Topic 6 - Cultural Environments Flashcards
Describe culture and cross-cultural risk
Culture is the values, attitudes, beliefs, arts, and other products of human thought and work that characterise the people of a given society. Cross-cultural risk is a situation or event in which a cultural misunderstanding puts some human value at stake.
Describe the characteristics of high-context cultures and give examples
Prefer indirect and polite style that emphasise mutual respect and care for each other
Establish social trust first
Personal relations and goodwill are valued
Agreements emphasise trust
Negotiations are slow and ritualistic
E.g. Asian countries
What are cultural metaphors and why are they significant?
A distinctive tradition or institution strongly associated with a particular society. Cultural metaphors are a guide to deciphering people’s attitudes, values and behaviour.
What are the two major perceptions of time and how does each affect international business?
Monochronic and polychronic. Managers is a monochromic culture have a relatively short-term perspective when it comes to investments and making money. A manager in a polychronic culture is future-orientated and would focus on how a firm will perform in a decade from now.
What is a sub-culture?
Shared values of a group within a larger, dominant culture e.g. lifestyle, ethnic, sporting.
What are the six major religions and how do they affect international business?
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism. Religious concepts of right and wrong have played a key role in the development of ethical values and social responsibility and it influences managerial and customer behaviour.
What are the elements of language?
Verbal language and nonverbal communication.
Distinguish the three layers of culture. What are the major elements of country-level and professional culture?
- High culture: cultural makeup that is visible e.g. fine arts, literature, classical music
- Folk culture: cultural makeup we are aware of e.g. religion, etiquette, diet
- Deep culture: cultural makeup we are unaware of e.g. gender roles, perceptions, beliefs
How can a manager use critical incident analysis to avoid the self-reference criterion? Why is this an important factor?
A manager should analyse awkward situation is cross-cultural encounters by becoming more objective and developing empathy for other points of view rather than viewing cultures through the lens of their own culture. It is important in avoiding cultural bias and making ethnocentric mistakes.
How does a manager with a deal orientation differ from a manager with a relationship orientation?
Deal-orientated managers focus on the task at hand and prefer getting down to business. Relationship-orientated managers put more value on relationships with people, important to build trust and get to know the other party in business interactions.
What are the four key personality traits that characterise cross-cultural proficiency?
o Tolerance for ambiguity
o Perceptiveness
o Valuing personal relationships
o Flexibility and adaptability
Define socialisation
The process of learning the rules and behavioural patterns appropriate for living in one’s own society .
Name the 9 components of culture
- Aesthetics
- Values and attitudes
- Manners and customs
- Social Structure
- Religion
- Personal communication
- Education
- Physical and environments
- Material productions and creative expressions
Define cultural metaphor
A distinctive tradition or institution strongly associated with a particular society.
Describe the cultural component of values and attitudes
Values represent a person’s judgements about what is good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, and normal or abnormal. Attitudes are positive or negative evaluations, feelings & tendencies that individuals have toward specific situations. They are similar to opinions and may not be based on logical facts.
Define ethnocentric orientation
Using our own culture as the standard for judging other cultures and assuming our culture is the best.
Define high-culture context
A culture that emphasises nonverbal messages and views communication as a means to promote smooth, harmonious relationships .
Define idiom
An expression whose symbolic meaning is different from its literal meaning.
Define individualism vs collectivism
Describes whether a person functions primarily as an individual or part of a group.
Define indulgence vs restraint
The extent to which people try to control their desires and impulse.
Define long-term vs short-term orientation
Refers to the degree to which people and organisations defer pleasure and gratification to achieve long-term success.
Define low-context culture
A culture that relies on elaborative verbal explanations, putting much emphasis on spoken words.
Define masculinity vs femininity
Refers to a society’s orientation based on traditional male and female values.
Define monochronic
A rigid orientation to time, in which the individual is focused on schedules, punctuality, and tome as a resource.
What complications arise when using verbal and nonverbal communication?
National languages, dialects and use of idioms and colloquialisms tend to complicate verbal communication and it can lost in translation. Some nonverbal communication can mean different things in different cultures and could potentially be offensive.
Define polychronic
A flexible, nonlinear orientation to time, in which the individual takes a long-term perspective and emphasizes human relationships.
Define power distance
Describes how a society deals with the inequalities in power that exist among people.
Describe the cultural component of physical and environments
Topography, demography, population distribution, resources, climate
Describe the cultural component of material productions and creative expressions
Material productions are artefacts, objects, and technological systems that people construct to function within their environments e.g. social infrastructure (housing, education, healthcare), financial infrastructure (banks and financial institutions) and marketing infrastructure (ad agencies).
Define uncertainty avoidance
The extent to which people can tolerate risk and uncertainty in their lives.
Describe personal space
Intimate zone – 45cm
Friend zone – 1.2m
Social zone – 3.6m
Audience zone – beyond
Describe motivation
Cultural differences in work ethic, materialism, expectation of success and reward and separation of work and leisure
Describe the characteristics of low-context cultures and give examples
Communication is direct, meaningful and straightforward
Expertise and performance are valued
Agreements emphasise specific, legalistic contract
Negotiations are as efficient as possible
E.g. Swiss, German, Scandinavia
How is culture transmitted?
Culture is transmitted through socialisation and acculturation.
What are the six elements of Hofstede’s national culture?
