DIFFERENCES IN

CULTURE
To change customs is a difficult thing. —LEBANESE PROVERB
INTRODUCTION

Culture is an integral part of the businesses operating

environment.
 Successful international managers need cross-cultural
literacy - an understanding of how cultural differences across
and within nations can affect the way in which business is
practiced
 A relationship may exist between culture and the costs of
doing business in a country or region
WHAT IS CULTURE?

Culture is a system of values and norms that are shared

among a group of people and that when taken together
constitute a design for living
where
-values are abstract ideas about what a group believes to
be good, right, and desirable
-norms are the social rules and guidelines that prescribe
appropriate behavior in particular situations
Society refers to a group of people who share a common
set of values and norms
CULTURAL ORIENTATIONS

International businesses adopt an attitude towards foreign

cultures
 Polycentrism: control is decentralized so regional
managers can conduct business in a local manner.
 Ethnocentrism: belief that ones own culture is superior
and ignores important factors.
 Geocentrism: a hybrid of polycentrism and
ethnocentrism, the middle ground.
CROSS CULTURAL BLUNDERS

 When PepsiCo advertised Pepsi in Taiwan with the ad “

Come Alive with Pepsi” they had no idea that it would be
translated into Chinese as “‘ Pepsi Brings your Ancestors
Back from the Dead”.

 American Motors tried to market its new car, the Matador,

based on the image of courage and strength. However, in
Puerto Rico the name means "killer" and was not popular
on the hazardous roads in the country.
CULTURAL AWARENESS

Cultural awareness involves continually developing one’s

awareness of one’s own and others' cultures to assist in the
performance of professional duties.

Cultural awareness can be improved

 Research descriptions of specific cultures
 Observe behavior
 Study foreign market directly
 Learning about traditional beliefs
 Meanings Of Words, phrases, gestures, customs,
 Significant Days Or Holidays or activities and rituals.
DETERMINANTS OF CULTURE

 People belong to national, ethnic, professional, and

organizational cultures.

 Points of reference:
 National
 Geographic
 Language
 Religion

 International business often changes cultures

2-5
CULTURE -SOCIETY - NATION STATE

Each nation has certain human, demographic, and behavioral Characteristics

that give it a national identity.
There is not a strict one-to-one relationship between a society and a nation
state
Nation-states are political creations that can contain one or more cultures
Similarly, a culture can embrace several nations

Thus , National boundaries act as proxy for culture.

 People share values, language, and race
 Laws governing business apply along national lines.
CULTURE -SOCIETY - NATION
STATE
Problems using a country-by-country approach
Not everyone in a country shares the same culture: subculture
Certain cultural attributes may link groups from different nations more
closely than certain groups within nations: occupational culture
Language

 Language – A systematic means of communicating

– Spoken language
– Unspoken language

 When people from different areas speak the same language, culture
spreads more easily.

 A common language within countries is a unifying force.

 Among nations that share a same language, commerce is easier.
THE WORLD’S MOST WIDELY SPOKEN LANGUAGES
Language

Countries with more than one language often have more than
one culture
 The most widely spoken language in the world, but Chinese
is the mother tongue of the largest number of people
 English is also becoming the language of international
business, but knowledge of the local language is beneficial, and
in some cases, critical for business success
Spoken Language Problems

Translation problem: poor or too literal translation are often

causes problem

Words mean different in different context: “Old Friend”->

Chinese -> former

Same official language can also create barrier:

USA: turnover, sales-> UK: redundancy, turnover
Language Strategies

Get references for translators

Ensure the translator is familiar with technical vocabulary
for the business
Do a back translation
Use simple words
Avoid slang
Repeat words and ask questions
Expect the extra time communication will take
Unspoken/Silent Language

 Edward T. Hall identified the “silent languages” of culture.

 Blend of language and nonverbal communication.

 The language of space
–e.g., social distance
The language of material goods (to signal
status and power)
Unspoken/Silent Language
 Color Associations : White-> Death
-> Bridal Dress
 Perception of time and punctuality:
Be tolerant of differing perceptions of time
 Body language and gestures:
Pragmatics – the cultural interpretations of words, gestures
etc.
 Conversational Distance:
Proxemics – or the distance between people during
conversation.
 Personal Customary
Proxemics Business distance
18” discussion for
Intimate distance business
18” to 4’ discussion
Personal distance
Social distance 4’ to 8’
Public 8’ to 10’
distance
How Do Religious And Ethical Systems Differ?

 Religion - shared beliefs and rituals that are

concerned with the realm of the sacred
1. Christianity
2. Islam
3. Hinduism
4. Buddhism
5. Confucianism influences behavior and culture
 Ethical systems - a set of moral principles, or
values, that are used to guide and shape behavior
How Do Religious And Ethical Systems Differ?

World Religions
SOCIAL STRUCTURE?

