resolving vMeme clashes ... RE: [Ailist] TED

[Lionel Boxer]

Having lectured to classes of multi-culture graduate students for the past ten years I concur that by framing things in terms of meme clashes it is possible to see through racial differences.  I am familiar with Dawkins' memes, but not the term vMeme (I assume I am referring to the same thing).

Also, over the past three weeks, I have - with this in mind - approached five of our offices in different SE Asian nations in the same way and moreso in our UAE office.  People are all basically the same, but they differ in terms of their value systems and life conditions; and by framing things in such a way I have not focused on their differences, but on the specific skills they bring to our global team of 3,500 civil engineering and related consultants.

My challenge is to harness (appreciate) the unique strength and limitations of individuals to produce a consistent service that our brand implies and clients expect.  In my workshops in each place I suggest that, while we are in an entirely different business we need to emulate McDonalds (fast food) in terms of delivering a consistent service and "substance" delivery that clients expect despite different locations around the world.  The wonderful thing about our business is that it has the resources to provide opportunities to our people who have not developed the same value systems or experienced the same life conditions.  What is interesting to see is how people rise to excellence if they are given the opportunity and resources to do so.  (Does this sound arrogant that I am implying that the west knows best? - I do not mean to do so - for example, the medical technology that the 16th century Hospitallers were praised for was aquired by the Hospitallers from their experience working alongside their sometimes enemies in the middle east.  I am refering to consistency for the sake of consistency's sake not because one way is better than another.)

If those "who have" continue to sustain a policy of taking advantage of those "who have not" then the oppressed will eventually react against the oppressors.  This may be the root cause of the bilingual challenges that Canada faces (And for an example of a value driven response to what is currently going on "why else would french canadians pursue and impose on English Canada an archaic french dialect that is quite irrelevant elsewhere in the world?")  Perhaps this explains the root cause of terrorism and why the western world is currently under seige.

Any comments?

Lionel Boxer CD PhD MBA BTech(IndEng) - 0411267256
Associate of RMIT University - lionel.boxer at rmit.edu.au
Graduate School of Business
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>>> "Cheri Torres" <cheri at mobileteamchallenge.com> 14/03/08 12:50 AM >>>
Kat,

Great question--I would love to hear people's experiences.  

I find the Spiral Dynamics response a provocative perspective and one that
opens the door for a different way of using AI for this topic.  Don Beck,
coming from the Spiral Dynamics frame, suggests that racism is not about
color, but rather about vMeme clashes (clashes between value systems and
life conditions).  He suggests that when we attempt to resolve racism by
focusing on color, we actually reinforce the clash because we are not
addressing the real issues.  Solutions come from all different vMemes and
people often end up even further polarized. 

Cheri