Say Anything to Anyone, Anywhere: 5 Keys To Successful Cross-Cultural Communication

Chapter 20

Understanding Cultural Beliefs, Values, and Rules

The Roots of Every Culture

Cultural beliefs, values, and rules are intricately woven into the very fabric of a culture. They strengthen, reinforce, give structure, maintain order, and ultimately become the standards and norms that give a culture its unique identity. In the same way that a tree’s roots ground and nourish a seedling to give it strength throughout its life, the roots of our native culture ground and nourish us from childhood to adulthood.

A variety of elements, from environment to mother tongue languages, influence what cultures believe and value. On an individual basis, our culture is the foundation that guides our beliefs, values, behavior, and how we view life. These beliefs and values influence the way we all experience important aspects of our lives.

Beliefs are defined by BusinessDictionary.com as follows:

Assumptions and convictions that are held to be true, by an individual or a group, regarding concepts, events, people, and things

Individual and group beliefs are the collective ideas that create a culture’s values, which then determine what is most important to the individual or group. They are further reinforced, and often enforced, by the creation of cultural rules. This inner weaving of our cultural beliefs, values, and rules gives distinction to the color, texture, and pattern of the cultural fabric and become what is known as the cultural standards or norms.

Some cultural values are passed ...