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Culture refers to the beliefs and values that make up the customs, norms, and practices of groups of people that help them solve the challenges of everyday living. Everyone has a cultural, inheritance, and in some cases, individuals have diverse cultural identities that shape their contexts. Culture influences career in diverse ways because organizations are controlled by certain value systems with diverse individuals working in them. Unarguably, culture would influence the type of work that is carried out by various workers, the rewards for various types of work, and the types of interaction that are valued. Therefore, culture influences the way people work, the way they make decisions about work, how their career paths are aligned, and how they earn a living. Culture can also affect ones financial priorities, because to some families, giving money to family members is critical and inevitable, while to others, little or no value is placed in giving financial assistance to other family members and this might affect what employment they decide to take up. Cultural values have a way of shaping not just the decisions made by organizations and departments or sectors within the office but also the career and work decisions made by individuals. For example, individuals who place a very high value on their family and the collective good of their ethnic groups may make different choices than those who place a high value on individual accomplishment. Unarguably, one’s culture shapes the opportunities available to him or her, because, for some, culture helps to influence their views on the type of work suitable for them and the role of work in their lives. However, for others, culture influences the types of work available to them, helps them weigh the risks and rewards of that opportunity as regards their culture still.
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Another dimension in which culture influences the career decisions of individuals is in their views of the purpose of work in individual lives. This is because some cultural groups prefer using work as the ultimate determinant of accomplishment while some others prefer to work so they can eventually pursue other desires. These two attitudes are based on diversity of cultures, and without doubt, affect the choice of career of any individual. Cultures differ in how comfortable individuals are with uncertainty and unfamiliar tasks and how much risk is tolerable. Those high in uncertainty avoidance prefer highly structured environments, place a high value on individuals’ conformance to rules, and established norms. When rules are broken, a typical response of a high level of anxiety is to be expected. The role of culture in careers is multifaceted, and without a doubt, something occurs between the dreams that ethnic minded individuals have for their careers and the actual occupations they enter. We know that cultural values unarguably play a role in that difference between aspirations and expectations, but we also know that ethnic groups differ in their perception of barriers to accomplishing their educational and occupational goals. Without a doubt, it is clearly seen that culture and value systems play a huge role in the career decisions of individuals because these individuals have come to accept and live with these cultural beliefs and value systems. Therefore, before they make any decision as regards their career, some things must be considered so that such a career aligns with their cultural belief and value systems. Thus, it is important for individuals to analyse their value system and align it to organisations that are best suited to them. This is necessary because it makes for a working relationship among employees and an effective execution of tasks in the workplace. Featured Image Source: Career Guidance
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