English Presentation

English Presentation.

The article I will be presenting today was published in the Guardian on the 11th of july 2014.

It deals with mind & relationships.

Summary.

Have you ever been compared to a peach or a coconut ? This sounds weired, I know ! So what is the meaning behind all this ?

Peache people are soft outside with a hard stone inside.

Coconut people have a stone exterior and a sweet heart.

Do you find this comparison to simplistic ?

What is the message ?

Today, we live in a hyperconnected world. With the developement of internet any information we need is one click away. Therefore, having information on the peoples we are going to work with or the country we are going to work in is relatively easy. It can also allow to avoid some cultural mistakes that can put us in embarassing situations or even cause us our job.

Yet, cultural misunderstandings remain and can still offend.

For that reason, the dutch organisational theorist Fons Trompenaars made the peach/coconut comparison. It may seem simplified at first, but is a very interesting way of comparing different cultures : for example.

To the French, Americans are Peaches.

To the Americans, Russians and Germans are Coconuts.

It all depends on what perspective you are looking at.

Taken to another point, the peach/coconut can be interesting on a corporate point of view. Multinational corporations try to develop corporate values that are often a failure. How can anyone impose a logic when all point of views are right ?

Why did I chose this article ?

As I was going throught the pages of this newspaper, I stumbled across this intriguing article title « this column will change your life ». I started reading and found the subject very interesting. I personally like culture and peoples studies, because it is a way of broadening our horizons and avoid stereotypes.

I felt I could relate to this article dealing with different cultures and the way the peoples acted. Having lived abroad and met different people and cultures, I was confronted to this peach/coconut comparison.

What’s my opinion ?

In a way, this comparison can be simplistic. But when I come to think of it, it can really help understand different cultures.

Personally though, I don’t think we can make a generalisation. It depends on each and every one of us.

I once read a sentence I found it very realistic : « my personality depends on me, but my attitude depends on you ». Let me explain : i can meet someone and find him/her really open. The day after my friend meets this same person and finds him/her very closed minded. It will all depend on the approach we have and the way we come up to someone.

For example, some could say Lebanese are peaches.

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