Download - Western vs Eastern Culture
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East vs. WestWhats the difference?Illustrations by Yang Liu from East meets West book www.yangliudesign.com
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Way to think
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Way of life
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Punctuality
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Connections
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Anger
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Queuing
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In the restaurant
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Standard of beauty
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Way to solveproblems
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Seniors daily life
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Shower time
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Boss
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The child
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Cultural Differences** but of course there are obvious exceptions
West (US / Europe)East (China / East Asia)LogicLinear (direct associations)Spiral (roundabout)CommunicationDirect, verbalIndirect, impliedIdentityIndividual, independentGroup orientatedAgreement / DisagreementArgumentative, verbalHard to say no, non-verbalPunctualityStart and end on timeAppointments flexibleRespectSuccess, achievementSeniority, wisdomBusiness RelationshipEconomics come firstRelationship comes firstDecision MakingDistributed, proactiveManager has final sayTime HorizonShort term (per quarter)Long term (years ahead)Risk / SpendingRisk-takers, spendRisk-avoiders, save
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Intercultural Competence
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Communicate EffectivelySpeak slowly, maintain eye contactUse objective, accurate languageRephrase sentences where necessaryListen carefully and patientlyAdapt your conversation styleDont talk down to othersClarify what will happen next
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Deal With It Know your neighbor Be open and tolerant Ask lots of questions
When in Rome, do as the Romans do
What differences have you experienced?*West: Linear (direct associations)East: Spiral (roundabout and subtle)
*West: Individualistic, independent, values freedomEast: Group orientated, values harmony and stability
*West: Start and end on timeEast: Appointment times flexible
Dont be late (rude). Call in advance if you cant make it.
*West: Small number of close connectionsEast: Highly connected web
*West: Argumentative, verbalEast: Difficult to say no, non-verbal
Show your feelings up front people prefer to hear your problem before it becomes bigger
*West: Manors important (be polite)East: Each for his/her own
**West: like dark skinEast: like white skin
*******How well you can adopt and communicate with other cultures
Intercultural competenceis the ability of successfulcommunicationwith people of othercultures.Being equally comfortable in two or more cultures
A person who is interculturally competent captures and understands, ininteractionwith people from foreign cultures, their specific concepts inperception, thinking, feeling and acting.
*Culture is communication and communication is culture**