Reading for the lesson: Text Chap. 6
The Cultural Environment of Global Business
Please note assignment questions (1-4) in blue throughout this lesson, are to be completed and turned in on Saturday Jan. 3rd on the bus. Q 5 & 6 in purple are due in class Monday.
As one crosses borders from one country to another, one is apt to experience changes in economic, political, and cultural environment. For example, currency exchange (econ.), showing your passport (political), and hearing a different language (cultural). You will experience these changes as you arrive in Berlin.
Of the three, culture is the most pervasive and difficult to define. We are all a product of our cultures. Many of the things we say and do are formed by our culture. We are often not aware of this until we enter a different culture and find out that some of our behaviors do not work as well.
Take a deep breath and hold it. Hold it, hold it. Ok let it out. We take culture for granted much like the air we breathe, we do not notice it until we have some difficulties. We may not be aware of our culture until it does not work for us as well when we visit another country with a different culture.
When you think of culture you might think of things like customs, values, dress, food, religion, art, behaviors, etc. these are all examples of cultural manifestations.
Slide 2 provides a general definition of culture as the pattern of values attitudes
and behaviors shared by the peoples of a region . Nations may consist of multiple or single cultures. The boundaries are not determined by politics.
Slide 3 provides characteristics of culture:
F Learned
F Shared
F Interrelated
F Boundaries between groups
Culture is handed down from generation to generation, it is shared by all members of the social group, the various parts (values, behaviors, etc.) of culture are interrelated, and different cultural characteristics form boundaries between groups having different cultures.
To demonstrate the power of culture, if you with your current DNA had been given to parents in China and raised there, you would still have the same physical look and DNA, but you would speak a different language, dress differently, and follow different customs, that is the power of culture.
**Q1: Why should business persons care about culture? Think about things like communication, preferences for products or services, incentives, etc. come up with three business related examples that may be affected by cultural differences.
Because culture is so complex the figure in slide 4 helps us look at different aspects of culture
: the cultural iceberg.
At the surface above the water line are the cultural artifacts, these are aspects of culture we can experience with our five senses, language, art, food, clothing, religion, etc. see slide 5. These help us determine the differences and similarities between our culture and another. However, we are not sure why these artifacts may differ from one culture to another. In order to help us understand this, we need to look beneath the surface. In the case of the iceberg, most of the mass is beneath the surface. These are the hidden dimensions of culture and they can help explain why peoples of different cultures behave differently. Two broad dimensions that we will examine are assumptions and values. By understanding some of these, we are in a better position to understand the reason for some cultural differences we observe.
Hidden Dimensions of Culture: Assumptions (Slide 7)
Assumptions are deeply rooted beliefs concerning our universe which provide meaning to things around us and shape our values and behaviors. As you will see these are fundamental beliefs that all cultures have except that different cultures may perceive them differently. Imagine the earliest days in the development of French or German culture. The experiences and lessons that these early peoples had in interacting with the world around them and with other people and animals helped shaped their beliefs and behaviors. Things that worked were retained and passed down. Those that did not work for them were forgotten.
There are many basic assumptions that human cultures have, we will examine only 5 basic ones here (slide 8).
Environment (slide 9): The relationship people have with their environment. Some people feel they can control it, others feel they must go along with its natural forces.
All cultures have beliefs about how they interact with the world around them, based on their early experience. Cultures have developed a view of their power over the environment that ranges from control to submission. Man can control his environment. If your parents tell you, you can be anything you want to be when you grow up, this is the belief that one controls their own destiny. In the middle east much of what happens to a person is in the hands of Allah or God, this is a culture that believes that humans have less control over their destiny or environment.
A business example of this would be a job search. You prepare a resume with all of your accomplishments. In a culture believing in controlling one’s destiny, it is your accomplishments that should land you a job. In Chile, while accomplishments are necessary, they are not sufficient to land that job. It also depends on who in your environment knows you and can put in a good word for you with the hiring manager. In this case someone in your environment also helps control your destiny at least in the job search.
Belief about the environment also describes a culture’s propensity for taking action in a situation (slide 10): This ranges from doing to being. Also arrayed on this continuum are some EU countries and where they lie on this aspect of this assumption.
Doing; taking action. Don’t just stand there do something! This is typical of American culture
Being: thinking analyzing before taking action; “Don’t just do something, stand there!” The French would spend more time analyzing and planning before taking action. Going to war for example!
Human Nature (slide 11); This assumption refers to a culture’s belief of the inherent
character of human beings. Again we have arrayed some EU countries and their beliefs about human nature. All human cultures have beliefs about other people both within and outside of their culture. These range from believing most people are inherently “good” or responsible and are willing to take initiative to people being” evil” or irresponsible.
