Cross Cultural Management - Essay Example

the individual has lived in the nation; even extending to those which are natively born in Australia. Unfortunately, this can almost invariably be defined as a function of ingrained racism on the part of the European Australian population. As such, the fundamental reason for this is a set of stereotypes that exist regarding what defines Australians from those that are not. The most obvious determinant for Japanese Australians being considered other is due to the uniquely Asian feature that Australians deem to represent that which is not uniquely Australian and necessarily is indicative of a foreigner (Ekehammar et al, 2009 p 260). Although this type of prejudice and ingrained bias with respect to features that do not closely mirror one’s own culture has been evidenced in nearly every culture around the world, it is also an aspect of human interaction that can be overcome. With respect to the effects of such cultural biases, it can be clearly stated that they have a severely negative impact on the way that a society integrates and consequently performs business interactions and/or seeks to govern. Likewise, the effects of this preconceived prejudice affect all aspects of communication and exchange. When one considers that these barriers exist and are oftentimes culturally and tacitly reinforced, the full level to which such stereotypes can provide a stumbling block comes into clear focus. As is evidenced with the generations of discrimination that Australia’s own Aborigines had to face, working to change pre-conceived notions and stereotypes that exist towards a given group can take a very long time. However, it is the belief of this author that the classification of “other” that still continues