Chapter 2: CULTURE

1
Chapter 2 CULTURE

• Alexandra Faye

2
Lecture Outline

• Definitions
• Relevance to Business
• Cultural Analysis
• Training

3
Culture Definition
Integrated system of learned behavior
patterns characteristic of a community
4
Key concepts

• Cultural universals
• Specific activities that occur across cultures
  education, courtship rituals, aesthetics etc
• Back translation
• Objective vs Experiential cultural knowledge
• Enculturation
• Acculturation

5
Major Religions of the World
4-7
6
(No Transcript)
7
Mejecodoteri beauty (Venezuela)
8
Palaung (N. Thailand) Beauty
9
Tufi Beauty, Papua New Guinea
10
Zulu Beauty
11
American Beauty
12
American Beauty
13
Change agent

• Role of International business
• KFC and McDonalds in Asia
• Reaction of governments
• EU
• Cultural products
• Big Brother, Who wants to be a millionaire,
  Bollywood movies, Japanese mangas and videogames,
  hip-hop music, Mexican telenovelas etc

14
Cultural dimensions

• Context--how much information has to be stated
  explicitly for communicate to be successful

15
Culture as the Silent Language
High context
Japan
Egypt
France
USA
Germany
Low context
16
Culture shock vs Cosmopolitanism

• Culture shock Disorientation that people
  experience when they move for a significant
  period of time into a culture significantly
  different from their own
• Mr Beans holiday
• Cosmopolitanism An individuals degree of
  sensitivity, innovativeness and participation
  that allows them to operate comfortably in a
  foreign environment

17
Lecture Outline

• Definitions
• Relevance to Business
• Cultural Analysis
• Training

18
Relevance to Business

• Research
• Business Communications
• Financing
• Marketing
• 4Ps
• Marketing channels

19
Lecture Outline

• Definitions
• Relevance to Business
• Cultural Analysis
• Training

20
Cultural Analysis

• Economic infrastructure
• Financial and marketing infrastructure
• Social infrastructure
• Social stratification
• Lingua Franca
• English for international business

21
Cultural Risk

• National cultural risk not doing things
  appropriately within the general socio-cultural
  environment of the country
• Business cultural risk not doing things
  appropriately within the general business
  cultural environment of the country
• Corporate cultural risk not doing things
  appropriately within the culture of a specific
  firm

22
Cultural Orientations

• International businesses adopt an attitude
  towards foreign cultures
• Polycentrism control is decentralized so
  regional managers can conduct business in a local
  manner
• Ethnocentrism belief that ones own culture is
  superior and ignores important factors
• Geocentrism no bias in the way things are done
• Regiocentrism the way the region does things is
  the best
• Companies MUST evaluate their practices to ensure
  they account for national cultural norms

4-16
23
Adapting to Cultures

• Characteristics of culture
• Not about individual values opinions
• Not about right wrong
• Not genetic
• Learned
• Transmitted across generations

24
Adapting to Cultures

• Openness/tolerance
• Flexibility
• Humbleness
• Just/fair
• Adjust to varying tempos
• Curiosity/interest
• Knowledge of the country
• Liking for others
• Integrate into the environment

25
Lecture Outline

• Definitions
• Relevance to Business
• Cultural Analysis
• Training

26
Training

• Area study
• Cultural assimilator
• Sensitivity training
• Field experience

27
Cultures Affects

• Customer behavior
• Business operations
• Importance of relationships

28
Customer behavior

• In England, customers want the lowest possible
  price for software. They are always shopping for
  a bargain...In France and Germany, people look at
  software the way they do wine. If it doesnt cost
  a lot, it cant be good quality.
• Microsoft Executive

29
Boss Says Paint My House!
respondents who would refuse
source Trompenaars 1994
30
Unhappy on the Job?
of respondents who would not express
unhappiness openly
source Trompenaars 1994
31
I Work Better Alone!
of managers opting to be left alone to get
the job done
source Trompenaars 1994
32
Not My Fault!
respondents opting for individual responsibili
ty
source Trompenaars 1994
33
In-Class Exercise

• Groups of 4
• At least 1 person from a different culture than
  you
• Explore
• Public courtship behaviors
• Touching, hugging, kissing people of the same
  gender
• Time consciousness
• Family structure (close/distant)
• Gifts/gift giving
• Present findings to class