Primitive Muslim cultures have harsh punishments for breaking laws such as cutting off a hand for stealing; this reflects a culture that has a belief that people are evil.
In business one’s leadership style speaks volumes about their belief in people. Those who delegate responsibility believe people can accept responsibility, are essentially good. Those who practice close supervision must believe people are less responsible (evil) and must be watched closely to see the work gets done.
Time (slide 12): People’s concept or view of time range from a linear
or sequential
view to an integrated or circular view of time. This is not clock time, but the notion of time we keep in our heads. People have had a belief of the time dimension long before we tried to measure it. Again all cultures have a concept of time that ranges from monochronic to polychronic.
Monchronic time has a beginning and end, like a straight line. Mono cultures prefer to do things sequentially. Because time has a beginning and end, it is viewed as a resource that can be saved or wasted.
Polychronic cultures see time as having no beginning or end, it is more circular, what goes around comes around. Peoples in these cultures can be working on several tasks at once multi-tasking.
In Arabic cultures, when you have a meeting with a business persons, be prepared to be interrupted, others may come in for information or your host may receive a phone call all during your meeting. This may appear rude, but it is simply the way they work.
Time perspective also affects the value a culture places on the past, present, or future, see slide 13 and the perspective of some EU countries .
Future: Change is inherently good
US: don’t cry over spilt milk (forget the past)
Heilbroner, the Future as History is an example of a book form a culture that is future oriented.
Past: change is bad or at least threatening. One must respect what has occurred in the past in working in the present or planning for the future.
** Q2: Think of some sayings involving time in our culture. What do these reveal about our perception of time?
Space (slide 14) People differ in their concept of and use of space, some preferring
larger distances between themselves and others.
Again all cultures have a concept of space that range from private to public.
People from private space cultures prefer a greater distance between themselves and others especially strangers and casual acquaintances. Those from public space cultures are comfortable with smaller distances between themselves and others. The slide depicts the position of some EU cultures on this belief.
For example, a study of Latin/Hispanic versus US culture found that in business lunches, Latins sat closer together and touched each other more frequently during conversation than those from Anglo cultures.
Greetings can vary from distant handshakes to hugs and kisses depending on the space orientation of the culture.
Space affects a lot of factors in business. For example in our culture, a perk is having a private office, our own space. In a public space culture like Japan, the boss’s desk is often at the end of a row of desks of his/her subordinates in the same room.
In our culture, you will normally find the CEO’s office on the top floor of a building that keeps him/her far away from strangers and others who might come into the building. In Arabic culture’s (public space) the CEO’s office is on the first floor as the CEO likes to be in the center of the comings and goings in the firm.
Context (slide 15) What is meaningful to cultures vary from being primarily
language based to situational.
Low context cultures derive most of the meaning of their communication from words or verbal coomunication. They value facts.
High context cultures depend on both verbal and nonverbals, they want to develop a history with a person so that they have a context against which they can interpret future communication.
The more you know someone the more you can rely on context or the situational background to interpret communication. For example, if you are running out of the house and your parents ask where are you going.? And you shout back, at Betty’s back at 11. Your parents know your friend Betty, where she lives and how to get in touch. Presumably, they also know you mean 11 PM rather than 11 AM the next day. Having a relationship can simplify and clarify communication because of the context people may have with each other.
Context also signals the degree of expressiveness one can expect when
Communicating in a culture; this can range from very emotional to silence (slide 16).
Neutral - usually means the absence of emotion although in Japan, silence is an important form of communication, reveals respect and understanding between the parties.
Emotion: expression of feelings such as anger in the US may be common. The French will express a wider range of emotion publicly. The British prefer to stick to the facts and not show emotion.
In business, context has a huge impact on communications and negotiations. Because low context cultures derive meaning from words, they are happy with detailed written contracts. Not so in high context cultures where they will demand that they develop a context with you usually through socializing before ever getting down to business. To try to avoid this is to insult members of such cultures. Agreements are made more on handshakes than contracts. Although high context cultures recognize the necessity of the latter, it is secondary to building a good personal relationship with a business partner.
Our quick look at 5 basic assumptions can reveal why certain cultures behave the way they do. It also reveals how easy it is to get the wrong impression simply because of culture differences. We now turn back to the cultural iceberg to examine other hidden dimensions in the form of values.
**Q 3 Identify two of these assumptions in your reading of the German Symphony. Explain why you believe your example represents the assumption you have chosen.
VALUES (slide 18) : Ideas or principles about what is desirable that provide guides
to behavior.
