THE INTERCULTURAL DILEMMAS
published by Jinu Jayapalan
ABSTRACT
Cross-cultural encounters can be challenging when you cross the borders. What is normal in one culture will be Completely different in another culture. There are chances of having misunderstandings and issues when doing business between two completely different cultural backgrounds. Such mistakes could lead to broken business deals, dispirited client relationships and missing project deadlines. The directness of one culture could be sometimes seen as an aggressive behavior for another. The indirectness or “face-saving” behavior of some of the Eastern cultures will be considered as immature and chary during cross-cultural interactions. This ‘intercultural dance’ continues to create challenges for cross-cultural creativity and teamwork. This article is an attempt to figure out the dilemmas one has to undergo while crossing the cultures.
KEYWORDS: Intercultural competence, cross-cultural dilemmas, adaptation, intercultural training
Introduction
The improved access to global destinations poses new opportunities and challenges to the society. The opportunity to travel and interact with different people across the world, to initiate trade and political collaborations, to study and research in different parts of the world are some of the merits of globalization. But when we cross the borders, we still carry our own perceptions and habits influenced and practiced in our homeland. Even though all human beings belong to one species, they are Ethnically different. ‘Only about 10 percent of the countries of the world are ethnically homogeneous’ (Naisbitt 1994, P.39)
When you visit a foreign country, you are the foreigner there and some of your mannerisms and behavior would be inappropriate in that culture. The old tribal approach against strangers still prevails in most of our daily life. The contradicting actions and behaviors will be viewed as a sign of threat or insult. Even a simple gesture conveys different meanings in different cultures. This could create a cultural shock and lead to many costly mistakes. ‘What a man eats and drinks, and how he does so, what sorts of sexual behavior he engages in, how he builds a house or draw a picture or rows a boat, what subjects he talks about or remain silent about, what music he makes, what kinds of personal relationship he enters into and what kinds he avoids – all depend in part upon the practices of the group of which he is a member’ (Skinner 1953, p. 415)
.Even if you have collected some quick travel tips and cultural information from a colleague who recently visited a foreign country, it will not be enough. Each experience is different and every travel will give you a unique cultural encounter. According to R D Laing’s words ‘since each person experiences any event, however public that event maybe, in his own way, experience even of public events can be said therefore to be ‘private’ in a qualified sense’ (Laing 1969, p. 35)
A dilemma in the preparation
Whenever you travel to a new place try to do a basic research about the place. You could read books, internet articles and watch videos to understand the local customs and culture. Language is the key you can make friends quickly. Even if you are a novice who is struggling with sloppy grammar, most of the people will understand and try to help you in a majority of the European cities. Willingness to learn and use local language and flexibility to adopt new things are essential tools required in your in your ‘survival kit’. Denmark is ranked top as the world’s most peaceful countries in the world as per the Global peace index. There are a lot of articles that state on the unfriendly nature of the Danes. According to InterNations, a leading network for expats around the world, an astounding 68 percent of expats in Denmark reported difficulty in making local friends. The Danes are getting along well in the streets and public transport enjoying the companionship of their known friends but they try to avoid new friendships. They believe in long-lasting relationships and not in short-term companionships. This has created an icy image on them. But my personal experience in Copenhagen was a bit different than the article. The Danes I met there are friendly and helpful whenever I was in a need. Maybe they do not smile at you or give eye contact always, but if you ask for some information they will help you and also will initiate good conversation. They are not totally reserved as I read in many articles. The Germans normally show a neutral emotion on their face in a public place or while traveling in public transport. But a formal greeting may normally ignite a dialogue with them provided you have some German language skills. The Italians are more open to meeting new people and making new friends. In France, you need to speak good French or near-native level French to get a friendly attention. The knowledge about some of the important cultural specific behavior of the local people will help to reduce the dilemma while preparation to meet a new culture.
