Tip of iceberg

The way the world is interwoven recently, mandates to have a deeper insight in the different culture. Each country is unique in its culture, ranging from the typical behavior to ‘undiscovered’ facets. There are special traits that come in the light of the other culture.

Everyday in this world of globalization, many people come into contact with the other country people for business, education, sports and, planned and unplanned meetings. They interact with each other and sometimes feel so weird about why someone behaves and does a thing in that way. Some accept or don’t care it whereas some ridicule it; but most of the people would certainly agree with me that the outsider to should respect their culture per se. I feel they are right,… ummmm … how?

Each culture derives different habits over a period, and in fact there are many criteria that play important roles such as geography, prehistory, environment, food, language, religion, education, beliefs, trends, demography and so on.  The locals are already aware of and have well accepted these habits. When the outsider, who is unaware of these local habits, come in and notice them; they may feel strange sometimes, because they are trying to see these habits or traits through their own culture’s lens. Most of us see only the outward actions and behaviors that are only a tip of iceberg and we miss to look deep inside what lies below the surface. We should avoid passing the judgment based on what the tip of the iceberg represents.

Iceberg Model

When people are involved in the business, it is better to know the other’s culture to understand them well. Sometimes these help the individual to negotiate in a win-win situation. and so It bring competitive advantages for the business.