What Makes Cultures Different: Concepts and Descriptors of Culture

1
What Makes Cultures DifferentConcepts and
Descriptors of Culture
Das Problem des Fundalismus im Islam kann nur
aus dem Islam selbst heraus gelöst werden. Der
Westen besitzt kulturell dazu keinen Schlüssel.
dem Verlust alter Ordnungsmuster, der Armut,
Destabilisierung oder Demütigung ganzer Kulturen
und Regionen.
Unter dem Slogan, dass wir keinen Krieg der
Kulturen wollen, führen wir faktisch genau
diesen.

• Christine Pahlmann
• Jens Tiefenstädter

2
Gestures and meaning
Graphic from Göpferich, Susanne.
Interkulturelles Technical Writing. Fachliches
adressatengerecht vermitteln. Gunter Narr Verlag,
Tübingen. 1998 p.287
3
Gestures and meaning
Graphic from Göpferich, Susanne.
Interkulturelles Technical Writing. Fachliches
adressatengerecht vermitteln. Gunter Narr Verlag,
Tübingen. 1998 p.287
4
Gestures and meaning
Graphic from Göpferich, Susanne.
Interkulturelles Technical Writing. Fachliches
adressatengerecht vermitteln. Gunter Narr Verlag,
Tübingen. 1998 p.287
5
Gestures and meaning
Graphic from Göpferich, Susanne.
Interkulturelles Technical Writing. Fachliches
adressatengerecht vermitteln. Gunter Narr Verlag,
Tübingen. 1998 p.287
6
Agenda

1. Definitions of Culture
2. Descriptors / Dimensions of Culture
3. Edward T. Hall
4. Geert Hofstede
5. Fons Trompenaars
6. Flaws / Weaknesses General Problems of Working
   with Cultures
7. Selected Readings / Sources

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1. Definitions of Culture

• There exist various definitions of culture. Wed
  like to introduce into the most common in modern
  intercultural studies.
• The word Culture comes from the Latin colere,
  which stands for cultivation of soil and plants.
• It first appeared in the 17th century, in
  opposition to nature. Culture stood for things
  created by mans own will and skill.

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What Means Culture to You?

• Discussion
• What do you think culture is?

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Definitions of Cultures Hochkultur Goethe,
Duerer Co.

• The German elites often defined culture as
  Hochkultur.
• Heinrich Rickert Kultur ist die...Gesamtheit
  der realen Objekte, an denen allgemein anerkannte
  Werte oder durch sie konstruierte Sinngebilde
  haften und die mit Rücksicht auf die Werte
  gepflegt werden. 5

• Rickert, Heinrich. Kulturwissenschaft und
  Naturwissenschaft. P.28 in
• Maletzke, Gerhard. Interkulturelle
  Kommunikation. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen.
  1996 p. 16

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Definitions of Cultures Culture as
Communication and Interpretation Knowledge

• Keesing R.Culture, conceived as a system of
  competence shared in its broad design and deeper
  principles ... is then not all of what an
  individual knows and thinks and feels about his
  (or her) world. It is his (or her) theory of
  what his (or her) fellows know, believe, and
  mean, his (or her) theory of the code being
  followed, the game being played, in the society
  into which he (or she) was born...7

7 Keesing, R. Theories of culture. Annual Review
of Anthropology, 3. 1974. p.73-97 in Gudykunst,
William B., Kim, Young Yun. Communicating with
strangers. Mc Graw-Hill, New York. 1992 p.12
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Definitions of Cultures Culture as
Communication System

• Edward T. HallCultures are unified wholes in
  which everything interrelates.1
• Any culture is primarily a system for creating,
  sending, storing and processing information.
  Communication underlies everything.2
• According to Hall, 80 to 90 of communication
  are not language, but words, material things and
  behaviour.

1. Hall, Edward T. Hidden Differences Doing Business
   with the Japanese. Anchor Books 1987. p.XVIII
2. Hall, Edward T. Hidden Differences Doing Business
   with the Japanese. Anchor Books 1987. p.3

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The Unconscious Defines Culture

• Edward T. HallCulture defines
  CommunicationCommunication defines
  Culture.Hall introduces the term informatics
  for the behaviour outside conscious awareness.
  It includes evolutionary, emergent ideas,
  practices and solutions and even shared
  experiences that we all hold.

