Differences & Diversity

Cultural diversity is not something that is going away tomorrow, enabling us to plan our strategies on the assumption of mutual understanding. It is in itself a phenomenon with its own riches, the exploration of which could yield incalculable benefits for us, both in terms of wider vision and more profitable policies and activity. People of different cultures share basic concepts but view them from different angles and perspectives, leading them to behave in a manner which we may consider irrational or even in direct contradiction of what we hold sacred. We should nevertheless be optimistic about cultural diversity.
Comparisons of national cultures often begin by highlighting differences in social behaviour. Japanese do not like shaking hands, bow when greeting each other and do not blow nose in public. Brazilians form unruly bus queues, prefer brown shoes to black and arrive two hours late at cocktail parties. Greeks stare you in the eye, nod their head when they mean “no”, and occasionally smash plates against walls in restaurants.…