Dinner Table Operations
July 9, 2017
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| Chinese PRC National Day celebration in Sugar Land Texas |
There is no better arena in which to observe the values,
beliefs, behavior, and norms (VBBN) of culture than in the realm of the formal
meal, be it Lunch, Supper, or Dinner (I never knew which was supper). It is here
than the games of King of the Hill are played, and the Headspace Adjustment of
the players is displayed. It can be said that the decorations, jewelry, exotic
textiles, and hairdos and all the finery of pomp and circumstance are at the
center of human adventure.
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| The Hats in Bogota, UPORFA meeting |
The formal meal is traditionally the center of life for the
nuclear family, the extended family, and greater family such as clan and tribe.
Its extension into corporate and military life replicated the social role with
often significant political and economic life. In the latter business sense,
all the rules of a medieval dining hall remain.
As place and importance in life, the current score in King
of the Hill as played out in accordance with the collective and individual’s
headspace adjustment is played out in the placement on a dais or main table.
The quarterly sales meeting at the local pricey hotel is the place where the
current ranking is displayed for one and all.
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| Argentina, Ganaderos Regimental Diner |
The Culture Trooper can gain pre-meal intelligence on the current
or last standing of who is one what hill, and some clues as to the headspace
adjustment by studying pictures taken of recent events, plus the advice of a
friendly player.
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| Army Culture Center on Horn of Africa Food |
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| Plastic Food in display window of Japanese Restaurants |
The pre-meal cocktail or coffee warm up is useful in the
same sense by breaking out the Suck Up Clusters (SUC) that mark the existence
of competing, winning and losing clusters of people bound together by a sense
of togetherness or search for approval by and of the main players in the
cluster. SUC detection is one of human’s earliest developed social skill which
is developed by age six and evolves to a matter of life or death (socially) in
the mid-teens.
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| Warsaw CIOR |
The geometric array at the school bus stop and seating order
on the school bus is learned early in life. It continues in corporate life, and
it takes a well-balanced person to operate independently of them. A quick
sketch on the back of an envelope, or cocktail napkin, supplemented by digital
photography can be used as order of battle (OB) files.
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| Vienna 2004 CIOR |
The body languages of deference and domination are strongly
influenced by culture, but such standard mannerisms as the Look Down the Nose
at Lesser persons maneuver is widely used. The hand steeple is a similar mark
of dominance.
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| La Falda, St Joan |
The position of Chamberlain, as in the United Kingdom,
originally started as the position of the person who emptied the King’s chamber
pot. This gives the ambitious the access to the Great One, that few others get.
The role of Prime Minister began as the go between the king’s council or
parliament, the rationale being to elevate the king above the messy business of
dealing with contentious lesser folk..
Likewise, the position of body guard gains access to and
trust by the Great One. The downside of this arrangement is that many revolutions and coups were carried out by the Favored Few.
Al Capone rose to prominence by being body guard to Johnny Torio. Saladin got his start that way. The Lone Crackpot is still the most dangerous
assassination threat to the powerful. They have organization that leaks, nor
know ambition to power.
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| Famous Chinese Actress now in Houston |
The score card of important people needs to keep tabs on
those in the SUC and AKC.
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| CIOR in Italy |
In addition, those
who handle the less glamorous assignments such as taking notes, keeping the
records, and counting the dues, but it is those positions that the truly
ambitious take on as they are they control the nervous system of the
organization. The position of personal secretary is vital to control access to
the boss. Therefore, many secretaries
are the real power of the corporation, a relation often cemented by marriage
with the boss.
Who sits in the role of parliamentarian, normally a
chairman/woman whose formal power is far less than the real power exerted by
the ability to control the flow of communication to and from the Boss. It is no
accident that the rules of communist states are typically a chairman, or a
secretary, while the office of President is symbolic.
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| UPORFA - The leaership |
There are great numbers of cultures outside of Texas that do
the same. Africa and the Middle East are predominately of this sort except that
one knows which of the clans, great families, or tribes have the insider track.
In Texas, if you don’t know who they are, you don’t have a need to know. It is also typical that the person who makes
the presentation is not the lead actor, who in fact often sits in the back.
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| Mexico, table setting |
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| Senor Tango in Buenos Aires |
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| ChChi Club in Shanghai courtesy the Greater Houston Partnership |
