Cultural Profiles for Effective Workplace Communication - Alaska - Essay Example

Cultural Profiles for Effective Workplace Communication United States of America/Alaska Statistics Continent: North America Population: According to the 2006 U.S Bureau of the Census Population Estimate Program, Alaska has a population of approximately 670,000 people. Of this population, 67% are white, 16% Native American Indians, 4.6% Asians and 3.7% African Americans with 4.7% reporting more than one ethnicity (NNLM, 2009) Official language: Although there is no official language in Alaska primarily due to the different cultural backgrounds of the population, it is estimated that almost 90% of the population speak English whiles 5.2% speak one of several Native American Indian languages such as Yup’ik as well as the Inuit-Inupiaq family of languages. Other most commonly spoken languages are Spanish and Filipino. For the purpose of this study, the Inupiaq native will be the subject of this project. In particular, the project will find out the various cultural as well as language differences one needs to take into consideration when conducting business in the area. Currency: United States Of American Dollar ($) Nearest neighbours: By far the largest state of America in terms of its area, Alaska is bordered on the east by Canada and on the north by the Arctic Ocean and then in west and south by the Pacific Ocean with Russia further west across the Bering Straits (wikipedia.org, 2009) Major trade resources: Alaska has a rich deposit of natural resources in the state, making it one of the wealthiest state in the union by resources. The five major trade resources in Alaska are oil, diamond, gold, lumber and copper. Tourism is also an important trade resource for the state. Political structure: Just like all states in the union, Alaska is governed as a republic with 3 arms of government made up of an executive branch consisting of the governor and a ceremonial figurehead of a lieuternant governor as well as other elected constitutional officers. A legislative assembly which is the law making body consist of a house of representative and an upper chamber, the senate and a judicial branch which is responsible for adjudicating the laws of the state consist of the supreme court as well as other lower courts. Administratively, unlike other states in the US, Alaska is organised into boroughs rather than counties. There are 16 boroughs making up the state and remote areas not included in the borough are divided into census areas or what has been referred to as ‘unorganized areas’. The state’s most populous city is Anchorage which is home to 278,700 people in 2006. The capital of Alaska is Juneau. use this font for your caption/reference 1. Communication styles Alaska is a state with variety of ethnic groups and languages. In 2000, 2.5 million Americans described themselves as either American Indians or Alaskan Native representing various tribal entities. Thus to be able to communicate effectively, particularly from a business point of view, it is imperative that the cultural heritage of the people are taken into consideration. The Inupiaq tribe is one group whose cultural heritage needs to taken into consideration. This would help an organisation maximize its productivity with a high labour retension. The Inupiat are the farthest north aboriginal people in the world. They cover the broadest range of any of the four hundred plus Native American languages (NNLM, 2009). Inupiaq is spoken from Norton Sound on the north west coast of Alaska across Canada and into Greenland. Although there are slight differences in the way the language is spoken, they basically can understand each other. The people of Greenland and Canada call themselves the ‘Inuit’. With the increasing contact between Alaskans, Greenlanders and Canadian, the term Inuit and Inupiaq is used interchangeably. This uniqueness of the Inupiat at certain occasions brought them at odds with European settlers and westerners in general as was the case during the first half of the twentieth century. Native children were punished physically for speaking their native language, dancing or following traditions. Thus, among other things, the Inupiat would for instance converse at length with those he or she knows, watches and gives respect to those he does not know well. Traditionally, children listen and learn and did not answer or demonstrate skills unless they know the answer or were adept at the skills. As a result of this cultural tradition, non-native teachers often struggle in meeting their learning demands of the way they are brought up. Another example is that it is not acceptable for Inupiat to boast or speak of the future which makes it very difficult when they go for job interviews and they tend to think a bit longer before giving reply to questions. Another factor worth considering is the issue pertaining to language. Because the English is often the second language to the indigenous Inupiaq, people often needed more time to be able to make sense of what is being said in English before answering. The pace of language among the Inupiat tends to be slower within the cultural setting than in non-native cultures. Whiles silence in social interaction may feel uncomfortable to non-native speakers, Inupiat may not feel a pressing need for conversation when socializing. With these factors in mind, it is important to recognize that to be able to deal meaningfully with the people of a particular area, it is vital that the people’s heritage and unique cultural difference be carefully considered in order to effectively communicate with them as well as to them. The American Indian or Alaskan Natives represents part of a rapidly vanishing world of traditional culture. Their culture derived predominantly from a non-urban, pre-literate history. Knowledge is often passed on from one generation to another through the oral tradition of story telling. This will therefore require carefully identifying these unique features and adapting ideas so as to communicate effectively to them. Thus Effective communication requires appreciation as well as understanding these values and perspectives. 2. Rules and relationships The Inupiat people had a philosophy of life which they lived to the maximum. Each generation learnt these rules and philosophies by observing the way their parents lived. The elders of the communities were the teachers. For instance, if there were problems to discuss, the elders got together, discussed it and came to a consensus. They had rules when it came to child rearing (NNLM, 2009) Traditionally, parents communicated to their children through the indigenous language but more so, through facial and body expressions as well as tone of the voice. Consequently, children began learning the indigenous language at a very young age and when it came to discipline, quiet or unspoken form of correction was preferred by the Inuit and loud and verbal discipline was considered to be inappropriate and disrespectful. This is because they believed that yelling to a child as a disciplinary measure would result in the child being deaf to talk to or reason with as time went along. In addition, yelling was seen as disrespect to the name and personality of the child. Spanking when necessary was seen as a more favorably alternative. Spanking hurt the skin but yelling hurt the spirit. Before the advent of European Christian missionaries, native boys had a ‘school’ (gargi) where the elders taught them how to make implements as well as skills for hunting. The ‘gargi’ was a community hall for the people of the village. Whiles the boys were being schooled, the girls are usually at home learning from older women the skill of sewing, taking care of children and how to manage a household. Among the Inupiat, divorce usually required the approval of the community especially where children were involved. The Inupiat traditionally believed in re-incarnation and the recycling of spirit forms from one life to the next. For example, names of people who died recently are given to new born babies. 