Bettina Byrd-Giles, program director for the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Office of Diversity… defined globalization as “networks of interdependence at worldwide distances,” noting McDonald’s Corp.’s reach around the world, Mercedes’ arrival in Alabama and the outsourcing of customer call centers to India and elsewhere as examples of those networks.

With globalization will come increasing diversity, Giles said. According to research, the U.S. population should hit about 325 million by 2020, including 70 million immigrants, Giles said. The percentage of white non-Hispanics in the population will shrink to about 64.3 percent, while the percentage of blacks, Asians and Hispanics will all rise to 12.9 percent, 6.5 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

That means a changing work force and customer base and with it, the need for a better understanding of cultural differences, Giles said. For example, Americans tend to be individualistic, while many other cultures are collective. Societies that behave more collectively tend to make decisions as a group and to take longer doing it. They also tend to rely more on relationships.

While individualistic thinkers tend to be direct communicators, people who live collectively use less direct means of making a point in order to maintain the harmony of the group, she said.

Awareness of such differences can help you better understand how people behave and react to one another — and do business, she said.

“It’s a lot more than just being polite to each other.”

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Many Hispanics worry that as it grows more popular, Spanglish will erode American Hispanics’ knowledge of, and respect for, the Spanish language and culture.

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This morning I gave a presentation on Global Culture at Marathon Oil in Houston, Texas. See the Linguistic Solutions Web site Resources page and the Linguistic Solutions Blog Global Culture category for resources.

America is making up its collective mind about globalization. New data says most of us like globalization and want it to continue

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“Hispanic is by far the preferred term nationally but especially in New Mexico,” F. Chris Garcia said.

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A conference in London last month organized by the Economist and the Wharton/INSEAD Alliance, entitled “Delivering Profits in the Global Economy,” focused on such issues as growing a global business, leadership in the global organization, branding, and decentralized vs. centralized management structures.

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With the European Union’s expansion to 25 countries, companies are facing new challenges and opportunities. The upcoming GALA seminar brings together experts who will discuss strategies for success in this changing environment.

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See Federico García Lorca’s Yerma performed (in the original Spanish) tonight at 8:00 p.m. at the University of Houston’s José Quintero Lab Theatre. Admittance is free.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, globalization is not ‘Americanizing’ the world

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Lost in Arabic translation

The federal government’s lack of Arabic translators and the insufficient understanding – and consequent poor translation – of the language by the translators it does have may mean more Arab-Americans, immigrants, and foreigners could find themselves caught up in the government’s dragnet.

When Bill Gates goes to China, students hang from the rafters and scalp tickets to hear him speak. In China, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In America, Britney Spears is Britney Spears… Throw out your kid’s idiotic video game, shut off the television and get Johnny and Suzy to work, because a storm is coming their way.

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Many people (both supporters and critics) say globalization will lead to a homogenization of culture — people around the world, enticed by McDonalds and Hollywood movies, will devalue their local culture and adopt American ways instead. I don’t know if that will happen or not, but some recent articles and studies got me thinking about one way to test this theory.

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I recently gave a presentation on Global Culture at Cardinal Health in Houston, Texas. See the Linguistic Solutions Web site Resources page and the Linguistic Solutions Blog Global Culture category for resources.

HispanicBusiness.com reports on 2003 Census estimates.

China Digital News lists the keywords filtered by all Chinese ISPs. Hat tip: Smart Mobs.