Here
comes the end of this blog. We hope you enjoyed it and that it was useful.
We created this blog for our
end-of-study project as part of the Master of Science in Global Business of
Neoma Business School, in order to make it available to anyone who is
interested in this subject.
After several experience
abroad, Ophélie and I both noticed that it was easier for us to adapt to some
cultures than others and that some global cities are really making efforts to
adjust to foreigners. That is why, with the growing tourism industry in the world,
we decided to choose the adaptation of worldwide cities to the flow of
different cultures as the subject of our blog.
During six months we tried
to analyze how global cities can adjust to foreigners and make their local
culture accessible. To make it as interesting as possible, we tried to mix the
study of general theories with the deep analysis of specific cities/countries:
Seoul, Paris, Canada and China.
What really stands out in the
analysis of several facilities of those destinations is language. Indeed, to
access the information needed, foreigners have to understand it, that is why
translations of key information are really important and constitute the basis
of the adjustments made by the cities for foreigners.
Even if criteria, which are
not really linked to the management of the city, contribute to the appreciation
or not of the destination, projects can always be launched to try to solve
problems. Like the city of Paris did by implementing the “Do you speak
touriste?” project, to improve the service and hospitality of hotels,
restaurants and shopkeepers towards foreign visitors.
Another important point of
this study was to understand the culture of the country, especially in the
workplace in order to avoid some conflicts caused by cultural unawareness. This
is particularly true for Asian countries where people behavior is different
than in western countries but it can be easily understood by knowing the
culture of the country. We also studied the counterexample of Canada which is a
cultural mosaic that understand the differences of culture and where people try
to adopt a common culture in order to facilitate the life in society (work,
shops, public places…).
Through the several academic
articles and theories that we studied over this blog we noticed that culture
shocks are experienced by every single individuals living in a foreign country.
The intensity of this shock changes from one person to another depending on its
birth culture, its host culture, its adaptability to unknown situations, etc.
Adjustments carried out by cities and countries to make information, facilities
and the local culture accessible to foreigners then play
a major role in the intensity of the culture shock experienced.
Finally, with the expansion
of worldwide cities in the global world, education is also playing a key role
on the development of those cities. Universities that are internationally ranked
can attract foreign students and teachers who bring diversity and increase the
level of education of a university, which by effect increase the radiation of
the city in the global place.
There is no unique cultural
model that all cities should copy, however with the rapid changes the world is
experiencing, we can conclude that worldwide cities are trying to adopt the
best practices of each others in order to develop durably in the long term. This
is why globalization is a positive influence on the development of the world
but each country should remain unique with its culture and traditions: This is
all about balance.
Amélie & Ophélie
