It is widely known that culture affects all aspects of an individual’s life, both personal and professional; it affects technology systems that are utilized, work structures, and even knowledge use (Long, 1997). Through the process of understanding how culture works to influence knowledge, behavior, and experience, business managers will be able to come up with suggestions and actions in order to adapt the culture of the organization in order to obtain specific results (Long, 1997). There are three main sources of influence upon an individual’s behavior, human nature, culture, and personality, and that the resulting behaviors of the individual are a product of those three different sources (Matsumoto, 2007). My cultural self is comprised of four different elements, friends, sports, education, and family; the knowledge, experience and behaviors that have resulted from these four different areas serve to make up my cultural self, and it is through an understanding of my cultural self that I am able to better utilize and manage my personal and professional lives.
Education has played a large part in shaping my cultural self; I have always loved to learn, and as such, my quest for learning never ends. With each new piece of information I process, I apply that information to my worldview, changing my thinking as needed, and differentiating between what is right and wrong based on this cumulative information. This drive for knowledge has helped me in all that I have set out to do, and though I have only been in school for fifteen years, I have learned as much as I possibly could, both in and out of school. While it is true that leveraging knowledge is not an end in and of itself, the experiences gained from that knowledge serve me well (Long, 1997). Education plays a large part in the way that an individual is able to function, not only within their personal life, but their professional life as well. Without an education not only are the choices for an individual far more limited, but their ability to deal with certain situations is limited as well. Education allows for the proper application of past knowledge to current situations, the creating of new and innovative solutions to common everyday problems, and the ability to extrapolate where potential situations may occur, planning for their eventuality and being able to work to sidestep many of the potential issues that may arise.
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My family has played a large role in the shaping of my cultural self as well. It is because of my family that I am what I am today; they have worked to shape me into a strong, responsible, and independent person. They have always encouraged me, stood by me, and wanted the best for me. Through the mixture of hard times and immense fun, they have always worked to teach me the difference between right and wrong, how to be polite, loving, and caring. Humans need to meet basic biological needs in order to stay alive and fully cohesive as a group, and my family has allowed me to meet those needs (Matsumoto, 2007). The use of encouragement as a motivator, the ability to know right from wrong, how to be polite, empathetic, and compassionate will likewise serve and individual well in all aspects of their life, allowing for an individual to get ahead both personally and professionally. Empathy and compassion serve as good ways to work to understand and assist friends and coworkers alike, as does the common courtesy aspect that is so often lacking in personal and professional dealings. The use of encouragement as motivation works for both handling issues with friends, and when working in a team or managerial capacity in one’s professional life. Finally, the ability to know right from wrong works to both assist an individual in keeping their job, and prevents them from getting in trouble in any potential extracurricular activities that the individual may have.
It is not just family that works to meet the basic biological needs of the individual, but friends as well, as humans are inherently social animals (Matsumoto, 2007). My friends have helped me become the fun loving person I am today; they give me the opportunity to be myself without fear of judgment or repercussion, and have stood by me no matter what. Another method in which the social aspect of humans has come to the forefront is sports, a group centric activity which allows for the use of power and the ability to create solutions in one’s environment (Matsumoto, 2007). The social aspects of an individual’s life work to ensure that they are able to function within a social setting, whether that setting be out in a pool hall with friends, or around the water cooler at work. The social individual is far more likely to get ahead than the antisocial individual who does their work but does not interact with anyone outside of that which is absolutely necessary.
Basketball is my preferred sport, played by two teams of five players, where strategy and teamwork are key. I have worked with my team, developing a bond between team members that has allowed us to win many tournaments, and has resulted in increased self-control, teamwork, and honesty in my everyday life. Team building is an essential part of any individual’s professional life, working to not only show that no type of work is out of reach, and the ability to work with all types of individuals. Self-control is another important factor, allowing an individual to get ahead or stay out of trouble either personally or professionally. Where another person may lose their control, causing issues either socially or in the workplace, whether with a manager, coworker, or customer, the individual with self-control will be able to take it all in stride, coming out on top while the other individual will fail.
Through the understanding of my cultural self and the main influencing factors, I am able to see the benefits that have resulted from these sources, allowing me to excel in not only my personal life, but my professional life as well, endowing me with characteristics that will allow me to go far. They allow for me to use my personal powers to get ahead in life, working to create solutions where others would only see issues and fail (Matsumoto, 2007). With an understanding of the cultural self of the individual, how the cultural self works to influence actions and behaviors, and an understanding of why individuals act the way that they act, it is possible to not only remain in control, but to turn strengths into true assets, exceeding all other expectations and truly working to flourish in daily life. While aspects of the cultural self may not always be assets, through a clear understanding of the cultural self it is possible to see when these aspects become weaknesses and utilize the knowledge of oneself and the situation in order to be able to succeed.
- Long, David De. “Building the Knowledge-Based Organization: How Culture Drives Knowledge Behaviors.” Center for Business Innovation, May 1997. Web. 29 Aug. 2013.
- Matsumoto, David. “Culture, Context, and Behavior.” 2007. Web. 29 Aug. 2013. http://davidmatsumoto.com
