Towards the concept of culture in multicultural

management

Anthropology (meaning, fields

 Anthropos (hu)man + Logos (Science) (Greek)

of humans as biological creatures

of humans as creatures of language

of humans as culture-bearers in the past

of humans as cultures-bearers of the present

 The Comparative and Holistic study of humankind
Anthropology
Comparative

Holistic (Whether and how all parts of culture fit together)

Field techniques: Observation, Participant Observation,

Open or Unstructured Interviews, Closed or Structured
Interviews.

Emic (phonemic); Etic (phonetic)

Anthropologists!!!!
 Areas

Kinship (marriage and family are our first institutions);

Technology (hunting, fishing, housebuilding); Economic
anthropology (how goods and services are produced and
distributed); Political anthropology (the stydy of power and
social control); The supranatural, psychology, culture
change, arts, oral tradition

Today: the study of the lifeways of contemporary people: a)

the extent of variation and b) discovering general cultural
principles and patterns

Goals: to describe, analyse and exolain different cultures; to

show how a group adapts to its environment and gives
meaning to its lifes; to comprehend the entire human
experience
Anthropological Concept of Culture (everything that people have,
think and do as members of a society)

Culture is that complex whole which includes:

knowledge,
beliefs,
art,
morals,
custom
and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of
society”

(Tylor, 1871)
 Culture:

System of beliefs, values and assumtions that guide

bahaviour and are shared by a group (customs, language,
material culture).

Transmitted from generation to generation

It shapes how wee see the world!

Learned, Based on symbols, Shared, Patterned or Integrated,

Usually Adaptive

Not biological!!!!
•Symbols - stand for something else. Human/Animals

•Shared - the degree to which people share their culture.

•Learned - we acquire our culture (attitudes, values, and

behavior patterns) by growing up in it. People in different
cultures learn different cultural content. Enculturation.
City/village, East/West.

•Adaptive – Cultural and biological adaptation (The Moken

people of Thailand, passed from generation to generation,
„people eating wave“; environment and culture in the Arctic
region)
Why does anthropology matter for multicultural
management?
„The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe
for human differences!“
Ruth Benedict (1887-1948)

Boas, Benedict, Mead

Cultural relativism and historical particularism
Anthropological critique of multiculturalism
•The response to unfamiliar cultures: ethnocentrism vs
cultural relativism?

•The practice of viewing the customs of other societies in

terms of one’s own (viewing the rest of the world through the
narrow lens of one’s own culture).

•The idea that cultural traits are best understood when

viewed within the cultural context of which they are a part.

•The example of bikini and burka - ethnocentrism and

cultural relativism
 •Stereotype

In a figurative way – when we say that someone is

stereotipan it means that he doesn’t like changes.
•Nationalism and ethnic prejudices manifest among other
things in stereotypes.

•a) cognitive (that some groups have some characteristics).

b) affective reactions to these characteristics.
c) conative social component.

Olport has a scale: a) steretypising a nation; b) avoiding

contacts, c) discrimination, d) attack, e) genocide
 Stereotype and generalization
(ending point and starting point)

•If you meet a Mexican woman named Maria and assume

that she has a large family?

•If you say to yourself, “Mexicans tend to have large

families; I wonder if Maria does”?

•Trump and Montenegrins

Cultural distance – a gap between different national
cultures. It can be notified within organization, such as
hospitality industry. For instance, hospitality industry holds
several different cultures – between employees and between
employees and customers.

Cultural variability involves both recognising differences

and accepting them.

Acceptance – a respect of culture and appreciation of

difference in culture (values, norms, styles, behaviour). To
respect them in a correct manner. Cultural differences can
appear in verbal and nonverbal communication, social
interaction, gender, class, education. Differences in beliefs,
philosophy and values.
Three layers of culture that are associated with learned
behaviour patterns and perceptions: a) cultural traditions that
distinguish a person’s specific society (shared traditions,
ceremonies, legends, myths, rituals); b) Each culture consists
of several subcultures (race, tribe, religion, region, class,
gender); c) cultural universals – no matter where people live.

Types of culture: Universal, Civilizational (ethnicity,

religion, economic system), Nationality (origin, residence),
industry (professional), organisational (family, company),
individual.

Everyone belongs to a number of different categories and

groups of people.
 INTRODUCTION: THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE IN
MULTICULTURAL MANAGEMENT

Key Words: Anthropological concept of culture, Cultural

diversity, Ethnocentrism, Cultural relativism, Steretype,
Generalisation
Resume:

•Modern tourism is experiencing an increasing

internationalization and globalization. In tht respect, cultural
diversity is a vital part of global customer related industry.
The future of hospitality industry in a global world inevitably
brings a strong need for more education and training on
cultural diversity. At the heart of cultural intelligence is
your motivation to learn about ‘the other’!