The dilemma with experiencing the ‘W’ curve
Culture shock is an experience one has to go through while traveling to a totally different culture. The experience of culture shock will vary from person to person. ‘Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of the water. No matter how broad-minded or full of goodwill you may be, a series of props have been knocked from under you, followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety’. (Oberg, 1960)
Gandhi in his autobiography clearly mentioned about his culture shock when he first reached London. ‘I would continually think of my home and country. My mother’s love always haunted me. At night the tears would stream down my cheeks, and home memories of all sorts made sleep out of the question. It was impossible to share my misery with anyone. And even if I could have done so, where was the use? I knew nothing that would soothe me. Everything was strange – the people, their ways, and even their dwellings. I was a complete novice in the matter of English etiquette and continually had to be on my guard. There was the additional inconvenience of the vegetarian vow. Even the dishes that I could eat were tasteless and insipid.’ (Gandhi, 1983 reprint, p. 24)
In Future Shock, Alvin Toffler made comments on the unprepared visitor. According to Toffler, ‘culture shock is the effect that immersion in a strange culture has on the unprepared visitor. Peace Corps volunteers suffer from it in Borneo or Brazil. Marco Polo probably suffered from it in Cathay. Culture shock is what happens when a traveler suddenly finds himself in a place where yes may mean no, where a ‘fixed price’is negotiable, where to be kept waiting in an outer office is no cause for insult, where laughter may signify anger. It is what happens when the familiar psychological cues that help an individual to function in society are suddenly withdrawn and replaced by new ones that are strange or incomprehensible’. (Toffler, 1970)
Figure 1. Source: Furnham and Bochner, Culture Shock: Psychological reactions to unfamiliar environments, Methuen, 1986, p. 135
As per the W curve model above Figure 1, a sojourner would go through different phases when he starts to live in a new country. His motivation and expectation are high at the initial period, also known as the honeymoon period. After some time, he will see the obvious difference and separation which leads to a period of culture shock. He could revive this phase by engaging with new friends, accepting the difference and by trying to integrate with the new culture. When he comes back to his own country after a long time, he has to face the reverse culture shock or the re-entry shock. I heard the experience from my friends that the re-entry shock is much stronger than the initial culture shock and some of my personal experiences also confirm it. One has to go through an experience similar to that of the fairy tale protagonist Rip Van Winkle. Your native people will look at you in a totally different perspective and you might face a dilemma in conflicting values and everything seems to be changed or unacceptable.
This is a normal situation for most of the expats. ‘A successful cultural learner should exhibit a typical W curve, an experienced culture traveler should show a flat curve and unsuccessful culture learners a declining curve during the visit and a raising one after re-entry’. (Oomkees and Thomas, 1992, P.240)
Dilemma regarding following the rules and being sequential
The attitude towards following the rules and regulations are different in various cultures. There are extreme positions in some countries where rules are totally ignored and countries where rules are strictly followed. Let us consider the example of India and Germany as a comparison.
In Germany, people have a strong attitude towards following the rules. During the road crossings, they wait to see the green light for the pedestrians even if the road is empty. I think there is angst in their mind to follow the rules and to make everything in the order. When someone is not following the rules in his or her country, he or she will notice it and have a word with them. In India, the rules are not always strictly followed, at least on the roads (there are exceptions). Travelers from abroad mostly comment on the traffic and the constant honking during the traffic. In Germany, during such a traffic situation the drivers assume that some accident has happened so they will wait for further instructions and rarely use a horn. In India, there are traffic rules, but the riders sometimes follow their own rules as long as there are no accidents. ‘Then there is the rather fuzzy way of following rules, particularly those of the road. Queues are often jumped, and the concept of privacy of time and space isn’t understood in the same way as it is in the West’ (Ranjini Manian and Shobha Naidu, 2009)
Dilemma on language
Dilemma regarding the use of language prevails almost everywhere. A single language may have a difference in the accent, usage and convey different meanings in the same country. The German widely spoken in the northern part of Germany will be different from that of Munich and Austria. The Hindi widely spoken in the north of India will be different when it is used by someone coming from the southern part of India. In Kerala the southern state of India, its vernacular language Malayalam has many accents and meanings in different districts within the state. The usage of slangs in different parts of the United States makes the communication difficult for a traveler for the first time. The importance of German language is highly increased in India. The Goethe Institute has started German language courses in different parts of the country. The students, nurses and IT professionals in India are making use of this facility to expand their service to Germany. ‘India is not, as you may imagine, a distant, strange, or, at the very utmost, a curious country. India for the future belongs to Europe, it has its place in the Indo-European world, it has its place in our own history, and in what is the very life of history, the history of the human mind.’ (Max Muller)
The ancient language of India, the Sanskrit is now studied in German schools while in India it is a rare study. ‘Professor Dr. Axel Micheals, head of classical Indology at the University of Heidelberg said that, when they started the course 15 years ago, they were almost ready to shut it after a couple of years. Instead, they had to increase strength and take the course to other European countries. Unable to cope with the flood of applications from around the world, the South Aisa Institute, University of Heidelberg, had to start a summer school in spoken Sanskrit in Switzerland, Italy and – believe it or not – India too’.(http://www.dailymail.co.uk)
Sometimes even the difference in grammatical usage plays a striking role in cultural behavior. In most of the German words, the verb is positioned at the end of the sentence. There are many jokes about it. For example, we don’t know if a German is going to kiss you or kill you because we have to wait until that person finishes the sentence. Also, the Germans laugh very slowly after listening to a joke because they have to wait until the sentence is finished.