- Power distance
- Individualism v collectivism
- Masculinity v femininity
- Uncertainty avoidance
- Long-term orientation v short-term orientation
- Indulgence v restraint
Describe the characteristics of a high power distance culture
Substantial gap between powerful and weak
Do not care very much about inequalities and allow them to grow over time
Autocratic management styles focus power at the top and grant little self-rule to lower-level employees
Describe the characteristics of a low power distance culture
Gaps between powerful and weak are small
Firms, managers, and subordinates are relatively equal and cooperate to achieve organisational goals
More consultative
Describe the characteristics of an individualist culture
Individuals focus on their own self-interests
Low dependence on organisation
Self-actualising and challenges needed
Describe the characteristics of a collectivist culture
Loyal to and dependent on organisation
Safe physical & social environment
Conformity and compromise help maintain group harmony
Describe the characteristics of a masculine culture
Competitiveness Personal assertiveness Ambition Wealth accumulation Materialism Entrepreneurial drive Reward for performance
Describe the characteristics of a feminine culture
Relaxed lifestyles
Caring for others including less fortunate
Nurturing
Interdependence among people
Describe the characteristics of a feminine culture
Relaxed lifestyles
Caring for others including less fortunate
Nurturing
Interdependence among people
Describe the characteristics of a high uncertainty avoidance culture
Like rules & security
Implementing change difficult – managers slow to make decisions as they investigate the nature and potential outcomes of several options
Create institutions that minimise risk and ensure financial security
Companies emphasize stable careers and produce many rules to regulate worker actions and minimize uncertainty
Describe the characteristics of a low uncertainty avoidance culture
Open to change & new ideas Managers less precise Entrepreneurial and comfortable taking risks
Make decisions quickly
Socialise members to accept and become accustomed to uncertainty
Describe the characteristics of a low uncertainty avoidance culture
Open to change & new ideas Managers less precise Entrepreneurial and comfortable taking risks
Make decisions quickly
Socialise members to accept and become accustomed to uncertainty
Describe the characteristics of a short-term orientation culture
o Establishing the absolute truth
o Respect for traditions
o Little save for the future
o Focus on quick results
Describe the characteristics of a long-term orientation culture
o Truth depends on situation, context and time
o Adapt traditions to changed conditions
o Focus on saving, investing, thriftiness, & perseverance in achieving results
Describe the characteristics of an indulgent culture
o Free gratification - enjoying life & showing emotion
o In the workplace people feel freer to express their opinions, give feedback and change jobs
Describe the characteristics of a restraint culture
o Suppressed gratification of needs
o Happiness of the individual is less valued
o Regulates through strict social norms
o People avoid expressing opinions and job mobility is limited
What are the three ways to acquire cross-cultural competence?
- Acquire factual knowledge about the other culture and try to speak the language
- Avoid cultural bias
- Develop cross-cultural skills
Name five ways in which culture affects international business
- Managing employees
- Communicating and interacting with foreign business partners
- Negotiating and structuring international business ventures
- Design and development of products and services
- Preparing advertising and promotional materials
Define acculturation
The process of adjusting and adapting to a culture other than one’s own.
Define critical incident analysis
A method for analysing awkward situations in cross-cultural encounters by becoming more objective and developing empathy for other points of view.
Define cross-cultural risk
A situation or event in which a cultural misunderstanding puts some human value at stake.
Define culture
The values, attitudes, beliefs, arts, and other products of human thought and work that characterise the people of a given society.
Define geocentric orientation
A global mind-set by which the manager can understand a business or market without regard to country boundaries. - No culture is best, all are just different.
Define polycentric orientation
A host-country mind-set in which the manager develops a strong attachment to the country in which they conduct business - assuming the host-country culture is best.
Define self-reference criterion
The tendency to view other cultures through the lens of our own culture.
How are values and attitudes internalised?
Values and attitudes are internalised through socialisation, the process of learning the rules and behavioural patterns appropriate for living in one’s own society.
Name three things culture is not
- Not right or wrong – culture is relative
- Not about individual behaviour – culture is about groups
- Not inherited – culture comes from people’s social environment
Define stereotyping
Assumption that all members of a culture are the same.
Define prototyping
Perception of culture is subject to modification and improvement.
Describe the cultural component of aesthetics
Imagery and symbolism e.g. letters, figures, colours, or other characters that communicate meaning that can be expressed through music, painting, dance, drama and architecture
Describe the cultural component of manners and customs
Manners: appropriate ways of behaving and conducting oneself in public and business situations.
Customs: behaviour practiced in homogenous.
Describe the cultural component of social structure
Patters on social arrangements and organised relationships that characterise a society.
With respect to the cultural component of social structure name and describe five ways in which society may be organsied
- Individuals - determined by individual performance
- Family - family holds particular importance in some nation’s social structure, thus family often plays a substantial role in the formation and structure of business activity
- Reference groups - social status defined by group or employer affiliation rather than individual performance
- Social stratification - individuals are classified within classes or social layers depending on their occupation, income level, or family history
- Social mobility - the ease with which a person can move up within social strata
What is an ascribed group membership?
Determined by birth e.g. gender, family, age, caste, ethnic, racial or national origin
What is an acquired group membership?
Determined by birth e.g. religion, political affiliations, profession
Define religion
System of common beliefs or attitudes concerning a being or a system of thought that people consider sacred, divine, or the highest truth and includes the moral codes, values, institutions, traditions, and rituals associated with this system.
Provide examples of nonverbal communication/kinesics
Ways of talking (volume, inflection), sounds, body proximity, body contact, posture and stance, head movements, eye movements, facial expressions, hand movements and appearance
Describe the cross-cultural element of education
Passing on ideas, beliefs, attitudes, traditions, customs, and values through lessons and behaviour acquired from parents, family, peers, participation in groups e.g. social, business, religion and formal schooling
What is brain drain?
The departure of highly educated people from a profession, geographic region or nation
Name four other influences on culture
Performance orientation v Seniority
Male v female
Young v old
Personal space