In this section we will examine four out of hundreds of values a culture can hold. The four we have chosen were identified by a Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede. These values were found to discriminate among cultures, they are relevant in business settings, and there is empirical data on these values for 50 countries. The four values are listed in slide 19.
Power Distance (Slide 20); is the amount of distinctiveness among groups in society in terms of status and access to power.
This refers to the social stratification in society. The degree to which society has social classes and how important these class distinctions are for the way people behave toward each other.
In low power distance cultures, social classes exist, but the distinctions between classes are minimized and one can usually move up the social ladder through education, having a profession or other effort on their part. In high power distance cultures, social classes also exist, and class distinctions are emphasized such that one at higher levels have more access to power and resources in society than one at lower levels. It is difficult to change one’s social classes in such cultures.
Perhaps the most extreme example of a rigid social class system was the old “caste system” in India. There were four classes from the dullats or unskilled workers to the Brahmins or leaders with the business and military classes in between. Under the old system, if you were born into the class that was where you stayed, and you would only receive a certain level of education and you could only hold certain jobs accorded to your social position. This system has been outlawed, but old habits die hard and vestiges of this system can still be found in parts of India.
A modern example of power distance difference was observed when a US subsidiary in Spain decided to have a company picnic. As was tradition in the US, the managers were to bbq the meat and others brought covered dishes. On the day of the event, when the meat was cooked, the managers rang a bell and waited for the workers to come to get their bbq meat, no one approached the grill. Finally, an American manager asked one of the Spanish managers, “why aren’t they coming?” He responded that, as lower level people, the workers were not comfortable with having their bosses serve them. So the managers left the grill and then everyone helped themselves.
Being aware of power distances is important in transacting business and properly greeting superiors.
Uncertainty avoidance (slide 21): The degree to which people feel threatened by the unknown or
ambiguous situations.
Again all cultures have this value; they just differ on where they lie on this value dimension.
High uncertainty avoidance cultures have a greater fear of the unknown or the uncertain. As a result, such cultures like to have more rules or complex laws to help create more certainty. The opposite is true for low uncertainty avoidance cultures.
This value affects the willingness of cultures to take risks such as risky decisions and entrepreneurship.
In a business example, an American manager in Turkey sought to reward one of his Turkish subordinates by delegating more decision making power to him. The Turk was unhappy because he felt that those decisions were not his to make as he felt he did not have the knowledge or power to make them which created a lot of uncertainty for him. Rather than viewing it as a reward, he saw the delegation as a punishment.
**Q 4 Identify examples of these two values above in your reading of the German Symphony. Explain why you believe your example represents the assumption you have chosen.
Self orientation (slide 22): People’s relationships to larger groups they are a part of range from being closely connected to being relatively independent of the group.
Individualism = “I” culture, guilt
Collectivism = “We” culture shame
TO BE DISCUSSED IN CLASS
Assertiveness (slide 23): Values that pertain to traditional gender roles: ranging from aggression to nurturance.
Masculine – competition, results, quantity
Feminine – cooperation, process, quality
TO BE DISCUSSED IN CLASS
Culture as a Metaphor
Another way to examine culture is to use metaphors or some characteristic of a nation’s
Culture that most members consider important and identify with as a basis for
understanding the essential features of the society.
Ex. Italian opera, Belgian lace, the German symphony, French wine
Reading: Understanding culture through metaphors
http://facultyfp.salisbury.edu/rchoffman/PSBAbroad/BUAD386-686/CultMetaArt.htm
By using metaphors, one can often more easily see how the various pieces of a culture might fit together. The use of a metaphor also makes it more interesting and more memorable to learn about the basics of a culture.
In constructing metaphors we take into consideration the culture’s orientation to their environment, their relationships with others, their primary mode of activity along with basic assumptions about meaning, time and space.
Metaphors help us use the basic values and assumptions to better understand how a culture actually functions.
Metaphors are not stereotypes as they rely on critical features of a society to describe the whole group.
Each metaphor focuses on :
Artifacts: religion, behavior, lifestyle:work leisure, holidays, food, etc.
Values: power distance, uncertainty, self-orientation, etc.
Assumptions: people, temporal and spatial concepts, etc.
**Q5 you have been assigned two articles to read the Germany Symphony and the British House to learn about the cultures of the two countries we will be visiting in this program. Be prepared for a short answer quiz on these two cultural metaphors on Monday, Jan. 5th.
**Q6 In addition in your case groups you have been assigned to write a paragraph on one of the two metaphors follow the instructions on website for this assignment. Use email to get started in your groups. This is due in class on Monday Jan. 5th.
Slides 25-28 will be discussed in class.
END of lesson