Dating and Relationship

Archive for the ‘Cross Cultural’ Category

Romantic relationships are prone to experiencing problems from time to time, including cross cultural, intercultural or interracial relationships.

These types of relationships can occasionally lead to pressure or difficulties that can arise from a number of factors, such as family, friends and religion. However, with some effort they can also lead to happy and fulfilling unions, as well.

Family

Family is oftentimes one of the biggest obstacles to successful cross cultural relationships. Perhaps parents (and grandparents) have adopted somewhat dated and traditional ideas on who they would like their offspring to marry. Many people are proud of their ethnicity and would like to see their children pass that on.

This could lead to serious friction for a cross cultural relationship, as it pressures you to consider making the family happy, as opposed to yourself and your significant other.

Geography

Cross cultural relationships can also be stressful due to geographical issues. For instance, if a young, intercultural couple meets at a bustling and diverse university campus in New York City, everything is wonderful until they realize that one partner’s family resides in Jamaica, and the other person’s family lives in Finland.

This could lead to potential frustration regarding where the couple should live, and other factors, such as where the wedding ceremony should take place.

Religion

With different cultures comes different religions. For instance, the majority of Filipinos are Catholic and the majority of Jordanians are Muslim.

Different religious beliefs can lead to friction in a marriage unless both parties are capable of respecting the others’ values or unless one person is willing to convert to the other’s faith. This is particularly true for people that are especially devout.

Raising Children

Child rearing is another possible cross cultural relationship problem. This also ties in with the aforementioned issue of religion. It can be very difficult for couples to decide what faith the child should be raised in. Also, parents can encounter the issue of helping the child identify with a certain ethnicity or race, which can lead to confusion in the early childhood years.

Tastes

Although it might sound silly, another possible problem that cross cultural couples can face is differing tastes. One example is food. For example, if a Korean woman dates a Mexican man and he is bothered by her eating the spicy cabbage dish kim chi, this could lead to tension in the marriage. Another example is entertainment.

If one partner in the relationship enjoys watching movies in Spanish and the other person cannot speak a word of the language, arguments could arise.

 

Global business has become a complex activity that incorporates the whole world. Long distances are brought closer by communications technology that allow for real-time video conversations.

As your business grows, you will develop clientele with diverse backgrounds — making it imperative that you comprehend cultural nuances.

Seek the services of a cross-cultural consultant who can equip your business with vital global knowledge.

1. Develop a resource library of books, recordings, exercises, experiences and even Web resources.

Your consultant can research and assemble the targeted resources and your business needs to better understand the requisites of your diverse clientele.

2. Provide cultural training for employees to understand international business practice. Your consultant can facilitate scenario-based learning experiences that increase the multicultural proficiency of your employees.

These scenarios challenge your teammates to consider complicated cultural situations and effective ways to navigate these courses. Examples include blatant demonstrations of racism to vague nuances of inequality.

3. Understand how stereotypes, biases, and discriminatory behaviors of your employees may get in the way of effective multicultural business. The cross-cultural consultant can help to develop strategies for improvement by exposing and challenging biases through guided exercises.

4. Utilize a cross-cultural consultant to assist your employees with navigating business interactions. Striking a business deal with individuals of another culture requires understanding business nuances, such as proper greetings, nonverbal communications and etiquette. Your consultant will provide you with the knowledge necessary to make a superlative professional impression. Read the rest of this entry »