Assignment On

Prepared by Prepared to
S. M. Zahid Hasan Subaran Chandra Sarker

Department of Geography Department of Geography

and Environmental Science and Environmental Science

ID No: 1015023 Course code : 1104

Begum Rokeya University, Begum Rokeya University,

Rangpur Rangpur

Submission date : 19th March, 2011

 Index
Sl. No Phenomenon Page no.
1 Introduction 1
2 Defination 1
3 Elements of Culture 2
4 Characteristics of Culture 2-3
5 Importance of Culture 3-4
6 References 5
 Introduction
Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is a fragile phenomenon.  It is constantly
changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds.  Our written languages,
governments, buildings, and other man-made things are merely the products of culture. Culture
is an integral part of every society. It is a learned pattern of behavior and ways in which a person lives
his or her life. Culture is essential for the existence of a society, because it binds people together.
However, these are only the products of culture followed by the society and cannot be defined as
culture.

Defination of Culture
Culture refers to the following Ways of Life. These are the best two definitions I could find -- by two folks
who should know. Hofstede defined a very common set of models for international cultures, whilst
Schein is an uber-guru on a several topics and has written one of the best books on organizational
culture.

“Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one
human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values.”
-- Geert Hofstede

“Culture is the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an
organization, that operate unconsciously and define in a basic ‘taken for granted’ fashion an
organization's view of its self and its environment.” -- Edgar Schein

According to English Anthropologist Edward B Taylor, culture is that complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society.

culture is something that a person learns from his family and surroundings, and is not ingrained in him
from birth. It does not have any biological connection because even if a person is brought up in a culture
different from that in which he was born, he imbibes the culture of the society where he grows up. It is
also not a hidden fact that some people feel the need to follow the beliefs and traditions of their own
culture, even though they might be not subscribing to certain ideologies within.

1
 Elements of Culture
There are different types of cultures across the world and each culture has its unique essence. While
defining the term ‘culture’, there are several elements that together constitute as the culture of a
particular region or the culture of particular people.

 Language: The various languages are essentially an important part of the culture. Read
information about different languages.
 Norms: Every society or every civilization has a set of norms, which are an inseparable
part, and an important element of the culture. This can include the folkways, mores,
taboos and rituals in a culture.
 Values: The social values of a particular civilization are also considered as an element of
the culture. The values of a culture often refer to the things to be achieved or the things,
which are considered of great worth or value in a particular culture.
 Religion and Beliefs: The religion and the beliefs of the people in a civilization play an
important role in shaping up of the culture as well. Read information about world
religions.
 Social Collectives: Social collectives refer to the social groups, organizations,
communities, institutions, classes, and societies, which are considered as symbolic social
constructions.
 Statuses and Roles: A status or a social role is nothing but a slot or position within a
group or society, which gives an overall idea of the social structure and hence is an
important element of culture. This can also include traditional gender-based or age-based
roles.
 Cultural Integration: This includes the degree of harmony or integration within the
various elements of culture. This can include elements like sub-cultures, local cultures
and the difference between historical and cultural traditions.

Characteristics of Culture

Culture is shared, by which we mean that every culture is shared by a group of people.
Depending on the region they live in, the climatic conditions they thrive in and their historical
heritage, they form a set of values and beliefs. This set of their principles of life shapes their
culture. No culture belongs to an individual. It is rather shared among many people of a certain
part of the world. It belongs to a single community and not to any single human being.

Culture is learned. The members of a culture share certain ideals, which shape their lives.

2
Generations learn to follow these ideals and principles. Culture propagates through generations,
which adopt their old customs and traditions as a part of their culture. The ideals they base their
lives on is a part of their culture. Cultural values are imparted from one generation to another,
thus resulting in a continual of traditions that are a part of culture. The language, the literature
and the art forms pass across generations. Culture is learned, understood and adopted by
theyounger generations of society. No individual is born with a sense of his/her culture. He/she
has to learn it.

What are the elements of culture? The language, other forms of expression as also the thoughts
and emotions of the people, their social and cultural norms, their principles and beliefs are the
basic elements of culture. For an effective transfer of culture from one generation to another, it
has to be translated in terms of symbols, which represent the cultural values of a community.
Language, art and religion form the system of symbols that render a deep meaning to culture.

Despite the efforts of the older generations to transfer their cultural values to the forthcoming
generations, many tend to remain unaware of their culture. People are often found to have an
incomplete knowledge of their culture. People seldom know their culture completely.

A gradual change is characteristic to almost every culture. Cultures are subject to change.
Culture loses some of its traits and gains new ones. The aspects of culture that change vary
across societies. With the passage of time, new technologies emerge, new modes of work come
up, social thinking undergoes transitions and so does culture. Every culture changes in time
although the rate of change of every culture varies.

Studies have brought out a fact that no culture can remain in isolation. There is hardly any
social community that is completely isolated from the rest of the world. Every culture hence, is
mostly influenced by cultures of the surrounding regions. Cultural values are prone to be
affected by the values of communities in close vicinity. The cultures, which emerged during the
same periods of time often, show certain similarities. Modern times have witnessed an intermix
of cultures. Cultures are blended together giving rise to shared cultures.

Importance of Culture
The cultural values of a community give it an identity of its own. A community gains a character
and a personality of its own, because of the culture of its people. Culture is shared by the
members of a community. It is learned and passed from the older generations to the newer ones.
For an effective transfer of culture from one generation to another, it has to be translated into
symbols. Language, art and religion serve as the symbolic means of transfer of cultural values
between generations.

Culture is a bond that ties the people of a region or community together. It is that one common

bond, which brings the people of a community together. The customs and traditions that the

3
people of a community follow, the festivals they celebrate, the kind of clothing they wear, the
food they eat, and most importantly, the cultural values they adhere to, bind them together.

Culture is seen as a system of social control, wherein people shape their standards and behavior.
The cultural values form the founding principles of one’s life. They influence one’s principles
and philosophies of life. They influence one’s way of living and thus impact social life

The importance of culture lies in the fact that it is a link between people and their value systems.
Read information about the defferent cultures of world.

4
 References
1. Brown, A., Organizational Culture, Pitman, London, 1995
2. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-are-the-elements-of-culture.html
3. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/characteristics-of-culture.html
4. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-culture.html
5. http://changingminds.org/explanations/culture/what_is_culture.htm