The culture conundrum : classroom challenges in the Asian millennium

Abstract

"Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own." Johann W. Goethe. This study will aim to highlight the importance of learning, understanding and assimilating cross cultural awareness and developing tolerance towards other cultures and cultural mores in the context of a technological explosion through the use of cyber-media and globalization. Firstly the importance of cultural understanding in an era of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and how institutions and organisations will need to reinvent themselves will be discussed. This is necessary in order to become more competitive in order to survive in a world dominated by the emergence of Asian Economies as Powerhouses, given the economic recovery in Asia, much faster than in the West with more V shaped countries; which has led the west to use the term, Asian Millennium and the significance of the G 20 summit rather than the G8 of the past. The next focus will be on how the paradigm shift in business models has morphed, the example of "Lenovo" and "Siemens" models will be highlighted, where business no longer happens to be a brick and mortar industry where money alone matters. What matters more now is how businesses can realign their models to become more competitive as the challenges of globalization pose more demands on businesses and their ability to adapt to cross cultures and tune themselves. This study will argue that understanding cultures better and developing business models based on cross cultural awareness and tolerance will be the keys for both educational institutions and global corporations alike to succeed in the Asian Millennium and for the west to be aware of Asian cultures now! "No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive." Mahatma Gandhi In fundamental ways, the forces of globalization challenge the previous approaches and theories of development. In the minds of some observers, globalization is an exaggerated form of global capitalism; in the view of others, it is a wake-up call to look for alternate forms to the new social and cultural contexts which dictates the era of globalised education, primarily dominated by the use of technology where cultural arrangements are being spontaneously generated by the advent and reality of globalization.