Being aware of your own culture and how it contrasts with others is an important first step in achieving intercultural proficiency. One of the main reasons for becoming interculturally competent is that your personal life will be more satisfying and your work life will be more productive and effective.
Ethnocentrism is described as the belief in the superiority of one's own race. It is a natural attitude inherent in all cultures. There is nothing wrong in being proud of your culture and what "your people" achieve.
Ethnocentrism causes us to judge others by our own values. We expect others to act as we would, and the expect us to behave as they would. This does not always work out so well and can usually result in misunderstandings. These misunderstandings can be reduced through knowledge of other cultures and development of increased intercultural sensitivity.
Avoiding ethnocentrism is not an easy task, we must have an open mind, and as proud as we might be of our culture, we must always remember that we are all pieces of the puzzle, we are all, in some way or the other, parts of the bigger piece.
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