MN2235
LEARNING DIARY: REFLECTIONS ON
DEFINING CULTURE, GLOBALISATION,
AND CROSS-CULTURAL DECISIONMAKING
Abdul Rehman
Student ID: xxxxx
Word count: 1230
Table of Contents
1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 2
2
TOPIC 1 – DEFINING CULTURE .................................................................................................. 2
2.1
2.2
3
TOPIC 2 – GLOBALISATION AND CULTURE ............................................................................. 3
3.1
3.2
4
DEEP REFLECTION & PERSONAL INSIGHT .................................................................................. 2
APPLICATION OF THEORY TO EXPERIENCE ................................................................................. 3
DEEP REFLECTION & PERSONAL INSIGHT .................................................................................. 3
APPLICATION OF THEORY TO EXPERIENCE ................................................................................. 4
TOPIC 3 – CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON DECISION-MAKING ................................. 4
4.1
4.2
DEEP REFLECTION & PERSONAL INSIGHT .................................................................................. 4
APPLICATION OF THEORY TO EXPERIENCE ................................................................................. 4
5
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 5
6
REFERENCES: .............................................................................................................................. 6
7
BIBLIOGRAPHY: ........................................................................................................................... 6
1 Introduction
This learning journal acts as a guide of my intellectual and personal orientation in the
terrain of intercultural management. Through considering three key issues, namely,
the Defining Culture, Globalisation and Culture, and Cross-cultural Perspective on
Decision-Making, I will be able to demonstrate how I have shifted my perspectives in
terms of having a rigid and national view of culture to a dynamic and conscious one.
2 Topic 1 – Defining Culture
The module did not support the simplistic notion of equating culture with nationality
but presented more sophisticated models. Although the effect of national tendencies
is well-categorised by using the traditional models such as Hofstede dimensions
(Hofstede et al., 2010), it runs the risk of stereotyping.
Figure 1: Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
Source: Hofstede et al. (2010)
On the other hand, constructivist viewpoints, including the grammar of culture
described by Holliday (2018), would describe culture as a dynamic negotiated
process that arises as a result of particular social situations. This transformation of
the traditional, static, territorial thing into a dynamic, interactive practice is the
foundation of intercultural comprehension today.
2.1 Deep Reflection & Personal Insight
My first supposition was that culture was a predetermined national script, which fixed
behaviour- a supposition in the clichés of everyday speech, such as British reserve,
Italian passion. The analytical approach to the ideas of Holliday (2018) was
transformational. His point that we need to find culture in the unfamiliar and not the
familiar led to a serious re-consideration. I also realised that I have been applying my
own cultural standards as the invisible standard against which I have been othering
the non-congruous behaviours as deviations. This was the biggest revelation I had:
intercultural learning must start not with the naming of others, but by questioning our
own cultural perspective. It changed my attitude of watching to that of looking
inwardly. The concept of culture as contextual and practiced pushes me toward
humility that is the key to actual interaction and makes me question the sources of
my personal communication patterns and principles.
2.2 Application of Theory to Experience
This change in theory helped me in shedding light on a previous conflict in a
university project group with international students. The reason I had been so
stalemated was because of German straightness against Britain indirectness, a
standard categorical fallacy. I re-evaluated the case through the lens of situational
context offered by Holliday (2018), the root of the confrontation was not national
characteristics, but an undisclosed difference in our academic subcultures in terms
of debate, hierarchy, and meeting objectives. This re-framing is critical to the
management; it avoids stereotyping and focuses on the negotiating of a joint
procedural norm in various teams.
3 Topic 2 – Globalisation and Culture
Globalisation is not a cultural homogenisation process but a two-sided process of
worldwide circulation and regional adaptation. Although products and ideas are
spread by globalised media and multinational corporations (MNCs), local actors
practice so-called globalisation, i.e. they actively reinterpret and transform them to
suit the existing cultural frames (Barmeyer et al., 2021). This interaction creates
transcultural environments in which hybrid identities and practices are formed,
refuting the idea of pure and confined cultures and requiring a more complex
conceptualization of cultural agility in business.
3.1 Deep Reflection & Personal Insight
My former understanding of globalisation was very simplistic and in many ways
pessimistic, I used to think of a McDonaldisation of the world that is destroying
identities of unique cultures. The interaction with such a concept as glocalisation was
a significant correction. The examination of case studies, including the process of
streaming platforms like Netflix filling the libraries with regional content,
demonstrated that the process of negotiation was dynamic and not imposed. This
changed my mindset of what is lost in such exchanges to what is produced. It also
led to critical self-realization: being a consumer of global media, I belong to this
system. My preference of Korean dramas or Scandinavian noirs in the first place is a
transcultural act which implicitly re-defines my own aesthetic and narrative
expectations.
