My son threw up his hands as he got to page 10 of the newspaper over his post-pranzo espresso, "Why does the church (Church) always have its hands in politics!"
As Veltroni gathers consensus for his new Partito Democratico he must come to terms with the Catholic church to have any chance of winning upcoming elections. He has chosen a wise position that aims to include the left-leaning Catholics into his fold and distance the PD from the radical anitclericalism of the farther left. Although the PD needs the Catholic vote, he reminds them that the lay nature of the State must be also be practiced and not only preached. "We can't enter into the 21st century with a counterposition of Catholics and lay people. It would mean that Italy is condemned to a never ending Porta Pia*." He calls for a shift in language -- for example, in the place of "in the defense of values", a move towards, "promoting values", as a first step. As he walks a fine line, he asks his lay followers to be ethically senstitive to Catholic positions and to make a conscious effort to get away from name calling.
The division runs deep and the left has historically been on the other side of the divide from the Church. Now it is up to Super Walter to build a bridge to the other side, and I have faith that his pragmatic and personable ways will pave a way.
a domani,
E
* The conquest of Rome in 1870 that led to its integration into the newly formed Italian state (1860).
February 28, 2008
February 23, 2008
Visit China
Just a quick note to introduce you to a fantastic blog, click here, for the expat community in China.
Maybe Alan Paul -- an American expat in Shanghai with his family and contributor to the Wall Street Journal -- should tune in and learn a few things about Chinese culture. From his column, The Expat Life, (click here), I have the impression that China is a kind of Disneyland whose main reason to exist is to entertain and provide endless opportunities for expat excursions and sightseeing. His children certainly enjoy all the excitement and rushing about, but are they investing in their CQ while living in China, or will they remember only lots of five-star hotels, weird old buildings, and their friends back at the gated expat community? Certainly a different experience than that of Barack Obama at six to nine years old (click here for blog entry)and the cross-cultural skills he gained while attending an Indonesian school and living Indonesian daily life.
Just a reverse cross-cultural moment...
a domani,
E
Maybe Alan Paul -- an American expat in Shanghai with his family and contributor to the Wall Street Journal -- should tune in and learn a few things about Chinese culture. From his column, The Expat Life, (click here), I have the impression that China is a kind of Disneyland whose main reason to exist is to entertain and provide endless opportunities for expat excursions and sightseeing. His children certainly enjoy all the excitement and rushing about, but are they investing in their CQ while living in China, or will they remember only lots of five-star hotels, weird old buildings, and their friends back at the gated expat community? Certainly a different experience than that of Barack Obama at six to nine years old (click here for blog entry)and the cross-cultural skills he gained while attending an Indonesian school and living Indonesian daily life.
Just a reverse cross-cultural moment...
a domani,
E
February 19, 2008
Mission impossible
Well, I did it. The forms have arrived, to be properly completed by our idraulico di fiducia (or family plumber), stamped, signed and returned. Then we will receive a mysterious phone call to set up a time for its arrival -- the Contatore (or gas meter) for a small apartment we are renovating to re-rent or sell. The saga of the gas line is long and involved with a bit of intrigue, insurmontable problems, heart-stopping miracles and finally an end in sight.
I got to play an important role in this play, "the ENI connection" with the mission impossible of getting a contatore hooked up once the line had been installed. For my coaching certification, I had participated in a "power tools" class on "game vs. significance" so I thought I would try this tool on myself and invent a game to keep me from getting frustrated and angry (and placing lots of "significance" on the whole thing).
I dutifully signed the "contract proposal" that had arrived by post and sent it off with a 249 euro payment before calling the 800 number as instructed.
call n. 1: "your contract proposal is not registered." She rummaged around, while I stayed on hold answering emails, before throwing up her hands and asking me to call back later -- the computer terminal was down.
call n. 2: very polite and helpful, listened to my story, and discovered that the proposed work had already been executed (without our approval and prior payment as required), but to make a request for the contatore she would need a PDR number (punto di riferimento). After further discussion about where I might find that number, I said I would call back.
Then the game started: how many calls would it take to make it happen? Every call was a point and if I get to 10, I will treat myself to an extravagant massage. 8, a lunch out with a friend, 6, leisurely coffee after the pool and so. Now I could enjoy the calls -- almost hoping they wouldn't end!
call. n. 3: to the head of the workmen to ask him to check for a little tag at the end of the gas line in the little box with ten numbers (the PDR) and call me back:
call n. 4: I called him back -- oops, so sorry but he had forgotten, tomorrow
call n. 5: There is a little yellow tag, but it only has six numbers -- a mystery. I take down the numbers anyway.
call n. 6: (wow -- a leisurely coffee earned!): "The numbers I read off were clearly NOT the PDR and she COULD NOT place the request for the contatore without these numbers."
so I got in the car -- 55 minutes of traffic(up the Cassia)and four flights later, all I could find was a yellow tag with six numbers. But I learned that NO ONE in the ENTIRE building had managed to get a contatore, although the gas line was clearly there. I was in good company and going for the lunch.
call. n. 7: to the building administratore -- maybe she would know something about the PDR, she had even been present the day the gas line was brought up to our apartment. I left a message.
call n 8: I left another message
call n. 9: I left a third message.