Dilemma on the subtleness of a message
Some cultures speak very directly and there is nothing to read in between the lines. Even if it is a negative comment they just tell it bluntly in front of others. ‘The assumption is that no matter how much it hurts, the “truth” is good for you, and it is a sign of strength and maturity to give and take negative feedback. In the United States, “Face-saving” is widely regarded as petty or immature’. (Pascale & Athos, 1981)
There are cultures that do not appreciate receiving direct comments in front of others, they follow the practice of ‘face saving’ to avoid conflicts and maintain harmony with the group. Edward T Hall refers these two styles as High context and Low context orientation. It is really interesting to consider the subtleness of the British. Though a majority of the European culture follow the direct approach, the British is famous for their subtlety and indirectness. An article by the INSEAD professor Erin Meyer mentioned about the difficulties that come across between the Dutch and British communications. The Dutch are very direct (Low context). A subtle comment like “your project is very interesting” by the Brits actually mean that they don’t like the project but the Dutch will perceive it as they are impressed by the project. Another example is the British comment “Please think about that idea some more” would give the impression to the Dutch that the idea is good and keep developing it, but the actual British meaning is that it is not a good idea and don’t do it. (Erin Meyer, 2014)
The dilemma with culture-specific behaviors
There are certain cultural specific norms that might surprise a sojourner. In France, we have to say ‘Bon Jour’ to everyone while passing them by the street. In India, not everyone will appreciate a greeting on the road if they are complete strangers and never say a greeting to an unknown woman. The Japanese value silence as important as normal talking. It has specific meaning and purpose of use. The interesting Japanese word “ma” for which there is no English equivalent, is used similarly to a pause or a break in between a sentence. ‘Ma pertains to a space in time with the meaning of an interval or pause. A very famous Japanese poem is written: Spring (ma) is down. The Japanese treat the parenthetical ‘ma’ as we would a punctuation mark. It is unspoken. However, ma directs the reader to stop and conjure up all thought and images of spring. Having done so, he is ready to proceed, bringing all his mental pictures of spring to juxtaposition with the poem’s next words, “is down.” Symbolically, ma tells the reader to pause, wait, and experience before proceeding’ ((Pascale & Athos, 1981)
. The Germans do things as per clearly defined plans. Every meeting should have an agenda and this is reflected in all their interactions. One interesting cultural tip is never to try to break a conversation between two Germans. In India, it is perfectly fine for a person to interrupt a conversation between two friends. If they continue to discuss without giving attention, it will offend the person. The Germans never tolerate if someone tries to interrupt their conversation and he or she will express it very directly. It is customary that after finishing their talk they will look around and initiate talk with others. You just have to wait until the conversation is over, just like the German sequential way of doing things; one at a time.
There are also differences in the dining of many cultures. The French must take extensive lunch hours from one to two hours and they really enjoy their lunchtime than Dinner. One of my friends told me that in Arabian countries there will be a lot socializing and talking before the food is served and once the dinner is over immediately everyone will leave the place. In India before the dinner, there will be a lot of socializing between people and after the dinner, they continue to talk for some time before leaving. In India when someone calls you for a party the host has to spend the money for the food and arrangements but in France, the guests have to bring their own food and drinks and the host will arrange few snacks and a place for having the party.
