Chapter 3: Sociocultural Forces Flashcards
T or F: When adjusting to other cultures, the first step managers can take is to compare their current culture to another to assess its value.
False
T or F: Understanding how religion affects cultural attitudes is important for marketing professionals to know.
True
Buddhism is based on the teachings of _________ ________.
Siddharta Guatama
True or False: Hofstede is primarily concerned with social values and the dimensions he identified that help parents understand their children.
False
T or F: Feminine cultures in Hofstede’s dimensions care about relationships and are not focused on business success.
False
Culture is a group of shared worldviews, social rules, and interpersonal dynamics that is:
a. chosen consciously by each group to set themselves apart from other groups
b. used as a way to separate economic classes
c. learned, interrelated, and shared
d. a collection of noble pursuits including opera, art, ballet, and classical music.
c. learned, interrelated, shared
Molly has lived in Ireland her entire life and believes that the only way to do things is the “Irish way”. This belief is an example of:
a. stereotyping
b. cultural adaptation
c. social hierarchy
d. ethnocentrism
d. ethnocentrism
Two basic ways to understand the role of leadership are to provide direction for a collection of individuals or to:
a. limit the freedom of individual group members
b. integrate a group
c. link top management with workers
d. organize workers for production
b. integrate a group
Material culture includes:
a. only things that are used in production processes
b. the makers of things but not those who use them
c. all human-made objects
d. all textiles and fabrics
c. all human-made objects
The most obvious cultural distinction a company must take into account when deciding to undertake international business is:
a. religion
b. language
c. aesthetics
d. finance
b. language
the sum total of the beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions, and artifacts that characterize human populations.
culture
the belief that your own culture is superior to other cultures. (this is something you have to guard against)
ethnocentricity
T or F: We are born with a culture.
False; culture is learned
T or F: Culture is shared, patterned, and mutually constructed through social interaction.
True
T or F: Culture defines the boundaries of different groups.
True
Culture affects all business functions. What five functions we talked about that culture affects?
- Marketing
- Human Resources
- Production and Procurement
- Accounting and Finance
- Preferred Leadership Styles
How does culture affect marketing? (2 things listed)
- Differences in values across markets often require different marketing mixes to reach potential customers.
- Companies must be sensitive to potential cultural issues related to product design, advertising, and pricing.
How does culture affect human resources? (2 things listed)
- It plays key roles in motivating and evaluating employees.
- The role of a leader is very different around the world (in some parts of the world, the role of the leader is absolute (don’t ask questions, do as they say)).
How does culture affect production and procurement? (3 things)
- Values and attitudes toward change can influence acceptance of new production methods (in some parts of the world, people are very resistant to change).
- Affects plant layout: linear assembly line vs. more group-oriented patterns.
- Norms structure resources acquisition: using social relationships or reliance on price.
How does culture affect accounting and finance?
- Accounting controls directly relate to assumptions about the basic nature of people:
- Tight controls = suggest lack of trust
-Loose controls = suggest people act honestly even without close monitoring.
T or F: In the US, we like to decentralize decision making.
True
How does culture affect preferred leadership styles?
- Desired leadership traits vary by culture (is it hierarchical? is it family-based?)
What are 4 ways culture shows itself?
- Aesthetics
- Religion
- Language
- Gift Giving in Business
Refers to a culture’s sense of beauty and good taste; expressed through art, drama, music, folklore, dance, etc; also applies to ideas about body and physical beauty
Aesthetics
T or F: It is important to know basic tenets of religions represented in your business markets.
True
What are the 5 major world religions?
- Christianity
- Islam
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Judaism
What has become the “language of commerce”?
English
What is Hall’s cultural framework called?
Hall’s High and Low Context
In a high/low context country: it matters more about the environment; who says what at meetings.
In a high context country
T or F: In a low context country, there is less verbally explicit communication and less written/formal information
False; that applies to a HIGH context country
T or F: In a high context country, there is more internalized understandings of what is communicated.
True
High or low context country: Long-term relationships
High
High or low context country: rule oriented, people play by external rules
low
High or low context country: Knowledge is situational, relational
High
High or low context country: Decisions and activities focus around personal face-to-face relationships, often around a central authority person.
High
What’s an example of a high context country?
Arab countries
What’s an example of a low context country?
Switzerland, Germany
In a (low/high) context country, Everything is in writing, it doesn’t matter who says what, the contract itself matters most.
low
High or low context country: More knowledge is codified, public, external, and accessible
low
High or low context country: More interpersonal connections of shorter duration
Low
In a low context country, knowledge is more often _________.
transferable
High or low context country: Task-centered; decisions and activities focus around what needs to be done; division of responsibilities.
low
What are the names of the two scientists who studied cultures and tried to classify the cultures in dimensions?
