To start with, there has to be a good definition of the expression “culture” which can be defined as the inherited
values, concepts, and ways of living which are shared by people of the same social group. To make the definition
clearer, culture is divided into two kinds; the first is generic culture which is a shared culture of all humans living
on this planet. The second is local culturewhich refers to symbols and schemas shared by a particular social
group.
As is known, the world is becoming nowadays a global village, in the sense that the technological achievements
of this modern time have brought people closer together. This also means that people from different parts of the
world and with different cultural backgrounds are working and communicating together. This fact is in a way
interesting, but dealing with people from different cultures requires knowing the cultural diversities; for instance
the way we deal with them, what we say and what we should avoid saying, how to communicate and to be aware
of the cultural taboos because what is accepted in one culture might not be accepted in another. What applies to
every day communication among cultures applies to communication in the workplace. Working with people in an
organization requires dealing with certain issues such as motivating employees, structuring policies and
developing strategies. In this case, there has to be a kind of understanding of the cultural diversities in order to
apply the afore-mentioned issues in the workplace.
To give a broader definition of the word culture, the word comes in two meanings. The first meaning is
“civilization” which entails arts and crafts, education and manners. While the second meaning refers to the way
people think, feel and act in accordance with the values and norms dominant in their society. According
toHofstede Geert, culture is defined as “the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of
one group or category of people from another.” In simple words, culture refers to the values known to a certain
ethnic group of the same social background.
Most of one’s culture is acquired during childhood, before puberty. Humans at an early age have the ability to
absorb cultural norms from their cultural surroundings, from parents, siblings, playmates…. etc. Therefore,
culture helps people to function smoothly within a specific society. There are certain levels at which a culture can
work: