The Knowledge of Various Cultural - Essay Example

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Fixed Opening Questions Please describe your background. Do you think your background is typical for someone in your field What in your background made you curious about being an artist What is painting exhibitions How did u get involved in business what made you want to do this Do you relate to Henri Rousseau Why did you choose to work internationally Did you need to prepare yourself for international work What languages do you speak How often do you get abroad Open Ended Questions What skills have helped you when you work internationally What has intrigued you most about working and dealing with different cultures In what country did you feel the least at home and why Which country most intrigued you and why With which people that you met did you create the most personal relationship Which culture do you feel mostly closely relates to your own and why Where was it hardest for you to conduct business and why Have you ever had an experience in business that failed or was problematic because of cultural differences Please explain With which culture do you identify more closely -Israel/ American at this point in your life Do you identify yourself as an Israel or American How do you enter a new culture Can you describe a situation in which your behavior got an unexpected response or in which someone else's behavior was strange or puzzling as you What do you find enjoyable/frustrating about your relationship with Americans. How, if at all, has your behavior charged since you've been working with Israelites What advice would you give to someone about to start working with Israelites Description of Interviewee Davies Anthony was born in Chelsea, England in 1956. After secondary education he enrolled for a degree in Economics from London school of economics which he completed in 1976. He pursued a master of sciences degree in Economics from the same institution and cleared in 1978. He worked as an Economic consultant in Wales for two years, a research co-coordinator with non governmental organizations and lectured in Cambridge University until 1982. After 1982 Anthony opted to follow a different career line. He opted to become an artist a talent that he possessed since in childhood. In 1983 he moved to France with his wife and a daughter. He began working as a part time artist through making portraits on commission. The interview took place on January 10th 2007 at Anthony's residential home. The interview session lasted for 2 hours. Summary of interview Davies Anthony has the knowledge of various cultural diversities across the globe. My interview was based on the above questions which Anthony answered one after another. He describes his background as not representative to his current career since initially he studied economics and his dream was becoming an economic consultant for the rest of his life. However, he became interested with becoming an artist after realizing that he had the talent. He never enrolled in any course related to paintings though he went some classes on how to organize painting exhibitions "painting exhibitions is a trade fair event that brings out artistic identities of various regions in the world". He explains I've been organizing these exhibitions in almost every corner of the world making me intermingle with people from different cultural divides. The exhibitions are attached with various prizes and awards most of which are scoped by Anthony. He says that he does not relate to Henri Rousseau though they came from the same backyard and are in the same field of artistic paintings. However, they share business issues and challenges together. "I chose to work intentionally so as to have a wider customer base for my paintings and also to help me in understanding different cultures" He asserts. Working intentionally is something that Davies had prepared for since he had enrolled for various languages in the linguistic department of Cambridge University via online. The languages were Japanese, Spanish, French, Chinese and Amharic. He speaks the languages partially while abroad and in France. "My skills of having some knowledge on various languages in the world have been very resourceful as I tour and work in the global scope. Working and interrupting with diverging cultures is very interesting since everyday is a learning day". He says Analysis of the interview Among the many countries he has traveled into it was in Pakistan he felt uncomfortable since "someone's contributions in gatherings is not is important as whoever is giving the contributions since culture compares individual versus group rules. He notes He feels that the Israel culture is his own culture since the Young Nation has sharpened his artistic skills with most of his customers coming from this region despite the prevailing war between them and the Palestinians. The occupants of this nation are very friendly people and most of his personal friends are the Israelites. While in the US, Anthony has some difficulties in meeting the demands of his clients. Here quantity was highly regarded as compared to quality a thing that almost compromised with his quality paintings in a better way and therefore most people could not opt for his products. Having the knowledge and experience of the many cultures all over the world Anthony has become to like the Israel culture as compared to the others due to its contributions in his business. This makes him to identify himself as an Israelite as far cultures is concerned. "It is sometimes hard to enter in a new culture since it is a process that takes sometimes," Davies says various cultures do their things differently and once someone is introduced into a particular culture it becomes hard for him/ her to adopt in another culture without difficulties .Davies enters into a new culture through socializing with people in a new different culture, learning what they do, how they liked it done and doing exactly what is expected as per the culture. This continues until one comfortably fits in the new culture learns how language is used and applied by people practicing this culture. At one time Davies visited Austria when he got people behaving in differently with a communication language of their own. They applied sign language differently with the Frenchmen and one day Davies was signaled by signaled by one of them and his response was very embarrassing a thing that remains a puzzle up to today. "The most enjoyable thing about my relationship with the Americans is that they put more pressure for me to produce more and this becomes advantageous to my business venture. This ensures that I realize more returns in my business thus growing business wise". Davies explains in a happy moody. Working with the Israelites has changed his way of doing things in a greater way. He has adopted the Israelites culture which he terms as a "friendly and quality" one. He has learnt to appreciate people regardless of their culture and origin. To start working with the Israelites one needs to be very accommodative so that you will adopt their cultures and learn more about their language plus other cultural practices. Conclusion Anthony points out the differences that are notable among various cultures. The Americans believe that compared to quantative ones. They therefore emphasize on quantity and not quality. This is contrary to countries in the European continent. To the Western culture time is a very critical business arrangement and time is never wasted. The Arabic culture also views time as a strengthening experience with their culture developing so easily. Davies Anthony was very resourceful on the culture knowledge and his over twenty years experience in various culture interactions was very important base for the interview. He made me believe that understanding diversified culture one can succeed in the business field. After the interview session I thanked him for his co - operation and willingness to share knowledge. Referees Barke, Terence, Walker, Danielle and Thomas (1996): Doing Business Internationally, McGraw Hill, New York Hampden, T, Charles and Trompenaar (1997): Riding the Waves of Culture, McGraw Hill, New York Hofstede and Geert (2005): Cultures and Organizations, McGraw Hill, New York Hofstede, G. (2003): Cultures consequences, SAGE publications, California Thomas, J. (2002): Qualitative versus quantitative, IBM T.J Watson Research Centre, New York Read More