#ICEBERG MODEL OF CULTURE EXAMPLES DRIVERS#

Many other cultures simply do not queue in this manner as it is not part of their cultural programming. The rationale behind the queue is that those that get there first should by rights be served first or get on the bus first. This relates to their approach to fairness, justice, order and rights. So, for example, why do the English queue for everything? So, when thinking about culture, the bottom side of the iceberg will include things such as religious beliefs, worldviews, rules of relationships, approach to the family, motivations, tolerance for change, attitudes to rules, communication styles, modes of thinking, comfort with risk, the difference between public and private, gender differences and more. It is these invisible elements that are the underlying causes of what manifest on the visible side.

#ICEBERG MODEL OF CULTURE EXAMPLES DRIVERS#

None of the visible elements can ever make real sense without understanding the drivers behind them and these are hidden on the bottom side of the iceberg, the invisible side. All, depending on your own culture, may come across as weird, strange, rude, ignorant or simply silly. In addition it can also relate to behaviours such as seeing people ignoring red traffic lights, spitting on the floor, smoking in public or queuing for a bus. Such 'visible' elements include things such as music, dress, dance, architecture, language, food, gestures, greetings, behaviours, devotional practices, art and more. In addition, more often than not these are the elements that we come into contact with first when diving into a new country or culture. These are the areas of culture that we can see manifest in the physical sense. The iceberg as mentioned above has the visible tip.

The iceberg perhaps lends itself best to this as it so graphically demonstrates the idea of having both a visible and invisible structure.įurthermore, the fate of the Titanic, whose crew failed to appreciate the true size of the unseen part of the iceberg, adds another dimension in illustrating to people within intercultural training what can happen when this is ignored.

Within intercultural training though there is one model or analogy of culture that most agree sums up the concept best and that is the iceberg. In essence what they are trying to describe is something that is made up of lots of things and is multifaceted. Whether they draw a tree, cauldron, plate of food or a tapestry they are all valid as culture means different things to different people. What picture can they draw to describe it? In intercultural training one of the questions that is often asked of participants is to think what culture means to them. How can it be defined? What analogies can be used to describe it?

Iceberg model of culture examples