UNDERSTANDING CULTURE

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE

Understanding a culture is like peeling an onion. It has several layers that can be peeled off to develop a keen insight of the culture. Broadly, we think in terms of following three layers:
(i) Outer layer
It is what other people associate with that culture, its visual realities:
1. Behaviour
2. Dress
3. Food
4. Language
5. Habitats
It is also referred to as the „Explicit Culture‟.
(ii) Middle Layer
It refers to the values and norms the community holds – these may be right or wrong, good or bad.
(iii) Inner Layer
It is the deepest level and understanding - it leads to the core of it. It is the key to working successfully with other cultures. The core consists of:
1. Basic assumptions
2. Rules
3. Methods of solving or coping with problems
These rules and methods become so embedded in the members who take to it much like breathing, without even stopping to think about them. It is very difficult for outsiders to recognize these. It is also known as the „Implicit Culture‟.