Culture

What is Culture?

Many people think of culture as relating to the holidays, food, traditions and customs of a certain ethnic group or country, but culture can be defined more broadly as the norms and values of a group. This could be any group with shared norms and values (e.g., Islamic culture, Inuit culture, culture of a particular workplace, etc.).

To be more precise, culture is:

“… the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people, but different for each individual, communicated from one generation to the next.” ^[1]

Note that culture can be shared by a group but be different for individuals within the group. Think of a group you identify with; do you share exactly the same values and beliefs as everyone in that group? Are all Christians the same? All South Asian people? All Liberals or Conservatives? A group may have generally shared values, but much variation within the group as to how those values are practiced or interpreted. Sometimes we refer to large groups of people with a few words like ‘the Indigenous community,’ but remember, there are many cultures and groups within that larger group.

Culture is also something that is passed on, sometimes through traditions, language and behaviours, but each generation makes changes to culture, which means that culture is constantly evolving. Sometimes these changes come from within, and sometimes external forces, like colonization, force change upon cultures.

The Cultural Iceberg

Some aspects of culture are easily identifiable; food, language, dress and other visible aspects of culture are familiar to many of us and somewhat easy to navigate. Other aspects of culture are less obvious and are often the things at the root of cultural misunderstandings.

Check out Figure 1.1 below and drag the slider from bottom to top to reveal what is above and below the surface.

As the above figure indicates, cultural elements that are ‘below the surface’ encompass the more difficult-to-spot elements (e.g., social expectations, learning styles, approaches to problem-solving, ideas of beauty, values, importance of time, behaviour, gender roles, notions of modesty, concepts of fairness, and leadership styles). In navigating and adapting to another culture, it is usually the ‘above the surface’ aspects that can trip you up, such as holidays, food, sport, art, language, dress, music, and festivals. When certain aspects of culture are not noticeable, you are probably not thinking about those things, and so may overlook cultural norms that are not obvious to you.

For example, notions of politeness vary from culture to culture. You may have to be very observant to notice etiquette around gift giving and receiving, for instance. What kind of gifts do people give? Are there particular occasions when gifts are required? In Canada, it’s very common to turn up to a dinner party bearing a bottle of wine, but in parts of Asia, fruit is a more appropriate dinner party contribution. You might think it odd if a guest turned up to a dinner party in Canada and handed the host a bunch of bananas, whereas in Thailand, that would be perfectly fine.

These subtle cultural differences are not obvious to most outsiders without extensive time spent with another cultural group, accompanied by some skills to see, analyze, and navigate differences. Remember, when living in another culture, there are probably many things going on ‘under the iceberg’ that you don’t even know about. Developing some intercultural competency skills can help you to better see, navigate, and appreciate these differences.

Workplace Culture Around the World

You may have been in a workplace as part of your international learning experience, or you may end up in a workplace within a culture different from yours in the future, so let’s look at some cultural aspects of work. When starting a new job, it’s important to research and ask about the cultural conventions around workplace etiquette and expectations. Here’s a list of things you may need to know about the cultural aspects of your new workplace:

• What is the usual work week? Some countries may have different weekend days for religious reasons. For example, in Israel, the work week is Sunday-Thursday for many workers.
• How formal will your workplace be? Is there a strict hierarchy among workers, or are things fairly relaxed?
• What attire is considered suitable for the work you will be doing?
• What work is expected after hours? In France, it is the law that your employer cannot contact you outside of work hours. In other places, it may be normal to put in time on evenings and weekends without extra time off or compensation.
• Are there activities that might be informal in Canada but expected in your host country’s workplace? In Japan, a quick round of office callisthenics might be expected, while in Sweden, be prepared to take coffee breaks (fika) very seriously.
• What workers’ rights are in place where you are going? Can you expect to be reasonably protected from workplace harassment and violence?
• What levels of workplace safety are considered acceptable? Is it the employer’s responsibility to keep you safe, or does that fall more to the individual worker? Can you count on compensation if you are injured?
• Thinking of your social/cultural identity, how will you be viewed in the workplace? Will you be seen as a privileged outsider, a reminder of colonization, a newbie who needs to be looked after, an educated worker bringing new ideas or a university student with lots of ‘book learning’ who doesn’t know how things are actually done?

To help you understand the last item in this list, the next section of this chapter will take a deep dive into social-cultural identity and how it works. But, before you move to the next section, let’s recap what we’ve learned about culture by completing the following learning activity.

  Learning Activity: Reflecting on Culture

Think back to your international learning experience. Reflect on the norms, values, and beliefs of the culture you visited and answer the following questions.

• What are some aspects of that culture that were new to you?
• How does understanding a new culture help you understand your own culture?

What are some aspects of your culture that someone coming from a different culture may think are unique to your specific group?