Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Diversity’ Category

Journey of cultures and needs.

Posted in Diversity, tagged , on April 14, 2009| 3 Comments »

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post after I have moved countries and experienced varied situations and cultures. Now I realise that how growth in one part of the world have different meaning to another part of the world and how cultural differences have such an impact on defining who we are. Is it true that we change as a person, I think not but it is the perception of things that changes.

Moving from Europe to Asia made such a difference in attitude towards things. What seemed natural and easy suddenly seems difficult, in a place I had lived my life before, because of the differences in cultures and in needs. The life and its priorities are so different in these two continents. The difference between developed countries and developing countries and then the vast difference of cultures. It made me think of   Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs and that there is hierarchy in the levels of needs that a person has and these being :

  1. Physiological – Breathing, Food, Water, Sleep etc
  2. Safety – Physical, Financial, Family etc
  3. Love/belonging – Family, Friendship, Sexual Intimacy etc
  4. Esteem – Self esteem, Confidence, Achievement, Respect of others and respect from others.
  5. Self Actualisation – Morality, Creativity, Spontaneity, Problem Solving, Lack of prejudice, Acceptance of facts.

 

According to Maslow’s theory the first two basic needs need to be met before a person strives for the others but again all are dependent on the person and peer pressure or environment.

Reference :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs

Also there are lot of cultural differences between these two places making us aware of the cultural diversity in the world like different languages, dresses, traditions,  food etc. So what seems acceptable in one part of the world may mean different in other part of the world and visiting places is quite different to actually living there too. In another words the experience of cultural diversity opens up the eyes to see the world differently and to recognise that we need to be more aware of them and handle them appropriately. It also gives us an opportunity to grow/evolve as a person to be open and acceptable to it and also help us in being more empathetic towards our clients with their own mini cultures that they create for themselves with their own experiences of life.

Read Full Post »