Cultural Awareness: Is the understanding of the differences between yourself and people from other countries or other cultures. This includes attitude, values, and norms.
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Cultural awareness is very important especially when its comes to interacting with people from other cultures. If you don't, you can make mistakes. These mistakes can be harmless, or they can also be very serious. Companies will fail just by failing to understand the culture of their consumers.
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Working with people from different cultures has become more and more frequent for many of us and, as a result, more important. As the global market expands and technologies evolve, we are constantly communicating with people from different countries and different cultures.
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Being aware of other peoples cultures increases trust, improves communication, workplace interaction, and brings in new ideas which leads to new projects.
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Our country, workplace, and schools are increasingly consist of different cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. We can all learn from each other if we have a level of understanding.
Examples of being culturally aware
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Japanese don't like to display strong emotions while in negotiation, this shows a lack of control.
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In Italy, the more important the person is, the later he or she may arrive to a business meeting.
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In the Arab world, left hand is considered unclean, so always eat with the right hand only.
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In Ireland, it is considered poor manners to directly tell someone "no."
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People in Indonesia may smile or laugh in situations that westerners consider inappropriate.
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In India, pointing with a finger is considered rude, you should only point with your chin.
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Eye contact among the French is frequent and intense, so much that some people might get intimidated.