What is Ruhly's concept of a cultural iceberg and how is this concept relevant to the study of cultural behavi

Question

What is Ruhly's concept of a cultural iceberg and how is this concept relevant to the study of cultural behavi

Answer 1

"Culture has been likened to an iceberg; nine-tenths of it lies beneath the surface, out of our immediate awareness:'

-Sharon Ruhly,

see: http://www.hsp.org/files/culturaliceberg...

for a visual interpretation

or the following copied from: http://www.culturalsavvy.com/culture.htm

Culture is like an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg is easy to see. This includes the visible aspects and do's and taboos of working in other cultures.  

The remaining huge chunk of the iceberg hidden below the surface includes the invisible aspects of a culture such as the values, traditions, experiences and behaviors that define each culture.

Venturing into different cultures without adequate preparation can be just as dangerous as a ship maneuvering icy waters without charts, hoping to be lucky enough to avoid hitting an iceberg.  The difference is that the ship will know immediately when it hits an iceberg.  

Unsuspecting companies may never realize they hit an iceberg but they will, nevertheless, feel the impact.  It appears in the form of delayed or abandoned projects, misunderstood communications, frustrated employees and a loss of business and reputation.  The costs of cultural myopia and the inability to adjust can be staggering.