Differences in Culture

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Differences in Culture
Two themes 1. International business success
requires cross-cultural literacy 2. Culture
affects the cost of doing business, both
positively and negatively Culture a system of
values and norms shared among a group of
people which, taken together, constitute a
design for living Culture is that complex whole
which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
law, customs and other capabilities acquired by
man as a member of society. Culture is -
social -learned - normative - consistent
(for survival)
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Values - bedrock Norms - social rules exist at
different levels of importance mores - central
to functioning (e.g. alcohol, women,
family, honour) folkways - relatively
trivial (e.g. time) N.B. Boundaries of a
culture and of the nation state are not always
the same. Where homogeneous - relative
stability where Not - instability Canada Iraq
India Indonesia South Africa Mexico, Su
dan etc. Culture is a collective answer to the
problem of survival - environmental basis -
economic basis Develop social structures to make
it work - family, government, law,
education Develop Religion and philosophy to
justify it ( but also to be influenced by it)
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Social structures Provide linkages between the
individual and the group (family, work,
community) Stratification classes /
castes may be relatively closed to relatively
open often associated also with profession
Rulers - religion, law, medicine,
teaching Ruled - agriculture, tradesmen,
finance Note the practical consequences of group
dominance vs. individual dominance Group Indiv
idual teams ? Co-operation competitive
Functions suppliers ___________ _________
_ Conformity Innovation
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Social mobility is closely related to the
phenomenon of social change Note the creation of
a new middle class in developing countries - e.g.
India, Mexico, Brazil, China There are still
barriers to joining the ruling class, but
increasing economic power eventually results in
achieving some degree of political power. There
is a similar, but more complicated, problem where
race/ethnic group is closely related to
class Blacks in USA Shiaa in Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia French in Canada Indians in Fiji
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Religion Christian 1 billion Islam 1
billion Confucian 1 1/2 billion Hindu 1/2
billion Buddhist 1/4 bn None of these is
homogeneous Christianity - Roman Catholic,
Orthodox, Other Protestant Islam - Sunni,
Shiaa Webers Protestant Ethic and the
Spirit of Capitalism - Religious explanation of
economic development doesnt wash Have to
generalize the notion into change coming from an
alienated minority, who use economics as a way to
gain self-respect.
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Language - verbal - non-verbal - gestures
- personal space English has become the new
lingua franca - a universal language. But we
have to be aware as well of the differences among
its many dialects (India, Canada, South Africa,
Australia, USA, etc.) Education and Literacy
Still very high levels of illiteracy in some
countries Different definitions of education -
rote learning vs.. critical thinking Note that
North America appears to be falling behind Asia
and Europe in literacy, numeracy, science
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Hofstedes Model of Dimensions of Culture 1.
Power distance - a measure of hierarchy - how
large is the social gap between top and bottom
classes? 2. Individualism vs. collectivism - how
strong are the bonds between individuals? 3.
Uncertainty avoidance - What is the tolerance for
ambiguity and uncertainty? 4. Masculinity vs..
femininity - macho vs. nurturing Macho - sex
roles highly differentiated values achievement
and effective use of power Nurturing - sex
roles not strongly differentiated values
co-operation, helping, conflict reduction
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Economic Development Cultural change All the
elements of a culture have to be mutually
consistent and supportive. Therefore we cant
change one aspect of a culture without some
adjustment or accommodation elsewhere Questions
each society must answer for itself - What to
change? - By how much? Note, too, that social
change is also governed by Newtons Second
Law For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction Thus we see fundamentalism of
all kinds everywhere in the world as a reaction
to change