But I got a call back from her secretary who took notes and very efficiently called back later with a 20 number and letter sequence -- clearly not the ten number PDR but I thanked her anyway.
call n. 10: One last try to the ENI 800 number. The woman was kind and listened carefully to my story. Then she opened up our file and Voilà -- there was the PDR. Turns out it had always been there, for any of the previous diligent call center employees to uncover. She filled out the contatore request and here we are, happily filling out forms with lots of stamps and signatures.
Mission accomplished (or almost) and to top it off -- I get to have an extravagant massage!
What's the lesson to all this -- with a little pazienza and just enough calls, someone will figure it out.
a domani,
E
I got to play an important role in this play, "the ENI connection" with the mission impossible of getting a contatore hooked up once the line had been installed. For my coaching certification, I had participated in a "power tools" class on "game vs. significance" so I thought I would try this tool on myself and invent a game to keep me from getting frustrated and angry (and placing lots of "significance" on the whole thing).
I dutifully signed the "contract proposal" that had arrived by post and sent it off with a 249 euro payment before calling the 800 number as instructed.
call n. 1: "your contract proposal is not registered." She rummaged around, while I stayed on hold answering emails, before throwing up her hands and asking me to call back later -- the computer terminal was down.
call n. 2: very polite and helpful, listened to my story, and discovered that the proposed work had already been executed (without our approval and prior payment as required), but to make a request for the contatore she would need a PDR number (punto di riferimento). After further discussion about where I might find that number, I said I would call back.
Then the game started: how many calls would it take to make it happen? Every call was a point and if I get to 10, I will treat myself to an extravagant massage. 8, a lunch out with a friend, 6, leisurely coffee after the pool and so. Now I could enjoy the calls -- almost hoping they wouldn't end!
call. n. 3: to the head of the workmen to ask him to check for a little tag at the end of the gas line in the little box with ten numbers (the PDR) and call me back:
call n. 4: I called him back -- oops, so sorry but he had forgotten, tomorrow
call n. 5: There is a little yellow tag, but it only has six numbers -- a mystery. I take down the numbers anyway.
call n. 6: (wow -- a leisurely coffee earned!): "The numbers I read off were clearly NOT the PDR and she COULD NOT place the request for the contatore without these numbers."
so I got in the car -- 55 minutes of traffic(up the Cassia)and four flights later, all I could find was a yellow tag with six numbers. But I learned that NO ONE in the ENTIRE building had managed to get a contatore, although the gas line was clearly there. I was in good company and going for the lunch.
call. n. 7: to the building administratore -- maybe she would know something about the PDR, she had even been present the day the gas line was brought up to our apartment. I left a message.
call n 8: I left another message
call n. 9: I left a third message.
But I got a call back from her secretary who took notes and very efficiently called back later with a 20 number and letter sequence -- clearly not the ten number PDR but I thanked her anyway.
call n. 10: One last try to the ENI 800 number. The woman was kind and listened carefully to my story. Then she opened up our file and Voilà -- there was the PDR. Turns out it had always been there, for any of the previous diligent call center employees to uncover. She filled out the contatore request and here we are, happily filling out forms with lots of stamps and signatures.
Mission accomplished (or almost) and to top it off -- I get to have an extravagant massage!
What's the lesson to all this -- with a little pazienza and just enough calls, someone will figure it out.
a domani,
E
February 17, 2008
Pasta + cappuccino = joint venture
We had a lovely lunch at Lo Scoglio on the beach in Sabaudia today, just an hour's drive south from Rome. A family from England sat at the table next to ours and we got to talking. She is on assignment from her company in England to set up a joint venture with an Italian company based in Rome while her husband stayed back in England with their two children. She commutes back most weekends while he comes down with the kids once a month. A Grandmother helps out.
We shuddered (along with the Italian couple on the other side) as they proceeded to order: plain pasta with tomato sauce, french fries, coke and two cappuccino. My husband tried to intervene to help with the menu, but they would hear nothing about fish, clams and such. The waiter said that this was normal for the British and the Germans to whom he prefers the Russians who blindly order the most expensive item and champagne.
As we waited for our orders, I asked how working in Italy had been so far. She replied that, "We are a few months behind the roll out schedule," and that it had been "more complex than anticipated." Sounds familiar. But, once they had basically excluded the Italian management from the picture, things are moving along quite nicely.
