8/21/2016 Culturedefinition

CULTURE

SOMEDEFINITIONS
Culturereferstothecumulativedepositofknowledge,experience,beliefs,values,attitudes,
meanings,hierarchies,religion,notionsoftime,roles,spatialrelations,conceptsoftheuniverse,
andmaterialobjectsandpossessionsacquiredbyagroupofpeopleinthecourseofgenerations
throughindividualandgroupstriving.
Cultureisthesystemsofknowledgesharedbyarelativelylargegroupofpeople.
Cultureiscommunication,communicationisculture.
Cultureinitsbroadestsenseiscultivatedbehaviorthatisthetotalityofaperson'slearned,
accumulatedexperiencewhichissociallytransmitted,ormorebriefly,behaviorthroughsocial
learning.
Acultureisawayoflifeofagroupofpeoplethebehaviors,beliefs,values,andsymbolsthatthey
accept,generallywithoutthinkingaboutthem,andthatarepassedalongbycommunicationand
imitationfromonegenerationtothenext.
Cultureissymboliccommunication.Someofitssymbolsincludeagroup'sskills,knowledge,
attitudes,values,andmotives.Themeaningsofthesymbolsarelearnedanddeliberately
perpetuatedinasocietythroughitsinstitutions.
Cultureconsistsofpatterns,explicitandimplicit,ofandforbehavioracquiredandtransmittedby
symbols,constitutingthedistinctiveachievementofhumangroups,includingtheirembodimentsin
artifactstheessentialcoreofcultureconsistsoftraditionalideasandespeciallytheirattached
valuesculturesystemsmay,ontheonehand,beconsideredasproductsofaction,ontheother
hand,asconditioninginfluencesuponfurtheraction.
Cultureisthesumoftotalofthelearnedbehaviorofagroupofpeoplethataregenerally
consideredtobethetraditionofthatpeopleandaretransmittedfromgenerationtogeneration.
Cultureisacollectiveprogrammingofthemindthatdistinguishesthemembersofonegroupor
categoryofpeoplefromanother.

THEORYOFCULTURALDETERMINISM
Thepositionthattheideas,meanings,beliefsandvaluespeoplelearnasmembersofsociety
determineshumannature.Peoplearewhattheylearn.Optimisticversionofculturaldeterminism
placenolimitsontheabilitiesofhumanbeingstodoortobewhatevertheywant.Some
anthropologistssuggestthatthereisnouniversal"rightway"ofbeinghuman."Rightway"is
almostalways"ourway"that"ourway"inonesocietyalmostnevercorrespondsto"ourway"in
anyothersociety.Properattitudeofaninformedhumanbeingcouldonlybethatoftolerance.
Theoptimisticversionofthistheorypostulatesthathumannaturebeinginfinitelymalleable,
humanbeingcanchoosethewaysoflifetheyprefer.
Thepessimisticversionmaintainsthatpeoplearewhattheyareconditionedtobethisis
somethingoverwhichtheyhavenocontrol.Humanbeingsarepassivecreaturesanddowhatever
theirculturetellsthemtodo.Thisexplanationleadstobehaviorismthatlocatesthecausesof
humanbehaviorinarealmthatistotallybeyondhumancontrol.

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CULTURALRELATIVISM
Differentculturalgroupsthink,feel,andactdifferently.Thereisnoscientificstandardsfor
consideringonegroupasintrinsicallysuperiororinferiortoanother.Studyingdifferencesin
cultureamonggroupsandsocietiespresupposesapositionofculturalrelativism.Itdoesnotimply
normalcyforoneself,norforone'ssociety.It,however,callsforjudgmentwhendealingwith
groupsorsocietiesdifferentfromone'sown.Informationaboutthenatureofculturaldifferences
betweensocieties,theirroots,andtheirconsequencesshouldprecedejudgmentandaction.
Negotiationismorelikelytosucceedwhenthepartiesconcernedunderstandthereasonsforthe
differencesinviewpoints.

CULTURALETHNOCENTRISM
Ethnocentrismisthebeliefthatone'sowncultureissuperiortothatofothercultures.Itisaformof
reductionismthatreducesthe"otherway"oflifetoadistortedversionofone'sown.Thisis
particularlyimportantincaseofglobaldealingswhenacompanyoranindividualisimbuedwith
theideathatmethods,materials,orideasthatworkedinthehomecountrywillalsoworkabroad.
Environmentaldifferencesare,therefore,ignored.Ethnocentrism,inrelationtoglobaldealings,
canbecategorizedasfollows:
Importantfactorsinbusinessareoverlookedbecauseoftheobsessionwithcertaincause
effectrelationshipsinone'sowncountry.Itisalwaysagoodideatorefertochecklistsof
humanvariablesinordertobeassuredthatallmajorfactorshavebeenatleastconsidered
whileworkingabroad.
Eventhoughonemayrecognizetheenvironmentaldifferencesandproblemsassociatedwith
change,butmayfocusonlyonachievingobjectivesrelatedtothehomecountry.Thismay
resultinthelossofeffectivenessofacompanyoranindividualintermsofinternational
competitiveness.Theobjectivessetforglobaloperationsshouldalsobeglobal.
Thedifferencesarerecognized,butitisassumedthatassociatedchangesaresobasicthat
theycanbeachievedeffortlessly.Itisalwaysagoodideatoperformacostbenefitanalysis
ofthechangesproposed.Sometimesachangemayupsetimportantvaluesandtherebymay
faceresistancefrombeingimplemented.Thecostofsomechangesmayexceedthebenefits
derivedfromtheimplementationofsuchchanges.

