Discuss about the Social Origins Of Educational System Business Value.
The socio-cultural trends in the global scenario has undergone immense dynamics with increased integration and inclusiveness of more countries, owing to improvement in communication, infrastructural development and establishment of social, political, economic as well as commercial relations among different countries with time (Koe and Majid 2014).
Each country, however, has its own socio-cultural trends, which has developed with time and is highly attributed to the history of development of the country itself. These socio-cultural aspects, varying from country to country, have considerable implications on the life of the residents and especially on the business and commercial practices in those countries (Moran, Abramson and Moran 2014).
Keeping this into consideration, the report tries to discuss the differences in the socio-cultural aspects of two entirely diverse nations, France and Sri Lanka, with the latter being the home country and the former being the country chosen to compare. The report aims to see the differences which exist in the socio-cultural framework of these two countries and their implications on the business practices as a whole.
France is one of the primary developed economies in the contemporary period, with host of social and cultural traits which are unique and subjective to the country itself and which help to differentiate the country and its residents. The cultural patterns of France have developed over the centuries, much of which can be attributed to the geographical features, the rich and phenomenal history the country has and the infiltration of different cultural trends from different parts of the world, with people immigrating in the country (Price 2014). The culture of the country has been influenced as well as has influenced the political, military as well as commercial and economic traits of the country. In the contemporary period, the cultural features of the country are diverse in regional and socio-economic perspectives but also shows strong unifying patterns, thereby can be termed as portraying unity in diversity (Burke 2013). The country is ranked as one of the top most countries with positive cultural influences across the globe and has immense cultural contributions in movies, literatures, arts and business scenarios across the globe.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka is one of the examples of a perfect mixture of modern as well as traditional elements in the cultural aspects. The socio-cultural trends of the country is also subjected to considerable regional diversities. Over the centuries, Sri Lanka has been heavily influenced by the cultural and religious trends of India as it is a part of the Indian Subcontinent. Theravada Buddhism, which passed on from South India, has considerable roles in shaping up the culture of the country (Wickramasinghe 2015). Sri Lanka also has history of colonial occupation by British, Portuguese and Dutch people, whose culture and way of living have also left lasting impression on the inherent culture of the country, thereby giving rise to a cultural mix in the contemporary socio-cultural frameworks of the country. The cultural traits, inclusive of the music, dance, visual arts, unique cuisines as well as indigenous medicine practices of the country, along with its way of doing business has influenced the global cultural traits considerably over the years (McDowell 2016).
The cultural traits and diversities in these two countries have considerable implications on the overall way of living of the residents of the country and also specifically on the business frameworks within the company. The management and operational framework of the commercial institutions of these two countries have been heavily shaped up under the socio-cultural framework of the country and these aspects are of immense importance, especially for those who try to venture in the commercial scenario of the countries from different parts of the world (Rosemann and vom Brocke 2015).
As has been discussed in the above section, there remains significant differences in the socio-cultural patterns of the two countries in consideration- France and Sri Lanka. These cultural diversities subjective to the countries have considerable impacts on the business practices in the economic and commercial framework of the countries (Shinnar, Giacomin and Janssen 2012). The primary socio-cultural traits and their diversified patterns, which have considerable impacts on the business environment of France and Sri Lanka are discussed as follows:
France- In the French society, family has always been an immensely crucial socio-cultural component and though the dynamics in the family life of the residents have changed considerably over time, the importance of the same has remained constant over the years and with development of the economy of the country. In the society of the country, the basic domestic units primarily include the persons in the same household, related or not related. In France, single person unit is also common (Alesina and Giuliano 2014). However, in spite of the increased geographical mobility and job-related relocations, most of the people in the country prefer to live in their birth places or at least try to visit the same regularly.
In the contemporary France, nuclear families are becoming an increasingly important part with the young adults, after their completion of education, preferring to live on their own, especially after getting jobs or some kind of financial stability. However, they, in most cases, keep regular connections with their families, in terms of phone calls and frequent visits (Aronoff and Ward 2016). In France, a family is seen to be playing the role of emotional as well as financial supporter to an individual during different phases of his or her life.
