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Cultural Analysis

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Cultural Analysis

To understand a particular nation's culture and business behavior, we use cultural

metaphors to appropriate the culture of that particular nation. The cultural metaphor refers to the

major activities, phenomena, and institutions that the country's citizens identify with emotionally

or cognitively to describe the national culture and an in-depth frame for reference. Quantigration

Inc. is a company based in the United States of America, and the company deals with the

manufacture of laptops and mobile phone chips. To understand the business culture in

Quantigration, Inc., one needs to understand the general culture of the United States and how it

affects the business culture.

Cultural metaphors have been used for cultural appropriation of a nation and as a

competitive business strategy in the corporate world. Using cultural metaphors, one can shape

the identity of a business since they represent the values of that culture. An example of such

cultural identity in the United States of America is American football. Studies suggest that

people's experiences and thinking are based on cultural metaphors, and it implies that people

often compare unfamiliar situations to the comprehensively familiar to understand the

unfamiliar.

American football

In the book Understanding Global Cultures by Michael Gannon, the author uses

American Football to metaphor American culture. According to Gannon, to understand

American culture, one must understand American football[ CITATION Gan01 \l 1033 ]. He argues

that American Football is an image of American society, what it stands for, and its values and

views about other cultures and traditions. American Football is the most popular sport in
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America, making a good metaphor for the American culture because it is mainly unique to

American society. The rules and nature of American football express the underlying cultural

values of American society.

American society has been described as a melting pot of different cultures. The American

culture is a result of many cultures coming together. Many immigrant families from all over the

world moved to the United States for many reasons, bringing along with them cultural influences

of their native countries and contributing to the American culture. American cultural values

include; hard work, equal opportunity, sacrifice, and courage elements present in American

Football. For example, sacrifice is a national value in American culture since most immigrants

who moved and settled in America left their countries for better lives while some were slaves. It

takes sacrifice to leave one’s home and start a new life in a foreign country. Former slaves also

displayed sacrifice through the struggle and fight for freedom and equal rights. Today, people

still leave their countries to move to America in search of a better life or what is famously termed

as the American dream contributing to the American culture with the cultural influences from the

native countries. Hard work is also another value of the American culture. People go to America

with a mindset of hard work and taking advantage of the opportunities that they lack in their

native countries. Many immigrant communities living in the United States of America had to

brave treacherous journeys to the new world. Many of them traveled through rough seas to get to

America in the old days. Today, people are subjected to rigorous checks at the immigration

before being given a pass into the country. Despite the rigorous checks at the immigration,

Immigrants are drawn to America because of the national culture of giving equal opportunity to

all.
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The nature of American football requires the players to possess the national values of

American society. Sacrifice is a crucial part of the game because players endure the physical

impact. It takes hard work and rigorous training in fitness levels to play. It takes courage for

players to play the game knowing the dangers of the serious physical impact that could end their

careers. The national cultural values of American society are reflective of the American work

culture. Teamwork, courage, sacrifice, and hard work are some of the values of the American

work culture. American workplaces are tolerant of other people's culture, and everyone gets

equal opportunity since America is a multiethnic society. As an American Football team,

teamwork is highly encouraged in the workplace culture.

French Wine

France is known for the production of superior quality wine. The tradition of the French

of producing quality wine dates back to the time when the Romans settled in France and started

the cultivation and production of rich wines, taking advantage of the favorable climate. The

cultivation of the wine was meant to meet the rising demand for rich wines among European

nobility and the roman empire. Through centuries of the cultivation and production of rich wines,

the French have perfected the art and quality of their wines. For this reason, the French

government enacted a law to protect the brands, trademark, and quality of their wines in 1935.

The cultivation and production of quality wines in France reflect the French cultural

dimensions and values. One cultural dimension of the French culture is power distance. There is

a clear distinction between French wines and wines from other parts of the world. The wines

produced in France are meant for specific marketing targeting the rich and noble in the society

with a taste for the finer things in life. The power distance stemmed from the history of

imperialism when certain territories of France were dedicated to producing wine for the
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European aristocrats. Production of wine for the European aristocrats demanded high-quality

standards meet the expectations of the wealthy, reflecting their influence in France and its

economy.

Individualism is a cultural value of the French people, although interdependent members

of the society have an individual view of their heritage and themselves. There is a distinct

balance between the individual and collective interests of members of society. In most societies,

emphasis is, however, made on the collective good of the society rather than the individual

interest. However, the French culture is founded on the value of personal interest such as oneself

or immediate members of their family rather than the whole community. The cultural aspect of

individualism in the French community is reflected in the French wine. Individual and powerful

families control the French wine industry. The French wines are also produced for a specific

market that caters to the rich people’s needs, not the general market. Wine is symbolic of

romance and chivalry, and the French are known to be gentle and caring towards members of

society.

