Cultural Behavior Essay

Culture is a very important factor that should be determined in every occasion, across the globe. Knowing once culture enhances the spirit of solidarity through understanding one another despite the differences of nationality. It creates communication and it clears the communication. One of the biggest problems today is the miscommunication of people despite the advancement in telecommunication industries that delivers a wider range of means of communication. One might ask what culture could do; obviously it can create good rapport between people and between nations. Having a cultural intelligence is a plus factor but it doesn’t mean that, a person without it can never mingle with a person with a different culture. Cultural intelligence entails a lot of things, most importantly it can help-us manage cross-cultural differences moreover it can help eliminate racism. To be specific, cultural intelligence can lower the cultural barriers caused by the terms, ‘us’ and ‘them’ and this allows you to predict what ‘they’ are thinking and how they will react to your behavior patterns through becoming aware with the cultural differences as well as its similarities; and it harness the power of cultural diversity. In our world today that is fast-paced, companies and their business managers who interact with employees, customers, partners, competitors, among others who are diverse cultural intelligence is important. Hosting an international conference of sorts will not be possible without knowing who the participants are. Making a successful affair with other countries means tapping their soft spot. That is possible by studying what please them and respecting what they believe in, not only that, but their practices, values, expectations, attitudes, and ideologies. Those can be boiled down to one thing, knowing the culture because it is the â€Å"lens† through which you view the world. It entails the centrality of one’s attention, the perception and the expression. In this paper, there are two countries that should be given importance of – Brazil and Turkey. The former is known for their expertise in playing football while the latter is known for their good-looking men, as I would put it. BRAZIL, â€Å"The Land of Contrasts† This country is the fifth largest country in the world, and the largest nation in Latin America. Having the culture name of Brazilian, and their people are called depending on gender – Brasileiros for boys and Brasileiras for girls. In the late sixteenth century Portuguese introduced a Romance language called Portuguese, then this language is now the widely-spoken language in the country. Roman Catholic is the predominant religion. The Brazilians prides in themselves being democratic with race, they do not have prejudices over the different citizens that reside in Brazil. This ideology shapes their perception in terms of cultural behavior. This is not an assessment of complete non-existence of racial discrimination, but compared to other nations like the United States, in Brazil the expression is far more subtle and discreet. To add proof, the word â€Å"jeito† is familiar in Brazil which means that nothing is set in stone. Aside from those verbal greetings, there are things that should be learned about Brazil. One of this is their body language because becoming aware of this could help a person avoid any trouble in this country. For some countries, okay or OK hand signal means an approval or giving a nice reaction to other person but in this country it is a rude gesture. For example, in the Philippines the okay hand signal can brighten someone’s day, it is a simple gesture but it could mean a lot of positive meaning. Some politician even uses this for their campaign during election. When a Brazilian expresses appreciation, s/he may appear to pinch his/her earlobe between thumb and forefinger while to other counties it could mean that a person is shy or ashamed of something s/he has done. The â€Å"fig† is placing the thumb between the index and middles finger. This indicates a sincere invocation of luck towards another person. When the fingertips were flicked underneath the chin it means that the person doesn’t know the answer. But for other countries it indicates that the person is thinking or in a deep thought. It is common practice to almost every country to have privacy, may it be about personal life or whatever. Privacy is a concept of personal space. This is an event the Brazilians do not seem to care because lack of space is what they are used to. A crowded place is an appealing space for them. Touch and physical expression is evident in their culture. Being informal can be seen with the way women and men easily express their emotions through touch. There is a saying that time is gold. It applies to most of the countries around the world, especially in this time and age where you have to keep up with the fast-changing world. When it comes to time and work, some regions are casual about it. There are two cities in this country that are strict when it comes to following time especially business meetings. These are San Paulo and Rio, as for the latter, personal and social events are the things considered casual. Main meal happens at midday while light meal happens at night. Having good manners and etiquettes or the lack of it is a big issue. It shows how a person was raised and it shows ones upbringing. It is also important because it deals with a person’s reputation and his/her identity. When