5.1Understanding and respecting culture

The problem with culture is that although it is omnipresent and its influence on the functioning of organizations and societies is very strong, it is difficult to identify and grasp, since it is nowhere precisely described. It includes taboos – values that people respect, but about which they do not normally talk and sometimes resent talking. Individuals and communities may be unaware of their culture because they have not learned it as a structured subject or a technical skill. Values and beliefs that make up culture evolve over generations, are transmitted from generation to generation, and are normally acquired unconsciously, early in people’s lives – in the family, at