CONSULTING AND CULTURE

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In helping clients to plan and implement change, the consultant needs to be aware of the power of culture. Culture is normally defined as a system of collectively shared values, beliefs, traditions and behavioural norms. “Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another group. Culture, in this sense, is a system of collectively held values.”1 Or, in the words of the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, “there are truths on this side of the Pyrenees that are falsehoods on the other”.

Culture has its roots in the basic conditions of human life, including material conditions, the natural environment, climate, and ways in which people earn their living, and in the historical experience of human communities which includes interaction with other countries and cultures. People develop a culture that helps them to cope with their environment and maintain the cohesion and identity of the community in interacting with other communities. In developing countries, in particular in rural areas, traditional cultures reflect the people’s poverty and respect for the forces of nature. Culture tends to be deeply rooted in people’s hearts and minds, and cannot be easily changed.