"... From our point of view, culture is not something an organization has; a
culture is something that an organization is" (p. 251)
This quotation alone really resonated with me because it reminds me of something I learned while at San Diego State about culture. The concept of culture is defined as "systems of shared meaning" (p. 251). I believe I mentioned this is myComm scholar, but a lesson I learned at SDSU while taking a sign language course, was the fact that I was not only bi-cultural, but tri-cultural. My mother is Vietnamese and my father is European (Caucasian), so when people asked me about culture and background, those were the two things I identified with. Growing up in a household where I learned sign language (probably as my first language if not simultaneously with English), I never thought anything of it. I grew up my whole life knowing my parents were deaf (which was different from everyone else), and that was that. I attended deaf functions, knew my parents' deaf friends, but I still maintained my relationships and identity with hearing people. It wasn't until I took a sign language class, learning from an "outsiders" perspective how much "culture" existed among the deaf. Deaf culture was in fact existent, however since I was immersed in it my whole life, it had never occurred to me that the "shared systems of meaning" were significant in that it created a subculture in itself based on the language, structure, understandings, experiences and perceptions of deaf people. It was as if a light bulb went off in my head seeing it from a different point of view. And I'm glad it turned on!
3 comments:
I didn`t grow up in the U.S. and English is not my first language. When I came to the U.S., I found many difference between American culture and my culture which is Chinese culture. For example, when someone admires an American who did a great job with his/her project, the American would only say thank you. But, at the same situation, Chinese would say that he/she still needs to improve his/her work. Different cultures have different response at the same situation. Therefore, sharing and understanding culture is very important with communication.
You have a fascinating story and thank you for sharing it.
The concept of webs of shared meaning also resonates with me.
My daughter is hearing impaired, but not deaf. Because of her issue, my wife and I ended up getting involved with various organizations related to hearing and speech therapy, which my daughter underwent.
Each one of the organizations we dealt with had its own culture. For example, at the ENT department at Stanford University hospital, it was all about biology and medical aspects of hearing. The stories, tales, and legends were all about patients, nurses, and doctors who dealt with specific hearing loss in various ways, such as a doctor who was herself hearing impaired, a nurse with a hearing-impaired child, and patients who overcame sudden hearing loss; but all were related to treatment and living with the conditions. Another organization was also a medical provider, but it was much more business focused; everything was about how much it costs, how to bill insurance for services, etc. One small organization we dealt with was a group of speech therapists; their culture was mostly about helping children speak; their stories were all about that.
I believe culture often starts with the founder(s) of the organization; in the beginning, most stories are about the founders; as time goes by, most successful organizations incorporate employees into the organization and stories begin to include regular employees, not just founders.
Interestingly, in my observation, the culture of an organization is visible to the outside almost from the first moment of interacting with the organization.
I think you are truly blessed to be a part of that subculture, and also have the opportunity to be a part of bigger non-deaf culture. You get to see both sides of the spectrum, and learn and grow from each one. This was a good reminder for me as well, because I am part of a smaller subculture through a support group that I am in. I did not even realize how big of an impact that subculture has on my life, and that it truly is a culture in and of itself. Like you said there is “structure, understanding, experience, and perceptions,” that we share as a group. I always deemed culture as having to be connected with genetics or heritage, before I was a communication studies major. It has opened my eyes to how many cultures we truly have and are a part of. I really liked the quote that you chose to highlight. I agree that we cannot deem culture as being attainable like an object or adjective, it just is what it is. A community, through shared meaning, creates their very own culture. They do not “have” culture, they are the culture. Each person, ideal, belief, tradition and so on, are what make up that culture. Context obviously has a lot to do with the interpretative meaning of the word. In an organizational setting, culture is often created and perpetuated by and among its members. It is nice to feel like you are a part of a culture, like you are not alone, and have a common goal and/or understanding of whatever it is you are coming together for. For me the essence of a culture is that, “coming together.”
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