It is interesting how cultures differ among each other and how one thing can have completely opposite meaning in two different cultures. I was raised in Bosnia which is very similar to Turkey in terms of culture and tradition, since Bosnia was for a long time under the Turkish Ottoman Empire and therefore we share many common characteristics. However, when I came to the United States, I was really surprised by how much the culture of U.S. differs from Bosnian as well as Turkish culture.
When it comes to individualist/collectivist approach, the U.S. is known to be an individualist culture. In cultures in which individualism predominates, people belong to loose social frameworks, and their primary concern is for themselves and their families. Basically, people are responsible for taking care of their own interests and they believe that individuals should make decisions on their own. Turkey is characterized by collectivism in which individual members depend strongly on extended families. Unlike in individualist culture, collectivism values and accepts group decisions. Turkey emphasize group welfare and harmony. In individualistic cultures, managers emphasize and encourage individual achievement, but in collectivist culture, managers seek to fit harmoniously within the group and they encourage these behaviors among their employees.
I have learned a lot about nonverbal communication in my organizational behavior course at UR. Nonverbal communication is an extremely important part of communication. It includes all elements of communication such as gestures and facial expressions. Nonverbal behavior is culturally bound, and gestures, facial expressions and body locations have different meanings in different cultures. For example, the U.S. hand signal for "okay" is an insult in some other countries. Also what I found interesting was that one research found only three nonverbal behaviors associated with lying: nodding, foot and leg movements and certain hand movements. Although there are many interpretations of nonverbal language, smiles have universal meanings that display positive emotions. In Turkish culture you will notice that when you want to say no you would click your tongue and accompany it by a quick upwards tilt of the head and raise your eyebrow. This same gesture of clicking your tongue is used in other cultures such as U.S. to show displeasure. Turkish people also shake their head to show confusion.
Another aspect of how cultures differ is based on mono-chronic and poly-chronic time. Basically, the US is mono-chronic as people see time as quantifiable and do not want to waste time but use it wisely. However, Turkey is characterized by poly-chronic in which people see time as limitless and not quantifiable. For example, when people in Turkey go for a coffee break, they would chill for at least an hour or two. This is not a case with Western culture, where coffee break is considered a five minute break.
Cultures also differ in terms of direct and indirect communication. For example, people in indirect cultures tend to suggest rather than say things directly. Turkey is characterized by indirect communication as people have more instinctive understanding of others. People in direct cultures (the U.S.) tend to lead more independent lives and there is less instinctive understanding of others. People usually say things directly without suggesting. They believe that direct communcation is the best way in getting or giving information as no misunderstanding would occur.
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