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Chapter 4

Differences

in Culture

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4-2

What Is Culture?

Culture - a system of values and norms that are

shared among a group of people and that when

taken together constitute a design for living

wherevalues are abstract ideas about what a group believes

to be good, right, and desirable

norms are the social rules and guidelines that

prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations

Society- a group of people who share a

common set of values and norms

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4-3

What Are Values And Norms?

Values provide the context within which a

societys norms are established and

justified and form the bedrock of a culture

Norms include

folkways - the routine conventions of

everyday life

mores - norms that are seen as central to thefunctioning of a society and to its social life

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4-4

How Are Culture, Society,

And The Nation-State Related?The relationship between a society and a

nation state is not strictly one-to-one

Nation-states are political creations

can contain one or more cultures

A culture can embrace several nations

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4-5

What Determines Culture?

The values and norms of a culture evolve

over time

Determinants include

religion

political and economic philosophies

education

language

social structure

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4-6

What Determines Culture?

Determinants of Culture

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What Is A Social Structure?

Social structure - a societys basic social

organization

Consider

the degree to which the basic unit of social

organization is the individual, as opposed to

the group

the degree to which a society is stratified intoclasses or castes

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How Are Individuals

And Groups Different?

A group is an association of two or morepeople who have a shared sense ofidentity and who interact with each other in

structured ways on the basis of a commonset of expectations about each othersbehavior

individuals are involved in families, workgroups, social groups, recreational groups,etc.

Societies place different values on groups

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How Are Individuals


In Western societies, there is a focus on theindividual individual achievement is common

dynamism of the U.S. economy

high level of entrepreneurship

But, creates a lack of company loyalty andfailure to gain company specific knowledge

competition between individuals in a company insteadof than team building

less ability to develop a strong network of contactswithin a firm

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How Are Individuals


In many Asian societies, the group is the

primary unit of social organization

discourages job switching between firms

encourages lifetime employment systems

leads to cooperation in solving business

problems

But, might also suppress individualcreativity and initiative

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What Is Social Stratification?

All societies are stratified on a

hierarchical basis into social categories,

orsocial strata

individuals are born into a particular stratum

Must consider

1. mobility between strata

2. the significance placed on social strata in

business contexts

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1. Social mobility - the extent to which individualscan move out of the strata into which they areborn caste system -closed system of stratification in

which social position is determined by the familyinto which a person is born

change is usually not possible during anindividual's lifetime

class system - form of open social stratification position a person has by birth can be changed

through achievement or luck

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2. The significance attached to social strata

in business contacts class consciousness - a condition where people

tend to perceive themselves in terms of theirclass background, and this shapes their

relationships with others

an antagonistic relationship between

management and labor raises the cost ofproduction in countries with significant class

differences

l d

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How Do Religious And

Ethical Systems Differ?

Religion - a system of shared beliefs and

rituals that are concerned with the realm of the

sacred

Four religions dominate society1. Christianity

2. Islam

3. Hinduism

4. Buddhism

5. Confucianism is also important in influencing

behavior and culture in many parts of Asia

H D R l A d

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How Do Religious And

Ethical Systems Differ?

Ethical systems - a set of moral

principles, or values, that are used to

guide and shape behavior

Religion and ethics are often closely

intertwined

ex. Christian or Islamic ethics

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What Is Christianity?

Christianity

the worlds largest religion

found throughout Europe, the Americas, and

other countries settled by Europeans

theProtestant work ethic (Max Weber, 1804)

hard work, wealth creation, and frugality is the

driving force of capitalism

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What Is Islam?

Islam the worlds second largest religion dating to AD 610

there is only one true omnipotent God

an all-embracing way of life that governs one's being

associated in the Western media with militants,terrorists, and violent upheavals

but, in fact teaches peace, justice, and tolerance

fundamentalists have gained political power andblame the West for many social problems

people do not own property, but only act as stewardsfor God

supportive of business, but the way business ispracticed is prescribed

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What Is Hinduism?

