Chapter 3

Question 1

Culture

Answer 1

The collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.

Question 2

4 manifestations of culture

Answer 2

Language, Religion, Social Structure, Education

Question 3

Lingua franca

Answer 3

A global business language

Question 4

Religion

Answer 4

A set of beliefs about the cause of events, both human and natural, which cannot be empirically proven. All religions have a sense of community, which enables group cohesion and identity, plus a path for rituals and traditions to be passed down to the next generation
- Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism

Question 5

Social Stratification

Answer 5

The hierarchical arrangement of individuals into social categories (strata) such as classes castes, or divisions within a society
-Example: India

Question 6

Social mobility

Answer 6

The degree to which members from a lower social category can rise to a higher status

Question 7

Education

Answer 7

used to maintain social stratification or to break down social barriers

Question 8

3 ways to understand cultures

Answer 8

Context, Cluster, Dimensions

Question 9

Context

Answer 9

The underlying background upon which social interaction takes place

Question 10

Low-context cultures

Answer 10

Communication is usually taken at face value without much reliance on unspoken context
-Germany, Scandinavia, America

Question 11

High-context cultures

Answer 11

Communication relies a lot on the underlying unspoken context, which is as important as the words used
-China, Korea, Japan

Question 12

Cluster

Answer 12

Countries that share similar cultures

Question 13

Ronen and Shenkar clusters

Answer 13

Influential set of clusters proposed by management

Professors Simcha Ronen and Oded Shenkar

Question 14

GLOBE clusters

Answer 14

Influential set of clusters named after the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness project led by managementprofessor Robert House

Question 15

Huntington’s Cluster Approach

Answer 15

Influential set of clusters popularized by political scientist Samuel Huntington

Question 16

Civilization

Answer 16

Highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity people have

Question 17

Power Distance

Answer 17

Extent to which less powerful members within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally

Question 18

Individualism

Answer 18

Idea that an individual’s identity is fundamentally his or her own

Question 19

Collectivism

Answer 19

Idea that an individual’s identity is fundamentally tied to the identity of his or her collective group

Question 20

Dimension of sex role differentiation

Answer 20

masculinity vs. femininity (achievement vs. nurturing)

Question 21

Uncertainty avoidance

Answer 21

Extent to which members in a culture accept or avoid ambiguous situations and
uncertainty

Question 22

Long-term orientation

Answer 22

How much emphasis is placed on perseverance and savings for future betterment

Question 23

Indulgence

Answer 23

Level at which society allows gratification related to enjoying life and having fun

Question 24

Ethics

Answer 24

The principles, standards, and norms of conduct that govern Individual and firm behavior

Question 25

Code of conduct

Answer 25

A set of guidelines for making ethical decision

Question 26

Ethical relativism

Answer 26

• Follows the cliché, “When in Rome, do as the Romans.”

* Follow ethical standards of correlating country (weak argument)

Question 27

Ethical Imperialism

Answer 27

Refers to the absolute belief that “there is only one set of Ethics (with a capital E), and we have it.”

Question 28

Corruption

Answer 28

The abuse of public power for private benefits, usually in the form of bribery

Question 29

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

Answer 29

A US law enacted in 1977 that bans bribery of foreign officials

Question 30

Utilitarianism

Answer 30

maximizing the greatest utility (“happiness”) – cost/benefit approach

Question 31

Norms

Answer 31

The prevailing practices of relevant players

Question 32

In-Group

Answer 32

Individuals and firms regarded as a part of their own collective

Question 33

Out-group

Answer 33

Individuals and firms not regarded as a part of “us”

Question 34

Cultural intelligence

Answer 34

An individual’s ability to understand and adjust to new cultures

Local
Analyst
Natural
Mimic
Chameleon

Question 35

4 Criticisms on Hofstede

Answer 35

• Doesn’t recognize sub-cultures within a main culture
  * Scores are taking this into account, mixed scores
• None of the researches spoke the language or were fluent in the culture, could not capture scores accurately
• All scores come from people that work for IBM – very subjective
• All test subjects were educated