IB MODULE 3

E. T. Hall claims managers can do this in only two ways:

(1) spend a lifetime in a culture, or (2) undergo an extensive training program that covers the main characteristics of a culture, including the language.

What is the first step international business managers must take in order to live, work, and meet business goals in other cultures?

Accept that other cultures are different.

Achievement vs. Ascription

Ascription cultures consider a person's identity in terms of his or her family lineage, age, or other attributes. You are valued for who you are. Achievement cultures are meritocracies that reward what you do

LO 3-3 Describe how culture shows itself.

Because culture is not directly observable; it is manifested in the sociocultural aspects of a society. Culture manifests in, for example, a society's aesthetics, religion, material culture, language, and social organization.

The supreme being associated with Hinduism is _____.

Brahman

Which of these religions believes that a continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is the cause of human suffering?

Buddhism

Which religion was founded in India and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama?

Buddhism

According to the tenets of _____, all who profess their faith in the Resurrection of Jesus will be received into heaven after death

Christianity

Which religion has many denominations and shares a belief that there is one God who is revealed through human history?

Christianity

Which of the following statements are true of the command-and-control approach to accounting procedures?

Controls are administered by formal institutions. Compliance is gained through rules and sanctions.

LO 3-2 Identify the ways culture affects all business activity.

Culture affects everything we do, and, thus, national cultural differences affect the functional areas of international business. Wide variations in cultural attitudes and values across markets require that many firms develop a variety of marketing mixes to reach their consumers. HR motivation practices are culturally affected. Leadership is greatly influenced by culture, as well. What is leadership thought to be? Is it patriarchal and hierarchical? Is the leader one among equals? Production managers have found that cultural values around attitudes toward change can seriously influence the acceptance of new production methods. Is employee evaluation understood as a development aid or an adversarial process? A culture's accounting controls directly relate to its assumptions about people's basic nature. Are the controls tight throughout the organization, suggesting low levels of trust, or loose, suggesting the culture assumes people will act honestly even when they are not closely monitored? Every business action is influenced by national-level cultural values.

LO 3-1 Describe what culture is.

Culture is the sum total of the beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions, and artifacts that characterize human populations. In other words, culture consists of the "individual worldviews, social rules, and interpersonal dynamics characterizing a group of people set in a particular time and place." Most anthropologists agree that culture is learned; the various aspects of culture are interrelated; culture is shared, patterned, and mutually constructed through social interaction; and culture defines the boundaries of different groups.

Hofstede's cultural dimension framework

Geert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher and consultant trained in anthropology, concerned primarily with work values, and he currently identifies six dimensions to help managers understand how national-level cultural differences affect organizations and management methods

LO 3-5 Describe the global mind-set and the MBI model.

Global mind-set describes a mind that is open to diversity and has an ability to synthesize across it. Such capabilities are needed in international management. They may well require a propensity to deal with complexity, yet they can be enhanced through experiences in different cultures. A useful tool for figuring out what matters when working across cultures is the Map-Bridge-Integrate model (MBI) because it helps to synthesize across the complexity.

Edward Hall's high context and low context

Hall classifies cultures based upon their communication styles and, specifically, on the role that context plays in the culture's communication patterns.

Which of the following would be included in Edward Hall's definition of context in a culture's communication?

Helen will do her presentation after Connor but before Jeremy. Tyler started his speech at the back of the room and moved toward the front as he finished. Liam slumped over the podium as he gave his presentation.

Which of the following is the oldest of the major world religions?

Hinduism

Which of the following are criticisms of Hofstede's cultural dimension framework?

His dimensions oversimplify the complexities of culture. His data are dated. His work was done at the organizational level.

Attitudes toward the Environment

In internal-direction cultures, people believe they control nature. In external-direction cultures, they believe the natural world controls them and they need to work with their environment. In external-direction cultures, where people tend to be responsive to external forces, a motivational approach that draws on self-directed leadership might be a costly misstep. Of course, training could change that. But a motivational approach that provides external resources such as rewards and regular feedback would be more in line with the cultural dimension of external direction. Another key issue is how people deal with obstacles—do they reconfigure them or adjust to them?

Which religion focuses on living a life according to God's will, which is revealed through the Qur'an?

Islam

The Tanak is the scripture for which religion?

Judaism

Which religion believes that God made a covenant to protect its adherents as long as they continue to believe in and worship in God?

Judaism

culture

Natalie knew her company could sell its bicycles in England, but she wanted her marketing team to learn more about how consumers in England use bicycles: Do they ride them to work, or do they ride bicycles just for pleasure? What aspect of marketing is Natalie concerned with?

Neutral vs. Affective (Unemotional vs. Emotional)

People in neutral cultures tend to withhold emotional expression, while people in affective cultures are much more expressive

Which of the following countries have a strong uncertainty avoidance culture?

