The word ‘culture’ can be interpreted in many different ways and has been altered to fit the beliefs of society depending on the time period. In the 19th century, the term was most commonly used as a synonym for Western civilization, but nowadays is not specifically associated with countries. The modern definition of culture is “a community or population sufficiently large enough to be self-sustaining, that is, large enough to produce new generations of members without relying on outside people” (Jandt, 2010). This essay will illuminate and illustrate the intercultural communication concepts of Power Distance, Long-term Orientation, White Privilege, and New Racism by drawing upon the cultural experiences of my friend and flat mate, Claude Olivier.
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Because of this the people of South Africa face an unequal distribution of wealth, social status, prestige, the class and caste system, and basic universal rights (Bochner, 1994). As a child growing up in this society, Claude was not able to fully comprehend the extent to which Power Distance influenced the nation, and as he grew older his father became a successful, high paid lawyer, which only furthered the separation between Claude’s lifestyle and those at the lower end of the hierarchical order. According to Hofstede (1991), individuals who live in high Power Distance countries, like South Africa, tend to be more task-oriented and less people-oriented due to the fact that the role of a manager or superior in a high Power Distance society is to initiate structure; to tell people what to do rather than ask them for their views. This autocratic style of leadership can be linked to the cause of many riots and attacks amongst the South African people over the decades, “when you place a slum next to a high rise apartment building it just doesn’t look right and doesn’t feel right either” (Claude Olivier, 2015). Power Distance theory is highly present in South African society today, whereas the opposite is present in New Zealand. For hundreds of years, New Zealand has based their societal norms around freedom of speech and equality, which Claude said was a refreshing outlook concerning the way different groups of people who reside in one society are
Because of this the people of South Africa face an unequal distribution of wealth, social status, prestige, the class and caste system, and basic universal rights (Bochner, 1994). As a child growing up in this society, Claude was not able to fully comprehend the extent to which Power Distance influenced the nation, and as he grew older his father became a successful, high paid lawyer, which only furthered the separation between Claude’s lifestyle and those at the lower end of the hierarchical order. According to Hofstede (1991), individuals who live in high Power Distance countries, like South Africa, tend to be more task-oriented and less people-oriented due to the fact that the role of a manager or superior in a high Power Distance society is to initiate structure; to tell people what to do rather than ask them for their views. This autocratic style of leadership can be linked to the cause of many riots and attacks amongst the South African people over the decades, “when you place a slum next to a high rise apartment building it just doesn’t look right and doesn’t feel right either” (Claude Olivier, 2015). Power Distance theory is highly present in South African society today, whereas the opposite is present in New Zealand. For hundreds of years, New Zealand has based their societal norms around freedom of speech and equality, which Claude said was a refreshing outlook concerning the way different groups of people who reside in one society are