Hmmmm. I thought to myself, I wonder how successful this venture will be once the Brits have gone home and left ongoing management to the Italian company that had no say in the start-up process.
We exchanged cards when I told her about cross-cultural coaching and afterwards I considered how I would have worked with this prototype client -- a perfect example of someone who would have certainly had a less stressful and more successful experience living and working abroad with a cross-cultural coach as a partner. Maybe she would have even dared to take the family along for the year if she had been able to count on support and guidance.
I am inspired for this new profession and the potential for helping people live and work abroad at a higher and more conscious level. Need to hurry up with classes for certification and hit the road.
a domani,
E
We shuddered (along with the Italian couple on the other side) as they proceeded to order: plain pasta with tomato sauce, french fries, coke and two cappuccino. My husband tried to intervene to help with the menu, but they would hear nothing about fish, clams and such. The waiter said that this was normal for the British and the Germans to whom he prefers the Russians who blindly order the most expensive item and champagne.
As we waited for our orders, I asked how working in Italy had been so far. She replied that, "We are a few months behind the roll out schedule," and that it had been "more complex than anticipated." Sounds familiar. But, once they had basically excluded the Italian management from the picture, things are moving along quite nicely.
Hmmmm. I thought to myself, I wonder how successful this venture will be once the Brits have gone home and left ongoing management to the Italian company that had no say in the start-up process.
We exchanged cards when I told her about cross-cultural coaching and afterwards I considered how I would have worked with this prototype client -- a perfect example of someone who would have certainly had a less stressful and more successful experience living and working abroad with a cross-cultural coach as a partner. Maybe she would have even dared to take the family along for the year if she had been able to count on support and guidance.
I am inspired for this new profession and the potential for helping people live and work abroad at a higher and more conscious level. Need to hurry up with classes for certification and hit the road.
a domani,
E
February 16, 2008
How does he do that thing he does?
This afternoon I started Barack Obama's autobiography, Dreams from My Father. By page 67 and the age of 10, he had already been around the world and back, picking up many lessons and a bit of CQ to add to his IQ that speak to his success today.
On his mother's side, he had a pair of middle-class high school educated grandparents from Kansas who migrated to Hawaii via Texas and California. On his father's side, a tribe elder, respected farmer and medicine man from Kenya. His father and mother met in Hawaii, where his father had had come to study on a scholarship, married and had Barack jr. before he received another opportunity at Harvard, divorced and returned to Kenya, took up another wife and had six more children.
His mother re-married an Indonesian student in Hawaii and followed him back to his country with Barack when he was six years old, where they lived as a family until he returned to Hawaii and his grandparents for middle school.
Those CQ enhancing years years immersed in Indonesian (not expat) life left their mark as his mother wrestled with the fine line between adaptation and defining your home-country's cultural values -- she strongly wanted Barack to grow up with an American mindset and sensed the forces of Indonesian cultural values on his young mind.
As he recounts, she would list the values he was to learn:
Honesty (that hiding the refrigerator when the tax officials come is not ok even if the tax officials and everyone else expects you to do just that),
Fairness (good grades in exchange for a TV set to the teacher during Ramadan should not be a source of pride),
Straight Talk (don't lie about liking a gift if then you don't use it) and Independent Judgement (don't join the crowd and tease another kid for a funny haircut).
As she fought to transfer Kansas ways to her son, the reality of poverty, corruption and fear of security that lay all around young Barack, bred a realistic, fatalistic scepticism to counteract her efforts. She had that undying American belief that "rational, thoughtful people could shape their own destiny" that was not reflected in daily Indonesian life. She enlisted the image of his African father, the Black American heros of the day and the civil rights movement to strenthen her case that his roots and values lay elsewhere.
In this article on, "How Obama Does That Thing He Does", University of Oregon professor of rhetoric David A. Frank unravels the mystery of Obama's spellbinding oration that leaves listeners unsure of what he said, but convinced by what he means. "Obama relies, Frank writes, on a "rhetorical strategy of consilience, where understanding results through translation, mediation, and an embrace of different languages, values, and traditions."
"Obama disarms race for white people by largely avoiding the topic. When he does talk about race, he makes sure to juxtapose the traumas experienced by nonblacks with those experienced by African-Americans, but without ever equating the two. His rhetoric is designed to bridge the space between whites and blacks so they can occupy a place where common principles reside and the "transcendent value of justice," as Frank writes, can be shared.
A little CQ can go a long way!
a domani,
E
On his mother's side, he had a pair of middle-class high school educated grandparents from Kansas who migrated to Hawaii via Texas and California. On his father's side, a tribe elder, respected farmer and medicine man from Kenya. His father and mother met in Hawaii, where his father had had come to study on a scholarship, married and had Barack jr. before he received another opportunity at Harvard, divorced and returned to Kenya, took up another wife and had six more children.
