Transcript 2. Different in Culture

Different in Culture
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 Describe culture, and explain the significance of both
national culture and subcultures.
 Identify the components of culture, and describe their
impact on business activities around the world.
 Describe cultural change, and explain how companies
and culture affect one another.
 Explain how the physical environment and technology
influence culture.
 Describe the two main frameworks used to classify
cultures and explain their practical use.
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What is Culture?
Set of values, beliefs, rules and institutions held by
a specific group of people
Ethnocentricity
Cultural literacy
Belief that one’s own
ethnic group or culture
is superior to that of
others
Detailed knowledge of a
culture that enables a
person to function
effectively within it
X
√
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Nations and Culture
National culture
Nation states build museums and monuments to
preserve the legacies of important events and people
Subculture
Group of people that share a unique
way of life within a larger culture
(language, race, lifestyle, attitudes, etc.)
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Components of Culture
Physical
environments
Education
Aesthetics
Culture
Personal
communication
Values &
attitudes
Manners &
customs
Social structure
Religion
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Aesthetics
Music
Painting
Dance
Drama
Architecture
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Values and Attitudes
Values
Attitudes
The Ideas, beliefs and
customs to which people
are emotionally attached
Positive or negative
evaluations, feelings and
tendencies people hold
toward objects or concepts
• Freedom
• Responsibility
• Honesty
• Time
• Work
• Cultural change
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Manners and Customs
Manners
Customs
Appropriate behavior,
speech and dressing
in general
Traditional ways or
behavior in specific
circumstances
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Social Structure
Social structure
Culture’s groups, institutions, social
positions and resource distribution
Social stratification
Process of ranking people into social layers
Social mobility
Ease of moving up or down a culture's
"social ladder"
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World Religions
Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
Origin of
Human Values
Confucianism
Judaism
Shinto
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Language Blunders
 Braniff Airlines’ English-language slogan “Fly in Leather” was
translated into “Fly Naked” in Spanish.
 Sign in English on a Majorcan storefront read, “English well-talking”
and “Here speeching American.”
 Sign for non-Japanese-speaking guests in a Tokyo hotel read, “You
are respectfully requested to take advantage of the chambermaids.”
 English sign in a Moscow hotel read, “If this is your first visit to the
USSR, you are welcome to it.”
 Japanese knife manufacturer labeled its exports to the United States
with “Caution: Blade extremely sharp! Keep out of children.”
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Mixed Signals
"Okay"
"Vulgar gesture"
"It's a secret"
"Crazy"
"Very nosey"
"Very clever"
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Education
Cultures pass on traditions, customs, and values through
schooling, parenting, group memberships, etc.
Education level
Well-educated attract high-paying jobs, while poorly educated
attract low-paying manufacturing jobs
Brain drain
Departure of highly educated people from one profession,
geographic region or nation to another
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Problem of Illiteracy
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Physical and Material Culture
These influence a culture’s development and pace of change
Topography
Physical features characterizing the surface of a geographic region
Climate
Weather conditions of a geographic region
Material Culture
Technology used to manufacture goods and provide services
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Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Framework
Relation to nature
Material or spiritual
Time orientation
Responsibility to others
Trust and control
View of personal space
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Hofstede Framework
Individualism
vs. collectivism
Power
distance
Uncertainty
avoidance
Achievement
vs. nurturing
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Power Distance & Individualism
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Power Distance & Uncertainty
Avoidance
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Chapter Summary
• This chapter explains the significance of culture to international
business. Culture is one of the most challenging elements that
managers face in international business. Managers must have
cultural literacy, or detailed knowledge about a culture that enables
people to live and work within it. The main components of culture
are aesthetics, values and attitudes, manners and customs, social
structure, religion, personal communication, education, and
physical and material environments. A culture’s aesthetics is
important to formulating strategies, as are people’s values because
they influence attitudes toward time, work, achievement, and
cultural change. Knowledge of manners and customs is necessary
for avoiding offensive behavior. Knowing the basics of other
religions helps managers understand people’s behavior. The ability
to speak the local language and understand unspoken language
allows managers to understand a people. A culture’s educational
aspects are important to a company, as is its material culture. Two
tools to analyze and classify cultures include the Hofstede
framework and the Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck framework.
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