Morocco

Similarities / differences with other Arab cultures / Berber cultural group

Great Morocco / colonial past

Collectivist

• high social control / cultural implications of Islam (community, ...)

High power distance

• honor and respect : king, elders, family, but everybody Muslim

• gender politics

Time management

• prayers, daily rhythm / seasons ?

Emotional culture

• open conflicts; gestures, laughing, body contact, greeting

Elbow-culture

• people very close to each other, very personal questions

India / China (Manoj/Su wang)

• very old cultures with particular religion, architecture, language,...

• enormous regional disparities, cultural minorities
• cultural shock [crowds, noise, smell, colors, spices / Chinese signs]
• China : cultural change / differences between tradition (Confucian) culture, communist
and new Chinese culture

Collectivist

• high social control (marriage, family, ...) / not much space (proximity)
• India : capitalist economy, democratic political system (Gandhi: high moral standards)
• China : communist system

High power distance

• disparities between rural and urban areas

• India : cast system / harmony guideline for Chinese society (”he”) (“mianzi”)
• gender politics (selection of sex of babies)

Uncertainty acceptance

• China : enterpreneurial spirit, emigration, gambling

• India : life is dangerous, so try your chance; emigration, commerce

External control

• India : fate, God given => sadhus

Neutral cultures

Time management

• cyclic (Monsoon / Nirvana)

• China : long-time orientation

Communication

• signs, intonation
• particular gestures, mimics

Business

• dress code
• high context: networks, personal relationship
Cyprus

Geographical situation / similarities and differences with Turkey [and Greece, Arabia]

Secularism (history) / Islam as uniting feature

Role of family

Business: commercial tradition

• clichés due to tourism

• cooking, historical sites, beaches

Collectivist

• people close to each other, living in the streets

High power distance?

• gender politics (Machoism)

• traffic

Time management

Communication

• much, expressive, open

Emotional culture

• singing, dancing, partying

France (He, Zhong, Liu/Maxime)

• indirect communication, implicite message / on the other hand, emotional, conflict

friendly culture

• personal orientation when dealing with tasks & importance of networks but high
power distance, many hierarchic levels / centralized systems

• elite / popular culture // king vs peasants, artists vs conservative standards, Paris and
the “French desert”

• high context culture / importance of unwritten rules / sophisticated level of food, state,
language... / high ingroup social control

• global, strategic approach in economics, education, politics / highly individualistic

society, revolutionary spirit, importance of intelligence, art

• religion, nation-building, language / economy and politics intermingled

• dissense orientation: different opinions confronting, one prevailing

• synchronic, flexible time mangement

Nigeria / Russia

A / Black Africa

• unknown, often generalized culture / synonym for poverty

• colonial influence, African urban influence and rural ethnic influence
• colonial history, slave trade, nation uneven people

Power distance:
• corruption, status symbols, tyranny, disparities between cities (modern life) and rural
areas (substantial agriculture)
• initiation rites
• gender politics
• religious power (marabu, soufi, witches), political power

Collectivist:
• large families, clans, tribes / solidarity
• good atmosphere, personal relation, participative way of working

External control:
• colonialism, uncapable politicians, racism, extreme poverty / social control

Time management:
• short-term for individuals, long-term for society

Communication:

loud? / sounds / written tradition? / Taboos ?

Conflict mangement (mediator -> triangulation)
B / Russia

• orthodox culture: writing, national holidays

• language; political, economic and military power

similarities / differences with Russians, Chinese

importance of history, religion (isolation)

Collectivist

• high ingroup awareness / emotional

• communist past (ascription/public housing)
• people living under harsh conditions (hospitality)

Power distance

• family structure (oncle, grand father; mother orientation)

• hierarchies / boss more important than task

Indirect communication / never say no

Emotional culture / situative polarity

Pessimist, feminist culture (too far to the tsar, too high to God)

Present orientated culture (interesting for a former planified economy)

France / Lebanon (Espagnol/Kabbare)

•
China (Cui, Lin, ?)

• very old culture, well defined, well known: architecture, many inventions
• cultural minorities
• differences between North and South
• harmony guideline for Chinese society (”he”) (“mianzi”)
• differences between tradition (Confucian) culture, communist and new China culture
• communities all over the world

High power distance

• respect, modesty, discipline
• social harmony : equally inequal (wu-lun)

Collectivism
• changing to more individualism
• overpopulated country, rice crops
• taichi, ...
• equity between women and men, but cult of son

Uncertainty acceptance
• enterpreneurial spirit, emigration, gambling

Time management
• long-term strategy

Particular society:
• networks (guanxi)

Communication particuarities
• characters, intonations

Neutral culture

High context culture