Lecture Notes: Cultural Differences and Similarities

Introduction

• The speaker shares a personal anecdote about a day at the Jay Leno show in Burbank, California.
• Encountered a stranger attending the TED conference, sparking curiosity about what TED is.
• A humorous incident involving helium balloons at a cafe, highlighting different subjective realities.

Cultural Differences

• Cultures provide predefined paradigms to make sense of the world.
• Three questions posed:
  1. Are we really different?
  2. Are we the same?
  3. Are we different and the same?
• Definition of Culture:
  • Various definitions exist, including Confucius’ view: "All people are the same; habits differ."
  • Hofstede's five dimensions measure cultural differences.

Examples of Cultural Differences

• Language differences, e.g., Georgian blaming the bus for lateness vs. English personal responsibility.
• Technological developments are taken for granted universally, e.g., complaints about airplane discomfort.
• Universal human values expressed differently.
  • Example: Respect for the elderly varies by culture but is a shared value.

Cultural Humor and Stereotypes

• Comedy often uses cultural stereotypes, e.g., jokes about Heaven and Hell, American and Canadian stereotypes.
• Cultural characteristics reflected in humor, e.g., national articles about elephants.

Teaching Cultural Differences

• The speaker teaches global business negotiation strategies.
• Highlights the diversity even within subcultures or families.
  • Personal example contrasting speaker's and brother’s approach to scheduling.

Seriousness of Cultural Differences

• Cultural miscommunication examples:
  • Plane crash due to misunderstanding between Colombian and American air traffic controllers.
  • War between Georgia and Russia and the human cost involved.

Final Reflections

• Addressing whether we are different or the same: The speaker admits not knowing the definitive answer.
• Suggests cultural differences create animosity.
• Encourages forgiveness and understanding through a suggested email exercise:
  • List grievances, then change them to things forgiven, then things thanked for.
• Small actions can make significant differences, analogous to a mosquito bite.

Conclusion

• The importance of understanding and appreciating cultural differences and similarities.
• Promotes forgiveness and gratitude as pathways to reducing animosity.