Humor and Culture in International Business

Humor and Culture in International Business

In Chris Smit’s TED talk, he tries to shed more light on the vast implications of stereotypes and the sense of humor. According to Chris, every society has something unique about its culture and way of life, collectively referred to as stereotypes in this context. For instance, if one presents himself as an Italian, one of the things that are likely to linger in somebody’s mind is the Italian mafia. On the other hand, when one presents himself as a German that what comes to somebody’s mind is their failure to win the last soccer world cup tournament despite their high reputation in football. Smit further points out that different societies have different senses of humor. However, some cultures prefer making humor about others and not about themselves. For example, the Germans’ sense of humor is a real thing. They turn fun into a real business, the same to the Dutch and Britons. Concerning Smit’s talk, I believe fun can be a good strategy of alleviating stereotypical exchanges because they are not culturally neutral..

I almost lost my interest in Smit’s ted talk the moment he said that “there is nothing good or bad about culture, only differences.” The question that immediately preoccupied my mind is: What if superstitious beliefs are anti-development in some cultures? Essentially, when one understands cultural differences, he/she is more likely to succeed in international business. According to Smit, culture is all about how people manage their perceptions. For this reason, a manager needs to know how their subordinates will take answers they give for their questions. For example, the US nationals are okay with “I don’t know,” while the French are not. Another consideration is how different cultures perceive hierarchy and how to deal with uncertainty. There are cultures with a steep hierarchy perception, while in other cultures, it is a week hierarchy.

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