Chapitre 4

Question 1

What is cross-cultural literacy

Answer 1

How cultural differences across countries affect business practices. e.g. class division in Britain increases disputes between managers and employees, decreasing efficiency therefore increasing cost

Question 2

What is a culture and what are its 6 determinants (societal level)

Answer 2

System of values and norms shared
Religion, Political Philosophy, Economic Philosophy, Education, Language & Social Structure

Question 3

What are values

Answer 3

Idea of what is right or wrong. They justify the norms

Question 4

What are norms and list the two types

Answer 4

Social rules/Appropriate behaviour.
Folkway: business etiquette (bow in Japan)
Mores: Convention of a community (drinking in Saudi Arabia)

Question 5

What is a society

Answer 5

People sharing a common set of values & norms. Not necessarily one society per nation-state, e.g. Qc & Canada

Question 6

How to classify a social structure (2 criteria)

Answer 6

1- Emphasis on the individual as opposed to the group (emphasis individual performance US leads to increase entrepreneurship/innovation but higher turnover)
2- Degree to which the society is stratified

Question 7

What is social stratification

Answer 7

Hierarchical social categories based on family background, occupation & income

Question 8

4 principles of social stratification

Answer 8

1- Trait of society
2- Passed to next generation
3- Generally universal
4- Involves inequality and beliefs
Fancy way of explaining simple principle: Individuals born into a stratum toward the top of the social hierarchy tend to have better life chances than those born into a stratum toward the bottom of the hierarchy.

Question 9

What is social mobility

Answer 9

Extent to which individuals can move out of the strata they were born into

Question 10

Type of social stratification

Answer 10

Rigid: Caste system (India), no social mobility, i.e. can’t move out of your strata during your lifetime
Less rigid: High social mobility, can move out of strata based on accomplishments and luck

Question 11

How does social stratification affect business operations?

Answer 11

Through class consciousness: How ppl identify with their strata and how it shapes their relationships. Reason for dispute between managers and employees in Britain = class consciousness, leading to decrease efficiency and increase cost of operations

Question 12

Economic implications of protestantism

Answer 12

Values of hard-work and frugality leads to them being owners of capital

Question 13

Economic implications of muslims

Answer 13

Islam & capitalism can coexist but wealthy have to help disadvantaged ppl & they keep their word.
Islamic bank can’t pay interest, they either share profits from lending projects or buys what client wants and resells w markup

Question 14

Economic implications of confucianism

Answer 14

China/confucianism: Value: High moral/ethics, reduces cost of business bc no breach of contract

Question 15

Economic implications of hinduism

Answer 15

They are valued by their spiritual growth not wealth creation, less entrepreurship/innovation

Question 16

Language in culture

Answer 16

Countries w more than 1 language often have more than one culture & non-verbal communication (Latin America talk close to ppl, can come off as aggressive to American)

Question 17

Education in culture

Answer 17

Where values & norms are taught directly and indirectly, can be national competitive advantage & indicator of what sells (poor education = less sales in books)

Question 18

6 elements of Hofstede’s dimension of culture

Answer 18

Power distance
Individualism vs collectivism
Uncertainty avoidance
Masculinity vs Femininity
Long-term vs short-term
Indulgence vs restraint

Question 19

Power distance

Answer 19

Level of acceptance towards power inequality (accept bosses authority)

Question 20

Individualism vs Collectivism

Answer 20

Individual achievement and freedom values vs attachement to a group

Question 21

Masculinity vs Femininity

Answer 21

Relationship between gender & work roles

Question 22

Long-term vs short-term orientation

Answer 22

time horizon people in a society display

Question 23

Indulgence vs restraint

Answer 23

Enjoying life vs regulating indulgence by means of strict social norms

Question 24

Problem with daddy Hofstede’s results

Answer 24

There’s not always a one-to-one correspondence between culture and nation-state, e.g. Qc & Canada

Question 25

Ethnocentrism

Answer 25

Belief in superiority of your own culture

Question 26

Managerial implications of values/culture/norms

Answer 26

They influence the cost of doing business in different countries and the ability of a country to develop a competitive advantage. E.g. Japan values of honesty/loyalty = decrease cost of doing business but they are less supportive of entrepreneurial activity, so harder for Japan to gain competitive advantage