Culture

Course Notes Table of Contents

Culture Learning Objectives

  1. Define culture
  2. Define ethnocentrism, and its negative impact
  3. Compare the differences between each of Hofstede’s four dichotomous dimensions
  4. Explain the importance of Hofstede’s dimensions for management
  5. Discuss the differences between high and low context cultures…list which are high and low context
  6. Explain why Americans are described as one of the most individualistic cultures
  7. Describe the concept of the "Ugly American"

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” --James Michener

“Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams.” Mary Ellen Kelly

Culture

Definition of culture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture

What are some differences between Northern and Southern culture? List two ways in which  these differences might cause problems. In addition to the examples provided below, list some common Southern phrases and behaviors.

Culture Scenarios

Which of the following gestures have the same meaning in almost every part of the world?

  • Shaking your fist (anger)
  • Making a circular motion with the hand over the stomach (hunger)
  • Yawning (showing tiredness)
  • All of the above
  • None of the above

While visiting West Africa, you decline another drink by putting your hand out, palm up and facing out with fingers spread – like a police officer’s signal to stop. To the West African, this might mean?

  • I don’t want any more to drink
  • Bring me just half of a glass of that drink
  • You could have any one of five fathers
  • Bring me five more glasses to drink, please!
  • No more; I’ve already had five glasses to drink

In which country is grasping one’s ear a sign of apology?

  • India
  • Taiwan
  • Mexico
  • Australia
  • Portugal

You visit a Tibetan tribesman, who sticks out his tongue at you. The tribesman is signaling that:

  • You are not welcome here
  • He has prepared a delicious meal for you
  • You wear ugly clothes
  • You are welcome here
  • This is not an opportune time to visit

In Chile, the fist slap (slapping the closed fist of one hand with the open palm of the other) means:

  • Up yours!
  • What a great idea
  • I think we can reach agreement
  • You’re crazy
  • Congratulations

Source: Stephen McShane - Cross-Cultural Communication Game
Culture Quiz:  http://www.learnaboutcultures.com/qulture_quiz/index.html

Ethnocentrism:

The belief that your culture is superior to others.

Ethnocentrism Quiz

Hofstede's Dimensions

Collectivism:  Subjugation of self for the benefit of the whole; deference to family and society
Individualism: Elevation of self for the benefit of the individual
Quality of Life: Degree to which family and quality of life are important
Quantity of Life: The degree to which things and achievement are important
Uncertainty Avoidance: The degree to which ambiguity is tolerated
Power Distance: The degree to which inequality is tolerated

Collectivism:  Subjugation of self for the benefit of the whole; deference to family and society

Work

  • Gainsharing instead of merit pay
  • Emphasis on seniority and age in promotion
  • Absence of up or out or rank and yank systems
  • Corporate communalism
  • No employee of the month
  • Day care, recreational facilities, and rides to work
  • Difficult to fire someone
  • Emphasis on collaboration, not competition

Phrases:

  • The nail that sticks up gets hammered down.
  • The rice plant that reaches fruition bows its head.

Scenario:  Your mother in law is alone and occasionally needs supervision. You know that it is not safe for her to stay in her house by herself. What do you think is the best solution for dealing with this situation?

  1. Build an addition onto your house
  2. Have her move into your house
  3. Make arrangements for her to move into a nursing home
  4. Let her handle the issue herself

Living with the inlaws: http://money.cnn.com/2004/02/18/pf/yourhome/grannyflats/index.htm

Collectivism emphasizes respect for elders

What age do you consider “old?”

There is an old African saying that when an old man or an old woman dies, the village loses a library, because of the wealth of knowledge and information that they were able to share.
(Kofi Annan, AARP, January/February, 2003)

Group activities in collectivism, with an emphasis on "togetherness": Japanese Bath House: http://www.japanesebathhouse.com/faqs.html

Individualism and Speech

Why does the U.S. tend to be more direct in speech than other countries that are also
individualistic (e.g, Canada, England)?

From an anthropological perspective:

People who came to this country did so relatively recently, enduring difficult situations. They left behind everything they knew (culture, home, possessions) to brave a long journey to land in many cases about which they knew little. In the case of the pilgrims and early settlers, they braved harsh weather conditions, unfamiliar terrain, primitive living conditions and hostile environments.

[Watch the film Far and Away, with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. It is the story of Irish immigrants who fought discrimination and were later embroiled in a competition for their first homestead in the West].

Immigrants married people who likewise had self-selected to come to this country. Anthropologists theorize that these people had certain traits that their ancestors who stayed in the mother country did not possess: a greater degree of adventuresomeness, risk-taking, wanderlust, and openness to experience. The connectedness of people with like traits thus produced a “super-strain” of individuals who were highly independent and self-sufficient.