Dilemma on the usage of words
The word coziness in English has some interesting variants across cultures. For example, the German “Gemütlichkeit “, the meaning you can find in the dictionary as coziness, comfort, friendliness, peace of mind and happiness etc… but there is no direct English translation for that word. ‘Gemütlichkeit is a feeling or atmosphere of coziness and harmony which most Germans hanker after and which they have to cultivate carefully since it is basically not compatible with their meticulous neatness. When order has prevailed at the end of the day, when the dishes have been stacked away, when stress and tension have been blocked out, when the problems of the world have been relegated to some distant corner of the consciousness, the Germans feel a need to retreat into the womb of their own four walls or of their local pub, and over a beer or two, feel at tone with their surroundings’(Stern Susan, 2000)
The Swedish word “Gemytlig”, The Italian “Comodità” and The Spanish “Comodidad” conveys the same idea but experience in their own ethnic ways. The Danish word “Hygge” represents a feeling of coziness. But is it just same as the German gemütlichkeit? I believe that in hygge there is a more social element included than the gemütlichkeit and hence it may stand closer with the Dutch “Gezelligheid” which means coziness, warmth, and comfort being at home, or with friends or loved one sharing time in a pleasant and nice atmosphere. For the Danes, ‘hygge’ is one of the key values that tell about the way they understand and characterize themselves, just like the Americans believe in individual freedom, the French in their gloire and the Germans for their order and precision. ‘To me, hygge is: meeting my sister for a walk in the park, chatting, laughing and clowning around, as if we were children again, listening to the rain on the roof with a cup of tea and my boyfriend next to me, drinking wine in my mum’s garden, enjoying a cup of coffee with good friends, that becomes a dinner, that becomes a late-night drink, because no one wants the evening to end’. (Marie Tourell Søderberg, 2016)
Dilemma with Mythology
The myths and archaic symbols influence the daily life of a cultural society. Their cultural ethos will be intertwined with such beliefs and religious practices. The mythology of the Greeks, Egyptians, and Indians and its relevance in shaping the culture unveil many cultural explanations on their behavior and attitude towards nature and society. The Dutch social psychologist Professor Geert Hofstede has given valuable definitions for symbols, heroes, and rituals. ‘Symbols are words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning that is recognized as such only by those who share the culture’. Heroes are persons, alive or dead, real or imaginary, who possess characteristics that are highly prized in a culture and thus serve as models for behavior. Rituals are collective activities that are technically superfluous to reach desired ends but that, within a culture, are considered socially essential’.(Hofstede Geert,2010)
The impact made by Homer to the Greeks from his epics Iliad and Odyssey is similar to that of Ramayana and Mahabharata to the Indian society. ‘The Ramayana and Mahabharata are certainly great epics: I recall with much joy how my own life was vastly enriched when I encountered them first as a restless youngster looking for intellectual stimulation as well as sheer entertainment’. (Sen Amartya, 2005)
The rituals and religious practices followed by different parts of India have extensive use of symbolism and unique dance forms conveying different meanings. Also, the concepts like numerology, astrology etc… are strongly linked with the Indian religious practice. This creates a high influence on the early childhood of an Indian and such practice will influence his view of the society and his future life. According to Carl G Jung the unconscious takes note on the things we see, hear, smell and taste which we consciously experienced and forgotten but such subliminal sense perception plays a big role in our daily lives. ‘The collective unconscious – so far as we can say anything about it at all, appears to consist of mythological motifs or primordial images, for which reason the myths of all nations are its real exponents. In fact, the whole of mythology could be taken as a projection of the collective unconscious’ (Jung, 1970)
In any culture, there exists a cultural hero, myths, symbols, rituals and other cultural artifacts that closely bind with their daily life. So before traveling or interacting with a new culture, it is always good to have some knowledge about their traditions and culture. It helps you to improve your relationship with someone from a different culture and also to understand their views towards the society.
Festivals also play an important role in cultural life. Even the celebrations that we think are common; like the New Year and Christmas are celebrated slightly different in many cultures. It is also noticed that many of the cultural specific festivals are now celebrated in different parts of the world by different nationalities. A small village in the northern part of Germany named Vechta is celebrating the annual Indian festival Holi actively participated by the Germans and other Europeans.
The dilemma with changing Habits
Even small habits may observe as cultural. For instance, once I was doing a power point presentation in Germany and I noticed few comments and unusual smiles during the session. I asked my German colleagues after the session and found that it was about my pen I tucked in the pocket of my shirt. They asked whether it is common in India. They told me that once they attended a meeting in Bangalore and there also they saw one presenter puts his pen in the same way I did. Then only I noticed it. I haven’t seen any of the Germans or even other Europeans in the group had kept the pen in that way. So I enquired where they keep the pen. “Of course inside the pocket of our pants!” was the answer. So I stopped keeping my pen in my shirt pocket. When back in India I still saw my friends keeping the pen in their shirt pockets as normal. What is normal in one culture is completely different in a different culture.