Hoftstede and Trompenaars
Hofstede’s Six Dimensions are concerned primarily with _____ values.
work
What are Hoftstede’s Six Dimensions?
- Individualism-collectivism dimension
- Power distance
- Uncertainty avoidance
- Masculinity-femininity dimension
- Indulgence vs. restraint
- Pragmatic vs. normative dimension
contradictions between culture’s values and what is actually observed.
cultural paradox
What are the 6 rules of thumb for managers when doing business across cultures?
- Be prepared when you approach a foreign market
- Slow down
- Establish trust
- Understand the importance of language
- Respect the culture
- Understand the components of culture– surface and deep
Which of Hoftstede’s Six Dimensions does this describe:
measures degree to which people in the culture are integrated into groups
Individualism-collectivism dimension
People in highly-(collectivistic/individualistic) cultures belong to strong, cohesive groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty. (ex: India or Asia)
collectivistic
People in highly-(collectivistic/individualistic) cultures are more loosely connected and look after themselves and their immediate family. (ex: USA)
individualistic
Which of Hoftstede’s Six Dimensions does this describe:
extent to which members of a society expect power to be distributed unequally and accept it; suggests that a society’s level of inequality is endorsed by followers as well as by leaders.
power distance
In (small/large)-power-distance societies, seniority, age, rank, and title are important; formality is emphasized. (ex: India)
large
In (small/large)-power-distance environments, a consultative style of leadership predominates; informality tends to be the norm. (ex: US, Scandinavia)
small
Which of Hoftstede’s Six Dimensions does this describe: describes a society’s level of comfort with uncertainty.
Uncertainty Avoidance
(Strong/weak) uncertainty avoidance cultures resist change; they expect clear procedures and preserve the status quo. (ex: Mexico or Saudi Arabia)
Strong
(Strong/weak) uncertainty avoidance culture sees conflict as having positive aspects; they expect innovation, encourage risk taking and reward change. (U.S. are risk-takers)
Weak
Which of Hoftstede’s Six Dimensions does this describe: describes the distribution of roles between the sexes; addresses the gap between men’s and women’s roles in a culture.
Masculinity-femininity dimension
Masculinity-femininity dimension: In _______ cultures, quality of work life is important; in _________ cultures, economic growth is central and business performance is the primary goal.
feminine; masculine
Which of Hoftstede’s Six Dimensions does this describe: describes a culture’s tendency either to allow relatively free gratification of human desires or suppress human drives through strict social norms.
Indulgence vs. restraint
In (indulgent/restraining) cultures, people believe they have personal control over their lives. (ex: US takes on loans to get the stuff they want now rather than wait to get it when they have the money to pay for it)
indulgent
In (indulgent/restraining) cultures, much more energy is dedicated to establishing order and structure.
restraining
Which of Hoftstede’s Six Dimensions does this describe:
is a measure of how people deal with the unexplainable in their lives.
Pragmatic vs. normative dimension
In (pragmatic/normative) societies: there is a strong desire to explain and to know the absolute Truth. Respect for tradition, a low propensity to save, and a focus on quick results.
normative
A (pragmatic/normative) orientation suggests people not concerned with understanding so much because life as a complex process is a given
pragmatic
What are Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions?
- Universalism vs. particularism
- Individualism vs. communitarianism
- Neutral vs. affective (unemotional vs. emotional)
- Specific vs. diffuse
- Achievement vs. ascription
- Time
- Internal vs. external
Which of Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions does this describe:
addresses whether rules or relationships regulate behaviors.
universalism vs. particularism
- People in (universalist/particularist) cultures apply rules across the board, to all people, in all situations.
- People in (universalist/particularist) cultures consider context before they apply the rule.
universalist;particularist
Which of Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions does this describe:
whether people plan their actions with reference to individual benefits or group benefits.
Individualism vs. communitarianism
People in (neutral/affective) cultures tend to withhold emotional expression, while people in (neutral/affective) cultures are much more expressive.
neutral;affective
Which of Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions does this describe:
distinguishes among cultures based on their differentiation between private life and public or work life.
specific vs. diffuse
Which of Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions does this describe: considers what a person does contrasted with who a person is.
Achievement vs. ascription
- (Ascription/achievement) cultures consider who a person is in terms of family lineage, age, or other attributes.
- (Ascription/achievement) cultures are meritocracies that reward what you do.
ascription; achievement
What are the two aspects of Trompenaar’s “Time” Dimension?
- Where the primary focus is (past, present, and future) as a lens to view the present.
- Whether actions are sequential (monochronic) or synchronous (polychronic).
Which of Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions does this describe:
reflects attitude toward controlling nature.
internal vs. external
- In (external/internal) direction cultures, people believe they control nature.
- In (external/internal) direction cultures, people believe the natural world controls them, and they need to work with their environment.
internal; external
