ABSTRACT

This chapter describes culture and the notions of diversity and ethnocentrism. Culture can be described as a lens through which different behaviours are observed, interpreted, and experienced. Diversity as a result of physical or mental disability has also been identified as a trigger for negative behaviours. Hall, an anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher, offered another cultural framework based on three main indicators: context, space, and time. Outsiders in any setting may have difficulty accurately perceiving, understanding, and responding to behaviours emanating from deep-seated values. This can lead to misunderstanding, confusion, feeling threatened, and possibly conflict, in turn increasing the potential for negative and inappropriate behaviours. The aim of the chapter was to provide background information on different cultural frameworks for the ensuing country specific chapters. Cross-cultural competence is a key attribute required not only of expatriate employees, but increasingly of all members of modern societies, especially for those in multicultural workplaces.