chapter 4 culture
gift-giving/hospitality
-important means of communication -different etiquettes and customs -communicating bad news (South Korea - end of day via subordinates)
social structure
-individuals, families, and groups -social stratification -social mobility
elements of culture
-values and attitudes -social structure -language -communication -religion
four approaches to names/branding:
1) no adaptation (ex: Pizza Hut, Heineken) 2) sound adaptation (Sony, Audi) 3) Meaning Adaptation (GM, GE) 4) Dual Adaptation (Nike, Coca-Cola --- ideal!)
Hofstede's 5 dimensions
1) social orientation 2) power orientation 3) uncertainty orientation 4) goal orientation 5) time orientation
how many different languages worldwide?
3000+
power orientation extremes
power tolerance vs power respect
acculturation
process of adjusting and adapting to a specific culture other than one's own --- one of the keys to success in international business operations
Hinduism
product adaptations (beef), caste system
individualist country
US
versatility of words
ex: "fix" in Texas
US is
more aggressive
more turnover in
uncertainty accepting countries
uncertainty orientation extremes
uncertainty avoidance vs uncertainty acceptance
self-reference criterion
unconscious use of one's own culture to help assess new surroundings
to formulate an international strategy
understand culture similarities and differences, maximize similarities (less adaptation)
cross-cultural literacy
understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way in which business is practiced
low-context culture
words used by speaker explicitly convey the speaker's message to the listener
language
-delineates cultural groups -shapes one's perceptions of the world -filters observations and perceptions -provides important clues about the cultural values of the society -offers indications about the diversity of a country's population
Caterpillar
-developed Caterpillar Fundamental English (CFE) - consists of 800 words that are necessary to repair equipment -taught to non-English speaking people in 30 lessons
high context extreme
Chinese
most common language
English is predominant common language of international business
power orientation outlier
France is individualistic AND power respecting (most individualist countries are usually more power tolerant)
low context extreme
German
power tolerance country
Israel
Uncertainty avoiding countries
Japan & France
wa
Japan's concern for social harmony; have group-oriented business practices
long term oriented countries
Japan, Hong Kong / Asia in general
short term oriented countries
Nigeria, Philippines
collectivist country
Panama
power respect country
Panama
Islam
Sharia, halal/haram, Ramadan, prayer times, gender roles, product adaptations (meat, alcohol)
most individualistic cultures
US and Australia
nepotism
US looks down on it, but in many countries it is duty to look after family first
uncertainty accepting countries
US, Scandinavian countries, Denmark
social mobility
ability of individuals to move from stratum of society to another
business cards
acceptance, acknowledgement, defacing, placement, information, language
language becomes most important when
advertising
goal orientation extremes
aggessive goal behavior vs passive goal behavior
culture is shared by members of society
and defines membership in society
Hall's Low-Context, High-Context approach
approach to understanding communication based on the relative emphasis on verbal and nonverbal cues to transmit meaning
power tolerance
attach much less significance to a person's position in the hierarchy
ethnocentrism
belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture
collectivism
belief that the group comes first characterized by: well-defined social networks
power orientation
beliefs that people in a culture hold about appropriateness of power and authority
power orientation examples
benefits, delegation, status, titles, managerial style, advertising, training, setting targets
examples of motivation for goal orientation
benefits, reinforcement, competitiveness
context examples
body language, presence of lawyers at first meeting, looking repeatedly at watch, not using proper forms of address
greenfield investment
brand-new investment
social stratification
categorizing someone based on birth, occupation, achievements, etc.
culture is adaptive
changes in response to external forces that affect the society
culture
collection of values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, and attitudes that distinguish one society from another (the way of life of a people)
cultural cluster
comprises countries that share many cultural similarities, although differences do remain
high-context culture
context in which the conversation occurs is just as important as the words that are actually spoken and cultural cues are important in understanding what is being communicated
cultural convergence
convergence of two or more cultures
individualism
cultural belief that the person comes first key values: high degree of self-respect and independence
individuals, families, and groups
defining family (nuclear vs extended), individual's role within groups, importance of individual relative to group
guanxi
describes a personal connection between two people in which one is able to prevail upon another, or be prevailed upon, to perform a favor or service RECIPROCAL EXCHANGE OF FAVORS "GOOD CONNECTIONS" OR "RELATIONSHIPS"
uncertainty avoidance
dislike ambiguity and will avoid it whenever possible
more than one language in a culture indicates
diversity
having a foreign sounding name lends a cachet
ex: Cadillac, Hilton, Rols-Royce (status symbols)
time orientation
extent to which members of a culture adopt a long-term vs a short-term outlook on work, life, and other aspects of society
nonverbal communication
facial expressions, hand gestures, intonation, eye contact, body positioning, body posture
uncertainty orientation
feeling people have regarding uncertain and ambiguous situations
short-term outlook
focus on past and present
long-term outlook
future orientation
less stratified societies
higher social mobility - US
social orientation extremes
individualism vs collectivism
elements of culture are
interrelated
many clusters based on
language similarities
culture reflects
learned behavior that is transmitted from one member of a society to another
highly stratified societies
lower social mobility - India, UK
goal orientation
manner in which people are motivated to work toward different kinds of goals
disadvantage of lingua franca
miscommunications
power respect
people in a culture tend to accept the power and authority of their superiors simply on the basis of the superiors' positions in the hierarchy
social orientation
person's beliefs about the relative of the individual and the groups to which that person belongs
aggressive goal behavior
place a high premium on material possessions, money, and assertiveness
passive goal behavior
place higher value on social relationships, quality of life, concern for others
social orientation examples
promotions, decision making, purchase decisions, recruiting, rewards
uncertainty orientation examples
risk taking, innovation, warranties, turnover, rules/policies/procedures
uncertainty acceptance
stimulated by change and thrive on new opportunities
Protestant ethic
stresses individual hard work, frugality and achievement as a means of glorifying God
lingua franca
third or "link" language that is understood by two parties who speak different native languages
time orientation examples
time set aside for negotiations, signing contracts, relationship building before legal contracts signing
values and attitudes
time, age, education, status
back translation
translating a foreign language version back to the original language by a different person than the one who made the first translation (make sure meanings entirely the same)