight and increases your knowledge on the way of life in other countries. You get a different perspective and a better appreciation for other cultures thereby eliminating close-mindedness. (San Diego State University, n.d.)

Cultural self-awareness is strongly linked to development of a cultural intelligence for a number of reasons. Thus, this essay will critically reflect on what cultural self-awareness is and its importance on how it develops ones cultural intelligence. Before we discuss about cultural self-awareness and cultural intelligence, it is important to understand what culture is and how it impacts on our society. Culture is a complex subject that can be defined in various ways.

Knowledge about some differences between yours and the other person’s culture can, for instance enable you to plan an event so that you have the best chance of enabling the communication to run smooth. It helps us to have curiosity and knowledge about the customs and norms of other cultures and the meanings associated with simple actions so that we can understand reactions and can influence the action by preventing misunderstandings as far as possible. This involves being aware of our own rules and prohibitions so they can be evaluated and examined in terms of appropriateness in different situations, otherwise we make judgment based on acceptable criteria.

Everybody has their own definition of Culture – and when this word is used generally, most audiences have a rough idea of its meaning. Culture usually refers to the beliefs, ideas, languages, rituals and traditions by certain communities, that are passed from generation to generations continuously over the past many centuries. In society, two cultures cannot be same if one is located on the west coast and the other one is all the way to the East. As we compare, the American and Indian cultures have very vast differentiation between them. While the culture of America is a mixture of different cultures since each immigrant internally packed his or her previously

Power/Distance (PD), “refers to the degree of inequality that exists- and is accepted- among people with and without power. A high PD score indicates that society accepts an unequal distribution of power, and that people understand “their place” in the system. Low PD means that power is shared and well dispersed.” (www.mindtools.com) As an example from the article, Myers goes on to say, “there were basically four levels: VP, director, manager, and worker bee. You only talked to people at your level.” SK Telecom boasted that

Understanding culture plays a crucial role in maintaining and forming international relations. It serves as a political backbone in peace and fosters agreements among nations previously foreign to one another. Culture provides an outlet for individuals to witness the variety of people on the planet we share. To gain knowledge and appreciation for a culture other than my own, I have chosen one far from what I am accustomed to, the Japanese culture from the island of Japan.

Cultural differences effect many aspects of our daily lives. With the many different cultures embedded in the United States, it is important that everyone has an understanding and respect for the melting pot that is encountered daily in our communities, workplaces and schools.