Download Session 6 - Ken Cosh

Culture
 “That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom,
and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of
society."(Tylor 1871:1)
 The set of customs, traditions and values of a society or community, such as an
ethnic group or nation
 Ethnocentric individuals judge other groups relative to their own ethnic group or
culture, especially with concern for language, behavior, customs, and religion.
These ethnic distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity's
unique cultural identity. (Margaret L. Andersen, Howard Francis Taylor)
 Knowledge
 Belief
 Art
 Morals
 Law
 Customs
 Language
 Behaviour
 Religion
 Traditions
 Values
 Does Language define a culture?
 or is language created by culture?
 “Kreng Jai” or เกรงใจ
 Jai – Heart? Mind? Spirit?
 Kreng – Fear? Be afraid of? Be in awe of? Dread?
 Fear?
 “I’m afraid I can’t make it today…”
 Pee & Nong
 Age based hierarchies
 “How old are you?”
 Different cultures think of politeness differently
 People assume other cultures think the same way they do
 Native speakers are more likely to be forgiving of grammatical mistakes than
inappropriate speech.
 For native speakers appropriate speech is unconscious
 Language learners may have no idea what is appropriate or inappropriate
 What does “
คิดถึง” mean?
 The concept may not exist in a foreign language
 “Can you play the piano?”
 “Can you play football?”
 “Can you speak German?”
 “Can you pass the salt?”
 In Russian, the direct translation of “Can you pass the salt?” is a request for
information (not for salt).
 Some would often offer an invitation, and then say “Come if you want to…”
 Not wanting for force people to accept an invitation they didn’t want.
 Japanese / Arab’s expect to urge & encourage someone to come, so if they hear
“come if you want to…”, they are uncertain about the sincerity of the invitation.
 If you come to my house, I’ll probably offer you a drink, or some food.
 If you refuse, I might offer again…
 But definitely not more than 3 times…
 If you refuse, then you might be being a bit rude, or I’ll just accept that you aren’t
thirsty or hungry.
 Arab culture is to refuse and refuse
 Malaysians feel an offer is inappropriate – hosts should serve something whether it is
wanted or not
 Ukrainians will offer 7-8 times
 What if you really don’t want anything?
 In some places it is perfectly ok to talk about;
 income
 politics
 religion
 marital status
 age
 weight
 Hofstede has done lots of work on national & organizational culture.
 You will soon need to answer 24 questions with an answer between 1 and 5.
 Please think of an ideal job, disregarding your present job, if you have one. In
choosing an ideal job, how important would it be to you to ...
 1 = of utmost importance
 2 = very important
 3 = of moderate importance
 4 = of little importance
 5 = of very little or no importance
 How important would it be to you to…
 1) Have sufficient time for your personal or home life
 2) Have a boss (direct superior) you can respect
 3) Get recognition for good performance
 4) Have security of employment
 5) Have pleasant people to work with
 6) Do work that is interesting
 7) Be consulted by your boss in decisions involving your work
 8) Live in a desirable area
 9) Have a job respected by your family and friends
 10) Have chances for promotion
 In your private life, how important is each of the following to you:
 11) Keeping time free for fun
 12) Moderation: having few desires
 13) Doing a service to a friend
 14) Thrift (not spending more than needed)
 15) How often do you feel nervous or tense?
 1. Always
2. Usually
3. Sometimes
4. Seldom
5. Never
3. Sometimes
4. Seldom
5. Never
 16) Are you a happy person?
 1. Always
2. Usually
 17) Do other people, or circumstances, ever prevent you from doing what you really want
to?
 1. Yes, always
2. Yes, usually
3. Sometimes
4. No, seldom
5. No, never
 18) All in all, how would you describe your state of health these days?
 1. Very good
2. Good
3. Fair
4. Poor
5. Very Poor
 19) How proud are you to be a citizen of your country?
 1. V. proud
2. Fairly proud
3. Somewhat proud 4. Not very proud
5. Not proud at all
 20) How often, in your experience, are subordinates afraid to contradict their boss (or
students their teacher)?
 1. Never
2. Seldom
3. Sometimes
4. Usually
5. Always
 To what extent do you agree with the following statements
 1=Strongly Agree
Disagree
2=Agree
3=Undecided
4=Disagree
5=Strongly
 21) One can be a good manager without having a precise answer to every question
that a subordinate may raise about his or her work.
