chapter 4

Question 1

cross-cultural literacy

Answer 1

an understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way business is practiced. this is required for business success.

Question 2

culture (Edward Tylor)

Answer 2

that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society.

Question 3

culture (Hofstede)

Answer 3

the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another.

Question 4

culture (Zvi Namenwirth and Robert Weber)

Answer 4

a system of ideas and argue that hese ideas constitute a design for living.

Question 5

culture

Answer 5

a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living.

Question 6

values

Answer 6

ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable. they are shared assumptions about how things ought to be. they provide the context within which a society’s norms are established and justified, eg. individual freedom and democracy, marriage, etc. they are not just abstract concepts, but invested with considerable emotional significance.

Question 7

norms

Answer 7

social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behaviour in particular situations. the social rules that govern people’s actions, which can be subdivided into two major categories; folkways and mores.

Question 8

society

Answer 8

refers to a group of people sharing a common set of values and norms.

Question 9

folkways

Answer 9

the routine conventions of everyday life. generally, they are actions of little moral significance, eg. dress code and good social manners. violation is not a serious matter. they include rituals and symbolic behaviour.

Question 10

mores

Answer 10

refers to norms that are more widely observed, have greater moral significance than folkways, and are central to the functioning of a society and its social life. violating can bring serious retribution, ill will, and the collapse of any business deal. they are often so important that they have been enacted into law. they include laws against theft, adultery, incest, and cannibalism.

Question 11

nation-state

Answer 11

a politican creation. it is often studied for their “national identity”, “national character”, and even “competitive advantage of nations”. they may contain a single culture or several subcultures.

Question 12

social structure

Answer 12

the basic social organisation. it indicates how a society is organised in terms of its values, norms, and relationships which are part of the society’s fabric.

Question 13

group

Answer 13

an association of two or more individuals who have a shared sense of identity and who interact with each other in structured ways based on a common set of expectations about each other’s behaviour.

Question 14

individualism

Answer 14

more than just abstract political philosophy. in many western societies, the individual is the basic building block of social organisation. this is reflected not just in the political and economic organisation of society but also in the way people perceive themselves and relate to each other in social and business settings.

Question 15

social strata

Answer 15

the social categories in which all societies are stratified on a hierarchical basis. they are typically defined based on socioeconomic characteristics. individuals are born into a particular stratum.

Question 16

social mobility

Answer 16

refers to the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born. it varies significantly from society to society.

Question 17

caste system

Answer 17

the most rigid system of stratification. it is a closed system of stratification in which social position is determined by the family into which a person is born and change in that position is usuallt not possible during an individual’s lifetime.

Question 18

class system

Answer 18

a less rigid form of social stratification in which social mobility is possible. it is a form of open stratification in which the position a person has by birth can be changed through his or her achievement or luck.

Question 19

class consciousness

Answer 19

refers to a condition by which people tend to perceive themselves in terms of their class background, and this shapes their relationships with members of other classes.

Question 20

religion

Answer 20

defined as a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred.

Question 21

ethical system

Answer 21

refers to a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behaviour. most of the world’s ethical systems are the product of religion. thus, we can talk about christian and islam ethics.

Question 22

Confucianism

Answer 22

founded in the fifth century BC by Confucius. it was the official ethical system of China for more than 2000 years ultil the 1949 communist revolution. the pursuit of spiritual perfection and the perfection of the soul is emphasised as essential for achieving a state of spiritual enlightenment. a major exception to the principle that ethical systems are grounded in religion. it influences behaviour and shapes culture in parts of Asia, yet it is incorrect to characterise Confucianism as a religion.

Question 23

Christianity

Answer 23

the most widely practiced religion in the world with some 2,2 billion followers. it exists in the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. in the sixteenth century, the Reformation led to Protestantism.

Question 24

Islam

Answer 24

has 1,6 billion adherents. one economic principle prohibits the payment or receipt of interest, which is considered usury. this is not a matter of theology; in islam states, it is also a matter of law.

