A review by inquiry_from_an_anti_library
The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap by Gish Jen

adventurous informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

2.0

Overview:

Different cultures think differently about how each individual fits in their society.  Cultures influence how much control each individual thinks they have to shape events.  Whether the individual chooses every decision, to decisions being a product of the situation and influenced by the community.  Cultures that are individualistic prioritize oneself and contrast themselves to others.  Cultures that are interdependent flexi-self do not have clear personal boundaries, for the boundary is fluid within their group, but do have a boundary for an outgroup.  Individualistic cultures prioritize individual achievement and effort.  Flexi-self cultures prioritize the context and community that facilitated the achievement. 

Different ways of understanding can create misunderstanding when interpreting the decisions of people from other cultures.  A cultural clash.  Each type of culture has its advantages and disadvantages.  The dichotomy between individualistic and flexi-self has deviations for individuals within the cultures can think differently.  People and organizations can also become ambidependent, by making decisions and interpreting them using both types of understandings. 

 

Caveats?

The book is composed of mostly examples.  Lacking a systematic analysis of the ideas.  The focus is primarily to explain flexi-self cultures such as China, while often contrasting it with individualistic cultures such as America.  These examples themselves are diverse ways to understand the concept of a flexi-self, they do not necessarily add value to the concept of flexi-self.