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Culture as Communication System is Masterable

• Edward T. HallCulture can be likened to an
  enormous, subtle extraordinarily complex
  computer. It programs the actions and responses
  of every person, and these programs must be
  mastered by anyone wishing to make the system
  work3

3 Hall, Edward T. Hidden Differences Doing
Business with the Japanese. Anchor Books 1987. p.4
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Definitions of cultures Culture as Way of
Dealing With Problems

• Fons Trompenaars, Geert Hofstede
• Culture is the way in which a group of people
  solves problems and reconciles dilemmas.6

6 Trompenaars, Fons. Riding the waves of culture.
McGraw-Hill, New York. 1998. p.6
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Culture is What we Take for Granted

• In order to work with cultures, to describe them,
  we need a common ground or definition.
• Hofstedes definition, culture as set of problem
  solutions and basic understanding of the world,
  is a good basis.
• It is more fundamental than the Hochkultur or
  even culture as tacit civilization and includes
  Halls point of view, culture as communication
  system, and other definitions that see culture as
  tool for differentiating groups.

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Agenda

1. Definitions of Culture ?
2. Descriptors / Dimensions of Culture
3. Edward T. Hall
4. Geert Hofstede
5. Fons Trompenaars
6. Flaws / Weaknesses general Problems of working
   with Cultures
7. Selected Readings / Sources

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2. Descriptors / Dimensions of Culture

• Examining cultures and gathering data on them can
  be done in two ways.
• Trying to understand a particular culture from
  the inside point of view
• .. Or looking from the outside trying to find
  variables that occur in many cultures and thus
  enable comparison.

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2. Dimensions of Culture Emic / Etic Approach

• The linguist Pike named these approaches first
• Understanding from the inside point of view, is
  called Emic,
• While the outside examination and comparison of
  one culture with another is called Etic.
• Both approaches are useful and have strengths and
  weaknesses.

Cf. Pike, K.L. Etic and emic standpoints for the
description of behaviour. In L. Wheeler (Ed.),
Review of personality and social psychologie (Vol
3), Sage Publications, Beverly Hills.
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2. Dimensions of Culture Etic Search for
Comparable Elements

• In our opinion, it is possible to examine certain
  phenomena without knowing why they occur, for
  example proxemics.
• Such phenomena can usually be measured and thus
  compared with other cultures.
• The etic approach gives us comparable data, it
  helps us to familiarize ourselves with visible
  habits of other cultures.
• Alas it cannot give us explanations of the
  underlying motivation for these phenomena.

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2. Dimensions of Culture Emic Understanding
Like a Native

• The emic approach cant help us comparing one
  culture with another.
• But it may help us understanding the underlying
  rules and values that shape the visible rim of a
  culture, for a culture is described as the
  subjects of this culture perceive it.

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2. Dimensions of Culture Emic / Etic When to
Use Which?

• Discussion
• What do you think where the strengths and
  weaknesses of these approaches are?
• Is a pure etic or pure emic approach possible? Or
  do we always compare with our own experience? Is
  it possible to understand phenomena as a
  foreigner?

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2. Descriptors / Dimensions of Culture The big
5 General Questions

• According to Florence Kluckhorn and Fred
  Strodtbeck mankind faces 5 general dilemmas
  coming forth from interaction with fellow humans,
  time, nature and activities.
• These dilemmas need to be solved, for every
  dilemma, there exist but a limited number of
  solutions.
• Every culture can choose from these solutions. By
  the particular selection, cultures can be
  compared.

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2. Descriptors / Dimensions of Culture The Big
5 General Questions
Orientation Range of Variations Range of Variations Range of Variations Range of Variations Range of Variations Range of Variations
Human nature Evil Evil Neutral Mix of Good-and-Evil Good Good
Human nature mutable immutable mutable immutable mutable immutable
Man-Nature Subjugation-to-Nature Subjugation-to-Nature Harmony-with-Nature Harmony-with-Nature Mastery-over-Nature Mastery-over-Nature
Time Past Past Present Present Future Future
Activity Being Being Being-in-Becoming Being-in-Becoming Doing Doing
Relational Lineality Lineality Collaterality Collaterality Individualism Individualism
Graphic according to Maletzke, Gerhard.
Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Westdeutscher
Verlag, Opladen. 1996 p.82
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2. Dimensions of Culture Pattern Variables

• Parsons and Shils introduced the concept of
  pattern variables in 1951.
• Pattern variables are mutually exclusive choices
  individuals make prior to engaging in action.
• The choices are made both consciously and
  unconsciously however, they are generally made
  unconsciously since they are learned during the
  socialization process at an early age.8