Question 25

riba

Answer 25

the quran condemns interest as exploitative. thus, Islamic banks cannot pay or charge interest. they must find a different way of making money. Islamic banks have experimented with two banking methods; mudarabah and the murabaha.

Question 26

mudarabah contract

Answer 26

like a profit-sharing scheme. under mudarabah, when an Islamic bank lends money to a business, rather than charging that business interest on the loan, it takes a share in the profits that are derived from the investment. when a business (or individual) deposits money in a savings account, the deposit is treated as an equity investment in whatever activity the bank uses the capital for.

Question 27

murabaha contract

Answer 27

the most widely used among Islamic banks, primarily because it is easier. when the firm wishes to purchase something using a loan, the firm tells the bank after having negotiated the price with the equipment manufacturer. the bank then buys the equipment and the borrower buys it back from the bank at some later date for a higher price, resulting in a markup for the bank.

Question 28

Hinduism

Answer 28

has approximately 1,1 billion adherents, most of them on the Indian subcontinent. hindus believe that a moral force in society requires the acceptance of certain responsibilities, called dharma. they believe in reincarnation (rebirth into a different body) after death. they also believe in karma.

Question 29

karma

Answer 29

the spiritual progression of each person’s soul. by perfecting the soul in each new life, hindus believe that an individual can eventually achieve nirvana.

Question 30

nirvana

Answer 30

a state of complete spiritual perfection that renders reincarnation no longer necessary. hindus perceive the pursuit of material well-being as making the attainment of nirvana more difficult.

Question 31

language

Answer 31

an obvious way in which many countries differ, both spoken and unspoken means of communication. it is one of the defining characteristics of a culture. often, learning a language means learning the culture and vice versa. it structures the way we perceive the world, since language can direct attention to certain features of the world. it helps define culture and countries with multiple languages often have multiple cultures.

Question 32

unspoken language

Answer 32

refers to nonverbal communication. we all communicate with each other through a host of nonverbal cues. many of those cues however, are culturally bound. failure to understand can lead to communication failure. another aspect is personal space.

Question 33

personal space

Answer 33

the comfortable amount of distance between you and someone you are talking with.

Question 34

formal education

Answer 34

plays a key role in society and is usually the medium through which individuals learn languages, knowledge, and skills that are indispensable in modern society. it supplements the family’s role in socialising the young into the values and norms of society.

Question 35

power distance dimension (Hofstede)

Answer 35

focused on how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities. high power distance cultures are found in countries that let inequalities grow into inequalities of power and wealth. low power distance cultures are found in societies trying to decrease inequalities as much as possible.

Question 36

individualism vs collectivism dimension (Hofstede)

Answer 36

focused on the relationship between the individual and his/her fellows. in individualistic societies, the ties between individuals are loose and individual achievement and freedom are highly valued. in societies where collectivism is emphasised, ties between individuals are tight.

Question 37

uncertainty avoidance dimension (Hofstede)

Answer 37

measures the extent to which different cultures socialise their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty. members of high uncertainty avoidance cultures place a premium on job security, career patterns, etc. lower uncertainty avoidance cultures are characterised by a greater readiness to take risks and less emotional resistance to change.

Question 38

masculinity vs femininity dimension (Hofstede)

Answer 38

looks at the relationship between gender and work roles. in masculine cultures, sex roles are sharply differentiated and traditional masculine values, eg. achievement and the effective exercise of power, determined cultural ideals. in feminine cultures, sex roles are less sharply distinguished, and little differentiation was made between men and women in the same job.

Question 39

long-term vs short-term orientation dimension (Hofstede)

Answer 39

refers to the extent to which a culture programs its citizens to accept delayed gratification of their material, social, and emotional needs. it captures attitudes toward time, persistence, ordering by status, protection of face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of gifts and favours. the label refers to these values being derived from Confucian teachings.

Question 40

convergence hypothesis

Answer 40

describes the slow but steady convergence occurring across different cultures toward some universally accepted values and norms.

Question 41

ethnocentrism

Answer 41

a belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture. hand in hand with it goes a disregard for the culture of other countries.