Chapter 3- Cultural & Social Forces

Individualism/Collectivism

Individual rights vs. Group Welfare: Whenever there is a conflict between an individual's rights and the group's welfare, individualistic cultures favor the individual's rights while collectivist cultures give precedence to group welfare. Role and Importance of in-groups: The contrast individualism/collectivism can be defined as people looking after themselves and their immediate family only, versus people belonging to in-groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty. Members of collectivistic cultures draw sharp distinctions between members of in-groups and out-groups. In-group relationships in collectivistic cultures are more intimate than in individualistic cultures

^ Self-identity:

In collectivistic cultures, people are "we"-conscious, their identity is based on the social system to which they belong. Importance of the Person vs. Task: In individualistic cultures, people give priority to the task; in collectivistic cultures, priority is given to relationship with people

Uncertainty Avoidance (cont.)

In cultures of high uncertainty avoidance, there is a need for rules and formality to structure life and, thus, avoid uncertainty. Example: In high uncertainty avoidance cultures, communication is more formal. Low uncertainty avoidance cultures feel that there should be as few rules as possible. In high uncertainty avoidance cultures, competition within groups is seen as threatening and, thus, is discouraged. In low uncertainty avoidance cultures competition within groups is encouraged

Masculine vs. Feminine Cultures (cont.)

In feminine societies, quality of life is more important than winning. In feminine societies, there is a tendency to strive for consensus while in masculine societies asserting ones point of view is desirable. Gender role differentiation: small in feminine societies, large in masculine societies. Sweden is lowest on the masculinity dimension, Japan highest. All Anglo-Saxon countries score high on masculinity; the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands score low.

^ Personal vs. Public Life:

In individualistic cultures there is a strong division between private life and public life/work life, between private time and work time. In collectivistic cultures, there is no such strict division—people do business with trusted others. The level of individualism is increasing worldwide because it is linked with wealth, but it remains a relative concept.

^ Ways of Communicating

In individualistic cultures, there is more explicit, verbal communication. Individualistic cultures are low-context cultures. Collectivistic cultures are high-context cultures. Most Western countries score individualistic, Asian and Latin American countries score collectivistic. Within Europe, England scores highest on the individualism dimension, Portugal the lowest.

Time as Symbol

All cultures use time symbolically. To be kept waiting is offensive in monochronic-time cultures, it is perceived as a message. It is not necessarily so in polychronic-time cultures. Waiting one's turn is basic for monochronic-time cultures. In polychronic-time cultures one does not wait one's turn. In polychronic-time having friends, intermediaries, is more important. Friends come first, not those who have patiently waited in line

^ Meaning of friendship

Although many Americans have friends to whom they feel special attachments and strong obligations, these friendships are small in number. Many other people are called "friends" but there is no element of mutual obligation. In collectivist cultures friendship bears considerable mutual obligations. Example: "Guanxi" in Chinese culture: The system of social networks and influential relationships that facilitate business and other dealings. One's friends circle generally tends to be much larger in collectivist cultures

High-Context and Low-Context Cultures (cont.)

Argumentation and rhetoric in advertising are found more in low-context cultures, whereas advertising in high-context cultures is characterized by symbolism or indirect verbal expression. For the Japanese, the verbal mode is only one aspect of communication; the nonverbal is often seen as having greater importance.

Dimensions of Culture

High-Context and Low-Context Cultures Context is the information that surrounds an event; it is inextricably bound up with the meaning of that event. Collectivism and high-context communication are usually related Example of contexting: In Japan as relationships warm up less formal forms of address are used. Contrast the above with America where informality may not be very diagnostic about a person's feelings.

Power Distance (cont.):

In Asian cultures (high power distance), every greeting, every contact must indicate the kind and degree of social distance between individuals. In low power distance cultures, children are raised to be independent at a young age. Americans will avoid becoming dependent on others and they neither do nor want others, with the possible exception of immediate family members, to be dependent on them In high power distance cultures, organizations tend to be hierarchical. In high power distance cultures, status is important for showing power. In high power distance cultures, older people are important because of respect for old age and age is associated with wisdom.

Dimensions of Culture Cont'd

In a high-context communication or message, most of the information is either part of the context; very little is made explicit as part of the message. The information in a low-context message is conveyed explicitly. To the observer, an unknown high-context culture can be completely mystifying, because symbols that are not known to the observer play such an important role

Masculine vs. Feminine Cultures:

The dominant values in masculine societies are achievement and success, the dominant values in feminine societies are caring for others and quality of life. In masculine societies, status is important to show success. A core value of feminine cultures is modesty not showing off. So, even if one excels, one should display modesty The Importance of Winning Two quotes that demonstrate the different attitudes towards winning in masculine vs. feminine cultures: "For when that one great scorer comes to write against your name, he writes not whether you won or lost but how you played the game." Grantland Rice (Sports writer) "Winning isn't everything, its the only thing." Vince Lombardi (legendary football coach)

^ Power Distance

The power distance dimension can be defined as the extent to which less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power and it's accompanying privileges are distributed unequally. Low Power distance cultures stress equality in rights and opportunity in the workplace. It influences the way people accept and give authority. In large power distance cultures, everyone has his or her rightful place in a social hierarchy, and as a result acceptance and giving of authority is something that comes naturally. Asians, members high power distance cultures, always perceive a hierarchical order in any relationship, wherein the superior and the subordinate will be much more connected emotionally and by reciprocal responsibilities and expectations. In cultures scoring lower on the power distance index, such as the American culture, authority has a negative connotation. In cultures of low power distance, powerful people try to look less powerful, older people try to look younger

Hofstede's Four Dimensions of Culture Cont'd

This four dimension model was developed by Geert Hofstede, who analyzed data collected by IBM to try to find an explanation for the fact that some concepts of motivation did not work in all countries in the same way. The model is based on 30 years of quantitative research. The original data were from an extensive IBM database for which-between 1967 and 1973-16,000 questionnaires were used in 72 countries and in 20 languages.

