ETHNOCENTRISM

The Germans live in Germany, the Romans live in Rome, the Turkeys live in Turkey, but the English live at home.

Businesspeople can generally depend on this: Members of other cultures, deep down in their heart of hearts, are convinced their own culture is the right one. People everywhere tend to assume their own culture is right and normal, and to assess all other cultures by how closely they resemble their own. Most people, especially those with little experience of other cultures, believe their own culture (ethnicity) is at the center of human experi­ence—hence "ethnocentrism." The further from our own another culture is, the more it seems to belong on the fringe, to be peripheral and not of primary importance. Conversely, the closer another culture is to our own, the truer it seems to be. Along with the preference for cultures that are similar to our own is the view that difference is dangerous. Difference may even be wrong.

For this reason, ethnocentrism can lead to complacency. We may not make an effort to look further than our own culture, and we may see little importance in understanding other cultures. In other

words, ethnocentrism leads to assuming one's own culture is superior to all others—the assumption of superiority. Business organizations that have proven they can succeed in one culture often adopt an ethnocentric position: We know how to make it work for us at home, so we can make it work for us anywhere. After all, learning another culture takes time, effort, and resources. It's much easier for an organization to operate from an ethnocentric position. But unfortunately it can be much costlier.