Thailand’s Cultural Profile
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Comparing Countries Cultural Profiles
Thailand Cultural Profile
The fact Thailand is multi-ethnic confirms what I already thought the country; a religious and outgoing society. Located in south-eastern Asia, Thailand’s ethnic composition is 96% Thai, 2% Burmese, and 2% other religions (Compare countries – Hofstede Insights, 2021). I knew Thailand to be a country with people of all kinds of ethnicities. Carrying out a cultural profile on Thailand helped me understand why the majority of the population are adherents and why the country is so popular with tourists. With Thailand’s population being largely heterogeneous, it goes without saying that there many celebrations that occur each year. The country enjoys 16 public holidays. Some significant festivals include Chakri Day, New Year, Magah Puga, Songkran, and Visakha Puja.
Various aspects of Thailand’s culture surprised me. For instance, regarding gift-giving, I had no idea that one should not offer carnations or marigolds as gifts. Without a doubt, I knew that gifts when visiting a Thai home are appreciated, but I was surprised to know that not all kinds of gifts are welcome. One should not gift Thais with marigolds and carnations because they are associated with funerals and death. Additionally, as far as communication style is concerned, I was surprised to find out that close friends are allowed to be tactile with each other and that friends of the same sex casually hold hands with each other. I was also surprised to learn that mothers take their babies wherever they go and rarely leave them behind.
One of the recruiting strategies that will be important in attracting high quality talents from Thailand is incorporating Thai dishes and cuisine. Thais love their culture and one of the ways they express themselves is through food. Incorporating some of their cuisines like white rice, beef, pork, vegetables, chicken, and seafood is a way of keeping Thai talents happy. Some of the most popular Thai dishes include tom yum soup, pad Thai, and Thai green curry.
Mauritius Cultural Profile
The information gathered from the cultural profile of Mauritius confirmed why Mauritius is largely conservative in most aspects. I have always known Mauritius to lean on the more traditional side of things, especially regarding dress code. Mauritius is an island located on the west of Madagascar and southwest of India. Mauritius’s demography is quite diverse, containing both white and Indian populations. The country does not have an official language, although administrative and government work is written in English. In terms of religion, the majority of the population is Hindu comprising up to 52% of the entire population with Christians, Muslims and other religions comprising 28.3%. 16.6% and 3.1%, respectively.
One aspect about Mauritius Island that surprised me is that malaria is a rare disease here. Further, I was surprised to know that Hepatitis A is largely common and Hepatitis C and B are rare in the highland. I was also taken aback by the fact that women in Mauritius have a higher life expectancy than their male counterparts. Men have an average expectancy of sixty-six years, while that of women stands at seventy-five. Moreover, I was surprised that Mauritius has only thirteen official state holidays. For a place that is often packed with tourists, one would think that secular holiday celebrations in Mauritius are many, which is not the case.
One of the recruiting that would be important in attracting high quality talents from Mauritius is observing etiquette in the work environment. As mentioned before, Mauritius is largely conservative. In their culture, nudity and toplessness are not condoned. Having a strict dress code policy would be viable as it would make employees of Mauritius descent comfortable at the workplace. Additionally, organizations should be flexible and accommodating enough to allow their employees to wear colored fabrics to maintain talent.
References
Compare countries – Hofstede Insights. Hofstede Insights. (2021). Retrieved 4 November 2021, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/.