Sri Lanka- In the country, the life of the individuals usually tends to revolve around the concept of family. Family, in Sri Lanka, is considered to be the first group in the society, which an individual becomes a part of, by the virtue of his or her birth and whose interest is kept before the interests of the individuals themselves. The behaviour or activities of a n individual in Sri Lanka has considerable impacts on the perception of others regarding the individual himself as well as on the entire family to which he or she belongs.
Although like France, nuclear family is the most important unit in Sri Lanka, however, the individuals also deeply value their extended families (Hewapathirana 2014). Unlike that of the French society, three or four generations tend to live together and the young adults also tend to live with their families, even after gaining financial stability, unless it is absolutely necessary for them to move to a different region for the sake of jobs or work-related commitments.
Individualism and Collectivism- French society scores high in terms of individualism with the individuals being raised to be emotionally and financially independent. The individuals usually take care of themselves and their immediate families only. On the other hand, the society of Sri Lanka scores high on collectivism, where the members are found to be more committed to long term as well as extended relationships (French 2015). The society of the country fosters an environment where every member takes responsibilities of the fellow members of the society.
These traits are also found to be having impressions on the business practices and employee management as well. In France, the business relations are strictly professional and the workers tend to keep their personal and professional lives different. The employer-employee relationships are also perceived in business terms and the individual success and achievements of the employees are given greater importance, thereby motivating them to think about themselves more than that of the group with which they work. The hiring and promotional decisions in the business organizations also are based more on the individual performance of the employees than that of their performance in groups (Ralston et al., 2014).
The situations are however, different in Sri Lanka where the relationships between the employee and employers are more moral than professional and the work life and personal life of the residents are not that clearly demarcated. The business environment is also more of collective than individualistic, where the success and achievements of the employees are seen to be subjective to the group in which they work (Triandis and Gelfand 2012). The hiring and promotional decisions are also based on the in-group management of the employees and the success of the employee as well as that of the group itself.
Work-Life balance- The presence of more individualism in France is seen on the presence of strict work and family life balance in the commercial scenario. Flexible work shifts, facilities of home office as well as re-orientation of working hours according to the day and night hours span are common practices and the individuals give importance to leisure and family life (Chandra 2012). These aspects are however, not that strict in the case of Sri Lanka, due to the presence of more collectivism in the society as well as due to the lack of economic abundance as that of the residents of France. Work life balance, had not been a component of that importance in the business practices in the country, until the recent periods. With the development of the economic scenario and business prospects in the country, work life balance is being given more importance (Kailasapathy and Metz 2012).
France- The country has developed considerably in terms of economic and industrial aspects, over the last few centuries and is one of the prime global witnesses of the industrial revolution in the global economic scenario. However, the roles played by the women in the country, had been highly categorized and stereotyped till the last century. Women had been perceived for long to be requiring to fulfil more of the traditional and gender-stereotyped roles in the society, which included cooking, child-rearing and others (Connell 2014).
However, with time and economic progress, women are increasingly participating in the paid labour force of the country as can be seen from the following figure:
Sri Lanka- The country, unlike that of France is yet to achieve the level of progress in the socio-cultural perception of the role of women in different sectors of the country. There remains a longstanding tradition of participation of both the genders in the labour force, in the country, however, the concept of formal of employment of women and equality in pay levels are comparatively newer concept in Sri Lanka.
The general notion which still exists in the society is that men are to focus more on becoming primary bread earners of the families while women are expected to focus on the domestic sphere. However, the women in Sri Lanka holds comparatively higher position in the society as compared to that of the other South Asian countries due to the absence of child marriages and other social evils and due to the presence of full citizenship and voting rights.
