Cross Cultural Management
    Revisiting Traditional Values 
    Although we live in the twenty-first century, 
    traditional values are still important to us. Chinese 
    traditions of benevolence, moderation, selfdiscipline, 
    scholarship, respect for order and family values are 
    universal and timeless. The Greek traditions of logic, 
    science and ethics have expanded human frontiers 
    and raised our standards of living, and their sports 
    tradition has established competition as a way of life. 
    Taken together, they can help us better deal with the 
    future. 
           Continued..
  In the Internet age, we are constantly 
  bombarded by new information every second 
  of every day. With the tap of a finger we can 
  get the latest news and expert advice about 
  anything, at any time, from almost anywhere 
  and on any device. This surfeit of information 
  empowers us and makes us feel sophisticated. 
  However, that’s not always a good thing. 
  Today, we have way too much information 
  about everything. We have far too many easy 
  answers and no real solutions. What’s more, 
  what we see and hear don’t always make us 
  wiser or more content. 
           Continued...
   In fact, the opposite may be true. When we 
   watch terrorist acts on television, we feel 
   susceptible. When we look at the stock 
   market, we feel worried. When we read news 
   about global warming, we feel vulnerable. 
   When we hear about other people’s 
   successes, we feel jealous. When we see how 
   others suffer, we feel ashamed. When we see 
   thin people, we feel fat. When we see 
   strangers, we feel threatened. When we have 
   too many choices, we feel overwhelmed. The 
   avalanche of information does not make us 
   feel better. Instead it stresses us out. 
           Continued...
   The issues that affect us most today, such 
   as economic survival, personal growth, the 
   welfare of loved ones, our health and 
   wellbeing, how to get along with others 
   and the quest for meaning in our lives are 
   all manifestations of the same human 
   nature that has been around ever since 
   humans knew how to think and reason. 
   And as long as our DNA remains 
   unchanged, we will have to deal with the 
   same eternal issues in our lives. 
           Continued...
   Life is like an opera. The performers on stage may be 
   wearing costumes that are no longer in fashion and 
   singing arias in Italian or Chinese that were written a 
   long time ago, but the emotions they seek to portray, 
   whether it is the desire for love and affection, despair 
   from loss and betrayal, or a struggle for survival and 
   justice, are what make us unique as human beings. 
   And we can be sure that our children and their children 
   will have to deal with the same challenges in their 
   lives. The fact is that advances do not change how we 
   feel and behave as human beings. What’s more, 
   technology doesn’t always offer us better solutions.