3.2 Application of Theory to Experience
This theory was in practice during a marketing internship. My team, leading an
international marketing campaign of a sports brand based on the success of
individuals, failed to succeed in one of the most important markets in Southeast Asia
in the first place. Through the glocalisation principle, we collaborated with the local
influencers to resell the narrative of community honour and shared desire related to
athletic success. It was not translation but cultural transcreation the direct
implementation of the creation of shared meaning (Barmeyer et al., 2021). It
highlighted the notion that cultural intelligence is vital in global management to know
when standardisation is not working, and local co-creation must be adopted.
4 Topic 3 – Cross-cultural Perspective on
Decision-Making
It is also found in studies of cross-cultural research that decision making is not a
universal rational process but is heavily influenced by the culturally conditioned
cognition. One of the major differences is between analytic thinking, which is rather
widespread in the West, where the decontextualisation of objects is prioritised and
the use of linear logic becomes prominent, and holistic thinking, which is prevalent in
such cultures as many East Asian, and is more focused on relationships, context,
and dialectical acceptance of contradiction (Nisbett, 2003; Barmeyer et al., 2021).
Such cognitive styles have a direct effect on preferences towards speed,
individualism, consensus and what constitutes a good decision in the first place.
4.1 Deep Reflection & Personal Insight
I subconsciously thought that my personal approach to decision making, which was
goal-oriented, argument-based, and oriented towards finding the one and only best,
was merely the sign of professional efficiency. Discovering holistic and dialectical
thinking became a great challenge to this ethnocentric supposition. I have also
realised that my impatience with long discussions or seeming indecisiveness in a
group was a conflict of cognitive constructs and not ability. This gave me a big wakeup call: my tendency to be analytically detached might be understood as cold or
uncongenial to the spirit of relationship in some cultures where the decision-making
process as such is an important instrument of team integration and face-saving. This
is the insight behind the intercultural competence; I should be able to actively
diagnose the cognitive rules of the game within a team and then interpret behaviour
or impose my own procedural favour before interpreting the behaviour or forcing my
procedural favour.
4.2 Application of Theory to Experience
This model explained a frustrating experience of a student consultancy project. Our
British and German colleagues insisted on a quick vote to end a stalemate, whereas
our Asian colleagues insisted on additional consultations on the level of informality. I
viewed this as impediment. Re-interpreting through the Nisbett lens of analytic
(isolate problem, decide) and holistic (consider wider group dynamics, preserve
harmony) approaches (Lee, 2017), I concluded that there was a conflict between the
two. This means to the future management that it will have to explicitly negotiate with
the what, but the how of decision-making processes that is culturally sensitive in
order to develop inclusive efficacy.
5 Conclusion
This journey has transformed my view of culture from static to dynamic. By
integrating theories of fluid identity, glocalisation, and cognitive diversity, I now see
intercultural competence as ongoing reflective practice. I will actively use this lens to
navigate ambiguity and build inclusive collaboration in all future professional
engagements.
6 References:
Barmeyer, C., Bausch, M., & Mayrhofer, U. (2021). Constructive intercultural management:
Integrating cultural differences successfully. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Caligiuri, P. (2021). Build your cultural agility: The nine competencies of successful global
professionals. Kogan Page
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of
the mind (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Holliday, A. (2018). Understanding intercultural communication: Negotiating a grammar of
culture (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Nisbett, R. E. (2003). The geography of thought: How Asians and Westerners think
differently... and why. Free Press.
Lee, H-J. (2017). Thinking style across cultures: An interview with Richard Nisbett. Cross
Cultural & Strategtic Management, 24(1), DOI:10.1108/CCSM-10-2016-0181
Ryan, M. (Ed.). (2015). Teaching reflective learning in higher education: A systematic
approach using pedagogic patterns. Springer.
Thomas, D. C., & Peterson, M. F. (2018). Cross-cultural management: Essential concepts.
(4th ed.). Sage Publications
7 Bibliography:
Brett, J. M. (2014). Negotiating globally: How to negotiate deals, resolve disputes, and make
decisions across cultural boundaries (3rd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Fook, J., & Gardner, F. (2012). Critical reflection in context: Applications in health and
social care(2nd ed.). Routledge.
Jackson, J. (2023). Introducing language and intercultural communication (3rd ed.).
Routledge.
Kimmons, R., & Rosenberg, J. M. (2022). Trends and topics in educational technology, 2022
edition. TechTrends, 66(2), 134–140.
Livermore, D. (2022). Digital, diverse & divided: How to talk to racists, compete with robots,
and overcome polarization. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
McMillan, K., & Weyers, J. (2013). How to improve your critical thinking & reflective skills.
Pearson.