Women in business- In France, with increased participation of women in labour force, the business organizations in the country welcomes women in all roles, especially in the management positions, especially in the major cities. However, pay gaps are found to be present in some situations. Workplace discriminations are also found to be decreasing in the society. However, the same are not the situations in Sri Lanka, as there still exists discriminations (Allen and Truman 2016). Women mostly participate in more tedious and less respective business activities with the management related activities still concentrated more in the hands of the male population. Workplace harassments are also more prominent in Sri Lanka than that in France.
France- With time and economic progress of the country, education system has become more employability oriented. Apart from the conventional roles of knowledge generation, education in France now aims to facilitate the population in their long-term future of finding economic prosperity and prospering in their professional lives (Archer 2013). There also remains considerable legislative support on part of the government of France to facilitate frequent partnership between educational institutions and employers.
Sri Lanka- The educational framework in the country, works mostly based on the notion of increasing the knowledge base of the population, assuming that the generation of knowledge will percolate in all aspects of an individual’s life, academic as well as corporate. However, business oriented educational system is slowly infiltrating in the society, due to increasing needs of the same.
Power generation- In commercial scenario of France, higher education is linked to higher power and intellectual capacity development of individuals which are treated as necessary business skills. France supports a fair degree of inequality among employees in business organization based on their capabilities and the employees are also rewarded on the basis of their capabilities which they are expected to receive from the career-oriented education and skill development procedures (Apple 2013). In Sri Lanka, however, the presence of hierarchy is common in business organizations, which reflect inherent inequalities and the concept that boss is superior and more knowledgeable, with the subordinates expected to abide by their superiors.
France- The face-to-face communication in France tends to be direct and quite precise which often seems to be rude to foreigners. However, French people do not like debates and disputes in public and prefer logical and analytical communications. However, non-verbal communication is given considerably important. Eye contact is seen as a form of respect and touching is seen as a token of affection if the individuals are familiar (Bhatia and Bremner 2012).
Sri Lanka- The communication style of Sri Lankans is in general indirect and polite and they prefer to converse less explicitly. Hierarchy also plays important role in the communication. Non-verbally, Sri Lankans do not prefer to touch or make eye contact with those who are not of same status or age (Rathnayaka 2014).
Business negotiations- In France, business negotiations are more formal and non-confrontational type and logical and analytical in nature. Good debating skill along with long term close personal commercial connections are trusted and values. Personal connections along with hierarchal respects are highly valued in Sri Lankan business practices (Borbély and Caputo 2015, June). Conflicts are resolved in diplomatic manner and third-party introductions become a compulsory component. Nepotism is also seen in business practices, which can be attributed to trust and communication issues in the country.
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Do’s · Making prior appointments for business meetings · Keeping patience as French take time to arrive to decisions · Focusing on long term business relationships · Adhering to fixed business hours |
Don’ts’s · Proposing high risk business proposals · Implementing pressure techniques · Avoid direct communications · Discussion family matters in business negotiations |
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Do’s · Maintaining punctuality · Making elaborate business proposal and visual presentations · Employing third party negotiators · Respecting elderly people and hierarchal attributes |
Don’ts’s · Trying to overpower or interrupt when senior members are talking · Directly indulging in debating · Making direct eye contact with seniors and women in some cases · Avoiding marketing efforts required to gain trust of clientele as well as |
Conclusion
As can be seen from the above discussion, the socio-cultural trends of France and Sri Lanka are diverse in many aspects, which effects the way of living of the residents and the business practices in these countries. This in turn makes it crucial for any new and foreign entrepreneurs to consider these diversities and to abide by the socio-cultural norms which are applicable in business practices in these countries.
In constructing the concerned report, I had to conduct an extensive study regarding the socio-cultural patterns present in France as well as Sri Lanka. It also helped to get an insight about how culturally diverse these two countries are and what effects these diversities have in the business scenarios in these two countries. I also tried to comprehend the different cultural norms present in the business framework that has to be incorporated in the business decisions, especially for those foreign entrepreneurs who want to venture in the commercial domains of these industries.
References
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