8 Gudykunst, William B., Kim, Young Yun.
Communicating with strangers. Mc Graw-Hill, New
York. 1992 p.51
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2. Dimensions of Culture Pattern Variables

• Self-orientation vs. collective-orientation(
  individualism vs. collectivism)
• Affectivity vs. Affective NeutralityWhat is the
  nature of the gratification we seek?
• Universalism vs. ParticularismHow do we
  categorize people and objects?
• Diffuseness vs. SpecificityHow do we respond to
  people and objects?
• Ascription vs. AchievementAre people / objects
  treated in terms of their ascribed or their
  achieved qualities ?
• Instrumental vs. Expressive OrientationWhat is
  the nature of our goals of interaction?

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Edward T. Hall

• High and Low Context
• Space
• TimeSpeed of messages (Fast / Slow)

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall High and Low
Context

• Context is the information surrounding an object
  or event.
• Together with the object / event these additional
  information produce a meaning.
• The proportion event / context differs from
  culture to culture.
• The two poles are High Context ?? Low Context

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall High and Low
Context
High Context Low Context
Little extra information on the event is provided the social network (context) gives enough hints Theres a lot of additional, explicit information added to give the right meaning to the event.
e.g. Latin cultures, Asian cultures e.g. Scandinavian, north European cultures, North America
? Usually well informed through informal channels ? Before making a decision, we need additional information to base our decision on. / need to know whats going on

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall Space

• Space is organized and perceived differently in
  cultures.
• Space has the function of giving order,
  organization and even clues about the social
  position of an individual.
• There exist several boundaries around us.
• Innermost the physical boundary of our body,
• outermost our territorial border.
• Any border beside the physical border is
  individually perceived and chosen and shaped by
  culture. Violating or accepting the borders is
  communication.

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall Space

• Territoriality
• Feeling about personal spaceOften
  communicates status, e.g. size and position of
  office, neighbourhood
• Personal Space
• The size of an invisible bubble around us. Sort
  of a mobile territory.The size depends on the
  situation, emotional states, culture a.o.

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall Time

• Time
• Natural Circles Day / night, seasons, life
  circle
• Time as Structure Time as Communication
• Monochronic Appointments, advance time
• Polychronic Speed of actions

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall Time as
Structure
Monochronic Time Polychronic Time
Linear Cyclical
segmented simultaneous events
start-end / point2point completing events
serial parallel
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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall Time as
Communication

• Time is the primary system of organization, the
  informal rules can be used to communicate.E.g.
  Advance time, proper timing, appointments
• Rhythm and speed, time needed for making
  decisions, for talking, for getting used to
  another.
• This phenomenon is closely related to Halls
  speed of messages as described later.

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall Speed of
Messages

• Hall defines culture as communication system.
• Therefore every action transmits information that
  can be decoded in different speeds.
• Cultures, persons, messages all might have a
  particular speed necessary to decode them. People
  used to a different speed find it difficult to
  decode them.

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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall - Speed of
Messages
Fast Messages Slow Messages
Prose Poetry
Headlines Books
TV Commercials TV documentary
TV Print
Ideologies Culture
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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Hofstedes
Definition of Culture
Culture 1 "Refinement of the mind" and in
particular the results of such refinement like
education, art and literature Culture 2 The
set of mental rules, the software of the
mind.(cf. Hall, Trompenaars) Culture, as
mental software, is at least partly shared with
other people who live or lived within the same
social environment. This shared software
distinguishes members of one group from
others. Even for adults it is possible, though
it might be hard, to adopt to or learn a
different set of mental rules. The mental
software is learned throughout the whole live.
Cf. Hofstede, Geert. Lokales Denken, Globales
Handeln. C.H. Beck, Munich. 1997 p.3f
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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Hofstedes
Definition of Culture
Cf. Hofstede, Geert. Lokales Denken, Globales
Handeln. C.H. Beck, Munich. 1997 p.5
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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Hofstedes Onion
Values determine the definition of good and bad,
logical vs. paradoxical Rituals Collective
activities which are considered socially
essential. Heroes Represent characteristics
which are highly prized in a culture. Symbols
Words, gestures, objects which carry a specific
meaning which is only recognised within the
culture "Practices" are visible to outsiders
and therefore can be learned.
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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Hofstedes 41
Dimensions

• The dimensions are situated between the core and
  the practices. Individual expressions and
  feelings based on values, but not unquestioned
  collective rituals.
• Power Distance
• Masculinity / Femininity
• Uncertainty Avoidance
• Individualism / Collectivism
• Confucian Dynamics

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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Power Distance

• Power distance, as a characteristic of a
  culture, defines the extent to which the less
  powerful person in a society accepts inequality
  in power and considers it as normal. Inequality
  exists within any culture, but the degree of it
  that is tolerated varies between one culture and
  another.
• All societies are unequal, but some are more
  unequal than others.

