Cultural values in some Western countries focus on making money and holding onto it. We can be surprised that people in other countries are uninterested in our latest techniques for doing this. It can be easy to conclude that the local people are lazy or stupid, and that it is impossible to ‘help’ them.
We do not see that their primary concern is often with spreading existing wealth around, rather than making money or managing it. They ask a question that Westerners rarely consider: How can I share the money I have in order to strengthen my relationships with the people who matter to me? Some people believe that accumulating individual wealth is antisocial. It insults the rest of the group, and it must be punished, not imitated. Indeed Westerners can seem to suck the wealth from them and put it into our secret vaults.
One of the most basic and dangerous differences between cultures is what they will excuse and why. Self-expression, viewed as a fundamental human right by some, can get us into all kinds of trouble. “That’s the way I am” can easily bring the response, “That’s not the way we do things here.”
We often get ourselves into predicaments because we are used to excusing our actions if we did not intend any harm. In other cultures, we may have to learn to judge our actions by the amount of harm they inflict, intended or not.
Most foreigners living abroad do not stay long enough to develop loyalties there. We often do not see this lack of local loyalties as a problem since we come from a culture of transience.
In many other cultures, however, loyalties are essential for any significant things to be done. Loyalties evoke trust and build influence. Loyalties open doors. But loyalties take a long time to establish. In our haste we also tend to be oblivious to existing loyalties among local individuals and groups. Unless we pay attention to these, we will remain clueless causing serious miscalculations.
That last sentence, “Unless we pay attention to these, we will remain clueless causing serious miscalculations,” is one of the most obvious causes of cultural clashes – not recognizing your cultural norms, and not valuing the cultural norms of your host country. Awareness is always the first step.
How can you find out more about your cultural norms and the cultural norms of your host country?
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