2). Name five cultural barriers to creativity. What do you think these would keep a group from being creative? Have you experienced any of these personally? Explain.
“Cultural Barriers include a requirement for conformity, an expectation of practicality and efficiency, particular arenas for competition or cooperation, and expectation of politeness and following rules for social order, a reliance on statistical proofs, a dependence of generalizations, a trust in the power of reason and logic, a belief I an either/or perspective on issues, and a reliance on expert knowledge.” (Harris, 188)
All of the items listed above are cultural barriers to our creativity. All of these thins could lead a group to disaster if barriers are put up. In many situations when you meet new people and try to form group’s barriers stay present because many do not want to look foolish or incompetent.
I have experienced cultural barriers in a group. I was taking an intercultural communication class and was assigned to do a semester long project on another culture with my group. We chose to do China as our group. Now, one of my group members was very interested in this subject. I had an expectation that this project would go well because she had the background knowledge of this culture. We were wrong she brought in a woman to help us with the project, since she had great expertise in this area. This woman because of her cultural background felt the she could not conform and share her experiences because it was very different from what Americans are exposed to. As well she did not want to cooperate and follow the rules of the assignment because she felt they were unrealistic. She did not have trust in our group that we would be generalize and stereotype her culture. In the end we had to find someone else to help us with the assignment. The first woman chosen set too many barriers for herself considering her culture and this made it impossible for us to be able to share ideas and information.
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I enjoyed reading your post. I am very fortunate to have been exposed to many cultures other than my own. I have seen people being very reluctant to share their ideas due to their cultural background; thus being a barrier to creativity as well as communication. Some cultures are very expressive in communicating and entertaining a new idea. on the other hand, other cultures keep their idea hidden and for themselves. Having the experience or the chance to know other cultures, help in working with others. It is also one of the most important steps to having a good relationship at work, school, and with friends.
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