Ch. 4 Culture

Because culture is learned behavior, it is adaptive

; that is, the culture changes in response to external forces that affect the society. For example, after World War II, Germany was divided into free-market-oriented West Germany and communist-controlled East Germany. Despite their having a common heritage developed over centuries, this division created large cultural differences between Ossis (East Germans) and Wessis (West Germans). The differences resulted from adaptations of the East German culture to the dictates of communist ideology regarding attitudes toward work, risk taking, and fairness of reward systems.

what are the four characteristics of Culture ?

learned behavior interrelated adaptive shared

Elements of Culture (5)

A society's culture determines how its members communicate and interact with each other. The interaction of these elements affects the local environment in which international businesses operate. They also affect the ability of countries to respond to changing circumstances.

Culture reflects learned behavior that is transmitted from _________________________________.

Culture reflects learned behavior that is transmitted from... one member of a society to another. Some elements of culture are transmitted intergenerationally, as when parents teach their children table manners. Other elements are transmitted intragenerationally, as when seniors educate incoming freshmen about a school's traditions.

Business behaviors in high-context cultures often differ from those in low-context cultures. Examples

For example, German advertising is typically fact oriented, whereas Japanese advertising is often more emotion oriented. High-context cultures place higher value on interpersonal relations in deciding whether to enter into a business arrangement. In such cultures preliminary meetings are often held to determine whether the parties can trust each other and work together comfortably. Low-context cultures place more importance on the specific terms of a transaction

The elements of culture are interrelated. For example, ____________________________________.

For example, Japan's group-oriented, hierarchical society stresses harmony and loyalty, which historically translated into lifetime employment and minimal job switching.

high-context culture explain

In a high-context culture, the context in which a conversation occurs is just as important as the words that are actually spoken, and cultural clues are important in understanding what is being communicated. . Examples are Arab countries and Japan

a low-context culture explain

In a low-context culture, the words used by the speaker explicitly convey the speaker's message to the listener. Anglo-Saxon countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and Germanic countries are good examples of low-context cultures

Culture is shared by members of the society and indeed defines the membership in the society.

Individuals who share a culture are members of a society; those who do not are outside the boundaries of the society

Seeing the Forest, Not the Trees: Hall's Low- Context- High Context Approach

Low context culture vs. High- context culture - words - context - cultural clues - business behaviors

People in cultures characterized by uncertainty acceptance

are stimulated by change and thrive on new opportunities. Ambiguity is seen as a context within which an individual can grow, develop, and carve out new opportunities. In these cultures certainty carries with it a sense of monotony, routineness, and overbearing structure

A cultural cluster

comprises countries that share many cultural similarities, although differences do remain. Many clusters are based on language similarities, as is apparent in the Anglo, Germanic, Latin American, and Middle East (excepting Turkey) clusters and, to a lesser extent, in the Nordic and Latin European clusters. Of course, one can disagree with some placements of countries within clusters. Spain and the countries of Latin America share many culture values, for example

In contrast, people in cultures characterized by uncertainty avoidance

dislike ambiguity and will avoid it whenever possible. Ambiguity and change are seen as undesirable. These people tend to prefer a structured and routine, even bureaucratic, way of doing things

Culture

is the collection of values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, and attitudes that distinguish one society from another

Individualism (social orientation)

is the cultural belief that the person comes first. Key values of individualistic people include a high degree of self-respect and independence. These people often put their own career interests before the good of their organizations, and they tend to assess decisions in terms of how those decisions affect them as individuals

Time Orientation

is the extent to which members of a culture adopt a long-term versus a short-term outlook on work, life, and other aspects of society

Goal Orientation

is the manner in which people are motivated to work toward different kinds of goals. One extreme on the goal orientation continuum is aggressive goal behavior (see Table 4.7). People who exhibit aggressive goal behavior tend to place a high premium on material possessions, money, and assertiveness. At the other extreme, people who adopt passive goal behavior place a higher value on social relationships, quality of life, and concern for others

Uncertainty Orientation

orientation is the feeling people have regarding uncertain and ambiguous situations

Power orientation

refers to the beliefs that people in a culture hold about the appropriateness of power and authority differences in hierarchies such as business organizations.

Collectivism (social orientation)

the opposite of individualism, is the belief that the group comes first. Societies that tend to be collectivistic are usually characterized by well-defined social networks, including extended families, tribes, and coworkers. People are expected to put the good of the group ahead of their own personal welfare, interests, or success. Individual behavior in such cultures is strongly influenced by the emotion of shame; when a group fails, its members take the failure personally and experience shame. In addition, group members try to fit into their group harmoniously, with a minimum of conflict or tension