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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Masculine vs.
Feminine Cultures

• Defines the predetermination of gender roles in a
  society.
• Masculine cultures use the biological existence
  of two sexes to define the different social roles
  of men and women.Men are expected to be
  assertive, ambitious and competitive and to
  strive for material success.Women are expected
  to serve and to care for the non-material quality
  of life, for children and the weak.

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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Feminine Cultures

• Feminine cultures define relatively overlapping
  social roles for the sexes, in which neither men
  nor women need to be ambitious or
  competitive.Both sexes may go for a different
  quality of life than material success and may
  respect whatever is small, weak and slow.

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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Masculine vs.
Feminine Cultures

• Masculinity
• Earnings
• Social recognition
• Advancement (career)
• Challenge

• Femininity
• Manager (good relations to superior)
• Cooperative work
• Comfortable living area
• Employment secureness

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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Uncertainty Avoidance

• Defines the extend to which people within a
  culture are made nervous by situations that
  consider to be unstructured, unclear, or
  unpredictable, and the extend to which they try
  to avoid such situations by adopting strict codes
  of behaviour and a believe in absolute truth.

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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Uncertainty Avoidance

• Cultures with weak UA
• contemplative
• less aggressive
• unemotional
• accepting of personal risk
• relatively tolerant

• Cultures with strong UA
• active
• aggressive
• emotional
• security-seeking
• intolerant

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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Individualism vs.
Collectivism

• Collectivist cultures
• Individuals are assumed to belong to one or more
  close in-groups from which they can not detach
  themselves.
• Tightly integrated.
• In-group offers protection but demands loyalty.

Individualist cultures Individuals are assumed to
look primarily after their own interest and those
of their immediate family. Loosely integrated.
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2.2 Dimensions of Culture Are there
differences to Halls dimensions?

• Discussion
• Is there a qualitative difference to Halls
  dimensions or Parsons patterns?
• Do you think Uncertainty Avoidance, Context
  (HC/LC) and Universalism / Particularism
  correlate?

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2.3 Dimensions of Culture Trompenaars Onion
Trompenaars adds to Hofstedes onion a new core
which contains the basic assumptions about nature
and mankind. These are derived from Kluckhorns
and Strodbecks value orientation.
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2.3 Dimensions of Culture Fons Trompenaars

• Universalism vs. Particularism (Parsons)
• Individualism vs. Collectivism (Parsons)
• Neutral vs. Emotional (cf. Affectively neutral
  vs. Emotional (Parsons))
• Specific vs. Diffuse (Parsons LC/HC)
• Achievement vs. Ascription (Parsons)

• Attitude to time (Hall / Strodbeck)
• Attitude to the environment. (Strodbeck)

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Agenda

1. Definitions of Culture ?
2. Descriptors / Dimensions of Culture ?
3. Edward T. Hall ?
4. Geert Hofstede ?
5. Fons Trompenaars ?
6. Flaws / Weaknesses general Problems of working
   with Cultures
7. Selected Readings / Sources

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Problems / Critic on the theories

• Hall Emic not possible because you always know
  things that the natives are unaware of. Therefore
  it is impossible to understand a foreign culture
  the same way natives do.
• Can a foreign culture be learned? Hall denies
  this, s.a. Hofstede says it is hard but possible
  to reinitiate the process of learning values and
  norms like children do.
• Hall Some examples are outdated, the conclusions
  based on these should be checked.

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Problems / Critic on the theories

• Methodological weaknessesHall Interviews,
  hearsay, Experiences from training for USA
  government, fieldwork with natives. Hofstede
  Consultant for IBM worldwide in the
  70s.Trompenaars 15 years field research /
  1000 trainings in over 20 years. About 30.000
  participants.

