Understanding Cross-Cultural Issues in the Contemporary World - Essay Example

Today, we have multinational companies that operate across different continents and regions of the world thanks to the concept of globalization. Yet, every community or society has its own unique culture. It is interesting to know how the cultural differences play out in this global village context. Globalization has intensified cultural interaction, leading to emergence of multi-cultural societies (Liu, 2012: 94-95). Culture is a strong element that influences the behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes of a community.

Based on this understanding, it is important to establish how these cultural influences play out when people from one culture interact with those from a different culture. This forms the basis of this study. The study purposes to investigate the integration of Korean culture in the UK culture. This study will be relevant to understanding cross-cultural issues in the contemporary world because it focuses on a real cross-cultural integration. 1. How do Koreans perceive UK culture? This research question will focus on the perceptions that Koreans have when they interact with UK citizens in the UK.

The main objective of this research question will be to highlight the cultural disparities and or similarities between Koreans and British citizens. 2. How do Koreans react to the cultural disparities or similarities when they come to the UK? This research question focuses on the reaction of Koreans when they come to the UK. The main objective of the research question is to identify specific responses, whether cultural assimilation or isolation, of Koreans in the UK. It will also highlight the aspect of cultural dominance.

Culture can be defined as the unique shared characteristics of a group that differentiates it from other groups (McLaurin, 2006: 9; Herzog & Leker, 2011: 58; Moore, 2004: 5). Therefore, different communities can be identified by their unique cultures. In identifying a group’s