Cultural DNA

“Cultural DNA”

People worldwide share hopes, dreams, problems, aspirations and imperfections. With businesses going global, travel getting easier and around-the-clock connectivity reaching the most remote outposts, life seems rather homogenized no matter where you travel or do business. Yet people of various regions differ both culturally and psychologically. The causes of these regional differences spring from stages of human development beginning thousands of years ago in disparate parts of the globe. Greater awareness of and tolerance for each area’s distinct cultural nuances of behavior, attitude and social mores have significant implications for companies and individuals who interact with people of varied backgrounds. A society’s cultural DNA has many ingredients, including deeply engrained aspects of thought, life and custom that transfer from one generation to the next. Despite the use of the biological term DNA, in this sense, identity derives from environmental factors and the preferences of the people – “the founders” – who originally lived in each part of the world and led the beginnings of settled life there. This study of eight places sheds ...