Lesson 6: Cultural Dispositions

What is Culture?

To begin with let's examine a light-hearted attempt to define Canadian culture. It is a commercial that defines who Canadians are and how they are different. To view you will need to be connected to the Internet and have access to you-tube.

While watching, try to determine the difference between the first half and second half of the commercial. How do the two halves differ?

So what can you tell me about (not a boot) Canadians? Obviously the commercial pokes a great deal of fun at stereotypes of Canadians. It highlights such things such as living in an igloo, eating blubber, owning a dog sled, knowing everyone in Canada (including Jimmy, Sally or Suzy) and being really, really nice. However, towards the end of the commercial it switched from stereotypes to ethnocentrisms and proclaims, quite loudly what, why, and where Canadians are best in the world. Although these are stereotypes and ethnocentricities, each has a partial foundation in Canadian culture.

While stereotypes and ethnocentricities have some foundation in any given culture, they are taken to extremes or over-emphasized to present a warped picture of a culture or people in a culture. This lesson is about better understanding one's cultural disposition and how it may affect team interactions and relations.