Some Characteristics of Values

Values generally change quite slowly over time. Some causes of value shifts include: Changes in wealth, Changes in technology, War catastrophes, and Aging.

Value Paradoxes(cont.)

Why are marketers interested in value paradoxes? Value paradoxes reflect people's true (as opposed to socially desirable) motives and include the elements that trigger people's feelings and emotions. Thus, they are used in marketing and advertising.

Value Paradoxes

A Paradox: Any person, thing, or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature. Every culture exhibits its paradoxical values. Ex. Individualism versus A Need for Belonging in the US culture. 7 out of 10 Americans voluntarily belong to at least one club or association. Value paradoxes reflect the conflict between the desirable versus the desired: A value paradox reflects a choice dilemma, in terms of choosing between what one ought to do and what one wants to do.

Values

A value is "an enduring belief that one mode of conduct or end-state of existence is preferable to an opposing mode or end-state of existence."

Culture and Perception (cont.)

Culture greatly influences what is selectively perceived. A way to reduce the extent to which our perception is distorted by our own cultural experience is to first understand our own culture before trying to understand foreign cultures. The reason we find it difficult to gauge all the ways in which our culture influences us if because of the ubiquity of cultural influence. "Fish can't see water"

Culture

Culture is "the values, attitudes, beliefs, artifacts, and other meaningful symbols represented in the pattern of life adopted by people that help them (1)interpret, (2)evaluate and (3)communicate as members of a society." Culture is "the collective mental programming of the people in an environment. Culture is not a characteristic of individuals; it encompasses a number of people who are conditioned by the same education and life experiences."

Some Characteristics of Culture

Culture is socially learned, not genetically inherited Culture does change over time; however, the rate of change is usually very slow

Power Distance cont'd

Malaysia scores highest on power distance and Austria the lowest. Mexico and France score high, the United States relatively low Denmark and Hungary very low. The degree of power distance tends to decrease with increased levels of education. As a result, it is expected that improved education worldwide will lead toward decreased PDI scores, but relative differences between countries are not expected to change.

Values & Marketing

Marketers are interested in values because people use values as a basis for making choices. Values are beliefs about the desirable goals in life and products are a means for achieving these goals. Marketers are very interested in anticipating societal value changes because values change lead to changes in consumption patterns

The Value Concept

Milton Rokeach: The antecedents to human value are culture, society, and its institutions. Values are integrated in an organized system in which they are ordered in priority with respect to other values (i.e., for any individual, some values are more important than others). People everywhere possess the same value to different degrees (i.e., most cultures value similar set of values but their relative importance differs across cultures).

Layers of Culture

National culture. Regional and/or ethnic and/or religious and/or linguistic culture. Generational culture. Social class culture. Organization or corporate culture.

Time Orientation toward the Past, Present, or Future

North Americans tend to be future oriented; the future is a guide to present action. Many Europeans are past oriented; they believe in preserving history and continuing past traditions. The look to the past to decide what to do in the present. African time is said to be composed of a series of events that are experienced. The focus is on the present in making decisions. Although North American are future oriented in that their present decisions are based on what they expect to be doing in the future, their time horizon is relatively short. Example: Witness the popularity of "Buy now pay later appeals" The Japanese are also future oriented but their time horizon if much longer.

Uncertainty Avoidance Cont'd

People in high uncertainty avoidance cultures routinely seek out experts. People in low uncertainty avoidance cultures believe more in generalists and common sense and rarely seek out experts.

Culture and Perception

Perception: is the process by which each individual selects, organizes, and evaluates stimuli from external environment to provide meaningful experiences for him or herself. Selective perception: means that people focus on certain features of their environment to the exclusion of others

Monochronic versus Polychronic Cultures

Polychronic cultures tend to be collectivist while monochronic cultures tend to be individualistic. Polychronic: Committed to people and relationships Consider deadlines and schedules secondary to relationships Change plans often and easily Monochronic: Committed to the task Give precedence to deadlines and schedules Adhere religiously to plans

Manifestations of Culture

Symbols: Are words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning recognized only by those who share a culture Heroes: Are persons, alive or dead, real or imaginary, who possess characteristics that are highly prized in a society, and thus serve as role models for behavior Rituals: Are the collective activities considered socially essential within a culture. The ritual of thanksgiving. The cultural meaning of symbols, heroes, and rituals are visible to the "insiders" of a culture in an automatic (almost subconscious) manner

Hofstede's Four Dimensions of Culture

To compare cultures, Hofstede distinguishes among them according to four dimensions: Individualism versus Collectivism Power Distance (high versus low) Masculine versus Feminine Uncertainty Avoidance (high versus low)

Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty avoidance can be defined as the extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and try to avoid these situations. Low uncertainty avoidance culture encourage risk taking while high uncertainty avoidance cultures focus on risk minimization.