Hinduism

practiced primarily on the Indian sub-continent

focuses on the importance of achieving

spiritual growth and development, which mayrequire material and physical self-denial

Hindus are valued by their spiritual rather thanmaterial achievements

promotion and adding new responsibilitiesmay not be important, or may be infeasibledue to the employee's caste

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What Is Buddhism?

Buddhism

has about 350 millions followers

stresses spiritual growth and the afterlife,

rather than achievement while in this world

does not emphasize wealth creation

entrepreneurial behavior is not stressed

does not support the caste system, individualsdo have some mobility and can work with

individuals from different classes

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What Is Confucianism?

Confucianism

ideology practiced mainly in China

teaches the importance of attaining personal

salvation through right actionhigh morals, ethical conduct, and loyalty to

others are stressed

three key teachings of Confucianism - loyalty,

reciprocal obligations, and honesty - may alllead to a lowering of the cost of doingbusiness in Confucian societies

Wh t I Th R l

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What Is The Role

Of Language In Culture?Language - the spoken and unspoken

(nonverbal communication such as facial

expressions, personal space, and hand

gestures ) means of communication

countries with more than one language often

have more than one culture

Canada, Belgium, Spain

Wh t I Th R l

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What Is The Role

Of Language In Culture? Language is one of the defining characteristics

of cultureChinese is the mother tongue of the largest number of

people

English is the most widely spoken language in theworld

English is also becoming the language of internationalbusiness

but, knowledge of the local language is still beneficial,

and in some cases, critical for business success failing to understand the nonverbal cues of another

culture can lead to communication failure

Wh t I Th R l

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4-23

What Is The Role

Of Education In Culture?

Formal education is the medium through whichindividuals learn many of the language,conceptual, and mathematical skills that areindispensable in a modern society important in determining a nations competitive

advantage

Japans postwar success can be linked to itsexcellent education system

general education levels can be a good index for thekinds of products that might sell in a country

ex. impact of literacy rates

H D C lt

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How Does Culture

Impact The Workplace?

Management processes and practicesmust be adapted to culturally-determinedwork-related values

Geert Hofstedestudied culture usingdata collected from 1967 to 1973 for

100,000 employees of IBM Hofstede identified four dimensions that

summarized different cultures

H D C lt

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How Does Culture

Impact The Workplace? Hofstedes dimensions of culture:

1. Power distance - how a society deals with thefact that people are unequal in physical andintellectual capabilities

2. Uncertainty avoidance- the relationshipbetween the individual and his fellows

3. Individualism versus collectivism- the extent towhich different cultures socialize their

members into accepting ambiguous situationsand tolerating ambiguity

4. Masculinity versus femininity -the relationshipbetween gender and work roles

H D C lt

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How Does Culture

Impact The Workplace?Work-Related Values for 20 Countries

H D C lt

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How Does Culture

Impact The Workplace?

Hofstede later expanded added a fifthdimension called Confucian dynamism orlong-term orientation

captures attitudes toward time, persistence,ordering by status, protection of face, respectfor tradition, and reciprocation of gifts andfavors

Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand scored high onthis dimension

the U.S. and Canada scored low

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Was Hofstede Right?

Hofstedes work has been criticized for several

reasons

made the assumption there is a one-to-one

relationship between culture and the nation-statestudy may have been culturally bound

used IBM as sole source of information

culture is not static it evolves

But, it is a starting point for understanding howcultures differ, and the implications of those

differences for managers

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4-29

Does Culture Change?

Culture evolves over time

changes in value systems can be slow andpainful for a society

Social turmoil - an inevitable outcome ofcultural change

as countries become economically stronger,cultural change is particularly commoneconomic progress encourages a shift from

collectivism to individualism

globalization also brings cultural change

What Do Cultural Differences

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Mean For Managers?

1. It is important to develop cross-cultural literacy companies that are ill informed about the practices

of another culture are unlikely to succeed in thatculture

To avoid being ill-informed consider hiring local citizens

transfer executives to foreign locations on a regularbasis

Managers must also guard againstethnocentrism

a belief in the superiority of one's own culture


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Mean For Managers?

2. There is a connection between culture

and national competitive advantage

suggests which countries are likely to

produce the most viable competitors

has implications for the choice of countries

in which to locate production facilities and do

business

2000 chp 4 culture

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