His mother re-married an Indonesian student in Hawaii and followed him back to his country with Barack when he was six years old, where they lived as a family until he returned to Hawaii and his grandparents for middle school.
Those CQ enhancing years years immersed in Indonesian (not expat) life left their mark as his mother wrestled with the fine line between adaptation and defining your home-country's cultural values -- she strongly wanted Barack to grow up with an American mindset and sensed the forces of Indonesian cultural values on his young mind.
As he recounts, she would list the values he was to learn:
Honesty (that hiding the refrigerator when the tax officials come is not ok even if the tax officials and everyone else expects you to do just that),
Fairness (good grades in exchange for a TV set to the teacher during Ramadan should not be a source of pride),
Straight Talk (don't lie about liking a gift if then you don't use it) and Independent Judgement (don't join the crowd and tease another kid for a funny haircut).
As she fought to transfer Kansas ways to her son, the reality of poverty, corruption and fear of security that lay all around young Barack, bred a realistic, fatalistic scepticism to counteract her efforts. She had that undying American belief that "rational, thoughtful people could shape their own destiny" that was not reflected in daily Indonesian life. She enlisted the image of his African father, the Black American heros of the day and the civil rights movement to strenthen her case that his roots and values lay elsewhere.
In this article on, "How Obama Does That Thing He Does", University of Oregon professor of rhetoric David A. Frank unravels the mystery of Obama's spellbinding oration that leaves listeners unsure of what he said, but convinced by what he means. "Obama relies, Frank writes, on a "rhetorical strategy of consilience, where understanding results through translation, mediation, and an embrace of different languages, values, and traditions."
"Obama disarms race for white people by largely avoiding the topic. When he does talk about race, he makes sure to juxtapose the traumas experienced by nonblacks with those experienced by African-Americans, but without ever equating the two. His rhetoric is designed to bridge the space between whites and blacks so they can occupy a place where common principles reside and the "transcendent value of justice," as Frank writes, can be shared.
A little CQ can go a long way!
a domani,
E
February 8, 2008
Zip in and out
While in Trento visiting my older son, I filled him in on IQ, EQ and the new concept of CQ. He was thoughtful before responding, "I don't know about the first two, but I would score high on the last one." So, while flying over snowfilled fields in a bubble on the weekend, I got to thinking about how he developed such high marks on his cultural quotient.
Of course, he is privileged, growing up with an American mother and an Italian father in Rome with summer vacations in New England and winters at a truly international school. But he even stands out among his peers of similar backgrounds. When he was an assistant counselor at a summer camp in New Hampshire at 16, the Director and several senior staff members told me individually that they couldn't believe he wasn't just an American kid. My son confided his secret, he simply "zips" himself into his American suit for the duration, shedding it on return. A few years earlier, after a few weeks at a day camp in Connecticut, he had the junior cultural differences figured out. "Mom," he explained, "kids do the same things everywhere, only the American kids do them to transgress while the Italian kids do them to experiment." Quite a lucid assessment of cultural differences for a 13 year old. Since then he has moved from Rome to Trento and fit in immediately to that very different culture as well. One difference he soon noted was that parents of friends in Rome would always accompany him to the doorstep, whereas in Trento he was left on the other side of the road so that they wouldn't have to do two round abouts to be on their way. He shrugged, "it is just different." I am sure that parachuted into a remote area of China and left to his own for a month, he would have it all figured out and be accepted as an integral member of the local society. He just has that something.
I watch him and observe how he intensely observes all that is around him when in a new situation -- how people move, interact, smile, joke, get angry, introduce themselves, make friends, move in and out of peer groups. He watches. Then he slowly moves, with small steps to test the waters. As each step is reinforced and he takes another and builds cross-cultural skills along the way with confidence and respect for differences.
Americans are doers, all action and moving forward, taking control, getting things done. Maybe developing CQ is about just "being", and watching, listening, observing. Not taking action, but belonging as a goal. More than the head, it takes the body and the heart.
Any thoughts?
a domani,
E
Of course, he is privileged, growing up with an American mother and an Italian father in Rome with summer vacations in New England and winters at a truly international school. But he even stands out among his peers of similar backgrounds. When he was an assistant counselor at a summer camp in New Hampshire at 16, the Director and several senior staff members told me individually that they couldn't believe he wasn't just an American kid. My son confided his secret, he simply "zips" himself into his American suit for the duration, shedding it on return. A few years earlier, after a few weeks at a day camp in Connecticut, he had the junior cultural differences figured out. "Mom," he explained, "kids do the same things everywhere, only the American kids do them to transgress while the Italian kids do them to experiment." Quite a lucid assessment of cultural differences for a 13 year old. Since then he has moved from Rome to Trento and fit in immediately to that very different culture as well. One difference he soon noted was that parents of friends in Rome would always accompany him to the doorstep, whereas in Trento he was left on the other side of the road so that they wouldn't have to do two round abouts to be on their way. He shrugged, "it is just different." I am sure that parachuted into a remote area of China and left to his own for a month, he would have it all figured out and be accepted as an integral member of the local society. He just has that something.
