Spatial Orientation
Spatial Orientation is one of six cultural dimensions defined by two business analysts, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck. By introducing six cultural dimensions, they explain why and how people show typical behavior depending on where they are from. Here are six culture dimensions they defined:
· Human-Nature Orientation
· Man-Nature Orientation
· Relational Orientation
· Activity Orientation
· Time Orientation
· Spatial Orientation
Among the six dimensions, spatial orientation is very useful aspect that business people should know about others when they plan to go another country and start business. Spatial orientation can largely be divided by two concepts, private oriented and public oriented. To talk more about spatial orientation, I would like to focus on a country, South Korea; I will provide a specific example.
Basic Info about the Country
Geography: South Korea is such a small country located on the south portion of the Korean peninsula.
Population and Economy: Although the country is small, but it has about 48millions of population; the country is ranked as the 13th biggest economy.
People: Its ethnic is homogeneous which means there is only one ethnic even though there are several types of religions. Also, Korean people use Korean for their official language, and English is widely considered as the second language.
South Korea’s Spatial Orientation
In general, many Asian countries tend to have more public oriented variation than private. A large number of Koreans are also much familiar with public orientation because of their own cultural values and features. In other words, Koreans are not fully allowed to keep their own space at home and even work because sharing a place is often considered as creating a close relationship. In fact, building a sincere human relationship is one of the most valuable goals in Korea.
General Case
A number of Korean companies set up their tables and things relatively open to other, so one can see what his/her colleagues are doing at work. This is not just to watch someone’s behavior or work, but to build a strong relationship among co-workers. However, I understand that this tendency sounds strange or uncomfortable to people who are from private oriented society such as America and even to me from time to time. I have observed that most people at American companies have their own table surrounded by cubicles or something else. By doing so, they could have their own space to do work.
My Case
I came up with a really good example for this topic. When my parents bought me a computer for the first time, they placed it in the living room even though I had my own room. This was not because they did not want me to play games all the time, but to get closer by creating a strong relationship between us. Placing things in the living room which was a public place for me applied not only to me, but also to my younger sister for the same purpose. The essential role of this public oriented behavior seems to work well as least for my family. Also, I have observed the way of my father organized his office in a very Korean style, so his employees are easily allowed to contact each other.
Final Evaluation
Wherever you visit, you will see many differences between countries, especially for cultural aspects. Even for spatial orientation, there are a couple of types that a country and its people are looking for. I do not want to say that one is better than another. I totally understand that some people might feel more comfortable with their private office or cubicles at work. However, my childhood observations and experience seriously affected me to establish my public oriented variation.
