Comparing English and Azerbaijan Cultures - Case Study Example

Comparing English and Azerbaijan cultures Name Course Lecture Date Introduction There exist a number of suggestions that are commonly applied so as to illustrate people’s culture. Culture is termed as the commonly accepted manner in which a community chooses to live their lives and mostly in the way they feel best when it comes to harmonizing their languages, traditions, dress code, notions as well as their dietary ways. A community’s way of life does not crop up by one day, but it usually emerges through a period of time. Thus, no culture is bad or good as compared to any other culture. Each and every culture has certain unique features and this kind of uniqueness calls for some appreciation instead of condemnation unless any form of violation of human rights occurs. The two cultures to be compared in this paper are the English culture and Azerbaijan cultures. Part A – Table of Comparisons Comparative aspects English culture Azerbaijan culture Language English Azerbaijan is the official language Time keeping Very crucial Punctuality is not paramount Power distance Individualistic Individualistic Collectivism Masculinity Uncertainty avoidance High level of uncertainty Low level of uncertainty Long-term orientation Long term oriented Long term oriented Diversity Diversity is high Diversity is low as compared to English culture Dining etiquette continental table manners Keep elbows off the table Remain standing until invited to sit Use the right hand to eat and pass things. Keep elbows off the table Remain standing until invited to sit Part B – Analysis Language The languages in the English cultures and Azerbaijan cultures seem to be so different. Though the English culture has no constitutionally official language, English is the main language that is spoken and thus it is the de facto official language of the English culture (St Giles International n.d). The official language that is used by Azerbaijani cultures is Azerbaijani which a Turkic language. As of the year 1994, about 82% of Azerbaijani citizens spoke Azerbaijani as the first language. The other percentage spoke Russian so as to accommodate the Russian domination of politics and the economy. Time Keeping Time keeping seems to be an essential aspect of the English culture. It is very essential for one to be on time for meetings, interviews, classes and lectures. Being late for meetings and interviews and keeping someone waiting is viewed as bad manners. Though there are certain situations where being late can be unavoidable, letting the individual know that one will be late is always considered appropriate. In the English culture, time keeping is highly valued as compared to all the other cultures (St Giles International n.d). Thus, individuals should always aim at arriving for meeting at least five minutes earlier. In the Azerbaijan culture on the other hand, people are not so punctual when it comes to timekeeping. They view ten to fifteen minutes lateness as being permissive. Hofstedes 5 Cultural Dimensions Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions is the most applied model when it comes to assessing national cultures (Hofstede 1984). The model usually classifies each of the cultures by value from 0 to 100 for each of the dimensions, and these are applied directly to compare various cultures. Power Distance Based on Hofstede, this dimension stipulates that all individuals in a society are not always equal. Power distance refers to the extent the individuals who are termed as the less power in society accepts that power in distributed unequally (Hofstede 1984). The English culture tends to contend with the inequalities that exist between people of different social classes. The Azerbaijan culture on the other hands tends to be more concerned on removing any form of inequalities between people. Thus, based on these, all people ought to be treated equally irrespective of their status in the society (Swietochowski 1995). Individualism versus collectivism This refers to the extent to which individuals base their individual actions on self interest rather than in the interest of the group. In the individualistic societies, people only care about themselves and their immediate families. The English culture tends to be more individualistic. Children in this kind of society have been taught from an early age to think only for themselves and to search for their exceptional purposes in life and how each of them can contribute uniquely to the society. The English culture emphasizes that the main source of happiness is by achieving personal fulfillment. Thus, the English culture tends to strengthen the “ME” culture (St Giles International n.d). The Azerbaijan culture on the other hand, seems to lean collectivism ideas. Based on this kind of society, tends to belong to groups and every effort is made for the betterment of the whole society. These societies are not private in any way. In these societies, individuals are taught at a tender age to think about others. Therefore, the Azerbaijan culture’s emphasis is much on the interdependence of people in the society and offers some level of priority to group goals over all the individual goals (Swietochowski 1995). Masculinity versus femininity A high score in terms of masculinity depicts that the society is usually