I watch him and observe how he intensely observes all that is around him when in a new situation -- how people move, interact, smile, joke, get angry, introduce themselves, make friends, move in and out of peer groups. He watches. Then he slowly moves, with small steps to test the waters. As each step is reinforced and he takes another and builds cross-cultural skills along the way with confidence and respect for differences.
Americans are doers, all action and moving forward, taking control, getting things done. Maybe developing CQ is about just "being", and watching, listening, observing. Not taking action, but belonging as a goal. More than the head, it takes the body and the heart.
Any thoughts?
a domani,
E
January 31, 2008
Cultural Quotient
In a recent post on this blog (roam2rome), "farfallina" introduced a new kind of "Q" that has recently entered the scene following in the footsteps of IQ and EQ, the CQ (Cultural Quotient). The concept was first presented three years ago in the Harvard Business Review as the “essential factor of our times” without which, “NO one is going to be even remotely successful in this Millennium”. The business community is getting all excited about it and is using the term more and more.
The post continued, "I would love to see Elizabeth tackle this subject in my favorite Rome blog “Cross Cultural Moments”. So, I take up the challenge.
To start, what is it? Wikipedia says,"Cultural Intelligence, Cultural Quotient or CQ, is a theory within management and organisational psychology, positing that understanding the impact of an individual's cultural background on their behaviour is essential for effective business, and measuring an individual's ability to engage successfully in any environment or social setting. First described by Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski in the October 2004 issue of Harvard Business Review and gaining acceptance throughout the business community, CQ teaches strategies to improve cultural perception in order to distinguish behaviours driven by culture from those specific to an individual, suggesting that allowing knowledge and appreciation of the difference to guide responses results in better business practice.
Golly gosh, someone has finally gotten it! Although with fancier words, it is what I have been talking about in my blog for over a year now (and in training workshops and presentations before that). For me, CQ is about understanding how your own culture background effects the success of your intercultural dealings and allowing an appreciating of the differences to guide your interactions.
I hope that the CQ concept will move the international business community away from preaching "adapting behaviors" as the solution to cross-cultural differences in doing business. Mocking behaviors only makes you look like a monkey unless there is a true and genuine understanding and respect behind them.
Roam2rome's post is quite timely. Just yesterday on the train to Trento, I threw out the text I had been finalizing for a website and started again from scratch. I am moving my emphasis from cross-cultural training and consulting to concentrate on intercultural and expat coaching. After my first month of teleclasses and readings, I am convinced that coaching is a much more effective way to support my vision of, "A world in which people have a deep understanding of, and respect for, the power of culture – they are humbled by, and marvel at, the wonder of cross-cultural differences." Cross-cultural training gives you tools, information and proper behaviors to follow, but coaching can help you achieve a true shift in perspective that is at the base of suspending judgement and successfully crossing cultures.
Whew! enough for today.
a domani (from Trento),
E
The post continued, "I would love to see Elizabeth tackle this subject in my favorite Rome blog “Cross Cultural Moments”. So, I take up the challenge.
To start, what is it? Wikipedia says,"Cultural Intelligence, Cultural Quotient or CQ, is a theory within management and organisational psychology, positing that understanding the impact of an individual's cultural background on their behaviour is essential for effective business, and measuring an individual's ability to engage successfully in any environment or social setting. First described by Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski in the October 2004 issue of Harvard Business Review and gaining acceptance throughout the business community, CQ teaches strategies to improve cultural perception in order to distinguish behaviours driven by culture from those specific to an individual, suggesting that allowing knowledge and appreciation of the difference to guide responses results in better business practice.
Golly gosh, someone has finally gotten it! Although with fancier words, it is what I have been talking about in my blog for over a year now (and in training workshops and presentations before that). For me, CQ is about understanding how your own culture background effects the success of your intercultural dealings and allowing an appreciating of the differences to guide your interactions.
I hope that the CQ concept will move the international business community away from preaching "adapting behaviors" as the solution to cross-cultural differences in doing business. Mocking behaviors only makes you look like a monkey unless there is a true and genuine understanding and respect behind them.
