When East Meets West

What does happen, exactly, when East meets West? There is such a vast difference between the cultures of the East and West. "Difference" does not equal negativity. It just means that there has to be a level of respect for one another. This respect is not always there or apparent on behalf of Western culture. "We" tend towards believing that we are the "cool" and "trendy" country. The truth of the matter is that much of what Western civilization has, particularly American culture, was built on the backs of "foreigners." Sorry for the quick rant.

What's The Difference

The Eastern world includes Asia, including the Middle East, whereas the Western world includes North and South America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Cultural and educational differences may exist between the East and the West. The majority of these differences can be seen in people's behavior and attitudes. The main difference between eastern and western cultures is that people in the East are more conservative and traditional than people in the West in general. Westerners, for example, believe it is critical to speak openly and directly about issues. Asians, on the other hand, frequently discuss issues indirectly, especially if they have the potential to cause conflict. Another distinction is that westerners are thought to be more individualistic, focusing on themselves and their own needs and goals. They are at ease making decisions and acting on their own without the advice or support of others. Asians, on the other hand, feel more at ease when they are part of a group. They actively seek the advice and direct assistance of others on both personal and business matters.

"Rush Hour"

Think about the film "Rush Hour" starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker for a bit of a pop culture reference. For those unfamiliar with the movie, it occurs when a Chinese diplomat's daughter is abducted in Los Angeles. He enlists the help of Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) to assist the FBI with the investigation. The FBI, however, refuses to work with Lee and turns him over to the LAPD, who assigns wisecracking Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) to keep an eye on him. Despite their dislike for one another, Lee and Carter decide to work together to solve the case after being abandoned by both the FBI and the police. During the film, you will notice a complete difference in the customs of the East and West. During the initial meeting of one another, the American party is very pushy and obnoxious and even rudely asks, "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" Although the Eastern party is fully aware of what his new partner is saying, he allows him to continue making a complete fool of himself. It is not until later when the two have a run I with the authorities, that the eastern party reveals he speaks English. This is a prime example of how the Western world tends to approach every situation with no regard for international points of view. On the other hand, the eastern party is quiet, observant, and focused on the task.

Confucianism

Let's talk Confucianism. Confucianism is frequently described as a social and ethical philosophy system rather than a religion. Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to establish traditional Chinese society's social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals. Confucianism emerged as the significant underlying philosophy influencing participants' interpretations of Chinese public relations education. Confucianism has both constructive and destructive aspects. Participants agreed that one of the most challenging tasks confronting contemporary public relations scholars is evoking the virtues and benefits embodied in Confucianism to benefit Chinese public relations education and practice. A study entitled “Teaching Public Relations to Students with a Confucian Cultural Background” was conducted by Jurrien Gregor Halff of Singapore Management University. The paper investigates how students' Confucian cultural backgrounds shape their perceptions of and reactions to the dominant public relations curriculum from the 'West.' Three themes emerged from focus group participants' comments on their interactions with 'Western' students and their perceptions of the underlying causes of these perceived differences.

1. PR is less important to us than to Western students.

- Asian students frequently hold low regard for public relations as a profession. Unlike ‘Western' students, the participants in the focus groups distinguished between corporate behavior and communication, or between action and words, with the latter being less important to them than the former. The paradigm of a public relations curriculum – that all messages are part of an organization's symbolic inter-action – seemed inherently "Western" to them. Instead, the participants in the focus groups agreed that “actions speak louder than words” and that “the packaging isn't as important as the content” to them as to the ‘Western' students.

2. We are not as good at communicating as Western students.

- The Asian students appeared to have a different awareness of their abilities. In contrast to ‘Western' students, who rarely doubt their technical communication skills, focus group participants frequently expressed relative ineptitude at crafting messages for the general public, and even more so at verbally conveying messages in public, despite comparable English proficiency. The Asian students stated that their 'Western' peers were naturally better at talking, but some taunted them as "NATO – no action, only talk."

3. The Western case-studies are simplistic.

- Despite the fact that case studies from the United States and Europe culturally dominant in tertiary education, participants in focus groups did not criticize this regional bias. Instead, they questioned the common cause-and-effect narrative style. The majority of case studies revolve around key characters and their efforts to overcome strategic and operational challenges. Asian students frequently remarked that businesses are rarely "one-man shows" (“It's not like in Hollywood”).

This study was not to say that PR in Asia is not important, rather, it shows how the Asian community views Western world views on the subject of PR. I their eyes, Western civilization uses PR as a smoke and mirrors tactic. Is there any validity to this notion? Is Western culture’s views on PR skewed and somewhat shallow?