Session 3 Flashcards
1
Q
What does cross-cultural literacy refer to?
A
Understanding how cultural differences across and within countries can affect how business is practiced
2
Q
Why is Cross-cultural literacy important? (3)
A
- Cultural differences create a common bond among people.
- Numerous values and norms exist in these cultural systems that might affect international business.
- Culture can and does evolve.
3
Q
What is culture?
A
A system of values and norms shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living.
4
Q
What are values?
A
Ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable
5
Q
What are norms?
A
Social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate
behavior in particular situations.
6
Q
What is society?
A
A group of people sharing a common set of values and norms.
7
Q
3 characteristics of values?
A
- Provide the context within which a society’s
norms are established and justified. - They are invested with emotional significance.
- Reflected in the economic systems of a
society.
8
Q
What are folkways (+ examples)?
A
Routine conventions of everyday life.
- Examples: appropriate dress code, good social manners, attitude
toward time. - Include rituals and symbolic behavior
9
Q
What are mores? (2 + example)
A
Norms seen as central to functioning of society.
Have greater moral significance than other norm
- Example: laws against theft. Drinking in Saudi Arabia (prison?)
10
Q
What are Nation-states?
A
Political creations
11
Q
How is relationship between a society and a nation-
state?
A
Simply not one to one
12
Q
Why is relationship between a society and a nation-
state is not strictly one-to-one? (2)
A
- A nation can have several cultures, and a culture can embrace several nations.
- Can be different levels of culture within a country.
13
Q
Determinants of culture (6)
A
- Religion.
- Political philosophy.
- Economic philosophy.
- Education.
- Language.
- Social structure.
14
Q
What is social structure?
A
Basic social organization of a society
15
Q
What are 2 dimensions help explain differences among
cultures?
A
- The degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the individual, as opposed to the group.
- The degree to which a society is stratified into
classes or castes.
16
Q
Basic building block of western societies?
A
The individual
17
Q
Basic building block of many non-western societies?
A
The group
18
Q
What is group?
A
An association of two or more individuals who have a shared sense of identity and interact in structured ways based on common expectations.
19
Q
What is social stratification? (2)
A
-Hierarchical social categorization
- Often based on family background, occupation, and income.
20
Q
4 basic principles of social structure
A
- Is a trait of society.
- Carries over into next generation.
- Is generally universal but variable.
- Involves not just inequality but also beliefs.
21
Q
What is social mobility?
A
Extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into
which they are born.
22
Q
What is caste system?
A
Closed system where social position is determined by family and change is usually not possible
23
Q
What is class system?
A
Less rigid than caste system, and position can be changed
through achievement and luck.
24
Q
What is class consciousness?
A
Tendency for individuals to perceive themselves in terms of their class background
25
Consequence of class consciousness?
Makes it difficult to establish a competitive advantage in a global economy
26
Impacts of caste clashes? (5)
1. Mutual antagonism
2. Lack of respect
3. Difficult to cooperate
4. Workplace disputes
5. Increase in operational costs
27
What is a religion?
A system of shared beliefs and rituals concerned with the realm of the sacred.
28
What is a ethical system?
A set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior.
29
What are most ethical systems product of (+2 examples)?
Religions
1. Christian ethics
2. Islamic ethics
30
Economic implications of Christianity (prostant)? (5)
1. Sociologists argue that Protestant branch has the most important economic implications.
2. Max Weber, German Sociologist, argued for a relationship between Protestantism and emergence of capitalism.
3. Working hard attitude
4. Frugality vs. indulging in worldly pleasures
5. Wealth creation
31
Islam and business (4)
* Pro-free enterprise
* Earning profit through trade
* Profit cannot be made through exploitation
* Islam, capitalism and globalization can coexist
32
Main ideas of Hinduism? (4)
* A moral force in society requires the acceptance of certain responsibilities, called dharma.
* Rebirth into a different body, called reincarnation.
* The spiritual progression of each person’s soul, called karma.
* Achieving a complete spiritual perfection, called nirvana.
33
What does karma say? (2)
* The force generated by a
person's actions held in
Hinduism and Buddhism to
perpetuate
transmigration and in its
ethical consequences to
determine the nature of
the person's next
existence
* The universal causal law
by which good or bad
actions determine the
future modes of an
individual’s existence.
