人力资源-interculture communication东西文化差异和沟通理解.docx

To interact with people outside of China, I think one important issue is to understand the other culture. When we talk about culture, we are actually relating to arts, behaviors, language and etc.
Below are a set of pictures from the internet which I personally think is very close to reality. Maybe many people have seen these pictures before, but I want to use these pictures to talk about some of my own understanding of the Eastern and Western way of thinking.

Meals of the day: 

l In the western society, people don’t seen to be mind on whether the breakfast and dinner will be hot food or not, but I’m not saying everybody likes it, just that I guess half of the population wouldn’t put too much of attention on it.
l But to the eastern society, it seems almost impossible to have breakfast and dinner in cold. Because started from ancient time, people tend to think hot foods bring good health to the body.

Relationship: 

l In the western society, the relationship is very clear and direct. People tend to know other people from the same profession or same interest.
l In the eastern society, the relationship is very complex, and you can see things always mixed up not just with one but a lot more. If you did something bad somehow, you are very much crewed up for the rest of your life. Because your reputation will be spread faster you can imagine.

Way of living: 

l Individualism is the way of living in the western society. People tend to prefer a life without too much of interaction, because it is different between working hours and private time. For example working hours are 9am – 6pm, then the rest is private time, people normally turn off their phones so they don’t get disturb but others.
l Collectivism is the way of living in the eastern society. People spend time with each other doesn’t matter whether like it or not. This is a huge different with the western world. It is a way of life, but sometimes people seems to live without privacy, but they already got use to that.

Transportation: 

The picture originally shows in the 70s, people from the west are starting to use cars but the east are using bikes. Then in 06, the west are then using bikes but the east started to use cars.
But I have a different idea on these pictures:
l In the west, working class need to use cars to go work. Then the upper class are using bike as a leisure activities.
l In the east, working class can not afford to but a car so they have to use bike which is a way of saving money. Cars are a luxury item for people to show their success.
It is a vast different between the two cultures which I found it very funny.

Life of the elders: 

l Elders in the west are really having a relax time after retirement.
l Elders in the east are still very tired because they have to take care of their grandchildren.

Self-realization: 

l In the west, the “SELF” is very big.
l In the east, the “SELF” almost means nothing.

Kids:

l In the west, kids are only taking care by the parent.
l In the east, all the family members are surrounding the kids.

Standard of being pretty: 

l In the west, dark or tan skin is what shows healthy and pretty.
l In the east, the whiter you are, the prettier you are.

What to drink when having a stomached:  

l In the west, definitely cokes.
l In the east, nice pot of hot tea.

On time:

l When we talk about on time in the western society, it means on that pointing time for the appointment.
l But in the eastern society people like to be “around” that pointing time.

Travelling: 

l When travelling, western people like to look at the sinery and remember it.
l People from the east love to take photos to capture the views.

Queue:

l In the western society, queuing means line up and wait.
l In the eastern society, queuing means gather together.

Shower:

l In the west, people shower in the morning to wake themselves up.
l In the east, people shower before bedtime for a good night sleep.
l (Personally, I do both.)

How people think of the opposite side：

l Above are what people think of each other.

Ideas:

l In the west, because the way of living and the education received, people tend to get to the mean point straight.
l In the east, the education we received told us how to being polite, so to get to the point, the explanations will be all over the place.

Partying:

l In the west, people go to casual or formal party to meet new people, so they will find the person that has common interests. Therefore they will be talking in small groups.
l In the east, people tend to sit around especially in China, and I can not explain the reason for that.

Decibel in restaurants:

l In the west, talking out loud in a private area is very annoying and not polite.
l In the east, taking really loud seem to be acceptable.

Solving problem:

l In the west, when facing a problem, they will talk straight into it.
l In the east, people will walk around the problem.
Attitude towards new objects: 

l In the west, when people look at a new object or invention, if it’s not interesting enough, they will just walk away.
l In the east, when people get in touch with a new object, they will put a lot of interest in it.

When angry: 

l In the west, when angry, it means angry.
l In the east, when angry, you should look happy.

Fashion:

l It’s a fashion to eat Asian cuisine outside of Asia.
l It’s a fashion to eat western cuisine in Asia.

Leadership: 

l In the western society, leader is someone leading the team but almost equal to the rest of the team members.
l In the eastern society, leader is someone controlling the team.

In conclusion, from above examples, we can see how important it is to know other’s culture. Without the understanding of other culture could lead to huge conflict and misunderstanding. Therefore before an intercultural communication is accruing, more studies should be down to reduce the chance of conflict. The many ways of living you know, then the world will look more globalize to you.