Culture Flashcards
Definition: Culture
Values, norms, and socially constructed realities which act as the bases for the society’s forms of order. The collective mental programming of the people in an environment which builds the basis on top of which institutions are built.
State the three levels of culture (Schein)
1) Artifacts
2) Espoused values
3) Basic underlying assumptions
What is the “convergence theory”?
The believe that isolated cultures of the past are converging and differences between cultures are diminishing (Idea rejected)
High- vs low-context culture
High context:
How it is said, as well as what is not said, is important. Comunication is diplomatic and language is very indirect.
Low context:
What is said is what is meant. Communication is to exchange information and language is direct and efficient.
Explain with examples: Communication style differences
Confrontational & emotionally expressive: Israel
Avoids confrontation and emotionally unexpressive:
Japan
Explain with examples:
Erin Meyer’s Leadership Map
Top-down vs Consensual
Egalitarian vs Hierarchical
State the Six Dimensions of National Culture (Hofstede)
- Power Distance
- Collectivism
- Uncertainty avoidance
- Masculinty
- Long-term orientation
- Indulgence
Explain: Dimension “Power Distance”
Egalitarian (US, Israel) vs
Embracing Hierarchy (Japan, China)
= extent to which less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally
Explain: Dimension “Collectivism”
Collectivism= People feel interdependent
–> Japan
Individualims= People feel independent
–> United States, Switzerland
Explain: Dimension “Uncertainty avoidance”
Comfortable with uncertainty (US) vs
uncomfortable (Japan, Israel)
= extent to which a society is tolerant to uncertainty and ambiguity as opposed to a preference for fixed habits and “knowing the truth”
Explain: Dimension “Masculinity”
Masculine= power, use of force, competition, winning above everything
–> Japan, Switzerland
Feminine= nurture is important (caring, collaboration)
–> Israel (to an extent)
Explain: Dimension “Long-term orientation”
LT= views the world as a constant flux with need to preaper for the future (Japan)
ST= views the world as given (Israel, US)
Explain: Dimension “Indulgence”
Indulgence= Satisfaction, focus on friends, follow impulses (US, Switzerland)
Restraint= Normative repression and focus on duty and responsibility (Japan)
What is a “Second Cultural Shock”?
Term= Repatriation
“Cultural shock” when re-entering their home country since in several cases power and social position goes down
Name Lysgaard’s (1995) model and the individual stages
U-Curve of Cross-Cultural Adjustment
1) Honeymoon (0-2 Months)
2) Cultureshock (3-9 Months)
3) Adjustment (9-48 Months)
4) Mastery (>48 Months)
