Euro-Americans Chapter 3

Symbol – EuroAmerican Man

Symbol–EuroAmerican Woman

What do you know about Euro-Americans? A dominant Euro-American value is putting membership in an ingroup ahead of self-interest. Most Euro-Americans tend to see situations in black-or-white terms. Euro-Americans value just “being” even more than doing. The dominant Euro-American view of humans and nature is that we must live in harmony with nature. Euro-Americans in general tend to develop a few deeply committed friendships rather than many friends. (Qs 6 and 7 – later)

Typical American Worldviews I Control Conquering nature Progress, change Rationalism Scientific method Facts, practicality Measuring things Quantifying things Either-Or thinking Future Oriented Interdependent

Typical Personal Values Individualism, me-first Achievement Self-reliance Assertiveness Work hard—play hard Material success Freedom Equality Self-improvement Keeping busy Staying young

Typical relationship customs Friendliness Generosity Many casual friends Arm’s-length closeness Competition Cooperative achievement Fair play Specialized roles Directness Informality

Process for Learning About Other Cultures & Building Interaction Skills (Steps 4 & 5) What are their barriers to career success?------------ How did it get this way?- What’s going on now?—- What’s it like to be you?- What skills do I need to interact with these employees?-------- How can I apply my new knowledge and practice multicultural skills?----> Myths vs reality that reflect stereotypes, prejudices Background or evolution of situation Current profile Current cultural themes, patterns, issues Leadership Challenges & Opportunities Exercises and cases

SAA 3.2 Corp Culture Questions Corporate cultures need heroes mainly because people love a good story. Strong corporate cultures are on their way out.

Strong Corporate Cultures A few clearly defined & enforced values and norms A few shared values & expectations Leader actions consistent Authoritarian – more rules, more rigid Flexible – allow for more individuality fewer rules, rigid only on the basics

Weak Corporate Cultures No clear set of beliefs about how to succeed No rank-ordered priority of values is communicated No overriding common values are held by the different subcultures Role models don’t reinforce values Rituals of everyday work life - disorganized or contradictory People do own thing or work at cross-purposes, undermining each other

Skill Builders 3.2 Interviewing employees & managers – Project 1 interviews 3.3 Learning about Org Culture- Project 2 Diversity Audit 3.4 Assessing Fit - yours with the corp culture you asses – can do for ex credit 3.1 Support Networks Case