International Business Ch. 4 - Culture

Society

A community of people who share a common culture or set of values and norms

In societies where the group is dominant:

Cooperation and team work are encouraged and life time employment is common Individual initiative and creativity may be suppressed

In societies where individual is dominant

Individual achievement and entrepreneurship are promoted Encourages job switching, competition between individuals rather than team building, and a lack of loyalty to the firm

What are the determinants of culture?

Language Social Structure Religion Education Political Philosophy Economic Philosophy

______ join the political entity of a state to the cultural entity of a nation

Nation-States

The two major Christian organizations are

Orthodox church Roman catholic

Caste System

a closed social stratification where people can do nothing to change the category that they are born into

class consciousness

a condition where people tend to perceive themselves in terms of their class background, and this shapes their relationships with others

Hindus believe in ______, the behaviors and responsibilities governing individual conduct.

dharma

Power distance

focused on how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities

Folkways

routine conventions of everyday life ex. appropriate dress code in a particular setting, good social manners, eating with the correct utensils, neighborly behavior

Norms

rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members

Cross-cultural literacy

understanding how the culture of a country affects the way business is practiced

long-term v short-term orientation

the degree to which a culture emphasizes long-term or short-term thinking and whether they can accept delayed gratification of their material, social and emotional needs

Masculinity v femininity

the degree to which a culture values stereotypically male traits (masculinity) or stereotypically female traits (femininity), especially gender and work roles

Individualism v collectivism

the degree to which a person believes that people should be self-sufficient and that loyalty to one's self is more important than loyalty to team or company

uncertainty avoidance

the degree to which societies are willing to tolerate uncertainty and risk

Social Mobility

the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born

What four principles a are social stratification based on?

- It's a trait of society, not a reflection of individual differences -Carries over a generation to the next -Generally universal but variable -Involves not just inequality but beliefs

Buddhism has all the same basic beliefs as Hinduism except for which two of the following?

Advocacy in extreme ascetic behavior Support for the caste system,

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

______ is judging another's culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture.

Ethnocentrism

Monica asked her manager if appropriate dress for the meeting was business casual or traditional business. Monica is inquiring about the ______ associated with the meeting.

Folkway

The routine conventions of living, thinking and acting in a group are called ______.

Folkways

Stephen usually eats lunch with three of his co-workers and on the weekends he gets together with his college friends. The people Stephen interacts with represent two types of _____.

Groups

What are the four dimensions originally identified by Hofstede?

Individualism c collectivism Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity v femininity Power distance

Western society values ____ over _____

Individuals, groups

Understanding how cultural differences across and within nations affect the way business is practiced is known as ______ literacy.

cross-cultural

Social strata

hierarchical social categories often based on family background, occupation, and income

Social Structure

how a society is organized in terms of its values, norms and the relationships that are part of the society's fabric

There _____ a strict one-to-one relationship between one culture and a nation-state.

is not

Values

the ideas, beliefs, and attitudes about what is important that help guide the way you live

Group

An association of two or more individuals who have a shared sense of identity and who interact with each other in structured ways on the basis of a common set of expectations about each other's behavior. i.e. human social life

What ethical system was the official ethical system of China until the communist revolution and emphasizes taking the right actions to attain salvation?

Confucianism

Energy Resources Ltd. does business in 50 countries around the world. The company stresses to all employees the importance of understanding the prevailing culture in the countries that they are doing business in. In other words, the company is aware of the importance of

Cross-cultural literacy

A system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living is called

Culture

Hofstede studied how ______ relates to values in the workplace.

Culture

What are three examples of the "hidden curriculum" of schools?

Dealing with competition Obedience to authority Respect for others

How has social media affected group life?

It has emphasized the idea of an extended social group

______ is/are something that one believes in that is concerned with the sacred and follows with some measure of devotion.

Religion

Class system

less rigid form of social stratification in which social mobility is possible

Confucianism values harmonious relationships, which are based on moral and ethical conduct and ______.

loyalty to others

Islam is a ______ religion, believing in one true God.

monotheistic

Mores

norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance; laws against theft, adultery, incest and cannibalism. Ex. in Saudi Arabia you can get jail time for drinking alcohol seen as central to societal functions

Nation states

states whose populations share a sense of national identity, usually including a language and culture. A political creation

All societies are divided on a hierarchical basis into social categories called social _____.

strata

Explain what is meant by the culture of a society

system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living

The basic social organization of a society is called its social ___

Structure

True or False: While religion can influence the values and norms of society, the values and norms of society can also impact religion.

True, chain of causation can run both ways

ethical system

a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior

Religion

a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred

As countries get richer, we often see a shift ______ traditional values (such as staying married and obeying one's parents) and ______ secular rational values (including abortion and divorce).

away from toward