29. PROCESS BOOK // Week 2

1. Favorite Quotes

"[Culture] It's something that's being created and re-created by people all the time—not just by certain people, but by everyone as they shape their own daily life." - W. Quesenbery and D. Szuc, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 3

This quote says that culture is fluid, it's constantly changing, which I have personally experienced when I moved from my home country and came back just a few years later - things were different. 

"Cultural differences that are particularly relevant in many UX projects may also be based on differences in the adoption of technology." - W. Quesenbery and D. Szuc, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 3

We often think about culture as it is manifested in national traditions and customs, but cultural differences do also reside between generations within the same nation. It is particularly important when designing technology and thinking about its intended demographic (and their technical background). 

"One of the things I learned early in my career is be sensitive to the differences that make a difference."  - W. Quesenbery and D. Szuc, Global UX: Design and Research in a Connected World, Chapter 3

There could be many cultural differences between two countries/markets, but it's important to focus on those that would be important for your particular product or service. Other details may be interesting, but completely irrelevant. I have learnt this by working on international product adaptation. 

"Our  ability  to  succeed  at  what  we  do  is  powerfully  bound  up  with  where  we re from,  and  being  a good  pilot  and  coming from  a high-power  distance  culture  is  a  dif­ficult  mix." - Gladwell, "The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes".

As we already learnt, collaboration and cooperation are key to survival and success. And the power distance measurement becomes really important here, because it defines how collaboration and cooperation happens. This is crucial in critical situations like aircraft emergencies.

2. Explorations

The previous quote made me wonder if there are any other fields where a high-power distance culture could play a deadly role, so I found this article. It provides an example from the medical field in the US, where the relationship between the physician and the nurses, as well as the patient, still represents some degree of high-power distance, which can let errors slip through and lead to undesired consequences. There has been some progress made, as the author claims, "Luckily, medicine has begun transitioning from a high to low power distance environment, but we still have a long way to go. We have begun to shed titles between co-workers. We are encouraging all members of the healthcare team to share ideas and strategies with their colleagues. Nurses and allied healthcare workers are encouraged and empowered to challenge physicians if they notice errors or have concerns about the prescribed treatment plan. Physicians have begun to not only accept but to appreciate suggestions from their co-workers."

I was very interested in digging deeper into what power distance meant and all its manifestations. I checked for videos on YouTube and found this one that has Geert Hofstede explaining the nuances himself. He claims that while there is a shift of the younger generations toward low-power distance, "the position of the countries relative to each other has remained the same...so the scores don't change." While I agree that culture changes very slowly, I wonder what happens in case of major migrations. Europe lately has become the cradle of the refugee movement, which has definitely impacted the politics and religious composition. This National Geographic article describes the high (although rewarding) stakes of the refugee experiment in Germany that has led to the national "cultural panic."

3. Sketches

 

Our team's version of a cultural model

4. Personal Professional Inspirations

These week's readings have been very insightful, especially the one that put everything in real terms in the ethnic theory of plane crashes. Coming from a high-power distance country I notice patterns in my behavior (talking to higher management and professors) that were shaped by my home country. Living here in the US and knowing the importance of cooperation for success, I will try to adjust my thinking and actions, especially in situations where error-avoidance is crucial. I'm not sure how hard or easy it is going to be, but it will definitely require effort to change my learned patterns. 

I also like the idea of being immersed in a foreign culture by observation and following local customs. Luckily, you don't have to travel far to do so. I have quite a few international friends that I would like to get together with more often, to learn their culture by being a part of it - going out with them, trying their cuisines, observing their religious and national customs.