Roam2rome's post is quite timely. Just yesterday on the train to Trento, I threw out the text I had been finalizing for a website and started again from scratch. I am moving my emphasis from cross-cultural training and consulting to concentrate on intercultural and expat coaching. After my first month of teleclasses and readings, I am convinced that coaching is a much more effective way to support my vision of, "A world in which people have a deep understanding of, and respect for, the power of culture – they are humbled by, and marvel at, the wonder of cross-cultural differences." Cross-cultural training gives you tools, information and proper behaviors to follow, but coaching can help you achieve a true shift in perspective that is at the base of suspending judgement and successfully crossing cultures.
Whew! enough for today.
a domani (from Trento),
E
January 27, 2008
To be or not to be
I just received an invitation to a film event on Tuesday to recognise and celebrate the UN's decision to back the Italian call for a global moratorium on the death penalty.
During my last visit to my parents in Connecticut, I was sitting at the kitchen table, skimming the paper with a mug of American coffee in hand, when I noticed a letter to the editor against the death penalty. I thought about how much discussion goes on in US on the subject with strong forces arguing for and against it regularly in the public arena and the question of its implementation coming up over and over on political agendas. It suddenly hit me that this is a subject Italians never discuss -- it never comes up seriously on political agendas, and not even in the daily batter over your cappuccino at the bar. From the left to the right (excluding the farrrr right, who does raise the issue occasionally, only to have it quickly put in its place) the subject is taboo, the death penalty is not an option. punto e basta.
Catholic culture? Too many skeletons in the closet and hanging from the rafters (the shocking end to Mussolini)? Too many foreign rulers in Italy's past who used the gallows to maintain power? For whatever reason, the cultural roots in terms of values and beliefs are deep on both sides and the gap is wide. It would take a real shift in perspective for one to understand the other. Even those against the death penalty in the US accept that another position exists and that discussion is legitimate. That is the real difference -- here, all agree, across all political lines, that the subject is not even worthy of discussion.
In any case, the good news is that Connecticut is voting to take the death penalty off the books -- it hasn't been applied for over one hundred years anyway.
a domani,
E
Anyone in Rome that is interested, here is the information.
"In the spirit of collaboration the following organisations will be present: Nessuno Tocchi Caino, Comunita' S. Egidio, the Comitato Sacco e Vanzetti, Americans for Peace and Justice Abroad, the Comitato Paul Rougeau, and others.
There will be a screening of two short documentaries by La7 director Chiara Salvo, exploring the relationships between death row inmates and the Italians who correspond with them, who will be present, followed by an open forum for discussion of the next steps in the campaign.
When: Tuesday 29th January, 8.30pm
Where: Cineclub Detour, Via Urbana 44, metro Cavour"
During my last visit to my parents in Connecticut, I was sitting at the kitchen table, skimming the paper with a mug of American coffee in hand, when I noticed a letter to the editor against the death penalty. I thought about how much discussion goes on in US on the subject with strong forces arguing for and against it regularly in the public arena and the question of its implementation coming up over and over on political agendas. It suddenly hit me that this is a subject Italians never discuss -- it never comes up seriously on political agendas, and not even in the daily batter over your cappuccino at the bar. From the left to the right (excluding the farrrr right, who does raise the issue occasionally, only to have it quickly put in its place) the subject is taboo, the death penalty is not an option. punto e basta.
Catholic culture? Too many skeletons in the closet and hanging from the rafters (the shocking end to Mussolini)? Too many foreign rulers in Italy's past who used the gallows to maintain power? For whatever reason, the cultural roots in terms of values and beliefs are deep on both sides and the gap is wide. It would take a real shift in perspective for one to understand the other. Even those against the death penalty in the US accept that another position exists and that discussion is legitimate. That is the real difference -- here, all agree, across all political lines, that the subject is not even worthy of discussion.
In any case, the good news is that Connecticut is voting to take the death penalty off the books -- it hasn't been applied for over one hundred years anyway.
a domani,
E
Anyone in Rome that is interested, here is the information.
"In the spirit of collaboration the following organisations will be present: Nessuno Tocchi Caino, Comunita' S. Egidio, the Comitato Sacco e Vanzetti, Americans for Peace and Justice Abroad, the Comitato Paul Rougeau, and others.
There will be a screening of two short documentaries by La7 director Chiara Salvo, exploring the relationships between death row inmates and the Italians who correspond with them, who will be present, followed by an open forum for discussion of the next steps in the campaign.
When: Tuesday 29th January, 8.30pm
Where: Cineclub Detour, Via Urbana 44, metro Cavour"
January 22, 2008
Universal morals
Are you ready to stretch your mind today?
My "google-alert" for all things cross-cultural led me to this blog by Fawad, a techie based in California whose profile quote reads: "I have always imagined Paradise to be a kind of library" - Jorge Luis Borges
I have copied some of the post for you and strongly encourage anyone interested in cross-cultural differences to click through to the NY Times Magazine article below.
