In present days, due to globalization and internationalization (especially in business) people live in a culturally varied society. With such an expansion of our world effective intercultural communication became essential, because people of different cultures have a different conception of competent behavior (Varner and Beamer n.p.). Culture is collective programming, a system of meanings and notions, which are shared between the members of one culture group and are used to construe the world around them. Many cultural groups have different values, traditions, norms, patterns of behavior and communication. That is why it is relevant to understand effective communication between groups of different cultures.
There is no unified theory for cultural studies. There are many methods, approaches, and different perspectives in it. Cross-cultural communication combines fields like cultural studies, communication, psychology and even anthropology. There is no unique model of cultural aspects and the variety of them shows how many-sided the approach and methodology can be. There are some most popular models that are used nowadays: Edward T. Hall’s Cultural Iceberg Model, Geert Hofstede’s model, Fons Trompenaars’s model, etc. Let us consider Russian culture using the Trompenaars’s model, following it point by point. The seven dimensions are listed below:
- Universalism versus particularism.
- Individualism versus communitarianism.
- Specific versus diffuse.
- Neutral versus emotional.
- Achievement versus ascription.
- Sequential time versus synchronous time.
- Internal direction versus outer direction. (“The Seven Dimensions of Culture” n.par.)
On the one hand, Russian business culture is notable for its autocratic management style that came from the Soviet era. It sharply contrasts to the open and collaborative one in American practices. On the other hand, Russians value friendship very much. It is very well illustrated in one Russian proverb, which means that it is better to have a lot of friends than a lot of money (Pjatnitskiy n.p.). As for the individualism and collectivism question, once again, it has been instilled since the Soviet era that Russian people must do everything in a group, but not independently, as initiative never was popular in this country. There is another Russian proverb, which means that a single person is unable to do something significant by himself (Pjatnitskiy n.p.).
They are rather specific people. The relationships are usually developing in a predetermined way. Masculinity prevails over femininity. It has been instilled that man pays for everything and maintains household budget, while the woman is sitting home, cooking and looking for children. Though nowadays there are a lot of working women in Russia, some of them even have several educations. Russians are very emotional people. Many of them are quick-tempered people and often do something without thinking through it. Another thing, which Russian culture is built on is jealousy. Mainly due to the poor economy. For a person, it is hard to accept, that someone else can afford himself/herself something good and expensive, whether it is a house or simply a cell phone. Thus, it is essential for most Russians to achieve success and obtain a status. Russians often do several things at once, whether it is cooking and cleaning or working two jobs at the same time. In Russian culture environment often control people, determines their behavior, values, goals, even speech. That is why it is an important factor, where were you born and who are your parents and relatives.
Bibliography
Pjatnitskiy, Igor. Personal interview. 2013.
The Seven Dimensions of Culture: Understanding and Managing Cultural Differences2013. Web. N.d.
Varner, Iris, and L. Beamer. Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace. 5th ed., Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2008. Print.