South Korea Japan Greece

global mind-set

The ability to build such a deep, almost tacit understanding of a culture is rare. One of the goals of international firms is to develop such global mind-sets in managers throughout their firms. A _________ ___________includes an openness to diversity along with an ability to pull ideas together across boundaries created by that diversity. This ability to synthesize across diversity requires a willingness to deal with complexity and can be enhanced through experiences in different cultures.

Which of the following is an attribute of high-context cultures?

The culture strongly distinguishes between insiders and outsiders.

examples remind us that we are working with complex systems and our understanding lags reality.

The final example describes behavior in Japan and the United States. Japanese have low tolerance for ambiguity while U.S. managers have high tolerance for it (according to Hofstede). Yet U.S. contracts are very specific, while the Japanese introduce ambiguous clauses.

examples remind us that we are working with complex systems and our understanding lags reality.

The first example has to do with U.S. culture, described as individualistic according to many frameworks; yet the United States has the world's highest rate of charitable giving

How do international business managers learn to live, work, and meet business goals in other cultures?

The first step is to accept that other cultures are different, and the next step is to learn the characteristics of those cultures in order to adapt to them. The anthropologist

LO 3-4 Describe four frameworks for analyzing culture.

The four main frameworks we have reviewed are from Hall, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, Hofstede, and Trompenaars. Hall's framework differentiates on the issue of context, between HC and LC. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's cultural orientations framework includes the relationship of people to nature, relationships among individuals, preferred forms of human activity, the relationship with time, and the relationship with human nature. The first two frameworks are theoretical, while the final two are based on data; they are empirical. Hofstede's framework is concerned primarily with work values. Its original four dimensions are individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity-femininity. He later added two additional dimensions, pragmatic vs. normative and indulgence vs. restraint. Finally, Trompenaars's seven-dimension framework addresses the culture's patterns for relationships among people—actual behaviors—and time and nature. His dimensions are specific vs. diffuse, universalism vs. particularism (rules vs. relationships), individualism vs. communitarianism, neutral vs. affective (unemotional vs. emotional), achievement vs. ascription, attitudes toward time, and attitudes toward the environment.

LO 3-6 Discuss cautions for using cultural frameworks in business.

The frameworks are generalizations that are at best sophisticated stereotypes of the complex culture we are trying to understand. They are best used to establish likelihood; used to predict, they can be misleading because they ignore complexity and subtlety. This is an important caution. They are useful tools, especially when we recognize their limitations, for setting our expectations, but not for predicting them. Meanwhile, culture matters all the time, but in different ways at different times. In some situations, international managers have been successful with initiatives that are not in line with cultural values. Knowing when culture matters in a primary way is a result of experience combined with a global mind-set, which involves an openness to diversity along with an ability to synthesize across diversity.

Which one of the following statements is accurate regarding the effects of culture on leadership?

The role, function, and traits of leaders vary by culture.

examples remind us that we are working with complex systems and our understanding lags reality.

The second example describes a phenomenon in Costa Rica. People in Costa Rica, a high-context culture, regularly prefer automated tellers to real tellers because the automated tellers are polite.

Which of the following are associated with the anthropologist's view of culture?

The various aspects of culture are interrelated. Culture is shared, patterned, and mutually constructed Culture defines the boundaries of different groups

Which of the following are attributes of a low-context culture?

There is a division of responsibilities. Knowledge is more often transferable. People play by external rules.

Which of the following are characteristics of small-power-distance cultures?

There is equal distance among people. Informality is the norm. A consultative style of leadership predominates.

Which of the following are characteristics of feminine cultures?

There is less variation between male roles and female roles. Quality of work life is important. Environmental issues matter.

Which of the following are cultural frameworks?

Trompenaars's seven dimensions Edward Hall's high context and low context Hofstede's six dimensions Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's cultural orientation

Attitudes toward Time

Trompenaars's time dimension has two aspects. 1. The first identifies where the culture's primary focus is, whether it uses the past, the present, or the future as a lens to view the present. 2. The second aspect of the time dimension describes whether actions are sequential (monochronic) or synchronous (polychronic).

FALSE

True or false: According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, relationship with time in high-context cultures tends to focus on the present.

True

True or false: According to the anthropologist's view, culture is a learned phenomenon.

In which country does transparency and price drive the procurement process?

United States

When Milli explained to a France-based company that her U.S.-based firm would provide all of the necessary financial documentation to prove its worth, she was taken aback when the French company said they would prefer to know who the treasurer of her company was for the past ten years. This example shows how culture can affect the _____ area of a company.

accounting

Universalism vs. Particularism (Rules vs. Relationships)

addresses whether rules or relationships regulate behaviors People in universalist cultures apply rules to all people at all times, without exception. Universalist cultures tend to be rule-based, People in particularist cultures consider the context before they apply the rule. particularist cultures tend to be relationship-based

The sense of beauty and taste within a culture is known as its

aesthetics

Material culture or artifacts

all the human-made objects of a culture; people who study material culture are concerned with how people make things (technology) and who makes what and why (economics).

