Culture Clash
Culture Clash
Emphasis on
intellectual achievement
starts during childhood'You might talk to Kevin about joining the softball team that will challenge other company-sponsored teams at the city-wide picnic," Grace Ridley told Sol Greenberg. "But remember that Kevin takes his softball very seriously." Sol replied, "My guess is that Kevin could do a lot better than me for his team. I never developed baseball or softball skills as a kid. There was a good youth sports program in my community, but my parents emphasized homework, extra reading beyond assigned work, and Hebrew classes at the Temple. Will there be a Jeopardy-type game at the picnic with a lot of questions about history?"
Sol's memories about his childhood are common among Jewish people. Education is highly valued, and so children's attention to homework takes precedence over community activities such as youth sports. The emphasis on education is a prominent part of Jewish culture. Given a long history of anti- Semitism and the frequency of pogroms, Jewish people are very sensitive about how they are viewed by others. Jewish parents often tell their children about their history and at the same time emphasize the future. "They can take away our money, they can take away our homes, but they cannot take away our education. This is why it is so important to be as well-educated as you can be." With this attention to doing well in school, Jewish people receive the education necessary to take their place among physicians, lawyers, journalists, university professors and other professionals.
One of my Jewish colleagues tells this story. He did well in high school and began to talk about taking a few years off to travel abroad and to get some work experience. One of his uncles asked him, "Do you really want to be the first person in your family that drops out of school and doesn't immediately go from high school to college? Do you want to be known as the family member who killed his father?" My colleague went to college and later received his doctoral degree.
I first became aware of this cultural emphasis when I was 14 years old. There was a religious retreat to which all Boy Scout troops in Western Massachusetts were invited. Troops put together teams that would answer questions about the Bible. The team I was on finished second to a troop sponsored by a synagogue. While there were many questions about the Old Testament, at least half of the questions asked about events and people in the New Testament. I remember saying to myself, "We were beat fair and square, and there must be something in the winning troop's education that allowed them to do so well."
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Special attention will be given to miscommunications caused by cultural differences. Each column will start with a short example of such confusion. Possible explanations will be offered to encourage thought about these issues.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration,
University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the
College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu