The Culturally Customized Web Site

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The Culturally Customized Web Site

• Chapter 3
• A Cultural Values Framework for Web Design

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What is Culture?
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• Culture consists in patterned ways of thinking,
  feeling and reacting acquired and transmitted
  mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive
  achievements of human groups, including their
  embodied artifacts the essential core of culture
  consists of traditional (i.e., historically
  derived and selected) ideas especially their
  attached values.
• Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952)

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What is Cultural Value?
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• Cultural value is a conception of an individual
  or group that is either implicit or explicit of
  the desirable according to a particular culture,
  which influences the selection from available
  modes, means and ends of action.
• Harris and Moran (1987)

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Most definitions have these concepts

• Perception
• Symbolism
• Behavior

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Culture as an Iceburg
Motivations Lifestyles Choices
Consumer
Behavior
Value System A value system is an
enduring organization of beliefs concerning
preferable modes of conduct. Rokeach (1979)

Perception Symbolism Behavior
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Web Site Must Respond to Values
Desired Behavior
Cultural Adaptation
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Cultural Values

• Individualism/Collectivism
• Power Distance
• Uncertainty Avoidance
• Masculinity/Femininity
• Low/High Context

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Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions

• Geert Hofstede (pronounced Hof stay
  da)
• The Netherlands
• Data gathered in 70s
• Secondary data (IBM)
• Highly cited
• 5th Dimension Time
• Created an Index on each (pp. 63-64)

• Power Distance
• Individualism/Collectivism
• Masculinity/Femininity
• Uncertainty Avoidance

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Power Distance
Power Distance is defined as the extent to which
the less powerful members of institutions and
organizations accept that power is distributed
unequally. A large power index (PDI) means that
inequalities among people are both expected and
desired. Whereas in a small power distance
culture (low PDI) inequalities among people
should be minimized.
Where is the US on this index?
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Individualism/Collectivism
Individualism/Collectivism is a construct that
measures whether or not a cultures members tend
to look after only themselves and their immediate
family (IDV) or, whether they tend to belong to
in-groups or collectivities that are suppose to
look after them in exchange for loyalty. A
culture that scores high on individualism (high
IDV index) has members whose identity is based in
the individual, whereas collectivist society (low
IDV index) members identities are based in the
social network to which they belong.
Where is the US on this index?
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Masculinity/Femininity
The Masculinity/Femininity dimension deals with
the roles that the genders have in the culture.
In masculine societies (high MAS index) the
gender roles are distinct men are tough and
assertive whereas women are more tender and
modest. However, in a feminine culture (low MAS
index) the gender roles overlap with both men and
women being tender and modest. In a masculine
culture the dominant values in society are
success, money and things. Yet a feminine society
values caring for others and the quality of
life.
Where is the US on this index?
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Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty Avoidance is the extent to which the
members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain
or unknown situations. In a high uncertainty
avoidance (high UAI) culture members feel that
what is different is dangerous and, that
uncertainty is felt as a continuous threat that
must be fought. In contrast, a low uncertainty
avoidance cultures (low UAI) people feel that
what is different is curious and, that
uncertainty is a normal feature of life and it
must be accepted as it comes.
Where is the US on this index?
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Low/High Context
High Context cultures close connections among
group members and everybody knows what every
other person knows. little information is
explicit. Low context cultures are societies that
are logical, linear, action oriented, and the
mass of information is explicit and
formalized. - Hall 76
Where is the US on this value?
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Ramifications to Web Sites

• Table 3.1 pp. 59-60