 Social structure - a society’s basic social organization

 A group is an association of two or more people who
have a shared sense of identity and who interact with
each other in structured ways on the basis of a
common set of expectations about each other’s
behavior
 individuals are involved in families, work groups, social
groups, recreational groups, etc.
WHAT IS SOCIAL
STRATIFICATION?
 All societies are stratified on a hierarchical basis into
social categories, or social strata
1. Social mobility - the extent to which individuals can
move out of the strata into which they are born
 caste system
 class system
2. The significance attached to social strata in business
contacts
 class consciousness
Social Stratification
Individuals status with the culture
 Managerial groups may be highly valued
 Employees may be valued less
Ascribed group memberships
 Gender, family, age, caste, and ethnic, racial or national origin
Acquired group memberships
 Religion, political affiliations, and professional and other associations
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN
CULTURE?
 Formal education is the medium through which individuals learn
many of the language, conceptual, and mathematical skills that are
indispensable in a modern society
 important in determining a nation’s competitive advantage
 Japan’s postwar success can be linked to its excellent
education system
 general education levels can be a good index for the kinds of
products that might sell in a country
 ex. impact of literacy rates
 CULTURE & WORKPLACE
 Different countries have different work related values.
 Management process and practices, motivation factors, information
processing processes all of these usually varies across culture.

Hofstede’s Theory of Culture

 He conducted the research during 1967-1973 as an IBM Psychologist
and included 100,000 employees of IBM in 40 countries.

 The purpose of the research was to identify difference of employees’

values and attitudes.

 The theory helped to compare and contrast between the nations. This is
the benchmark for other cultural theories.
FOUR DIMENSIONS
Power Distance
Describes how a society deals with inequalities in power that
exist among people.
Uncertainty Avoidance

 In Hofstede's model, Greece tops the UAI scale with 100,

while Singapore scores the lowest with eight.
 Therefore, during a meeting in Greece, you might be keen to
generate discussion, because you recognize that there's a cultural
tendency for team members to make the safest, most conservative
decisions, despite any emotional outbursts. Your aim is to encourage
them to become more open to different ideas and approaches, but it
may be helpful to provide a relatively limited, structured set of
options or solutions.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Refers to the extent to which people can tolerate risk and
uncertainty in their lives.
Individualism – Collectivism

 This refers to the strength of the ties that people have to others within
their community.
 A high IDV score indicates weak interpersonal connection among those
who are not part of a core "family." Here, people take less responsibility
for others' actions and outcomes.
 In a collectivist society, however, people are supposed to be loyal to the
group to which they belong, and, in exchange, the group will defend
their interests. The group itself is normally larger, and people take
responsibility for one another's well-being
Individualism – Collectivism
Refers to whether a person primarily functions as an individual or
within a group.
 Masculinity versus Femininity
 This refers to the distribution of roles between men and women. In
masculine societies, the roles of men and women overlap less, and
men are expected to behave assertively. Demonstrating your
success, and being strong and fast, are seen as positive
characteristics.
 In feminine societies, however, there is a great deal of overlap
between male and female roles, and modesty is perceived as a
virtue. Greater importance is placed on good relationships with
your direct supervisors, or working with people who cooperate
well with one another.
 Masculinity versus Femininity
 Japan has the highest MAS score of 95, whereas Sweden has the lowest
measured value of five. Therefore, if you open an office in Japan, you
should recognize you are operating in a hierarchical, deferential and
traditionally patriarchal society. Long hours are the norm, and this, in
turn, can make it harder for female team members to gain advancement,
due to family commitments.
 The Fifth Dimension

Hofstede added a fifth dimension -- Long-Term vs. Short-Term orientation

This dimension describes the degree to which people and organizations defer
gratification to achieve long-term success.
Long-term orientation tends to take the long view to planning and living,
focusing on years and decades.
 Examples- traditional Asian cultures-China, Japan, and Singapore, which partly
base these values on the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.
 Short-term orientation - the U.S. and most other Western countries. The U.S.
has a short-term orientation. This is reflected in the importance of short-term
gains and quick results (profit and loss statements are quarterly, for example). It
is also reflected in the country's strong sense of nationalism and social
standards.
Obtaining Information

 In High-context Cultures (e.g. Asian cultures), much information

is conveyed nonverbally, often through shared understanding. In
business dealings, personal relations are important in high-context
cultures; an example is guanxi in China.

 In Low-context Cultures (e.g. the US), Culture which relies on

written or spoken words for communication. Written contracts and
formal terms are more important.
Obtaining Information
High-context culture

Japanese
Arab
Greek
Spanish
Italian
English
French
American
Scandinavian
German

Low-context cultures
Cultural Change

Culture evolves over time, although changes in value

systems can be slow and painful for a society
Social turmoil is an inevitable outcome of cultural change
As countries become economically stronger, cultural
change is particularly common
Implications For Managers
Societies differ because their cultures vary
Cultures vary because of profound differences in social
structure, religion, language, education, economic philosophy,
and political philosophy

There are three important implications that flow from these

differences:
1. There is a need to develop cross-cultural literacy
2. There is a connection between culture and national
competitive advantage
3. There is a connection between culture and ethics in decision
making