From the post:
"Steven Pinker, the hard to label Harvard Evolutionary Psycholgist is amongst one of the best examples of current scientists who can write well for a broader audience. This post was precipitated after reading his excellent essay titled "The Moral Instinct" in the January 13th, 2008 issue of The New York Times Sunday Magazine. It is hard to summarize the breadth of the essay's argument but in it Pinker explains the existing evidence for the biological (evolutionary) underpinnings of our morality. He examines many interesting examples about the universality of morals and tries to square them with the clearly observed differences across cultures. The essay is somewhat long but I couldn't recommend it any more strongly and urge people to read it. There are few popular pieces of writing that engage this deeply in reflecting on the sources of our deeply held moral beliefs.
Excerpts:
When anthropologists like Richard Shweder and Alan Fiske survey moral concerns across the globe, they find that a few themes keep popping up from amid the diversity. People everywhere, at least in some circumstances and with certain other folks in mind, think it’s bad to harm others and good to help them. They have a sense of fairness: that one should reciprocate favors, reward benefactors and punish cheaters. They value loyalty to a group, sharing and solidarity among its members and conformity to its norms. They believe that it is right to defer to legitimate authorities and to respect people with high status. And they exalt purity, cleanliness and sanctity while loathing defilement, contamination and carnality.
The exact number of themes depends on whether you’re a lumper or a splitter, but Haidt counts five — harm, fairness, community (or group loyalty), authority and purity — and suggests that they are the primary colors of our moral sense. Not only do they keep reappearing in cross-cultural surveys, but each one tugs on the moral intuitions of people in our own culture.
---------
All this brings us to a theory of how the moral sense can be universal and variable at the same time. The five moral spheres are universal, a legacy of evolution. But how they are ranked in importance, and which is brought in to moralize which area of social life — sex, government, commerce, religion, diet and so on — depends on the culture. Many of the flabbergasting practices in faraway places become more intelligible when you recognize that the same moralizing impulse that Western elites channel toward violations of harm and fairness (our moral obsessions) is channeled elsewhere to violations in the other spheres. Think of the Japanese fear of nonconformity (community), the holy ablutions and dietary restrictions of Hindus and Orthodox Jews (purity), the outrage at insulting the Prophet among Muslims (authority). In the West, we believe that in business and government, fairness should trump community and try to root out nepotism and cronyism. In other parts of the world this is incomprehensible — what heartless creep would favor a perfect stranger over his own brother? "
Any thoughts?
I need a day to ponder...
a domani,
E
My "google-alert" for all things cross-cultural led me to this blog by Fawad, a techie based in California whose profile quote reads: "I have always imagined Paradise to be a kind of library" - Jorge Luis Borges
I have copied some of the post for you and strongly encourage anyone interested in cross-cultural differences to click through to the NY Times Magazine article below.
From the post:
"Steven Pinker, the hard to label Harvard Evolutionary Psycholgist is amongst one of the best examples of current scientists who can write well for a broader audience. This post was precipitated after reading his excellent essay titled "The Moral Instinct" in the January 13th, 2008 issue of The New York Times Sunday Magazine. It is hard to summarize the breadth of the essay's argument but in it Pinker explains the existing evidence for the biological (evolutionary) underpinnings of our morality. He examines many interesting examples about the universality of morals and tries to square them with the clearly observed differences across cultures. The essay is somewhat long but I couldn't recommend it any more strongly and urge people to read it. There are few popular pieces of writing that engage this deeply in reflecting on the sources of our deeply held moral beliefs.
Excerpts:
When anthropologists like Richard Shweder and Alan Fiske survey moral concerns across the globe, they find that a few themes keep popping up from amid the diversity. People everywhere, at least in some circumstances and with certain other folks in mind, think it’s bad to harm others and good to help them. They have a sense of fairness: that one should reciprocate favors, reward benefactors and punish cheaters. They value loyalty to a group, sharing and solidarity among its members and conformity to its norms. They believe that it is right to defer to legitimate authorities and to respect people with high status. And they exalt purity, cleanliness and sanctity while loathing defilement, contamination and carnality.
The exact number of themes depends on whether you’re a lumper or a splitter, but Haidt counts five — harm, fairness, community (or group loyalty), authority and purity — and suggests that they are the primary colors of our moral sense. Not only do they keep reappearing in cross-cultural surveys, but each one tugs on the moral intuitions of people in our own culture.
