Striking a Balance : A Cultural Analytical Study of a Cross-Cultural

Abstract: This thesis aims to aid the consultancy Living Institute in evaluating the perceived effects of the cross‐cultural training courses it provides to a wide variety of clients. To do this we study the company in relationship to its clients, mapping out its theoretical foundation as well as its strategies for teaching culture. In order to gain a deeper understanding of what the company teaches and how the clients put the lessons to use, we focus on how the concept of culture is packaged, sold and taught and what happens to it in the process. By using an ethnographic approach, performing observations and in-depth interviews, we create empirical material with depth as well a breadth; describing both the perspective of the company and the experiences of its clients. By doing this we also want to reach beyond taking the informants’ accounts at face value to identify patterns of logics and assumptions. To perform this analysis we employ a number of theoretical concepts from intercultural communication and cultural analysis as well as discourse and narrative analysis. The company combines perspectives from the traditions of intercultural communication and anthropology in order to deliver an accessible but complex understanding of culture. We show Living Institute has to handle a number of balancing acts like this one in order to make it relevant in the business world while simultaneously retaining theoretical depth. These balancing acts are not specific to Living Institute, but apply to anyone wanting to employ culture analytical concepts outside academia. This commodification process reduces and simplifies the meanings of culture. Living Institute, however, manages to put culture on the agenda, demonstrating to its clients how, why and in what ways culture matters to them.