34
Economic implications of Hinduism? (2)
* Max Weber: Hindus are valued by their spiritual rather than material achievements
* Material and physical self-denial do not go hand in hand with capitalism
35
What does Buddhism imply?
Stresses spiritual growth and the afterlife, rather than involvement in this world.
36
Economic implications of Buddhism? (4)
* Does not emphasize wealth creation.
* Economies in the Buddhist regions were dominantly localized.
* Does not support the caste system—individuals have some
mobility and can work with individuals from different classes.
* Recent trends bring the “Zen” orientation from Buddhism into
business in the Western world.
37
What is Confucianism? (3)
*Practiced mainly in China, Korea, and Japan.
*Teaches the importance of attaining personal salvation through right action
*High morals, ethical conduct, and loyalty to others.
38
Economic implications of Confucianism? (2)
* 3 values of Confucianism—loyalty, reciprocal obligations, and honesty—may all lead to lowering the cost of doing business in Confucian societies.
* Guanxi are relationship networks supported by reciprocal obligations.
39
What is Unspoken Language? (4)
*Nonverbal communication refers to the use of nonverbal cues to communicate meaning.
* Often culturally bound.
* Personal space is the comfortable distance between a speaker and the listener.
* Varies among cultures, which makes it important to
know in business.
40
What is formal education?
Medium through which individuals learn languages and
other skills.
41
What are 2 advantages of formal education?
1. Socializes the young into the values and norms
of a society
2. Provides a national competitive advantage
42
Why does formal education provide national competitive advantage?
* Creates a pool of skilled and knowledgeable workers.
43
What are Hofstede's 6 dimensions of culture?
1. Power distance index
2. Individualism vs collectivism
3. Masculinity vs feminity
4. Uncertainty avoidance index
5. Long-term vs short term normative orientation
6. Indulgence vs restraint
44
What is power distance?
How a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities.
45
what is individualism vs collectivism?
Focuses on the relationship between individuals and their fellows
46
What is Masculinity vs feminity?
Looks at the relationship between gender and work roles
47
What is Uncertainty avoidance index?
Measures the extent to which different cultures socialize their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty.
48
What is Long-term vs short term normative orientation?
Extent to which a culture programs its citizens to accept delayed gratification of their material, social, and emotional needs.
49
What is Indulgence vs restraint? (2)
* Indulgence refers to a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun.
* Restraint refers to a society that suppresses gratification of needs
and regulates it by means of strict social norms.
50
Hofstede’s Results: Western countries?
Tend to score high on individualism and low on power distance
51
Hofstede’s Results: Latin American and Asian countries?
Emphasize collectivism and score high on power distance
52
Hofstede’s Results: Japan?
Demonstrates strong uncertainty avoidance and high masculinity
53
3 ways Hofstede’s work can be criticized? (3)
* Assumes a one-to-one correspondence between culture and the nation-state when many countries have more than one culture.
* Research may be culturally bound.
* Research focused on a single industry.
54
Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE): what does it imply?
A leader’s effectiveness is contextual
55
Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE): 9 cultural dimensions?
- Power distance
- uncertainty avoidance
- humane orientation,
- institutional collectivism
- in-group collectivism
- assertiveness,
- gender egalitarianism
- future orientation
- performance orientation.
56
3 characteristics of changing culture?
1. Not constant (evolves over time)
2. Economic advancement and globalization may be important factors
3. Culture may change as a society becomes wealthier
57
What does cross-cultural literacy imply?
* Companies must be informed about the culture of another
nation when conducting international business.
58
What is ethnocentrism?
belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture
59
Why is culture linked to competitive advantages? (2)
* Values and norms influence costs of doing business and the costs of doing business influence ability to establish competitive advantage.
* Some say culture of modern Japan lowers the cost of doing business relative to Western nations. (Honesty, Loyalty, Reciprocal obligations, Group affiliations)
60
Why is connection between culture and competitive advantage
important? (2)
1. Suggests which countries are likely to produce the most
viable competitors.
2. Has important business implications for the choice of
countries in which to locate production facilities and do
business.
