Cultural Anthropology is a term that is in everyday lives and topics. When one thinks of anthropology they think of the study of old remnants commonly referred to as archaeology. This, however, is not the only form of anthropology.
There are four types of anthropology and they are archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. However, Cultural anthropologists are every where and study people of all walks of life. One can find a topic and find some type of study that an anthropologist has conducted on the matter. The following are five articles that explain how anthropologists are every where. Section: Culture and FieldworkChapter: Corporate Anthropologists, page 24Summary of Article:The article talked about how anthropologists play an important role in the corporate environment.
Anthropologists have been working with businesses since the 1930’s, however in the 1980’s this field experienced significant growth. This was due to the “globalization of business activity and the increased awareness of the importance of culture for business,” (Laabs 24). Cultural anthropology is the study of existing people and corporations find this information useful in trying to understand human behavior within their own organization. “Business anthropologists have been studying the corporate world for years, on such varied topics as how to encourage more creativity or how best to integrate multicultural learning techniques into an organization’s training program,” (Laabs 25). Most anthropologists who work in the corporate environment do not use the title of anthropologist.
There are currently over 200 anthropologists working in this field. The article then gave an account of one anthropologist’s experience in the corporate environment. The article concludes by saying what corporations think of the value that anthropologists add to the companies and that the role will continue to grow. Anthropologist’s Experience:The anthropologist that contributed to this article was Lorna M. McDougall. She works at Arthur Andersen’s Center for Professional Education, which is located in St.
Charles, Illinois. McDougall is “studying why people from some cultures learn best from lectures, although others learn best through interactive learning,” (Laabs 25). McDougall has played a large part in developing Arthur Andersen’s Business English Language Immersion Training (ELIT) program. This program builds a language skill that allows for communication between two parties where English may be a second language.
This program also provides an awareness of each culture’s business ethics. “The results of her work have helped instructors, who train Andersen consultants working in 66 countries, be better teachers,” (Laabs 25). McDougall is the first onsite anthropologist employed by Arthur Andersen and continues to be a great resource for the corporation. McDougall used an “anthropological methodology” by listening in on classroom sessions and conducting interviews. From the information that she gathered she noticed that “people from certain cultures are used to two-way communication in the classroom, although others just sit quietly while the professor lectures’,” (Laabs 26). McDougall also teaches some of the management development classes and also contributes to the training classes.
Her main areas of concentration for anthropological study include a technique where sometimes a management team proposes an idea and at other times she will propose an idea. She has also studied the meaning of gestures and colors for different cultures. She discovered that white in some cultures means marriage and in others, white means death. All her anthropological work has played a major part in Arthur Andersen’s company. My Experience:I did my presentation on anthropologists and the role that they play in corporations. Until recently I was aware that culture played a defining role in companies that participated in globalization.
I did not however know the role that anthropologists contributed to this topic. I recently worked a Technological Symposium for my company and this was a huge event where people from all parts of the world attended. It was at this convention that I learned that other cultures do business differently than Americans. It is not just a language barrier but a culture barrier. I am also aware of the work that anthropologists contribute to the development of web sites that are viewed worldwide.
Comparison:The anthropologist’s experience and mine are vastly different. She is quite a bit more experienced in the topic of corporate anthropologists. However, she and I both realized that language is not .
