Reading the topics of the past couple of weeks, interesting to me was the changes of self-awareness of people within the European continent. Many of the past events lead to the evolution of how people throughout Europe built a future. After 2 World Wars, most of Europe banded together creating the European Union or EU as it is called today. Being a banded unit brought many advantages to the people and the countries surrounding them.
“The cultural effects of the European Union have been significant. For one, “(t)he EU seeks to preserve Europe’s shared cultural heritage—in language, literature, theatre, cinema, dance, broadcasting, art, architecture, and handicrafts, to name but a few—and help make it accessible to others” (“European Union,” 2013). So the cultures of the EU are afforded legal protections that many other cultures around the world do not have. That said, the EU does enforce several standard criteria for joining in the first place, such as human rights laws, democracy, protective laws for those from minority groups, and a market economy (known as the Copenhagen criteria) (“European Union,” n.d.).
As we see, have a multicultural environment brings out fewer differences but the common ground the European Union used to build what is today a combined power within the world. One amazing thing that fascinates me is transportation within the EU now. Researching the UK personal for the upcoming move for the military, I have noticed that between all EU countries the ease of travel creates a dynamic flow that helps not only people move throughout the countries but the businesses and the trade between them. This did not just a line the countries but brought out the best in the individuals, making them more self-aware.
“So each joining country’s cultures do have to adapt somewhat to join in the first place, which helps create the shared cultural heritage mentioned above. But other side effects are that travel between countries is now easier without the barrier of different currency, which allows for the exchange of ideas to occur more easily. “Without the shift to self-awareness, knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses as a leader may never have become an option, as it would be assumed that divine rights, such as those bestowed upon royal families, were the only way to become a leader.” (Northouse, 2015). Being able to distinguish the traits of workers and leadership, current leadership might not be as in tuned to the surroundings as in today’s workforce. “Instead, we now often focus on fixing shortcomings and developing leaders through acquisitions of skills and specific behaviors”(Northouse, 2015).
Working as a unit to a common goal brings many of European business to expand. This expansion brings more work to the people across the EU and creates trade with counties outside the EU with control and an equal understanding. Self-awareness and multicultural working together not to separate but bring countries on an even playing field.
Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
European Union. ( n.d. ). European Union. Retrieved from http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
European Union. (2013, May 8). Culture. Retrieved from http://europa.eu/pol/cult/