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Chapter 1
CULTURE
1
What is Culture ?
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Define as an acquired knowledge
that people use to interpret
experience and generate social
behavior.
This knowledge forms values,
creates attitudes and influences
behavior.
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Culture
Culture is the collection of values,
beliefs, behaviors, customs, and
attitudes that distinguish one
society from another.
A society’s culture determines the
rules that govern how firms operate
in the society.
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Attitudes – positive or negative
evaluations, feeling and tendencies that
individual hold in mind toward objects or
concepts.
Attitudes are learned from role models
including parents, teachers, peers and
religious leaders.
Ex : attitude toward times - People in
Japan and US typically arrive promptly for
meeting
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Customs and manners refer to
appropriate way of behaving, speaking
and dressing in a culture.
Ex : Korea – it is a poor manners to lift a
rice bowl close to one’s mouth when
eating rice but it is a common practice in
China and Japan.
Sharing gifts of food during the Islamic
holy month of Ramadan is a custom
among Muslims.
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What is Culture ?
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Anthropologist Margaret Mead :
Shared patterns of behavior
Anthropologist it seems disagree about
the precise meaning of culture – they
proposed over 164 different
definitions. Some definitions embrace
everything from law and religion to
art.
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Claude Levi-Strauss & Clifford Geertz –
“Systems of shared meaning or
understanding”
Ed Schein – a set of assumptions. Shared
solutions to universal problems of external
adaptation (how to survive) and internal
integration (how to stay together) – which
has evolve over time and are handed down
from one generation to the next.
Schein’s definition is directly addresses the
key challenges facing manager today.
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Characteristics of culture
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Learned behavior
Shared
Trans-generational
Symbolic- aesthetics
Patterned
Adaptive
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How to discover about culture ?
1. Artifacts and Behavior
i. Architecture and interior design
ii. Greeting ritual
iii. Dress & codes of address
iv. Contacts (amount of physical
space)
2. Beliefs and values
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
Business offices in Japan in general
are not partitioned. Junior
employees work in teams sitting
face to face at rows of desks.
Section chiefs work at the head of
the row. The department chief sits
slightly apart, overseeing a number
of sections.
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
In France greetings are highly
personal and individual. A general
wave of he hand to say hello to
everyone when arriving at the
office, as in United States is
considered insulting to France coworkers who expecting to be
greeted individually by name,
shaking hands and making eye
contact.
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Northern European managers tend
to dress more informally than their
Latin counterparts.
Dress code may also signal task
orientation. Rolled up shirt sleeves
are considered a signal of “getting
down to business (US)” or “relaxing
on the job (France)”
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Northern European tend to require a
larger personal space or protective bubble
than their Latin European counterparts.
Northern Europeans feel more
comfortable with somewhat greater than
arm’s length distance
Southern Europeans want to move it
closer (within arm’s length) in order to
feel the connection.
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Beliefs are statements of fact about
the way things are.
Values are preferred states about
the way things should be, about
ideals.
Ex : Honesty, freedom and
responsibility
Ex : Singapore – people values
hard work and material success
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Figure 4.1 Elements of Culture
Language
Social
structure
Communication
Culture
Values/
attitudes
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Religion
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Social structure

Refer to a culture’s fundamental
organization, including its groups
and institutions, its system of social
positions and their relationships and
the processes by which resources
are distributed
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1. Social Structure
Individuals, families, and groups
Social stratification
Social mobility
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All human societies involve individuals living in
family units and working with each other in
groups.
Societies differ, however, in the way they define
family and in the relative importance they place
on the individual’s role within groups.
The U.S. view of family ties and responsibilities
focuses on the nuclear family (father, mother,
and offspring). In other cultures, the extended
family is far more important.
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These differing social attitudes are reflected in
the importance of the family to business. In
the United States, firms discourage nepotism,
and the competence of a man who married the
boss’s daughter is routinely questioned by coworkers.
In Arab-owned firms, however, family ties are
crucial, and hiring relatives is a common,
accepted practice. Cultures also differ in the
importance of the individual relative to the
group.
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Societies differ in their degree of social
stratification. All societies categorize
people to some extent on the basis of
their birth, occupation, educational
achievements, or other attributes.
However, the importance of these
categories in defining how individuals
interact with each other within and
between these groups varies by
society.
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Social mobility is the ability of
individuals to move from one stratum
of society to another.
Social mobility tends to be higher in
less stratified societies.
Social mobility (or the lack thereof)
often affects individuals’ attitudes and
behaviors toward such factors as labor
relations, human capital formation, risk
taking, and entrepreneurship.
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2. Language
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Language organizes the way members
of a society think about the world. It
filters observations and perceptions
and thus affects unpredictably the
messages that are sent when two
individuals try to communicate
Language organizes the way members
of a society think about the world.
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
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It filters observations and perceptions
and thus affects unpredictably the
messages that are sent when two
individuals try to communicate.
Language provides important clues
about the cultural values of the society
and aids acculturation.
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For instance, India recognizes 16 official
languages, and approximately 3,000 dialects
are spoken within its boundaries, a reflection
of the heterogeneity of its society.
Generally, countries dominated by one
language group tend to have a homogeneous
society, in which nationhood defines the
society.
Countries with multiple language groups tend
to be heterogeneous, with language providing
an important means of identifying cultural
differences within the country.
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Map 4.1 World Languages
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Map 4.2 Africa’s Colonial Legacy
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3 . Communication
o
o
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Some linguistic differences may be overcome
through translation. The process, however,
requires more than merely substituting words of
one language for those of another
Translators must be sensitive to subtleties in the
connotations of words and focus on translating
ideas, not the words themselves
Translation Disasters
Ex : KFC’s Finger Lickin’ Good
 Eat your fingers off (China)
Ex : Pillsbury’s Jolly Green Giant
 Intimidating green ogre (Saudi Arabia)
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Ex : Caterpillar Fundamental English
When communications to nonnative
speakers must be made in the home
country’s language, speakers and writers
should use common words, use the most
common meanings of those words, and try
to avoid idiomatic phrases.
Caterpillar
has
developed
its
own
simplified language instruction program
(use the common words)

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Different meaning of words
Another
cultural
difficulty
international
businesspeople face is that words may have
different meanings to persons with diverse
cultural backgrounds
 meaning of “mañana”
- Latin America – some other day, not today.
- North Americans - tomorrow
 Japan
 meaning of “yes” versus “yes, I understand”
 Directly uttering “no” is considered very
impolite in Japan.