---------
All this brings us to a theory of how the moral sense can be universal and variable at the same time. The five moral spheres are universal, a legacy of evolution. But how they are ranked in importance, and which is brought in to moralize which area of social life — sex, government, commerce, religion, diet and so on — depends on the culture. Many of the flabbergasting practices in faraway places become more intelligible when you recognize that the same moralizing impulse that Western elites channel toward violations of harm and fairness (our moral obsessions) is channeled elsewhere to violations in the other spheres. Think of the Japanese fear of nonconformity (community), the holy ablutions and dietary restrictions of Hindus and Orthodox Jews (purity), the outrage at insulting the Prophet among Muslims (authority). In the West, we believe that in business and government, fairness should trump community and try to root out nepotism and cronyism. In other parts of the world this is incomprehensible — what heartless creep would favor a perfect stranger over his own brother? "
Any thoughts?
I need a day to ponder...
a domani,
E
January 20, 2008
Surprisingly complicated
I have been doing some research on obstacles to foreign investment in Italy for an article I am preparing on cross-cultural challenges to doing business in Italy. This involved skimming a 163 document prepared by the commercial department of the US Embassy the other day. The opening paragraph introduced the Italian market as "surprisingly" complicated. Why "surprisingly"? As the sixth most important trade economy in the world and an active historic member of Western Europe, one would imagine it to be in line with its peers. I had not even started the document and already Italy stood out as being particolare.
Obstacles to foreign investment include: disparities between the North and the South in terms of distribution systems, a predominance of family-owned small and medium sized businesses (involving high distribution costs), a complex regulatory environment, a level of transparency that is not in line with other highly developed economies, uneven infastructure (guess where), low investment levels in R&D compared to other industrialized countries, lax enforcement of intellectual property laws and corporate governance that could be more "stringent".
Then there is, of course, inefficient delivery of public services (we all experience that), a slow judicial system (we all try to avoid this one), high corporate taxes, low labor flexibility with high labor taxes and last, but not least, bureaucratic red tape. Not to mention the unmentionble, corruption or bribes to tax officials when dealing with government procurement projects.
And everything has to be translated into Italian.
Italians are also very patriotic as we have seen with the Alitalia question, AT&T and a recent attempt by a Spanish company to enter into the Italian highway toll system. There is an underlying reluctance to allow foreign investment in large Italian government controlled companies, with what is called "golden share" regimes for privatized companies.
What do all of the above have in common? What are the underlying cultural perspectives? The "cultural challenges" to doing business in Italy?
Three areas come to mind:
Italians have learned at home, in school and in society to manage a quite high level of ambiguity that is intrinsic to their surrounding environment. Tolerance of ambiguity is not quite so developed in those coming from abroad.
Italians communicate with lots of meaning between the lines, the musicality of the language (both spoken and written) often takes priority over clearly projecting meaning to the other party -- who should instead understand through context. Anyone who has ever translated will agree.
Italians trust people they know, certainly not the system or foreigners. A low-trust culture constantly needs to negotiate rules and regulations and this in turn reduces cooperation. If a government changes in the middle of the negotiation of a large government sponsored project, you have to start the process all over again. The ball is not passed easily from one to the other -- which would involve trust.
Back to work!
a domani,
E
Obstacles to foreign investment include: disparities between the North and the South in terms of distribution systems, a predominance of family-owned small and medium sized businesses (involving high distribution costs), a complex regulatory environment, a level of transparency that is not in line with other highly developed economies, uneven infastructure (guess where), low investment levels in R&D compared to other industrialized countries, lax enforcement of intellectual property laws and corporate governance that could be more "stringent".
Then there is, of course, inefficient delivery of public services (we all experience that), a slow judicial system (we all try to avoid this one), high corporate taxes, low labor flexibility with high labor taxes and last, but not least, bureaucratic red tape. Not to mention the unmentionble, corruption or bribes to tax officials when dealing with government procurement projects.
And everything has to be translated into Italian.
Italians are also very patriotic as we have seen with the Alitalia question, AT&T and a recent attempt by a Spanish company to enter into the Italian highway toll system. There is an underlying reluctance to allow foreign investment in large Italian government controlled companies, with what is called "golden share" regimes for privatized companies.
What do all of the above have in common? What are the underlying cultural perspectives? The "cultural challenges" to doing business in Italy?
Three areas come to mind:
Italians have learned at home, in school and in society to manage a quite high level of ambiguity that is intrinsic to their surrounding environment. Tolerance of ambiguity is not quite so developed in those coming from abroad.
Italians communicate with lots of meaning between the lines, the musicality of the language (both spoken and written) often takes priority over clearly projecting meaning to the other party -- who should instead understand through context. Anyone who has ever translated will agree.
Italians trust people they know, certainly not the system or foreigners. A low-trust culture constantly needs to negotiate rules and regulations and this in turn reduces cooperation. If a government changes in the middle of the negotiation of a large government sponsored project, you have to start the process all over again. The ball is not passed easily from one to the other -- which would involve trust.
Back to work!
a domani,
E
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