3. The group and the individual Nancy Fogel (1994) comments that Inupiaq women are not part of an urban underclass, rather, they have stable incomes from employment and craft production and are proud owners of homes (Fogel 1994). Many of the women see themselves as being part of the urban life as much as the traditional way of living. Hence, majority of the Inupiaq live and work in the major cities such as Juneau and Anchorage and regularly visit their traditional homes where they are expected to play their roles.Like most migrants to the area, Fogel reiterates that the Inupiat women often move to the city in response to opportunity that grew in the 1970s for example as a result of the enactment of the Alaska Native Claims Resettlement Act of 1971 and the flow of oil money into the state. Another aspect of the Inupiat way if living among the women is their sense of communality. This is founded on the concept of self and social relations which is very important to definition of what it is to be an Inupiat woman. Women are involved in mutual sharing networks in the city than men. It is thought that women, particularly those in professional or managerial positions on the other hand are less likely to sustain active sharing networks than those in craft production, administrative support or social services positions (Fogel, 1994). Thus it can be too difficult maintaining close ties when more people are involved. The less the people involved are, the best it will be for socialization. 4. According Status Tribal, village and clan affiliations are important to all American Natives. Many Inupiaq people introduce themselves, naming their parents and village. This becomes the initial opportunity to understand the unique background and family ties of a new person as well as a show of mutual respect. Thus when a person’s cultural heritage is uncertain but one assumes they are American Indian or Alaskan Native, it is imperative that they be treated with all respect. The key lies in remembering their communication styles. 5. Time orientation Whereas majority of global, literate, western cultures look forward to the future when it comes to time rientation, often looking to the minute linear way of assessing time, the people of Alaska and in particular, the American Indian or Alaskan Native look to the past often focusing on the seasonal and circular. Thus while it is common to see a native person in a modern appearance, often suggesting his modernity, his or her values may be much more traditional than global. And since the growth of knowledge from one generation to the next generation was rather minimal, the concept of time was cyclical rather than chronological- often linked to the structure of recurring seasons. Prior to their encounter with European, people rather than things were the crucial resource for the Inupiat. A number of studies consider time-sense is one of the most obvious cultural consequences of television on the social behaviour. In effect, television reinforced the identification of time as a commodity, the measurement and segment of which is reflected in economic and social relationships, emphasis on efficiency and activity and future orientation. 6. Tips for doing business in Alaska Alaska provides the perfect opportunity for businesses to be located there. Indeed, the vast reserve of natural resources presents an enticing pitch for many a business hoping to establish their presence in this part of North America. In planning to set up businesses there, one would have to take into account the following factors: Demographics of the state- this is very important as it will provide businesses the setting of the place they intend to set up their businesses. In particular, business will have to take into account the ethnic composition as well as the culture of the state. 69.3% of Alaskans are white, 15.6% Native Indians, 4.1% Hispanics, Asians forming 4% of the population and 3.5% being black (according to the 2000 population census). The capital is Juneau with other major cities such as Anchorage and Fairbanks. Understanding the key cultural values is very important to maintaining employer productivity and also engendering effective communication which is a vital ingredient to improved quality as well as quantity of production. According to the law firm, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in their guide to doing business in Alaska, the economy is primarily based on its natural resources. Oil and gas extraction accounts for almost half of the business which creates new wealth for the state. Alaska’s economy has remained stable despite the global and indeed nationwide volatility. As a result of this, the state has seen a steady increase in employment figures. Reference List 1. State Information For Alaska. National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region. http://nnlm.gov/pnr/characteristics/alaska.html date accessed 18th May 2009 2. Map of Alaska http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/north-america/usa/alaska/ date accessed 18th May 2009 3. Alaska http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska#cite_note-08CenEst-2 date accessed 18th May 2009 Communication Across Cultures : Tips For Orthopedic Interview With American Indians And Alaskan 4. Native Patients. http://www3.aaos.org/education/csmp/AmerIndAlaskNatCulturallyCompetentTips.cfm date accessed 18th May 2009 5. Inupiaq (Inupiat) – Alaskan Native Cultural Profile http://nnlm.gov/archive/20061109155450/inupiaq.html#language date accessed 18th May 2009 6. Fogel, Nancy (1994) Living In Both World: Inupiaq Women And Urban Life. http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/HistoryCulture/Inupiat/nfc1.html date accessed 18th May 2009 7. Establishing Business In Alaska http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/investments/pdf/EstablishingABusiness.pdf date accessed 18th May 2009 8. Mundi, Lex (2003) A Lawyer’s Guide To Doing Business In Alaska. http://www.lexmundi.com/images/lexmundi/PDF/guide_alaska.pdf date accessed 18th May 2009. 9. The Handy Guide To The Gurus of Management: Programme 13 – Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/handy/trompenaarsturner.pdf date accessed 18th May 2009 10. Trompenaar’s and Hampden-Turner’s Cultural Factors http://changingminds.org/explanations/culture/trompenaars_culture.htm date accessed 18th May 2009 11. Diversity and cultural issues in Alaska http://www.chems.alaska.gov/ems/Assets/AirMedCourse/EMS-N_Chapter12.pdf date accessed 22nd May 2009 Read More