Cultural divide

A cultural divide is 'a boundary in society that separates communities whose social economic structures, opportunities for success, conventions, styles, are so different that they have substantially different psychologies'. A cultural divide is the virtual barrier caused by cultural differences, that hinder interactions, and harmonious exchange between people of different cultures. For example, avoiding eye contact with a superior shows deference and respect in East Asian cultures, but can be interpreted as suspicious behavior in Western cultures. Studies on cultural divide usually focus on identifying and bridging the cultural divide at different levels of society. A cultural divide is 'a boundary in society that separates communities whose social economic structures, opportunities for success, conventions, styles, are so different that they have substantially different psychologies'. A cultural divide is the virtual barrier caused by cultural differences, that hinder interactions, and harmonious exchange between people of different cultures. For example, avoiding eye contact with a superior shows deference and respect in East Asian cultures, but can be interpreted as suspicious behavior in Western cultures. Studies on cultural divide usually focus on identifying and bridging the cultural divide at different levels of society. A cultural divide can have significant impact on international operations on global organizations that require communication between people from different cultures. Commonly, ignorance of the cultural differences such as social norms and taboos may lead to communication failure within the organization. Sufficiently large cultural divides may also discourage groups from seeking to understand the other party's point of view, as differences between the groups are seen as immutable. Such gaps may in turn inhibit efforts made to reach a consensus between these groups.