This tendency is reflected in Americans’ policy regarding work (employment at will) - in Mexico and most of Europe it is relatively more difficult to fire people, and employees who have worked for their employer at least one year are in many cases entitled to 3 mos. of severance. Thus there is a strong disincentive against firing. Our up and out tenure and partner systems, rank and yank appraisal, and our own brand of social Darwinism are an outgrowth of an extreme level of traits associated with those willing to leave their homeland to forge a life elsewhere (e.g., out of my father’s seven brothers and sisters, he is the only one with the daring to come to the United States).

England and Canada are also individualistic, but because of their long history and more limited mobility they have a different pattern of communication, which Edward Hall refers to as “high context.” In high context cultures people pay attention to the statement and such things as where a statement is said, how it is said, to whom it is said, and what is not said. Attention to non-verbals creates a greater degree of civility in speech. The U.S. on the other hand is low context, where a lot of emphasis is placed on the verbals alone and not necessarily on the accompanying niceties.

The story below is testament to the Asian value of indirectness. (My friend was teaching ESL in Japan when this happened).

The wind was blowing fiercely one day, and my friend's neighbor dropped in expectedly. He said "The wind is blowing very hard today" and left.  A few minutes later he knocked on the door again, and said, "I think that the wind will continue to blow" and promptly left.

A little while later she heard another knock. The neighbor asked "Do you think the wind will get stronger?"

After the neighbor left for the third time my friend went outside the house to survey the windy situation for herself. What she discovered was that all of her underwear that had been hung on a clothesline behind the house had blown on top of her roof.

Read the following for a comparison of high vs. low context cultures:
http://www.via-web.de/273.html

High context vs. low context cultures (Edward Hall)

Low context culture:  people pay attention primarily to what was said
High context culture: people pay more attention to what is not said

  • who said it
  • to whom did they say it
  • when did they say it
  • how did they say it
  • what was not said

High context cultures (as ranked by Hall): Japanese (highest), Chinese, Arabic, Greek, Spanish, Italian, English, & French

Low context cultures (as ranked by Hall): USA, Scandinavia, German, and Swiss-German (lowest)

Positive politeness:  a friendly disposition regardless of the relationship

Negative politeness:  a relationship in which "friendliness" is reserved for those in one's inner circle

Individualism:  elevation of the self for the benefit of the whole

Individualistic countries: U.S., Canada, Britain

Work

  • Merit pay
  • Individual recognition
  • Tenure
  • Contractual relationship at work
  • Employment at will

Phrases:

  • That’s the way I am
  • I want my piece of the pie.
  • Me first.
  • Cream rises to the top.
  • No guts no glory.

Uncertainty Avoidance: The degree to which ambiguity is tolerated

Work (low ua)

  • Specific description of job and duties vs. risk taking & entrepreneurial
  • Lots of rules, regulations

Singapore Hangs Woman for Drug Trafficking http://opioids.com/heroin/singapore.html

Singaporan laws against gum chewing: http://www.expatsingapore.com/general/law.htm

Malaysian protests against kissing in public:
http://www.asiancanadian.net/2006/04/malaysian-activists-protest-city-laws.html

What are the implications for managers in high UA cultures? Low UA?

Power Distance:  the degree to which inequality is tolerated

Work (low pd)

  • 360 degree appraisal
  • Participatory management
  • Question authority
  • Open door policies

Work (high pd)

  • Boss is the all knowing authority
  • Hierarchical structures
  • Powerful should look the part
  • No MBO (Management by Objectives), or participative management

How would students behave toward an instructor in a high power distance culture? Low power distance?

Exercise

  1. You would like to e-mail your instructor asking him/her for help. How would you phrase the correspondence?
  2. Repeat the same exercise, assuming you are in a high power distance country.

Quality of Life:  the degree to which family and quality of life are important (Mexico, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway)

Work

  • Lots of vacation

  • Elder care benefits

  • Child care benefits

How much paid maternity leave should a mother get? What are the best countries for giving birth in terms of benefits? http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-07-26-maternity-leave_x.htm

Quantity of Life:  the degree to which things and achievement are important

Work

  • Money and raises

  • Promotions

  • Material wealth and large offices

  • Achievement at school important

End of the relaxing vacation:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/04/pf/goodlife/relaxing_vacation/index.htm

Why do Americans work so much?
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/papers/twerp_789.pdf

When you graduate, what type of car what you like to drive? What square footage house would you like to live in? http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/103723/World's-Most-Expensive-Homes-2007

America the Industrious:  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_34/b3796647.htm?chan=search 

In the novel "The Ugly American," authors Lederer and Burdick describe how Americans are viewed.  Why would some other cultures perceive Americans as
"ugly?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_American ; and
http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=347901

Internet sites:

www.studyabroad.travel-guides.com
www.infoplease.com
www.worldtravelguide.net
www.executiveplanet.com
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/special/ppcs/ppcs.html
http://www.eldis.org/go/country-profiles

Cross-cultural dating: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0767654.html 

Add right column content here