What should a cultural learning program for international managers include?

anticipating that other cultures may be ethnocentric training in sensitivity to cultural differences factual knowledge about the other culture

According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, orientation for human activity in a high context culture values ______.

being

Culture

can be understood as the individual world views, social rules, and interpersonal dynamics characterizing a group of people set in a particular time and place.

People in highly ______ cultures belong to strong, cohesive in-groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty.

collectivistic

cultural paradoxes

contradictions between the culture's values you expect to see based on your use of the frameworks and your growing experience

Kylie told the marketing team that it wouldn't make sense to try and market their company's new frozen meal product line in parts of South Africa because the consumers didn't have electricity, much less refrigeration. Kylie is demonstrating

cultural awareness

Specific vs. Diffuse

distinguishes among cultures based on their differentiation between private life and public or work life In specific cultures such as the United States, people make distinctions between their work relationships and other relationships, so that work relationships do not carry over beyond work In diffuse cultures such as those of East Asia, the work relationships carry over to other areas of life and influence them. Low-context cultures, to use Hall's terms, such as Germany, Canada, Australia, and the United States, tend to be specific, while high-context cultures, such as Japan and Mexico, tend to be diffuse.

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's orientation for human activity classification ranges along a continuum from _________.

doing to being

Jordan moved from the United States and took a job at a company based in China. He was always trying to get his co-workers in China to discuss their personal feelings regarding corporate decisions, but they were reluctant to do so because such conversations were not typical of their culture. Jordan's behavior is an example of _____.

ethnocentricity

What term is given to the belief that your own culture is superior to other cultures?

ethnocentricity

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's cultural orientation

extends Hall's work, helping us further understand beliefs, and hence actions, in other cultures.

A culture's aesthetics are expressed most intentionally in _______

folklore art drama music

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's evaluation of human nature classification ranges along a continuum from:

good to evil

Individualism vs. Communitarianism

has to do with whether people plan their actions with reference to individual benefits or group benefits

Cultural values play key roles in motivating and evaluating employees. This statement is an example of culture affecting which business function?

human resources

Jensen was surprised to learn that the company to which she was applying hires only graduates from Ivy League schools. This example demonstrates how culture can impact _____ in business.

human resources

People who live in the United States are rewarded for being independent. The United States is an example of a(n)

individualistic culture

According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, relationships among individuals in a low context culture tend to focus on ______.

individuals

power distance

is the extent to which members of a society expect power to be distributed unequally and accept that it is.

Every society structures its social relationships, and these patterned arrangements define an important aspect of culture: the way social groups are constructed. Sociologists define two kinds of social groups or institutions:

kinship and free association.

There is nothing as important as _______________ (finances/language) in distinguishing one culture or subculture from another.

language

Probably the most obvious and distancing cultural distinction for newcomers to international business is

language, spoken and unspoken.

A person's age, rank, and title are taken into account more in a _______ (large/small) power-distance culture.

large

Which of the following are attributes of high-context cultures?

long-term relationships more internalized understandings of what is communicated knowledge is situational or relational

in _________ context cultures, the words contain most of the communication, and the context is relatively less significant.

low

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's relationship with nature classification ranges along a continuum from:

mastery to subjugation

The human-made objects created by a culture are called _____________ culture, or artifacts.

material

Low-context cultures tend to be ______, which means they characterize time as linear, tangible, and divisible into blocks.

monochronic

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's relationship with time classification ranges along a continuum from:

past to present/future

A ____________ culture is more likely to multitask.

polychronic

Which of Hofstede's dimensions analyzes the extent to which members of a society expect power to be distributed unequally and accept that it is?

power distance

When Kevin's US-based company purchased a manufacturing facility in China, the company decided to increase the output of the facility by adding an overnight shift. The workers refused to work the overnight hours and eventually the US owner agreed to return to a regular work schedule and output levels dropped. Which aspect of business is being affected by culture?

production

Which of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's value orientations relates to society's beliefs about the legitimate form of social structure and hierarchy?

relationships among individulas

Which of the following are included in an anthropologist's definition of culture?

rules beliefs artifacts

TROMPENAARS'S SEVEN DIMENSIONS

specific vs. diffuse universalism vs. particularism (rules vs. relationships) individualism vs. communitarianism neutral vs. affective (unemotional vs. emotional) achievement vs. ascription attitudes toward time attitudes toward the environment.

According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, a ______ relationship with nature would suggest that humans cannot change nature, that forces such as fate and genetics determine the conditions of life.

subjugated

Islam comes from an Arabic word meaning _____.

submitting

Trompenaars's seven-dimension framework addresses

the culture's patterns for relationships among people—actual behaviors—and time and nature.

Hofstede's dimension of _____ describes a society's level of comfort in unstructured situations.

uncertainty avoidance

Hofstede's six cultural dimensions

uncertainty avoidance masculinity-femininity individualism-collectivism power distance indulgence vs. restraint pragmatic vs. normative