entertained into someone’s house, the guest should send flowers saying â€Å"Thank You† to the hostess, for it shows politeness. This shows the satisfaction and appreciation of the hospitality a hostess have shown. This is also a way to build a good impression. However, one should take note of the color of the flower to be given because purple-colored flowers are for funerals alone but it is fine to send out color violet. Saude (Sah-OO-Day) or Viva (Vee-va)are words that expresses â€Å"cheers† during toasts. Hello and goodbye, use good eye contact while handshaking and make sure that you handshake with everyone present. Stay away from phases such as, â€Å"Is it true that everyone in Brazil is either very rich or very poor? † It is very likely you will be talking with someone that isn’t either one. Brazilians usually address teachers, doctors, priests, and other professionals using their title followed by their first name—Professor Joao, Doutora Maxine or Presidente Henrique. Making a successful business in Brazil means adhering to their business custom, this helped a lot because as I have said before it can make you close to your â€Å"would-be business partner. † To have an â€Å"executive† connotation, wearing a three-piece suit is advised because office workers are associated with two-piece suit. Wearing conservative attire with manicured nails are important for women who are transacting business. In making appointments, make it in two weeks advance and â€Å"out of nowhere† calls are not good especially at business and government offices. This could mean impoliteness that would lead to the impression of disrespect to the concerned person or people. The key to business success in Brazil is to be prepared in committing long term resources, may it be money or time. In every business meetings, their standard operating procedure is that the host starts the business discussions and it usually begins with small talks. TURKEY The official name is Republic of Turkey, and its capital is Ankara. Turkey is a crossing between two unique cultures from the European and Middle Eastern boundaries. The society is characterized with nationalism patriotism. A combination of traditional and modern views, the society attributes significantly to their ancestors. The rapid modernization of the country had contributed to the success of its market. One of the nice things about people of different nationality is that they have the unique form of greetings. It is normal to greet the Turkish with â€Å"Asalamu alaykum† which means peace be upon you, and the common reply to this is, â€Å"Wa alaykum salam† or peace be with you. It is normal to every tourist or every visitors of foreign land to know the hidden meanings of body language of the people in that particular country. That is an advantage so that a person would know what or what not to do. It is customary to greet Turkish counterparts with a handshake, failure to do so may be considered rude. Women are expected to extend their hand first as the men awaits this gesture. An eye contact with Turkish counterparts while speaking depicts sincerity. When the thumb is placed between first two fingers it signifies insult and the person doing it is being rude. Wagging the head in the US means â€Å"no†, but in this country it means â€Å"I don’t understand†. Personal space does not matter to Turks in fact they consider it as unfriendly. That is why backing away when a Turks stand close to you is not good. This shows aloofness that could trigger to becoming indifferent. Turks have a â€Å"polychromic time†, they are multitasked that they do several activities at the same time and continue several conversations about different topics. They can surely keep up with busy schedule because they manage to do one thing at the same time. This also shows that the Turks are good in dividing their attention, it also shows that they are good in doing rush works and other stuff. Reputation precedes a person’s identity. Making a reputation is through the guidelines of having good manners in almost everything a person does. This also means having respect to other people and showing appreciation of ones culture. Respecting and paying courtesy to an elderly or the eldest person when arriving at a gathering or room is advised in this culture. Age is highly given importance in this country. Age signifies wisdom and respect from the society. In this country, public display of affection id discourages and is considered inappropriate. For establishing business in Turkey, there are business rules and regulations. These should be strictly followed if a businessman wants to make it big in this country. Turkish people celebrates the Turkish holidays, like the Ramadan (fasting period) and months like July and August are considered as annual holidays of Turkish business men. These dates should be avoided as the celebration is most considered rather than business ventures. It is important to schedule business appointments in advance to ensure that you avoid Turkish holidays. Punctuality is also important for the Turkish people. In all business contexts, when one should be late, he or she must immediately inform the persons concerned immediately. Islam also extends its influence in the society as all appointments and meetings should fit the 5 daily prayer times. The Turks prefer to do business with people they know and establish personal relationships with them for future benefits in their business ventures. 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