 22) Persistent efforts are the surest way to results
 23) An organization structure in which certain subordinates have two bosses
should be avoided at all cost
 24) A company’s or organization’s rules should not be broken – not even when the
employee thinks breaking the rule would be in the organization’s best interest
 Power Distance
 Individualism
 Masculinity
 Uncertainty Avoidance
 Long Term Orientation
 Indulgence
 “The extent to which the les powerful members of institutions and organisations
within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally”
 Fact: All individuals in society are not equal – what is our attitude towards this?
 “The degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members”
 In individualist societies, people look after themselves, and their direct families,
while in collectivist societies people “belong” in groups that take care of them in
exchange for loyalty.
 “The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best
(masculine) or liking what you do (feminine)”
 A masculine society is driven by competition, achievement and success – where
success comes from being the best / winner. A feminine society is where the
dominant values are caring for other and the quality of life, where success comes
from the quality of life.
 “The extent to which members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or
unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid
these.”
 Should we try to control the future or just let it happen?
 How do we deal with anxiety about the future?
 “How every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with
the challenges of the present and future.”
 Normative societies (score low) prefer to maintain traditions and norms, avoiding
change, while pragmatic societies work on education to prepare for the future.
 “The extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses.”
 Cultures could be indulgent or restrained
 PDI = 35(m07 – m02) + 25(m20 – m23) + C(pd)
 “Thailand scores 64 on PDI index, slightly lower than the average
Asian countries (71). It is a society in which inequalities are
accepted; a strict chain of command and protocol are
observed. Each rank has its privileges and employees show
loyalty, respect and deference for their superiors in return for
protection and guidance. This may lead to paternalistic
management. Thus, the attitude towards managers are more
formal, the information flow is hierarchical and controlled.”
 IDV = 35(m04 – m01) + 35(m09 – m06) + C(ic)
 “With a score of 20 Thailand is a highly collectivist country. This
is manifest in a close long-term commitment to the member
'group' (a family, extended family, or extended relationships).
Loyalty to the in-group in a collectivist culture is paramount,
and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations. The
society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes
responsibility for fellow members of their group. In order to
preserve the in-group, Thai are not confrontational and in there
communication a “Yes” may not mean an acceptance or
agreement. An offence leads to loss of face and Thai are very
sensitive not to feel shamed in front of their group. Personal
relationship is key to conducting business and it takes time to
build such relations thus patience is necessary as well as not
openly discuss business on first occasions.”
 MAS = 35(m05 – m03) + 35(m08 – m10) + C(mf)
 “Thailand scores 34 on this dimension and is thus considered a
feminine society. Thailand has the lowest Masculinity ranking
among the average Asian countries of 53 and the World average
of 50. This lower level is indicative of a society with less
assertiveness and competitiveness, as compared to one where
these values are considered more important and significant. This
situation also reinforces more traditional male and female roles
within the population.”
 UAI = 40(m18 - m15) + 25(m21 – m24) + C(ua)
 “Thailand scores an intermediate 64 on this dimension, but it
slightly indicating a preference for avoiding uncertainty.
In order to minimize or reduce this level of uncertainty, strict
rules, laws, policies, and regulations are adopted and
implemented. The ultimate goal of this population is to control
everything in order to eliminate or avoid the unexpected. As a
result of this high Uncertainty Avoidance characteristic, the
society does not readily accept change and is very risk
adverse. Change has to be seen for the greater good of the in
group.”
 LTO = 40(m13 – m14) + 25(m19 – m22) + C(ls)
 “Thailand's low score of 32 indicates that Thai culture is more
normative than pragmatic. People in such societies have a strong
concern with establishing the absolute Truth; they are normative
in their thinking. They exhibit great respect for traditions, a
relatively small propensity to save for the future, and a focus on
achieving quick results.”
 IVR = 35(m12 – m11) + 40(m17 – m16) + C(ir)
 “With an intermediate score of 45, a preference on this dimension
cannot be determined for Thailand.”
 Handling Problems
 Punctuality
 Queues
 Life
 The Boss
 Anger
 The Weather
 Transport
 Contacts
 Parties
 Food
 Dinner time!
 Toilets!
 Funerals!
 Driving! (+ Motorbikes)!