Culture, undeniably, is complex. It is versatile and multi-layered. It has been compared to an iceberg – which only the top part is visible, while a monumental part remains imperceptible below the water surface. Others have likened culture to an onion- which has many layers (Hofstede, 1991). As one layer is peeled, another layer lies beneath, and another, and another waiting to be discovered, waiting to be detected, exposed and disinterred. The two metaphors effectively speak to the complexities of “culture”. The fact is that challenges learning organizations and its elements face are present in these complexities.
Competence in cross-cultural communication demands diving deeper; submerge below the surface to see the remaining (certainly the enormous part) part of the iceberg, and it is linked to onion peeling, as well. When the transatlantic ship “Titanic” neared an iceberg on its inaugural voyage, the vast peril to the ship was not the ice the people could see above or at the water line, but deep beneath, the locus where the frame and the construction, really, most of the iceberg, would be challenging to see even in the light of day. When it comes to culture and cross- culture communication, what people usually see is the “tip of the iceberg”, not the real influence for a “switch”, modification, transformation or commonly put “change”. From a system’s viewpoint focusing on the tip of the iceberg or just events, will prevent one from discovering the complexity of cross-culture communication within an organization or a learning space.
Using the metaphors of an onion and an iceberg still – even though they both speak to the complex disposition of culture, they also provoke a considerable amount of feelings and innervation. Encountering an iceberg can lead to unanticipated setbacks or some sort of percussion - an onion, while being peeled, causes the eyes to tear, similarly, going from metaphor to analogy - the system or mechanism of becoming “culturally aware” is also accompanied with new challenges and empiricism that might at first seem unexpected, ghastly, or even repugnant. In the learning space or classroom or school room or whichever term one decides to use – possessing cultural competence is associated with a comprehension of cultural diversity beneath the surface, and distinctive cultural responsiveness to comparable circumstances or situations.
The fact is that obtaining or earning “cultural competence” is a progressive process or system. It is accomplished only after numerous cognition, researches, experiences, considerations, intercommunication and synergy in the learning space and playground, with the involvement of parents and peers as well. Nonetheless, development can commence with the grasp and comprehension of six basic cultural distinctions the learning space or even the teachers are inclined to be confronted with in the culturally diverse learning space. The six basic distinctions to know include: ways of knowing, ways of solving problems, ways of communicating non-verbally, ways of learning, ways of dealing with conflicts, and ways of using symbols.
In closing, in order to improve our cross-cultural interactions, teachers must learn not just the basic facts, but also important nuances of their students' and colleagues' cultures (Hodgkinson, 1991).