MANIFESTATIONSOFCULTURE
Culturaldifferencesmanifestthemselvesindifferentwaysanddifferinglevelsofdepth.Symbols
representthemostsuperficialandvaluesthedeepestmanifestationsofculture,withheroesandritualsin
between.

Symbolsarewords,gestures,pictures,orobjectsthatcarryaparticularmeaningwhichisonly
recognizedbythosewhoshareaparticularculture.Newsymbolseasilydevelop,oldones
disappear.Symbolsfromoneparticulargroupareregularlycopiedbyothers.Thisiswhysymbols
representtheoutermostlayerofaculture.
Heroesarepersons,pastorpresent,realorfictitious,whopossesscharacteristicsthatarehighly
prizedinaculture.Theyalsoserveasmodelsforbehavior.
Ritualsarecollectiveactivities,sometimessuperfluousinreachingdesiredobjectives,butare
consideredassociallyessential.Theyarethereforecarriedoutmostofthetimesfortheirownsake
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(waysofgreetings,payingrespecttoothers,religiousandsocialceremonies,etc.).
Thecoreofacultureisformedbyvalues.Theyarebroadtendenciesforpreferencesofcertain
stateofaffairstoothers(goodevil,rightwrong,naturalunnatural).Manyvaluesremain
unconscioustothosewhoholdthem.Thereforetheyoftencannotbediscussed,northeycanbe
directlyobservedbyothers.Valuescanonlybeinferredfromthewaypeopleactunderdifferent
circumstances.
Symbols,heroes,andritualsarethetangibleorvisualaspectsofthepracticesofaculture.Thetrue
culturalmeaningofthepracticesisintangiblethisisrevealedonlywhenthepracticesare
interpretedbytheinsiders.

Figure1.ManifestationofCultureatDifferentLevelsofDepth

LAYERSOFCULTURE
Peopleevenwithinthesameculturecarryseverallayersofmentalprogrammingwithinthemselves.
Differentlayersofcultureexistatthefollowinglevels:

Thenationallevel:Associatedwiththenationasawhole.
Theregionallevel:Associatedwithethnic,linguistic,orreligiousdifferencesthatexistwithina
nation.
Thegenderlevel:Associatedwithgenderdifferences(femalevs.male)
Thegenerationlevel:Associatedwiththedifferencesbetweengrandparentsandparents,parents
andchildren.
Thesocialclasslevel:Associatedwitheducationalopportunitiesanddifferencesinoccupation.
Thecorporatelevel:Associatedwiththeparticularcultureofanorganization.Applicabletothose
whoareemployed.
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MEASURINGCULTURALDIFFERENCES
Avariablecanbeoperationalizedeitherbysingleorcompositemeasuretechniques.Asinglemeasure
techniquemeanstheuseofoneindicatortomeasurethedomainofaconceptthecompositemeasure
techniquemeanstheuseofseveralindicatorstoconstructanindexfortheconceptafterthedomainof
theconcepthasbeenempiricallysampled.Hofstede(1997)hasdevisedacompositemeasuretechnique
tomeasureculturaldifferencesamongdifferentsocieties:

Powerdistanceindex:Theindexmeasuresthedegreeofinequalitythatexistsinasociety.
Uncertaintyavoidanceindex:Theindexmeasurestheextenttowhichasocietyfeelsthreatenedby
uncertainorambiguoussituations.
Individualismindex:Theindexmeasuretheextenttowhichasocietyisindividualistic.
Individualismreferstoalooselyknitsocialframeworkinasocietyinwhichpeoplearesupposed
totakecareofthemselvesandtheirimmediatefamiliesonly.Theotherendofthespectrumwould
becollectivismthatoccurswhenthereisatightsocialframeworkinwhichpeopledistinguish
betweeningroupsandoutgroupstheyexpecttheiringroups(relatives,clans,organizations)to
lookaftertheminexchangeforabsoluteloyalty.
Masculinityindex(Achievementvs.Relationship):Theindexmeasurestheextenttowhichthe
dominantvaluesareassertiveness,moneyandthings(achievement),notcaringforothersorfor
qualityoflife.Theotherendofthespectrumwouldbefemininity(relationship).