The Canadian Backpack and Flag

The Canadian flag is a symbol of Canadian patriotism. Canadians are taught the art of

sewing at an early age. They sew the maple leaf on suitcases and backpacks. The art of sewing

and embroidery requires patience and keenness. Some of the cultural values of the Canadians

include tactfulness, politeness, and love for the environment. Stereotypes suggest that Canadians

like to apologize even if they are not at fault. Canadian society has great humility and tolerance;

violence is often frowned upon. The Canadian society is Egalitarian, meaning that members of

the society are deemed equal. There is no obvious evidence of hierarchy in Canadian society.

Members of the society get equal opportunities and rights regardless of race, religious beliefs,
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gender, or age. Canadians tend to be informal in both language and dressing. There are generally

no strict laws on dress code at places of work unless it is a law firm or a bank. They are known

for wearing denim jeans, a casual form of dressing. People also address each other with their first

name regardless of age or stature.

Canadian culture values privacy. People shy from discussing personal matters such as

religion, family, weight, or salary. The community believes that everyone has the right over their

personal property, and permission has to be sort to use their property. Members of the

community also value personal space and frown upon disruptive behavior. Speaking loudly,

rudely interrupting a conversation, or cutting lines is discouraged. Moreover, Canadians are

individualistic because they value personal space, privacy, and respect for personal property.

There is, however, a sense of community. They are involved in notation drives and volunteer

work which is informed by the personal value of the individuals in the community who are

generally polite and caring.

Canadians are very respectful, and this is evidenced by their social order, punctuality,

politeness, and tolerance. Negatively speaking about a person’s age, beliefs, gender, and looks is

considered harassment. Canadians tend to indirectly communicate as a way of being diplomatic

and polite. In case of disagreements, they are handled tactfully. Communication in work is

pragmatic. One is expected to be direct and clear. Besides, they are obsessed with keeping time

and consider punctuality a sign of respect. Members of the community take deadlines seriously,

and it is viewed as honoring one’s commitments.

The population of Canada constitutes many immigrant communities. Canada adopted

multiculturalism as a policy in 1971. Today, immigrants continue to go to Canada, contributing

to the cultural diversity of the society. The policy on multiculturalism ensures that members of
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the society live in harmony. Canadians refrain from doing or saying things that insult exclude a

certain group of people due to the multiethnic nature of Canadian society. It is important to

remain politically correct so as not to offend a group of people.

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Comparison

Cultural metaphors appropriate the values of the culture of a particular nation. The

cultural metaphors mentioned above reflect the cultural values of America, France, and Canada.

There are differences and similarities between the cultures of the three nations. For example,

Canada, America, and France are multiethnic communities with people from different cultural

backgrounds. The diversity of the population of these countries has informed the cultural value

of fairness, equality, and respect. The communities from these countries have a general respect

for human life and are tolerant of the community members regardless of their race, sex, gender,

or religion. People are free to exercise their rights and freedom. America and Canada have

always been generally receptive to immigrants and continue to receive immigrants who

contribute to America's cultural diversity. While Canadians are usually polite, respectful, and

inclined towards being politically correct, Americans are aggressive, like American football's

aggressiveness. Equality and fairness is the cultural value of Canada and America. In France,

there seems to be a power distance because there is a hierarchy with a clear distinction between

the rich and the poor.

Cultural Value Reaction

Family: Everyone who works for Quantigration is part of the Quantigration family.

Many cultures worldwide value family since it is the foundation on which society stands.

Family values are important in any working environment, and it fosters unity and teamwork to

achieve a common goal. The French family is a source of pride, and people are deeply involved

with their individualism and close family instead of the larger society. Family value is important

in any workplace, which means people care for each other. It reflects how they treat people from
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different cultures and whether they tolerate foreign cultures. It also ensures no discrimination and

cultural prejudice against certain people based on gender, sex, race, or religion.

Process: Following processes will result in quality products.

Just like the French wine, the art and process of production determine the quality of the

product. To produce quality products, individuals in the company need to view themselves with

pride—the French view themselves as having class and exquisite taste for the finer things in life.

To produce superior quality products like French wines, one has to identify themselves with

quality and have an eye for fine things. To encourage production of quality products in

Quantigration, the workforce needs to develop a process that ensures quality.

Numbers: Precision engineering requires precision thinking.

For Quantigration to ensure the quality of their products, they require workers who

exercise precision thinking to realize precision engineering of their products. Like sewing the

Canadian flag on backpacks, workers need to be keen on ensuring they eliminate mistakes in

their workmanship and guarantee the quality of the products. To realize precision engineering,

being orderly like the Canadians is a cultural value that workers at Quantigration chips

manufacturing plants should embrace. Precision thinking ensures precision in the making of the

product.
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Reference

Gannon, M. J. (2001.). Cultural metaphors:. Readings, research translations, and commentary. Sage,.