There is nothing right or wrong in it, just two perspectives. ‘Each culture has its own set of goods, and what is good in one culture has its own set of goods, and what is good in one culture may not be good in another. What is good for the Trobriand Islander is good for the Trobriand Islander and that is that. ‘(Skinner 1971, p. 127)
My Mexican professor shared one of his experiences in Germany regarding the problem of using gestures. He used to have a habit of clasping his hands followed by a short clap and then swing the hands lightly in the air on both sides. He used to do this when he felt bored while waiting for the bus. He did the same in Germany while he was waiting for the bus. Suddenly the ladies waiting at the bus stop just moved away from him. He later came to know that such a gesture is considered obscene in Germany.
The dilemma with cultural negotiations
Negotiation is one of the most problem-prone areas when it comes to two or more cultures. ‘Members of different cultures see negotiations differently’ (Woodrow & Moore, 2010)
All the behaviors and gestures displayed around the negotiation table are subjected to individual judgments. Negotiation is a daily challenge and practice in India. It starts from the home itself, with the fisherman/women who come daily to their home, with the local vegetable vendor, the Kirana shops etc… so it became a part of the Indian society in many ways that even sellers are aware of it. They are not expecting us to accept the first price. It starts with a grapevine and then a fight over the price to bring it down to a mutually accepted range. Only big and branded shops are enjoying an exception. Holidays and festivals across the world create different meaning and relevance to the society. There are a lot of holidays, social and religious festivals in India. There are unexpected political strikes, demonstrations, and hartals where the shops will be closed and no transportation available for the day. This could suspend a day’s work. Some of the holidays for festivals and religious practices extend more than a day. In India, a person has to be in charge in many of family and social obligations like a cousin’s marriage or hospitalization of parents.
While most of the western cultures opt for planned holidays or vacation, a planned holiday in India is always rare. Most of the MNCs are now trying to meet the challenges by negotiating the holidays with their clients and as per the law in India, some national holidays are paid double wages and also a compensatory off day. Cultures that enter into a transaction with India should account these factors.
The dilemma with respect to Time
There are cultures that consider time as money; American anthropologist Edward T Hall calls them as monochronic cultures. This means that they have a linear time orientation, where only one thing can be done at a time. In a monochronic culture, time is precious and punctuality is an indispensable part of their daily work life. Countries like United States, Canada, Germany, Netherlands and other Northern European countries are following monochronic time orientation.
Edward T Hall also explained on polychronic cultures. Polychronic cultures prefer to do many things at the same time; they follow a cyclical time orientation. They will not stay on the schedule but spent more time in socializing and building strong business relationships. The Spanish siesta or the Mexican mañana could be deciphered by relating this time orientation concept. Mañana means ‘tomorrow’ or ‘in the indefinite future’ in Spanish. The Mexicans do not believe in the ‘time is money’ concept like many other cultures. There is an old Mexican saying “North Americans live to work, but Mexicans work to live”.
The Spaniards have their own time orientation. They are not always in hurry. For centuries they are practicing the siesta. They stop their work each day for a few hours to rest. It will help them to escape the afternoon heat and let them have long night time. Siesta brings a sense of calm and peacefulness to the daily busy lifestyle. Between 2 pm to 5 pm, Spain shuts down its business to allow its populace to rest after a long and hectic morning time and prepare for the busy afternoon. They consider the midday as a delicate time which is not good for business. Thierry Paquot in his work, The Art of Siesta wrote that ‘No serious undertaking is suited to this moment of the day’ (Thierry Paquot, 1998, P.24)
According to a report from the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (SEMERGEN) a short nap after the lunch has good health benefits like reducing stress, improve alertness and memory, help cardiovascular functions etc… Recently the culture of ‘siesta’ in a different form is now adopted by big companies as part of their employee motivation and improving efficiency. Google provides nap pods for its employees, the American worldwide transportation network company Uber’s headquarters have a lot of nap rooms, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) also provides nap pods in order to recharge their employee’s focus and performance.
Dilemma with Identity
The globalization and mobility have kindled enormous opportunities for people across the world for work, study and settle down their lives. This has created a shift from ethnocentric to ethno-relative mindset for them. They can accept and integrate into the new culture quickly. As a result, the cultural challenges have entered into a new dilemma on their variable identity. Someone who lived his early childhood in India, studied in the United States, worked in China and the Netherlands for years and then settle in Italy will have a different identity from someone who studied and lived in Italy. Similarly, there are a lot of possible cultural permutations and combinations in the identity of a person. It will be easy to fall into the trap of stereotyping in such cases. For example, a person who looks like a Chinese need not necessarily born and brought up in China. ‘Difference between people no longer correlates closely with the geographical background. The address on the application form may be purely temporary anyway’. (Toffler Alvin, 1971)
Dilemma on the future
Even though the engagement with different cultures is challenging, diversity offers the fruits of global innovation and teamwork in dealing with challenges in the field of technology, medicine, IT, Economics, Business, health industry and almost everywhere. Many practices that are followed by one culture are now widely used everywhere in the world. For example, Ayurveda and Yoga, economic and management principles like Game theory, Kaizen, TQM are now widely used across the world. The use of ‘diaspora creativity’ acts as a catalyst for finding innovative solutions to the most pressing problems in international organizations. This creatively blended ‘cultural collage’ that embodies the innovative elements of divergent cultures is indispensable for the development of a sustainable future.
There will be a lot of misunderstandings and mistakes at the beginning of an intercultural interaction. According to Umberto Eco, even misunderstandings between cultures could lead to interesting creative possibilities. ‘Misunderstandings can take place inside a given culture. They can also take place between different cultures when people are unable to understand that these cultures have different languages and world visions. The fact that—through serendipity—those mistakes have led to new discoveries means only that even errors can produce interesting side effects’ (Eco, Umberto, 1998)
Culture is not constant; it is evolving and changing over generations. ‘While maintaining his basic integrity as a personality, the individual is constantly changing. His character, his search for himself, his growing demands and ability to find new reserves in himself in the sphere of social and cultural activity are determined and manifested in these changes.’ (Arnoldov I A, 1988)
Pankaj Ghemawat, the economist, author, and professor of strategic management said that we are living in a semi-globalized world. It means that the cultural challenges will continue to create challenges in the world. The need for a high level of cultural quotient (CQ) will be an essential skill required for the current and future global job market. The more you learn about other cultures, the more you learn about your own culture and yourself. It will help you to understand your fellow human beings, to work together as a team composing creativity and to bring innovative and sustainable solutions for the society.
References:
Naisbitt John, Global Paradox, 1994, Avon Books, P.39
Skinner B F, Science and human behavior, 1953, Macmillan, P. 425
Liang, R D, Self and others, 1961, Pelican, P. 35
Oberg Kalervo, Cultural Shock: Adjustment to new cultural environments, Practical Anthropology 7: P.177-182
Gandhi M K, An Autobiography or The story of my experiments with truth, 1983 reprint, Dover publications
Toffler Alvin, Future Shock, 1971, Pan Books P.19
Oomkes R Frank and Thomas H Richard, Cross-cultural communication a trainer’s manual, 1992, Gower, P. 240
Manian Ranjini and Naidu Shobha, India: A cross-cultural overview of intercultural competence, The SAGE handbook of intercultural competence, SAGE, P.242
Muller Max F, India what it can teach us?, Penguin, P. 13
Pascale Tanner Richard and Athos G Anthony, The art of Japanese management, 1981, Warner Books, P. 158
Ibid P. 143
Meyer Erin, How to say this is crap in different cultures, Harvard Business Review, February 25, 2014
Stern Susan, These strange German ways, 2000, Atlantik-Bruecke, P. 50
Søderberg Tourell Marie, Hygge The Danish art of happiness, 2016, Penguin, P. 10
Hofstede, Geert, Hofstede, Gert Jan, Minkov, Michael, Cultures and Organizations – Software of the mind, 2010, McGraw hill, P.7
Sen, Amartya, The argumentative Indian, 2005, Penguin publishers P.3
Jung G Carl, (1970), Structure and Dynamics of the psyche, The collected works of C G Jung, vol.8, Routledge
Skinner B F, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, 1971, Pelican, P.127
Moore W Christopher, Woodrow J Peter, Handbook of global and multicultural negotiation, 2010, Jossey – Bass P.30
Pacquot Thierry, The art of the Siesta, 1998, translated by Hollings Ken, Marion Boyars publishers P.24
Arnoldov I A , Man in the world of culture, The Philosophical conception of man, 1988, Progress Publishers, P.254
Toffler Alvin, Future Shock, 1971, Pan Books P.91
Eco Umberto, Serendipities language and lunacy, 1998, Columbia University Press P.53