Reflection About Values And Culture

Each person is different from one another and so as his culture. Culture differs for each region in a country and each country in a continent. To understand each other, each one should understand his own culture first then accept the reality that another person’s culture might slightly or be extremely different from his own.

As we become immersed in our own culture, it can be challenging to grasp the difference in cultural pattern taxonomies orientations of other cultures. Cultural pattern taxonomies has been defined in the textbook, Communication between Cultures, “as the dominant beliefs and values of a culture.” Cultural value orientation varies among cultures and ultimately affects the way we communicate interpersonally.

Introduction: There are around 196 countries in the world and the cultures and values differ between the different countries. There are still similarities in some of the culture traits. In today’s world people are more willing to engage in global business and for this reason they need to be able to adapt to the different cultures. As the cultures vary from country to country, people around the world may face many difficulties during their communication. Many businesses have failed due to the fact that they failed to fully assess the market they were entering in. The paper will portray three different approaches that will aid in understanding cultural differences that can be utilized as effective tools in conducting global business. These approaches are known as the context approach, the cluster approach and the dimension approach.

For me, Given the opportunity to Bead undoubtedly brought me closer to Native culture and taught me much about patience, the ability to focus and to have goodwill. It drew my attention into how Native peoples view the world, and the simplistic yet utterly complex art styles they hold to their culture. Over the course of around a month of beading, I was opened up to such a vast world of culture. With not only beading but how it led me deeper into the Native Culture, more specifically Ojibway.

During this class, Ministry, Culture, and Contextual Analysis we were instructed to observe a faith tradition unlike our own, to expose ourselves to a cross culture awareness and experience, and interpret what we observe.

Since my Summer semester is coming to an end and I am moving forward with my field, I feel the class has helped me evaluate situations with a deeper meaning and not what meets the eye. With the degree I am majoring in, I will come across a lot of people and since more cultures are coming to the United States I now know what to do if I ever get the chance to assist someone with a different background than me. There were many things I had to learn when I started taking the class one of them was, Religious Diversity, and that was difficult because I do talk about my beliefs and having to take these classes I realized there is nothing wrong with anyone’s belief system (Martin & Nakayama, (2013), p 15). I have learned that we all have a different upbringing and living in today’s society is already hard enough and I need to be open minded because I am their advocate and being able to learn this concept through the semester I feel I am capable of putting my upbringing to the side and learn about their way of life and making sure they have a sense of comfort whenever they need me.

The cultural assignment allowed me to gain a new perspective on the differences of others. I have grown up in a household of dissimilar belief systems. My mom is a dedicated Christian while my dad is unassociated with any religious beliefs. Though, he grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. There differing belief systems have been the cause of various conflicts within their relationship. I often wondered if people with contradicting beliefs could effectively and peacefully discuss their belief systems. This cultural experience showed me that a peaceful discussion is possible between individuals of dissimilar beliefs.

The definition of culture according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. When one is born into a certain culture, the teachings and traditions of the said culture influences the individual’s thoughts and actions, thereby, shaping their lives. Having mentioned this effect, It is worth reiterating that culture is not to be thought of as a single entity but rather as a collective product of various societal convictions. These fundamental convictions are embedded in aspects within the said culture. These aspects include, and are not limited to gender socialization, familial life and individual roles. Growing up in an Asian household, I was taught at an early age that women in my family were expected to take on the role of homemakers and were expected to conduct themselves in accordance with traditional values. And while I spent 18 years of my life under the supervision of various family members and in three different homes, I developed a slight sense of rebelliousness that stemmed from questioning the purpose of the roles expected of me and whether or not these roles bore any significance. This imperative shift came about during a turbulent period of transition in my teen years. Coupled with the struggle to conform to gender and cultural norms, my self-awareness, self-concept and self-esteem played a pivotal role in my decision to ultimately leave my hometown and enlist in the United States Marine Corps where I was immersed in a entirely new culture. I am proud to say I am a product of both cultures and as far as my hometown, I have not looked back since.

Upon completion of this course, in additional to all of the life experiences I have been involved in over the semester, I have gained valuable insights in regard to my cultural background. While gathering information for the ancestor writing assignment, correspondingly choosing Ikebana as the topic for an occupation evidence paper, I discovered how and why Japanese culture has influenced over my family’s cultural identity. By reason of my mother's side of the family whom resided in Taiwan during and likely before the period between 1895 and 1945, while Taiwan was under Japanese rule and was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. This was a new discovery which, given a fresh perception on my own cultural background as a whole.

In elementary school, middle school and in high school, I found myself questioning a lot of the material that was being taught. There were many instances, where I felt like I did not belong and I did not find myself engaged in the material being taught. In my primary years, most of the lessons that were taught to me were not multicultural, but Eurocentric. I found myself not learning a lot of the material that was taught. However, there is one positive experience that I had when I was in grade three.

I am currently working on an internship credential as a high school counselor at Carlsbad High School which is a large public comprehensive high school in Carlsbad, California. In the 2015- 2016 academic school year Carlsbad High School had a total enrollment of 2,459 students in the 9th-12th grade. 21% of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, 3% are English Language Learners and 10.2 % are students with disabilities (School Accountability Report Card, 2016-17).

The paper is based on the following questions asked by my advisor, Dr. Larry G.Murphy

I think the culture and kind of people you grew up with and around shape who we are immensely and influence our beliefs and bias. Even though most form their own opinions and morals we grow older we still have cognitive bias that we were born and raised with. Our culture makes us who we are, it is the foundation that our lives were built on even before we were born. Saying this there are so many different cultures and with this comes different experiences and bias for each one. The culture I grew up with and around was the traditional southern baptist culture which is a culture with very distinct beliefs and values. Any culture I think shapes your perspective on everything but especially any culture that is mostly rooted in religion. This culture shaped my perspectives from the start and they were the same as my parents and everyone else I was around. As I have grown older that has changed I have developed my own opinions and ideology for different things but the fundamentals from what I grew up in and will continue to grow up around will stay with me. I think the southern culture sometimes gets put on as something that it is not but it is what has taught me to respect everyone, to value family and friends over anything, it has taught me to take responsibility for me, and cherish the small thing in life.

There are different ways through which artists represent gender in their works. Whereas there are artists that represent diverse gender as people of dignity, others represent them with a lot of stereotypes. For instance, most male artists have represented women as money hungry individuals with lavish lifestyle. Consequently, the male rappers have in most cases objectified women and used them to portray their fantasy lifestyle. It is because of this kind of representation that this paper analyses 50 Cents’ Candy Shop. In this essay I will specifically discuss the societal and cultural values 50 cent portrays through his music and music videos. The essay will also explore the message that 50 Cent delivers to his audience and how it influences their behaviors and values.

1. Culture is perceived as a way of thinking that influences the behaviors of a group of people.