Question

Please answer the following question with at least 150 words,

1: A common English expression is "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". On page 5 of his book, Trompenaars mentioned a modified precept of the Japanese approach to culture: "When in Rome, understand the behavior of the Romans, and thus become and even more complete Japanese." What is this phrase suggesting people do in relation to cultural differences? Do you think that Americans could benefit from adopting this viewpoint? Why or why not?

2: Trompenaars says "A useful way of thinking about where culture comes from is the following: culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas". First, think about yourself individually and think how you might manage the following problems:

1 - paying the cost of your education 2 - taking care of elderly parents 3 - Choosing who to marry, Do you think others in your culture solve these problems in a similar way or not? Explain.

Answer 1

(1): The phrase “When in Rome, understand the behavior of the Romans, and thus become and even more complete Japanese” suggests that people, in relation to cultural differences, should focus on understanding the other culture and its nuances. Focus should be on understanding the unfamiliar cultural practices and perspectives before trying to do things in a manner that is being done in the new culture. This approach is a systematic approach and will help people to better adapt to the cultural differences, understand them and then work in the new culture in a manner that is appropriate both in the new cultural setting and also in their own cultural setting.

Yes, I strongly think that Americans will benefit from adopting this viewpoint. This is because this viewpoint focuses on cultural discovery and self-actualization. When both cultural discovery and self-actualization combine themselves then the chances of being successful in the new culture increases significantly and in a manifold manner. This also increases the competence level in the new culture.

(2): (i): Paying the cost of your education – To manage this problem I will focus on individualism. I will make the need to get educated an underlying premise and will then find out options that are available to me to fund the cost of my education. The options can be taking a student loan, working part time etc. By making the need to get educated an underlying premise I will ensure that the problem is approached and solved in a systematic manner and in time it disappears from my consciousness.

(ii): Taking care of elderly parents – To manage this problem I will make the need to take care of my elderly parents a basic assumption of life. This will define and give meaning to this need and I will be able to get to the core of the situation. This approach will ensure that there is no dilemma at all and that taking care of elderly parents is a basic fact of life.

(iii): Choosing who to marry – To manage this problem I will again focus on individualism. Getting married is a decision to be made at an individual level and hence choosing who to marry is also a decision to be made at an individual level. As such this dilemma can be solved by looking inward and then going outwards towards others. The individual need should be satisfied first before considering others like family members and their opinions.

No, others in my culture do not solve these problems in a similar way. This is because there is not too much focus on deeper values and norms and the level of awareness is not high. Beliefs are mostly unexamined and this leads to situations in which dilemmas are not optimally reconciled.