The Japanese Community in Brazil: Cultural Perspectives and Biases

Step I: Your own culture and perspectives

Japan has the unique culture from the rest of the countries in the world apart from being the leader in technology and innovation and the second most prosperous nation in the world. Four aspects of the Japanese culture have a significant impact on other cultures. The four are own culture, policies and structures, community attitudes, and language.

Own culture

The Japanese culture has evolved tremendously over an extended period, since the country's prehistoric time. Japanese culture has had a significant impact on various people. Asian food has become popular in most countries because they are healthy and look beautiful because all dishes are cooked from fresh products. A prime example is a sushi.

Japanese immigrants that went to Brazil carried culture martial arts to the country. Martial arts involved the methods that were used to train samurai warriors in ancient Japanese times. Some martial arts later became modern sports that are widely popular in Brazil and other countries. Judo is an example of this game (Lone, 2001).

The kimono is the traditional clothing of Japan. It is a full-length garment worn by women, men and children on special occasions. The kimono is famous worldwide and has impacted other people such that it has become fashionable clothing.

Policies and Structures

The Japanese have planned such as equal rights intended for females, the same inheritance by every child in a family and free choice of significant other and career. Many marriages are founded on the universal attraction of the couple instead of prearrangement by the parents. Strong gender roles remain the cornerstone of responsibilities, especially in the family. The Koban policing system enables the public to engage with police offers, and as a result, Japan has a reputation of being one of the safest among the industrialized countries. This structure has impacted other people in that they are encouraged to create a good rapport with police officers and thus help the community and police officers work together in eradicating crime.

Language

In Japan communication is built on a style that prizes restraint, sentimentality, calm, ambivalence, emotions, bias, situational reasoning, and meticulousness. The written form of Japanese language was hugely influenced by Chinese writing. It is also very involved. Despite the complexity of writing, Japan maintains one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Since the Japanese semantic is profoundly culture-laden and has to be understood and used in a culture-oriented way this has contributed a lot to the language barrier between Japanese and other people of different cultural backgrounds. Communication between Japanese and people of another ethnicity must be carried out with cultural awareness.

Community Attitudes

Japanese youngsters learn from an early stage that human fulfillment is a result of close association with others. Working together with others in harmony involves an attitude of teamwork and acknowledgment of social roles. After consulting with everybody in the group, decisions are then made. This strengthens feelings of group distinctiveness and makes application of the choice a smoother process. If there is anticipation that a relationship is going to continue over a long time, great care is spent in establishing and preserving good relations. The excellent correlation has encouraged and provided people who work in groups a way for them to efficiently work together, for example using consensus to make decisions.

Step 2: Identify and reflect on your own social and cultural perspectives and biases

List three biases that you feel you have, or in the past have had, towards those of different social and cultural backgrounds. If you do not think you have or have ever had any biases, then refer to a hypothetical scenario where they may exist:Please note: You do not need to pinpoint the social and cultural background you are seeing to if you do not feel comfortable doing so, merely list the biases.

Unable to have direct contact with other individuals

Language bias

Gender Roles

In 100-300 words, explain your perspective on living amongst people from different cultural/social backgrounds Note: these do not have to be negative perspectives

Living amongst people from different cultures was not only challenging but also educative since I came to learn many things that other people do differently from our culture. According to Friedman (2017), learning determines how we interact with others and perceive people from different cultural groups. Culture assists an individual in organizing his or her reasoning and emotional response. I have always had a bad relationship with people from other cultures since I was young. I find myself not able to have direct contact with other individuals because of the cultural background differences. The Japanese people have unique cultural practices such as ways of greeting, dressing, and addressing others. Therefore; I often find it hard to relate well to others because I feel they either lack manners or they intentionally ignore our norms. I managed to develop a positive attitude towards other groups and with time I was able to interact with different cultures efficiently.

The second perspective that changed upon living with people from the different culture was language. Japanese speak a unique style that makes most people develop a biased attitude towards other languages. The people from other groups were very eager to teach me their expressions as they were to learn our language but I showed little or no interest in their offer. Language bias developed by many Chinese youths has many effects among them preventing students from learning other languages such as English, hence; unable to create real international awareness (Sherlock, 2016). However, I was not comfortable learning another style because of the bias and the love for our writing.

