Culture

Lecture 9

2

Buddhist Monks in MyanmarEnglish Punk Rocker

Culturevaries around the world

What is Culture?

A system of norms

and values sharedamong a group ofpeople and, whentaken together,constitute a designfor living.

Acculturation

Acculturation is the process of adjusting and adapting to a specific culture other than one’s own. It is one of the keys to success in international operations.

High- versus Low-Context Cultures

High-context culture• context is at least as

important as what is actually said

• what is not being said can carry more meaning than what is said

• focuses on group development

• Japan and Saudi Arabia are examples

Low-context culture• most of the information is

contained explicitly in words

• what is said is more important that what is not said

• focuses on individual development

• The U.S. is an example

HIGH CONTEXT CULTURE• Humor• High context cultures (and co-cultures) provide many opportunities for

humor. However, a high context culture’s jokes will not translate well to someone of a different culture.

• A lower context joke comes from a (possibly apocryphal) interaction between IBM and a Japanese hardware manufacturer. IBM requested parts from a trial project, with the specification “We will accept three defective parts per ten thousand.” The Japanese manufactured the parts, and sent them with a note: “We, the Japanese people, had a hard time understanding North American business practices. But the three defective parts per 10,000 have been separately manufactured and have been included in the consignment. Hope this pleases you.”

• The humor is inherent in the narrative, instead of from a common background.

ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

Language (verbaland nonverbal) Religion

Values andAttitudes

Material Elements

Manners andCustoms

AestheticsEducationSocial Institutions

Language Blunders Braniff Airlines’ English-language slogan “Fly in Leather” was translated into

“Fly Naked” in Spanish.

If a British promises something “by the end of the day” this does not mean

within 24 hours but rather when they have completed the job.

Electrolux’s theme for vacuum cleaners was-nothing sucks like an

Electrolux, it was taken in United Kingdom but it was a slang in U.S.

Lucky Gold star adaptation into Arabic was carried without considering

Arabic writes from right to left.

When Pepsico advertised Pepsi in Taiwan with the ad "Come

Alive With Pepsi" they had no idea that it would be translated

into Chinese as "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the

dead”

Nonverbal languageDistinctions must be made in five key topics:

Time

Space

Material Possessions

Colour

Body language

Personal Space in the U.S.

Intimate distance 18”

Personal distance 18” to 4’

Social distance 4’ to 8’

Public distance 8’ to 10’

Adapted from Figure 7–3: Personal Space Categories for Those in the United States

Mixed Signals

"Okay"

"Vulgar gesture"

"It's a secret"

"Very nosey"

"Crazy"

"Very clever"

World ReligionsWorld Religions

Christianity

Islam

Hinduism

Buddhism

Confucianism

Judaism

Shinto

Origin ofOrigin ofHuman ValuesHuman Values

Origin ofOrigin ofHuman ValuesHuman Values

Religion and Economic Implications• Christianity

– “”Protestant Work Ethic” and “The Spirit of Capitalism””.• Islam

– Favors market-based systems. – No payment or receipt of interest.

• Hinduism– Asceticism may have an impact.– Caste system plays a role.

• Confucianism– Loyalty, reciprocal obligations, and honesty in dealings.

Aesthetics

Colour

Numbers

Music

Painting

Dance

Drama

Architecture

Changed its logo in Saudi Arabia

Nike

Logos are usually not chosen at random but rather for the message

they convey, though sometimes

mistakes seem to happen.Logos can easily offend people, certainly those who have a very broad definition of blasphemy.

This is the Arabic script for "Allah."

• Burger King had to change the logo of an ice-cream cone because, according to "offended" Muslims it could be read as "Allah."

INDIAN MOVIES AND THEIR CULTURAL IDENTITY

CULTURAL FACTS

• IKEA advertisement that showed people from varying ethnic groups, and some in traditional dress and some in Western dress.

• Diversity was used as a positioning tool by Gulf Air in a local and worldwide print campaign. Print advertisements ran in global media, such as The Economist magazine, and featured a photograph of smiling Gulf Air employees representing many different ethnic groups.

Hofstede model of culture : Four Dimensions

• Individualism/Collective Index (IDV)

• Power Distance Index (PDI)

• Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)

• Masculinity/Femininity Index (MAS)

Hofstede Framework

Individualism Individualism vs. collectivismvs. collectivismIndividualism Individualism

vs. collectivismvs. collectivismPowerPower

distancedistancePowerPower

distancedistance

UncertaintyUncertaintyavoidanceavoidance

UncertaintyUncertaintyavoidanceavoidance

Masculinity Masculinity vs. femininityvs. femininityMasculinity Masculinity

vs. femininityvs. femininity

Four dimensions

• POWER DISTANCE –Power distance dimension focused on how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capital.

• HIGH-India, Columbia, Hongkong, Portugal, Singapore• LOW –America, Australia, Canada Germany Britain.

• INDIVIDUALISM –This dimension focus on the relationship between the individuals and his or her fellows.

• HIGH-United states, Canada, Britain ,Australia Denmark, Sweden• Low-Pakistan, Indonesia, Japan, Columbia, Korea

Four Dimensions

• UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE- This dimension measured the extent to which different culture accepted ambiguous situation and tolerating uncertainty.

• HIGH-JAPAN,KOREA, GREECE ,URUGUAY• LOW-SWEDEN,INDIA ,USA,DENMARK

• MASCULINITY VERSUS FEMININITY –This dimension looked at the relationship between gender and work roles.

• MASCULINITY –JAPAN, MEXICO, ITALY, INDIA • FEMININITY- SWEDEN ,DENMARK