Culture Lecture 9
Jan 12, 2016
Culture
Lecture 9
2
Buddhist Monks in MyanmarEnglish Punk Rocker
Culturevaries around the world
What is Culture?
A system of norms
and values sharedamong a group ofpeople and, whentaken together,constitute a designfor living.
Acculturation
Acculturation is the process of adjusting and adapting to a specific culture other than one’s own. It is one of the keys to success in international operations.
High- versus Low-Context Cultures
High-context culture• context is at least as
important as what is actually said
• what is not being said can carry more meaning than what is said
• focuses on group development
• Japan and Saudi Arabia are examples
Low-context culture• most of the information is
contained explicitly in words
• what is said is more important that what is not said
• focuses on individual development
• The U.S. is an example
HIGH CONTEXT CULTURE• Humor• High context cultures (and co-cultures) provide many opportunities for
humor. However, a high context culture’s jokes will not translate well to someone of a different culture.
• A lower context joke comes from a (possibly apocryphal) interaction between IBM and a Japanese hardware manufacturer. IBM requested parts from a trial project, with the specification “We will accept three defective parts per ten thousand.” The Japanese manufactured the parts, and sent them with a note: “We, the Japanese people, had a hard time understanding North American business practices. But the three defective parts per 10,000 have been separately manufactured and have been included in the consignment. Hope this pleases you.”
• The humor is inherent in the narrative, instead of from a common background.
ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
Language (verbaland nonverbal) Religion
Values andAttitudes
Material Elements
Manners andCustoms
AestheticsEducationSocial Institutions
Language Blunders Braniff Airlines’ English-language slogan “Fly in Leather” was translated into
“Fly Naked” in Spanish.
If a British promises something “by the end of the day” this does not mean
within 24 hours but rather when they have completed the job.
Electrolux’s theme for vacuum cleaners was-nothing sucks like an
Electrolux, it was taken in United Kingdom but it was a slang in U.S.
Lucky Gold star adaptation into Arabic was carried without considering
Arabic writes from right to left.
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”
Nonverbal languageDistinctions must be made in five key topics:
Time
Space
Material Possessions
Colour
Body language
Personal Space in the U.S.
Intimate distance 18”
Personal distance 18” to 4’
Social distance 4’ to 8’
Public distance 8’ to 10’
Adapted from Figure 7–3: Personal Space Categories for Those in the United States
Mixed Signals
"Okay"
"Vulgar gesture"
"It's a secret"
"Very nosey"
"Crazy"
"Very clever"
World ReligionsWorld Religions
Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
Confucianism
Judaism
Shinto
Origin ofOrigin ofHuman ValuesHuman Values
Origin ofOrigin ofHuman ValuesHuman Values
Religion and Economic Implications• Christianity
– “”Protestant Work Ethic” and “The Spirit of Capitalism””.• Islam
– Favors market-based systems. – No payment or receipt of interest.
• Hinduism– Asceticism may have an impact.– Caste system plays a role.
• Confucianism– Loyalty, reciprocal obligations, and honesty in dealings.
Aesthetics
Colour
Numbers
Music
Painting
Dance
Drama
Architecture
Changed its logo in Saudi Arabia
Nike
Logos are usually not chosen at random but rather for the message
they convey, though sometimes
mistakes seem to happen.Logos can easily offend people, certainly those who have a very broad definition of blasphemy.
This is the Arabic script for "Allah."
• Burger King had to change the logo of an ice-cream cone because, according to "offended" Muslims it could be read as "Allah."
INDIAN MOVIES AND THEIR CULTURAL IDENTITY
CULTURAL FACTS
• IKEA advertisement that showed people from varying ethnic groups, and some in traditional dress and some in Western dress.
• Diversity was used as a positioning tool by Gulf Air in a local and worldwide print campaign. Print advertisements ran in global media, such as The Economist magazine, and featured a photograph of smiling Gulf Air employees representing many different ethnic groups.
Hofstede model of culture : Four Dimensions
• Individualism/Collective Index (IDV)
• Power Distance Index (PDI)
• Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)
• Masculinity/Femininity Index (MAS)
Hofstede Framework
Individualism Individualism vs. collectivismvs. collectivismIndividualism Individualism
vs. collectivismvs. collectivismPowerPower
distancedistancePowerPower
distancedistance
UncertaintyUncertaintyavoidanceavoidance
UncertaintyUncertaintyavoidanceavoidance
Masculinity Masculinity vs. femininityvs. femininityMasculinity Masculinity
vs. femininityvs. femininity
Four dimensions
• POWER DISTANCE –Power distance dimension focused on how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capital.
• HIGH-India, Columbia, Hongkong, Portugal, Singapore• LOW –America, Australia, Canada Germany Britain.
• INDIVIDUALISM –This dimension focus on the relationship between the individuals and his or her fellows.
• HIGH-United states, Canada, Britain ,Australia Denmark, Sweden• Low-Pakistan, Indonesia, Japan, Columbia, Korea
Four Dimensions
• UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE- This dimension measured the extent to which different culture accepted ambiguous situation and tolerating uncertainty.
• HIGH-JAPAN,KOREA, GREECE ,URUGUAY• LOW-SWEDEN,INDIA ,USA,DENMARK
• MASCULINITY VERSUS FEMININITY –This dimension looked at the relationship between gender and work roles.
• MASCULINITY –JAPAN, MEXICO, ITALY, INDIA • FEMININITY- SWEDEN ,DENMARK