RECONCILIATIONOFCULTURALDIFFERENCES
Culturalawareness:

Beforeventuringonaglobalassignment,itisprobablynecessarytoidentifythecultural
differencesthatmayexistbetweenone'shomecountryandthecountryofbusinessoperation.
Wherethedifferencesexist,onemustdecidewhetherandtowhatextentthehomecountry
practicesmaybeadaptedtotheforeignenvironment.Mostofthetimesthedifferencesarenotvery
apparentortangible.Certainaspectsofaculturemaybelearnedconsciously(e.g.methodsof
greetingpeople),someotherdifferencesarelearnedsubconsciously(e.g.methodsofproblem
solving).Thebuildingofculturalawarenessmaynotbeaneasytask,butonceaccomplished,it
definitelyhelpsajobdoneefficientlyinaforeignenvironment.
Discussionsandreadingaboutotherculturesdefinitelyhelpsbuildculturalawareness,butopinions
presentedmustbecarefullymeasured.Sometimestheymayrepresentunwarrantedstereotypes,an
assessmentofonlyasubgroupofaparticulargroupofpeople,orasituationthathassince
undergonedrasticchanges.Itisalwaysagoodideatogetvariedviewpointsaboutthesame
culture.

Clusteringcultures:

Somecountriesmaysharemanyattributesthathelpmoldtheircultures(themodifiersmaybe
language,religion,geographicallocation,etc.).Basedonthisdataobtainedfrompastcross
culturalstudies,countriesmaybegroupedbysimilaritiesinvaluesandattitudes.Fewerdifferences
maybeexpectedwhenmovingwithinaclusterthanwhenmovingfromoneclustertoanother.

Determiningtheextentofglobalinvolvement:

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Allenterprisesoperatinggloballyneednothavethesamedegreeofculturalawareness.Figure2
illustratesextenttowhichacompanyneedstounderstandglobalculturesatdifferentlevelsof
involvement.Thefurtheracompanymovesoutfromthesoleroleofdoingdomesticbusiness,the
moreitneedstounderstandculturaldifferences.Movingoutwardonmorethanoneaxis
simultaneouslymakestheneedforbuildingculturalawarenessevenmoreessential.

Figure2.CulturalAwarenessandExtentofGlobalInvolvement

Reference:

Hofstede,G.(1997).CulturesandOrganizations:Softwareofthemind.NewYork:McGrawHill.

SOMERECENTPUBLICATIONS

CultureShockChallengesFirmsLookingAbroad

TheU.S.constructionindustryhasalwaysbeenadeptatwinningworkoverseas,butthelureof
reconstructioncontractsinplaceslikeAfghanistanandIraqcoulddrawsomefirmsinovertheirheads.
Largeinternationalfirmshavemanyresourcestodealwiththeenormouschallengesofworkinginthe
globalmarketplace.Butthemassivereconstructionofcountriesdevastatedbywarcouldtripupthebest
ofthem.

Politicalandphysicalrisksarethemosttreacherousandmustbereckonedwith.Languageandcultural
differencescan'tbeignoredeither.Addressingthemsensiblycanunlockmanyopportunitiesforsuccess.

TheU.S.government'sconferenceonrebuildingAfghanistan,heldinChicagolastweek,wentalong
waytooutlineopportunitiesthere.Theseoutreachprogramsareagoodstartbecausemanyfirmsneedan
educationonhowtoworkabroad.Thefirstlessonistodropethnocentricviewsthattheworldshould
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accommodateourmethodofcontractingratherthantheotherwayaround.

Inaseparatemeeting,alsoheldinChicagolastweek,ENRbroughttogetherconstructionexecutivesat
itsannualleadershipconference.U.S.firmsinterestedinChina'sOlympicbuildingplansandotherwork,
particularlythosewillingtolistenpatientlythroughtranslation,heardrichdetailfromChinese
representatives.

Patience,attentivenessandsensitivityarenotcommonconstructiontraits,buttheycanhelpincultures
differentfromourown.

Languageandculturaldifferencescanbetreacheroustonegotiate.

[ENR(2003).Cultureshockchallengesfirmslookingabroad.Vol.250,No.23.NewYork:McGraw
Hill.]

DoWeSeeEyetoEye?ImplicationsofCulturalDifferencesforCrossCulturalManagement
ResearchandPractice

Abstract

Althoughobservationisacommonresearchtechnique,littleattentionhasbeengiventotheeffectsof
cultureonobserverjudgmentmaking.Theseresearchesarguethatconsiderationofculturaldifferencesis
criticalwhenapplyingobservationtechniquesincrossculturalresearchaswellasintheappliedcontexts
ofperformanceappraisalandinternationalmanagement.Alaboratorystudywasconductedtoexamine
thepotentialfordiscrepanciesinobserverjudgmentmakingamongAsianAmericanandCaucasian
Americansubjects.Theresultsofthestudyaffirmtheimportanceofculturalinfluencesinresearchand
management.

[Li&Karakowsky(2001).DoWeSeeEyetoEye?ImplicationsofCulturalDifferencesforCross
CulturalManagementResearchandPractice.TheJournalofPsychology,135(5),501517.]

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