The Importance of Culture: Family, Sherpa or Team Culture

Introduction 

Culture is regarded as a fundamental concept in anthropology, covering the phenomenon range which is transmitted by social learning in human societies. Some human behavior aspects, social practices like culture, expressive forms like religion, art, ritual, music, and technologies like cooking, shelter, tool usage, and clothing are referred to be cultural universals which are present in every human society. In this context, culture refers to norms or social behavior exhibited by human societies. According to Cambridge English Dictionary, culture is defined as “the way of life” mainly the general beliefs and customs of a particular group of individuals at a certain period of time. On this background, this paper focuses on discussing culture. The first part will cover family culture, while the second section will discuss Sherpa culture. The next part will discuss team culture, and finally, a concluding paragraph. 

Family Culture 

Family culture is the way of living, that is, the beliefs, values, practices, and habits of a family which are grounded in family traditions. In this context, family tradition refers to actions and behaviors that families engage in, and when done the right way, lend a spirit, texture, and magic of the everyday living (Huisman, 2014). Families are essential in establishing culture because they give family members identity and sense of belonging. When children are taught that right culture and learn to embrace it, it becomes part of them and even translates into who they are in the future. Therefore, the role of the family in establishing culture is nature children to develop the right habits, behaviors or practices, which will translate into a meaningful lifestyle and give them the proper sense of identity. As such, this culture will impact an individual’s role in team performance. For instance, it provides a person with the spirit to carry on with the objective of the team and achieve it no matter what the circumstance may be, as long as the team sticks together. 

My Reflection of Sherpa Culture 

Sherpa people take themselves to be the genius when it comes to mountain climbing because they have lived there and have gained considerable knowledge of mountain climbing. Thus, they believe to be the expert who can accompany tourist who comes for mountaineering in Mount Everest. I view them to be the expert in trekking industry due to the knowledge they possess in mountaineering. I also see Sherpas as people who believe in their gods, and as such, they show mountains respect through an attempt of preventing foreign climbers from burning cabbage or killing animals which they fear might anger their god. One tragic event took place on May 5, 2013, where DaRita Sherpa died among others during a mountain climb at camp III. DaRita was then ridden in a helicopter to his home in Phortse where he was cremated (National Geographic Society, 2014). The act of cremation shows that Sherpas are Buddhist who do not bury but cremate the dead. Additionally, in 2014, sixteen Sherpas were killed by a deadly avalanche. All the sixteen people who died were cremated (Sherpa & Pokharel, 2016). This also reveals that cremation is part of their culture as they do not bury the dead in graves. 

Observations I made about team Culture 

Team culture gives identity to a team which leads them towards performing and achieving the objective of the team. In all situations, whether good or bad, team members have to remain focused on their goal and they encourage each other, an element which bore them strength to carry on. With the purpose of the team in every member’s head, everyone will focus to accomplish his or her part in ensuring the team achieves its goals. So it is crucial that for teamwork to be successful, the team has to set an objective and every member given a role to play which when combined lead to the completion of the task. 

Recommendations 

To ensure success in this Mount Everest scenario, given that family culture is significant in giving in giving individual identity and sense of belonging, teamwork should be based on team culture which is a reflection of the family culture in every individual belonging to the collaboration. Therefore, after forming a team culture, the team should be able to understand the Sherpa culture, who will be leading them during the mountaineering to ensure that they follow instruction and can relate to the Sherpas very well as the climbing agenda continues. Second, Sherpa and team culture should be embedded in the climbing agenda such that both sides are sensitive to the beliefs or behaviors of one another to ensure a smooth journey. Third, every member of the team should be given a role to perform, and through the team culture, each member should be devoted to performing the task assigned to him/her to ensure completion and hence, the success of the agenda of the team. 

Conclusion 

From the discussion, it is evident the importance of culture is it family, Sherpa or team culture. In mountaineering journey, culture help push people, especially those working as a team to achieve their climbing mission no matter the situation because team culture gives them the sense of identity which translates into the strength and motives to push through. As such, culture is an essential part of living, and that is why it is present in every part of the human community. 

References 

Huisman, D. (2014). Telling a family culture: storytelling, family identity, and cultural membership.  Interpersona ,  8 (2), 144. 

National Geographic Society (2014). Sherpas: The Invisible Men of Everest. Retrieved May 18, 2018 from https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/special-features/2014/04/140426-sherpa-culture-everest-disaster/ 

Sherpa, P., & Pokharel, S. (May 24, 2016). Four climbers dead on Everest, 'mountain of extremes'. Retrieved May 18, 2018 from https://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/22/asia/everest-climbing-deaths/index.html