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Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal
Communication may account
for 80-90 percent of all information transmitted
among members of a culture
by means other than language.
 includes facial expressions, hand gestures,
intonation, eye contact, body positioning and
body posture.
Although most members of a society quickly
understand nonverbal forms of communication
common to their society, outsiders may find the
nonverbal communication difficult to
comprehend
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Forms of Nonverbal Communication,
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Hand gestures
Facial expression
Posture and
stance
Clothing/hair style
Walking behavior
Interpersonal
distance
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Touching
Eye contact
Architecture/
interior design
Artifacts and nonverbal symbols
Graphic symbols
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Forms of Nonverbal Communication
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Art and rhetorical
forms
Smell
Speech rate,
pitch, inflection,
volume
Color symbolism
Synchronization
of speech and
movement
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Taste, symbolism
of food, oral
gratification
Cosmetics
Sound signals
Time symbolism
Timing and
pauses
Silence
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Gift Giving and Hospitality
Gift
giving and hospitality is an important means
of communication, but what is appropriate varies.
Ex
: Japanese business etiquette requires
solicitous hospitality. Elaborate meals and afterhours entertainment serve to build personal bonds
and group harmony among the participants. These
personal bonds are strengthened by the exchange
of gifts, that vary according to the occasion and
the status of the giver and the recipient. However,
business gifts are opened in private so as not to
cause the giver to lose face should the gift be too
expensive or too cheap relative to the gift offered
in return.
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The business culture of Arab countries also includes
gift-giving and elaborate and gracious hospitality as a
means of assessing these qualities. Unlike in Japan,
however, business gifts are opened in public so that
all may be aware of the giver’s generosity.
Norms of hospitality even affect the way bad news is
delivered in various cultures. In the United States, bad
news is typically delivered as soon as it is known.
In Korea, it is delivered at day’s end so it will not ruin
the recipient’s whole day. Further, in order not to
disrupt personal relationships, the bad news is often
only hinted at.
In Japan, maintaining harmony among participants in
a project is emphasized, so bad news often is
communicated informally from a junior member of one
negotiating team to a junior member of the other
team. Even better, a third party may be used to
deliver the message to preserve harmony within the
group.
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Religion
Religion is an important aspect of most societies. It
affects the ways in which members of a society relate to
each other and to outsiders. Approximately 85 percent of
the world’s 6.3 billion people claim some religious
affiliation.
Islam
Christianity
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Hinduism
Buddhism
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4. Religion
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Imposes constraints on roles of individuals in society
(Ex : the caste system of Hinduism traditionally has
restricted the jobs individuals may perform, thereby
affecting the labor market and foreclosing business
opportunities
Affects the types of products consumers may
purchase. Ex : In most Christian countries, for
example, the Christmas season represents an
important time for gift-giving, yet very little business
is done on Christmas Day itself. While consumption
booms during the Christmas holidays, production
plummets as employees take time off to visit friends
and family.
Varies from country to country
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Map 4.3 Major World Religions
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5. Values & Attitudes
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Values are the principles and
standards accepted by the members
Attitudes encompass the action,
feeling and thoughts that result
from those value
Ex : US Value Freedom
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Values
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Learned from culture in which
individual is reared
Differences in culture values may
result in varying management
practices
Basic convictions that people have
about :
i. Right and wrong
ii. Good and bad
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How culture affects managerial
approaches
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Centralized vs. decentralized decision
making.
Safety vs. risk
Individual vs. group rewards
Informal procedures vs. formal
procedures
High organizational loyalty vs. low
organizational loyalty
Cooperation vs. competition
Short term vs. long term horizons.
Stability vs. innovation
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Centralized vs. decentralized decision
making
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In some societies, top managers
make all important organizational
decisions.
In others, these decisions are
diffused throughout the enterprise
and middle and lower level
managers actively participate in and
make key decisions.
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Individual vs. group rewards
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In some countries, personnel who
do outstanding work are given
individual rewards in the form of
bonuses and commissions.
In others, cultural norms require
group rewards and individual
rewards are frowned upon.
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Safety vs. risk
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In some societies, organizational
decision makers are risk averse and
have great difficulty with conditions
of uncertainty.
In others, risk taking is encouraged
and decision making under
uncertainty is common.
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Informal vs. formal procedures
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In some societies, much is
accomplished through informal
means.
In others, formal procedures are set
forth and followed rigidly.
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High vs. low organizational loyalty
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In some societies, people identify
very strongly with their organization
or employer.
In others, people identify with their
occupational group such as
engineer or mechanic.
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Cooperation vs. competition
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Some societies encourage
cooperation between their people.
Others encourage competition
among their people.
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Short term vs. long term horizons
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Some culture focus most heavily on
short term horizons such as short
range goals of profits and efficiency.
Others are more interested in long
range goals such as market share
and technological developments.
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Stability vs. innovation
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The culture of some countries
encourages stability and resistance
to change.
The culture of others puts high
value on innovation and change.
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