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Agenda

1. Definitions of Culture ?
2. Descriptors / Dimensions of Culture ?
3. Edward T. Hall ?
4. Geert Hofstede ?
5. Fons Trompenaars ?
6. Flaws / Weaknesses general Problems of working
   with Cultures ?
7. Selected Readings / Sources

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Selected Readings / Sources

• Hall, Edward T. The Silent Language. Anchor
  Books, 1990.Halls basic work on culture, his
  main concepts (PMS and dimensions) are described.
• Hall, Edward T Reed Hall, Mildred. Hidden
  Differences. Doing Business with the Japanese.
  Anchor Books, 1987.A How to Guide to the
  Japanese. Introduces into the Japanese culture,
  some parts are outdated, nevertheless interesting
  to read.
• Hall, Edward T. Hidden Dimension. Anchor Books,
  1990.Halls major work on Proxemics.

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Selected Readings / Sources

• Gudykunst, William B., Kim, Young Yun.
  Communicating with strangers. Mc Graw-Hill, New
  York. 1992.If you want to study the topic, start
  with this book. It gives a short introduction
  into many different concepts and theories and is
  well written.
• Trompenaars, Fons. Riding the waves of culture.
  McGraw-Hill, New York. 1998.Trompenaars uses
  different theories (Hofstedes Dimensions,
  Pattersons Variables...) and presents them in an
  easy to understand form. He also offers figures
  from various studies he conducted.

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Selected Readings / Sources

• Appadurai, Arjun. Modernity at Large. Cultural
  Dimensions of Globalization University of
  Minnesota Press, London. 1998.This book
  concentrates on the effects of modernity, ethnic
  movements, mass media and so on. The authors
  concept of culture is different from the here
  used, so it is sometimes confusing to read and
  hard to grasp.
• Maletzke, Gerhard. Interkulturelle Kommunikation.
  Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen. 1996.Another good
  introduction. Based on the papers of an congress
  in 1966 it is still of good value. Parts resemble
  the book by Gudykunst,William, Kim.

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Selected Readings / Sources

• Hofstede, Geert. Lokales Denken, Globales
  Handeln. C.H. Beck, Munich. 1997
• Weaver, Gary R. (ed). Culture, Communication and
  Conflict. Readings in Intercultural Relations.
  Simon Schuster Publishing, Needham Heights. 1998

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Backup

• Additional slides

59
Definitions of Cultures Culture as Device of
Differentiation

• Arjun AppaduraiCulture is not usefully
  regarded as a substance but is better regarded as
  a dimension of phenomena, a dimension that
  attends to situated and embodied difference.
  Stressing the dimensionality of culture rather
  than its substantiality permits our thinking of
  culture less as a property of individuals and
  groups and more as a heuristic device that we can
  use to talk about difference. 4
• The idea of culture as involving the
  naturalized organization of certain differences
  in the interests of group identity, through and
  in the historical process ...4(p.14)

4 Appadurai, Arjun. Modernity at Large. Cultural
Dimensions of Globalization University of
Minnesota Press, London. 1998. p.13
60
2.1 Dimensions of Culture Primary Message
Systems

• According to Hall and Trager, a cultural system
  had to be
• Rooted in a biological activity widely shared
  with other advanced living forms. 9
• Capable of analysis in its own terms without
  reference to the other systems and so organized
  that it contained isolated components that could
  be built up into more complex units 9
• constituted in a way that it reflected all
  the rest of culture and was reflected in the rest
  of culture.9

9 Hall, Edward T. The Silent Language. Anchor
Books 1990. p.37f
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2.1 Dimensions of Culture Primary Message
Systems

• This leads to 10 Message systems, 9 of which are
  non-linguistic.
• Interaction
• Association
• Subsistence
• Bisexuality
• Territoriality
• Temporality
• Learning
• Play
• Defense
• Exploitation

62
2.1 Dimensions of Culture Hall The Major
Triad

• Hall and Trager developed a theory that culture
  has three levels
• Formal
• Informal
• Technical
• This paradigm applies to the individuals
  behaviour. Again, all three modes are always
  present, but one dominates.

63
Graphic from Hall, Edward T. The silent Language.
Anchor Books 1990. p.190f
64
Graphic from Hall, Edward T. The silent Language.
Anchor Books 1990. p.92
65
2.2 Dimensions of Culture Confucian Dynamics

• Short-term orientation
• Steadiness and stability
• Protecting face
• Respect for tradition
• Reciprocation of greetings and gifts

• Long-term orientation
• Persistence
• Ordering relationships by status
• Following the order
• Thrift
• Having a sense of shame