general cultural characteristics and actions, such as People from collectivistic cultures will prefer team work or Hierarchical cultures prefer authoritarian leaders. However, these types of conclusions are problematic for several reasons. To begin with, as it was discussed above, fragmentation can result from the acceptance of cultural values ??within cultures. Second, cultures are composed of idiosyncratic elements that can be combined in unique ways leading to unpredictable consequences. And third, culture both constrains and enables behavior.provides frameworks for making sense of the world around us, for learning and expanding our horizons. These frameworks are important for interpreting phenomena around us, communicating with others, and organizing social and psychological processes. These cultural frameworks limit the array of alternatives considered by members. In the words of Yi-Fu Tuan, a founding figure of the field of human geography, all cultures are flawed blinders as well as the source of unique illuminations; they deserve affection rather than idolatry; they are our first home rather than the last. Simply put, culture is an important source of biases in the way we interpret the world and choose to act. Understanding these biases may help us explain why people in different places make different decisions. This may help explain, for example, why women in the Arab world are less active in the workplace than Western women., Cultural biases may be overcome either by individual effort, such as the example of Nahed Taher and other Arab women who were able to succeed in a male-dominated environment. Similarly, changes in the environment may lead to different behaviors. Personal computers are a wonderful tool for engineers exploring for minerals and oil, unless the engineers find themselves in a region of the globe that does not support such technology. Similarly, culture provides us with guidelines to help us navigate situations, but these situations themselves will often influence the choice of behavior. In other words, the way a person communicates may change significantly when this person is communicating with a boss or a friend, or just by a change in the context around her, such as finding herself in a foreign culture., These biases are not necessarily a bad thing. In some situations, they may be an asset and an important source of creativity for global companies. As different cultures come in contact with different perspectives, novel solutions may emerge. When combined, the dynamism of cultural frames and their interaction with the environment may lead to apparently paradoxical behaviors. In short, it is very difficult for managers to predict the behavior of their f oreign counterparts. Anna H? Kansson s efforts as described in the beginning of this chapter may have helped her understand the generalities of the culture, but they did not provide any guidance in how to deal with Nahed Taher. As such, culture influences, rather than determines, action. Individuals within cultures are able to use cultural elements strategically and negotiate new cultural arrangements.and subcultures, as noted earlier, a key characteristic of culture is that it is learned. People acquire values, assumptions, and behaviors by seeing how others around us behave and by observing their families. However, herein lies a major source for over-generalizations and stereotypes about national cultures. This is because most pe...
