Anthropology
Anthropology deals with the study of human societies, its structure, development, and culture. The discipline of anthropology has evolved in the past decade from studying just the physiological and biological traits of humans and their evolution into looking at global issues in a social-cultural perspective. Anthropologists aim to answer questions such as; how can we improve mental health care? How can the concept of gender impact on social mobility? Among many related questions. A newer focus on anthropology now looks into the various aspects of the business. Trained anthropologists study the topics of different cultures in offices that lead to desired outcomes. The various anthropological concepts lead to critical thinking and analytical skills, create awareness and understanding of different world’s cultures.
Importance of anthropological concepts to critical evaluation and analysis
The various concepts of anthropology improve research abilities and enable the development of critical thinking skills in a person. Anthropology requires the analysis of the bigger picture of the human culture. Self-knowledge and self-exploration are important aspects of gaining the required understanding of the bigger picture of human society and its components (Latour, 2017). The anthropological concept of ethnography has improved my ability to research new ideas related to organizational changes and project management. Ethnography develops the understanding of people and their culture by studying their habits, customs, and mutual differences. Through the concept of ethnography, I have been able to develop the required skills in analyzing customer profiles and consequently, understanding them. This skill will enable me to do company analyses based on the types of customers they have and whether the customer structure can foster organizational change and product development.
Anthropology teaches how to conduct primary research and analyze the data presented. Through the collection of data and analysis, anthropology helps in project management. It allows the anthropologists to deliver projects worldwide with cultural know-how (Latour, 2017). Such projects are vital for international businesses and the tech sectors. Anthropology allows the management of various multinational companies to manage teams effectively when working in different countries with different cultures. Such management schemes have proven profitable for organizations such a Google and Bloomberg, which employ a wide variety of employees from various cultures (Padgett, 2016). In this regard, anthropology teaches how to navigate bureaucracy, and conducting primary research. The international companies need to account for custom regulations by taking an analytical and culturally-aware approach.
Increased awareness of the world’s cultures
The concept of cultural anthropology is vital in understanding cultures. Sociocultural anthropologists explore in tandem how the people across the world live and understand their society. Thorough the emancipation of this concept, anthropology digs deep into creating social awareness and social integration with various people from different social backgrounds (Padgett, 2016). Cultural anthropology enhances intergroup relations that increases social awareness. Developing the concepts of social awareness of different world’s culture, I have learned to accept every person in the Nevadan society the way they are. I have learned that every society is peculiar in terms of their culture. Therefore, I have become a thoughtful citizen of America by dealing with every person differently in the organization where I work. As a human being, I have learned the importance of social cohesion and the importance of cross-culture in my workplace. Cross-cultural knowledge in my organization and my career is important in exchanging ideas. Most companies today employ the concepts of outsourcing and diversity in workplaces based on multicultural approaches (Padgett, 2016). Having a diversified workforce ensures I gain new ideas which perhaps I did not have, encourages sharing of knowledge and hence better productivity.
The importance of improved communication and technical skills
Communication approaches in a society with mixed cultures should aim at developing better communication skills that relay the required information to persons of different cultures. This aspect calls for the use of conventional languages such as English (Bernard, 2017). In this regard, the concept of linguistic anthropology will help study the way various people communicate across the globe. Language and communication are the main aspects of linguistic anthropology and are key to how we make societies and cultures. In the digital world, communication is also diversified. Different methods, such as the use of computers, is used to pass information from one person to another. My computer skills of maneuvering the Microsoft packages enables me to communicate to people in public settings through typed work and presentations. My improved communication skills and use of computers skills will allow delivering messages to people through online platforms such as electronic mails (Padgett, 2016). The technical and linguistic skills have learned from linguistic anthropology have polished my language to accommodate the comprehension capacities of people from various cultures.
Conclusion and recommendations
The study of anthropology is not much different from other studies. Achieving excellent results in the anthropology classes is also not rocket science either. The teachers of anthropology should act as an ethnographic researcher. In this manner, such teachers should lead the students in investigations of social issues that affect their daily lives using various methods such as interviews and participant observations. This involvement would strengthen the role of teachers in schools and the society. Additionally, this approach will ensure teachers introduce the students to their firsthand local knowledge. The teachers would thus become agents who drive the quests for social change in communities. Another suggestion is that a model of education should be designed by instructors to combine and put into practice the complementary ideas from anthropology. The ideas are cultural continuity and cultural discontinuity. In conclusion, anthropology plays significant roles in strengthening organizations made of different people and cultures. Such people require a baseline form of communication approaches in a language they easily comprehend, hence the importance of linguistic anthropology. The strength of anthropology lies in strengthening intergroup relations, which bring about good organizational cultures, and outcomes.
References
Bernard, H. R. (2017). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Rowman & Littlefield.
Latour, B. (2017). Anthropology at the time of the Anthropocene: a personal view of what is to be studied. In The anthropology of sustainability (pp. 35-49). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Padgett, D. K. (2016). Qualitative methods in social work research (Vol. 36). Sage Publications.