Self-Reflection checklist

Student Name: ID: Date: 1 2 3

Personal Reflection I am aware of my own biases. When communicating, I ensure the language I use is inclusive and respectful of all. I avoid using resources at work that may have an adverse social and cultural stereotype. I refrain from using language that may offend people. I am open to people from all walks of life. I hold all people - regardless of age, gender, cultural background or other as equal. I respect other's opinions, beliefs, and values. I understand that my values may differ from others. I refrain from using language or tone that may be culturally insensitive. I embrace diversity I accept others as they are I interact with people respectfully and sensitively. I speak up when I notice others showing cultural insensitivity. I am committed to wanting to know more about other cultures. I regard experiences of diversity as highly crucial for growth. Step 3: Working with own limitations

Using reflection to support your ability to work inclusively and with the understanding of others, identify how any biases and perspectives you have may limit you in working with those from other cultural/social backgrounds, use hypotheticals if required (100 words):

The individual biases identified above have a significant impact on my working life, primarily when working in a diverse workplace. First, ignoring direct contact with people from other cultures may impact my relationship with colleagues. Cultural differences have had significant adverse impacts on organizations by affecting the relationship between employees (Kuhlmann, Heinz, & Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, 2017). One of the areas that may limit my effectiveness in the working place includes communication of thoughts and suggestions. The mode of transmission is very different from others because and it ends up defining my strengths and opportunities while working with others.

In what ways can you work with your awareness of your limitations? List three ways, use hypotheticals if required (100 words):

Learning about limitations has made me learn more about other cultures and gain a food understanding and relationship with other people. I will learn to become more culturally competent to reduce my limitations while working with others. The increasing rate of globalization in the world requires people to embrace cultural competence and learn to associate with people from diverse cultures. People today no longer work in an insular environment because of the stiff competition experienced across the world as every organization aims at gaining a high competitive advantage (Green et al., n.d). I am ready to accept change and move with the changing world so that I may realize my potential in the future.

Step 4: Improving your cultural awareness

Identify ways that you can improve your self-and-social awareness from here forth:

Learning about other cultures

I will focus on learning about different cultural norms, practices, traditions, and beliefs and become more updated with the international business world and global events. Also, I will be taking more time to learn about my colleagues from different cultural backgrounds. According to Traphagan (2015), people from various parts of the world display distinct ideas and values from ours that may lead to conflicts and biases. Therefore; educating one about other cultures helps improve self and social awareness of the diverse environment.

Gaining and embracing cultural competence

The second method of improving my self-and-social awareness is promoting diversity and embracing it at all times. I will be more willing to know my colleagues irrespective of their background to create a common ground and deepen my appreciation of differences we have because of diverse cultural backgrounds.

Identify the practical ways you can act on this improved awareness in your current workplace (use hypotheticals if required):

Reading books, articles, and other sources including watching videos that talk about other cultures

I will be dedicating one to two hours every day to learn causes and observe information about the cultural practices, beliefs, and norms of different communities. The method will play a vital role in enabling me to gain more knowledge and understanding of diverse cultures.

Visiting and spending time with people from other cultures

I will be attending friends and colleagues from different cultures in their communities to learn about their traditions, language, dressing codes, and attitudes. The process will assist in creating a healthy relationship with others while improving on my cultural competence with time. Developing a good relationship with people from the diverse cultural background is a robust method of promoting self and social awareness. Also, the process assists in achieving significant goals that are foundations for change (Murphy, 2013).

Student Declaration I declare that the work submitted in this assessment activity is entirely my work.

References

Friedman, S. H. (2017). Culture, bias, and understanding: We can do better. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 45(2), 136-139.

Green, K., Lopez, M., Wysocki, A., Kepner, K., Farnsworth, D., and Clark, J. L. (n.d). Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools. IFAS Extension. The University of Florida.

Kuhlmann, T. M., Heinz, R., & Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH. (2017). Managing Cultural Diversity in Small and Medium-Sized Organizations: A Guideline for Practitioners. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH.

Lone, S. (2001). The Japanese community in Brazil, 1908-1940: Between samurai and carnival.

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave.

Murphy, F. (2013). Comm...