Acculturation

Acculturation is an anthropological theory proposed by Kroeber (1948) stating that "acculturation comprises those changes in a culture brought about by another culture and will result in an increased similarity between the two cultures."

Apply: Acculturation can be useful in community development settings when working in a diverse neighborhood or city.  Knowing that there can be major cultural changes when two different cultures meet can be useful as a community developer.  For example, understanding that individualism is common to America, culturally, but not to Burma, culturally, it can be easier to understand that when Burmese refugees arrive in Indiana, they may eventually become less collectivist and more individualistic.  It is also possible the community surrounding the refugees may become more collectivist culturally due to the influence of the other culture. 

Adapt: Acculturation can also be applied to an organizational setting to better understand how two companies, with different organizational cultures, can merge and eventually have increased similarity.  Imagine company A has a relaxed lunch hour while company B requires employees to clock in and out.  After merging, the overall organizational culture will end up resembling one or the other and the cultures will begin to merge in some respects.

Resource: Goldstein, M., King, G., and   Wright, M. (n.d.). Anthropological Theories. The Department of Anthropology at the University of Alabama. http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php.