I just returned from a week in Istanbul, Turkey, speaking at a conference, meeting with families, and doing some sightseeing. And I was struck by the similarities of issues that exist half away around the world, within cultures that have incredible differences.

First, I need to let you know that Istanbul is a beautiful, beautiful city with incredible history, architecture, and stunning visual images. It is the only city that spans two continents — Europe and Asia, separated by the Bosphorus river (a salt-water river that joins the Black sea to the north and the Aegean Sea to the south). The metropolitan area is larger than you might guess — at least 15 million people (it reportedly had 400,000 people in 1970 and 10 million in 2000.) And it has a unique blend of numerous ethnic groups and nationalities — Turkish, Iranian, Russian, Syrian, French, Italian, German, British and more. You might remember that it was the capital of the Emperor Constantine (Constantinople) and the seat of the of the Orthodox church, and then became the capital as well as the trading and economic center for the Ottoman Empire from the 1300s through the early 1900s.

So the themes I noted that are similar across cultures, and seemingly across time, include:

Entrepreneurial spirit (when freedom of competition is allowed).

Both the modern Turkish economy (textiles, agrarian commodities, shipping industry) and the small shopkeepers in the markets (the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, and individuals selling goods on the streets) demonstrate the vibrancy of the desire to make one’s life better through business. I was amazed at the energy and creativity I observed in individual’s and small businesses; and I appreciated their humor as well: “How can I convince you to leave some of your money with me?” “What would you like to buy that you don’t really need”? And, “Step into my shop and let me show you some genuine fake watches!”

The importance of family relationships.

Individuals and families repeatedly reported their personal stories of how important their families are to them. Young adults shared the dilemma they face of wanting to pursue career opportunities in other parts of Europe but also wanting to be near their parents, siblings and extended family members. Older adults discussed their desires for their children to join them in the family business, but also wanting their family members to pursue their career interest in a different area. And I got to see the joy of families enjoying time together — with their grandchildren, with the extended families of their siblings’ children and cousins.

The high value of education.

Time and time again, parents told me how proud they were that their children were doing well in the schools they attended (often private schools, at great personal expense to their parents). I believe that when individuals are faced in their day-to-day lives with the mass of humanity — in traffic, on the streets walking, in the marketplaces — they realize more intensely the need to “get ahead” through training and education. And the issue is not lost on the youth — they are quite committed to studying hard to do well in school, and appreciate the sacrifice their parents are making so they can get a good education.

The tension between governmental support and governmental interference.

Similar to the challenges our own country and economy are facing, countries worldwide are battling the tension of how much the government should set economic policies (both internally and regarding international trade) and how much they should “stay out of the way” and let the forces of capitalism lead the way. In Turkey currently, there is the additional tension of “being in the middle” of connecting with western Europe and the West economically, and remaining close to its neighbors and historical partners (Iran, Russia, Syria, Greece). In both the United States and Turkey, the answers are neither simple nor agreed upon by their citizens.

Differences.

So what are the differences I see? Mainly small ones — size, shape and the differences in appearance that are the result of differing ethnic backgrounds; clothing styles and preferences; types of food eaten on a daily basis; languages used to communicate with others; and historical heritages that bring different traditions to daily life and life’s events.

But underneath these surface variations, I still see people who love, who want to accomplish something in their lives, who learn and try to capitalize on available opportunities, and who are intrigued by those who are different than they are — but who try to be kind and helpful to strangers in need. Finally, life seems to be both enjoyable and difficult for individuals, families, and businesses on all sides of the world. Most of us experience both the wonderful aspects of daily life (the beauty of nature, loving relationships), along with the pain (illness, physical pain, death) that accompanies life in this world.

Business owners, Business Success, Cultural differences, Economy, Family, Family Business Issues, parenting, Parenting Adult Children, work

Over the past weeks I have been gathering some research articles from various publications that I thought had some interesting bits of information.  Here they are.  The topics include:  research on how Western culture and Asian culture affect problem-solving approaches, video game addiction, infant anesthesia and later learning disabilities, and age biases in the workplace that are not found to be true according to research.

Psychology Research Bits & Pieces

From the June 2009 Monitor on Psychology:

  *Infants exposed to anesthesia during surgery may be at greater risk for learning disabilities.  Researchers from the Mayo Clinic found that:

            -infants who had been anesthetized two or more times before age 4 had a 60% increased chance of having learning difficulties;

            -infants who had three or more exposure to anesthesia by age 3 doubled the child’s risk for learning problems later in life.

*Nearly one in 10 youth gamers addicted to video games.  A study of over 1100 youth 8 to 18 found that addicted gamers exhibited behavioral patterns similar to pathological gamblers and they played video games 24 hours a week (2x as much as non-addicted gamer).  Addicted gamers were also twice as likely to have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.

*Research does not support many age-biases that exist in the workplace.   Research reported in the June 2009 APA Monitor on Psychology  states that:

            -Older workers are happier with their work than younger workers and were in as good physical shape as their colleagues.

            -Older and younger workers want many of the same things from their work:

Schedule flexibility, opportunities to learn, a supportive supervisor, and promotion fairness.

            -There is no evidence to support the belief that Millennials and Gen Y workers are not hard workers.  They do, however, look for identity-based work – something they enjoy that suits their abilities and interests.  And younger workers tend to asset themselves and question the status quo.  Dr. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett from Clark University states, :  The fact that they are willing to question and offer criticism is something that can make an organization better.”

            -Millennials do look to change jobs more frequently but are willing to explore career alternatives within the same company.

One interesting point raised by Dr. Elisa Perry at Columbia University: “It’s hard to know how many of the things we are seeing are about generational differences or age differences. . . Those are potentially very different things.”  For example, will these characteristics of different age groups still exist in 15 or 20 years as the younger generations move into later life stages?

“East versus West: A psychology professor dares to compare how Asians and Americans think.”  Forbes, May 11, 2009.

Richard Nisbett, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Michigan has been researching the differences in how North Americans and Asians think.  He proposes the following differences:

            -Asians see things in context, while Westerners focus on the point in hand.

            -Asians are more holistic in their thinking while Americans are more analytic and reductionistic.

            For example, in presenting a virtual aquarium on a computer screen, “The Americans would say, ‘I saw three big fish swimming off to the left.  They had pink fins.’  They went for the biggest, brightest moving object and focused on that and on its attributes,”  Nisbett explains.  “The Japanese in that study would start by saying, “Well, I saw what looked like a stream.  The water was green.  There were rocks and shells on the bottom.  There were three big fish swimming off to the left.”

            A key difference Nisbett found may help explain differences in financial thinking and choices.  Canadians predict a stock whose value is rising will continue to rise, while Chinese think what goes up will come down. This might help explain why we are prone to economic “bubbles” and suggests, when things are going well, Americans should possibly temper their optimism.

            Nisbett, in his book, Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count, examined why Asian-Americans score higher on the SAT than other Americans and why Asian students do significantly better on math and science exams than U.S. students.  He concludes, “Asian intellectual accomplishment is due more to sweat than to exceptional gray matter.”  The Asian cultural value of obligation to family drives a deeper work ethic, Nesbitt believes.

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For me, personally, the two most interesting findings are the high rate of video game addiction and the debunking of the myth that Asian students are brighter than students in the U.S. — they just tend to work harder.

career development, Cultural differences, Gen Y, Learning disabilities, Life Stages, Millenials, Video game addiction