driven by achievement, competition and success. A lower score in femininity on this dimension the main values in society are the quality of life and caring for others (Hofstede 1984). This is a feminine society that is characterized by the quality of life as a sign of success and thus standing out from the crowd is not commendable. This dimension shows the English culture tends to be more of masculinity that is they are much oriented to success. A critical aspect of the English culture is being able to understand everything as what is said is not usually what is meant (Smith, P 2004). The Azerbaijan culture on the other side tends to be more feminine. People in this culture tend to care a lot for others and also their quality of life (Swietochowski 1995). Uncertainty Avoidance This dimension deals more with the manner in which a certain society tackles the fact that the future may be unknown (Hofstede 1984). It addresses the question whether the society should try and control the future or just let it happen. Based on this dimension, people in the English culture seem to be quite happy not knowing what the day offers and they find it easier to use any new kind of information as it crops up (St Giles International n.d). People in the Azerbaijan culture seem to be concerned about the future and thus they take all the necessary measures to influence the future and thus they do not just leave it to chance (Swietochowski 1995). Long Term Orientation vs. short term orientation This dimension mostly describes the society’s time horizon. The long term societies tend to place more emphasis on the future. The short term oriented societies tend to focus more on the present for example the respect of tradition as well as fulfilling of social obligations (Hofstede 1984). Both the English and Azerbaijan cultures tend to be more oriented to the future. Diversity Azerbaijani is termed as the home of diversity. Azerbaijani is the home of different ethnicities and majority of them are Azeri’s. The culture, heritage and civilization that the country possesses have both modern and ancient roots. The people living in Azerbaijan are said to be inheritors of the various ancient people and civilizations. The English culture also shows a high level of diversity. This can be greatly attributed to immigration that has taken place over some period of time. Also, the government in these cultures has played a major and a leading role in making and promoting policies that tends to encourage social cohesion and thus combating any form of inequality among its people (Smith 2004). Dining Etiquette The English culture also values continental table manners for example; they usually hold the fork using the left hand while the knife is held in the right hand while eating. Also, one should indicate that he or she has finished eating by crossing the fork and the knife on the plate (Fischer 2009). It is a common norm for one to remove shoes prior to entering Azeri home and they usually offer slippers for one to wear. When invited, one should only use the right hand when eating and passing things when dining. When attending Azerbaijan dinners, one should dress casually but also smartly. When attending, dinners one should not wear revealing and tight clothes. Punctuality for dinners is not a paramount aspect. It is commonly allowed for one to arrive within 30 minutes from the stipulated time and it is termed as socially acceptable. A major similarity between the two cultures is that, guests are supposed to remain standing until one is invited to sit. Also, in the two cultures, one is not expected to rest their elbows on the table when dinning (Clifton 2002). This is an indication of bad manners. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, the English culture and the Azerbaijan culture tends to have certain differences. The two cultures portrays differences in the official languages used in the countries in that while the English culture uses English the Azerbaijan culture uses Azerbaijan. Also, time keeping is not an issue in Azerbaijan cultures but it is an issue in the English culture. The two cultures also show some level of similarity in their dining etiquettes. In the two cultures, the guests are supposed to remain standing until one is invited to sit. Also, in the two cultures one is not expected to rest their elbows on the table when dinning. References Clifton, J 2002, Studies in languages of Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan and Saint Petersburg, Russia: Institute of International Relations, Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and North Eurasian Group, SIL International. Fischer, R 2009 ‘Where is Culture in Cross-Cultural Research? An Outline of a Multilevel Research Process for Measuring Culture as a Shared Meaning System’, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, vol. 9, pp. 25-48. Hofstede, G 1984, Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, SAGE Publications, Beverly Hills CA. Smith, P 2004, ‘Nations, Cultures and Individuals: New Perspectives on Old Dilemmas’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, vol. 35, pp. 6-12. St Giles international n.d, A Guide to English culture and customs, viewed 3 November 2014, . Swietochowski, T 1995, Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition, Columbia University Press, Colombia. Read More