Culture

INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
A MANAGERIAL PERSPECTIVE
The Role of Culture

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Prentice Prentice Hall Hall 2002 International 2002 International Business Business 3e 3e
E-Culture
The rise of the Internet is altering the worlds business cultures. It is affecting attitudes toward risk taking, decision making, organizational hierarchy, compensation, and education. Many European and Asian firms have structures that may not serve them well in the Internet economy. Conversely, the culture of many U.S. companies seems better adapted to the Internets quick pace.
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Prentice Hall 2002 International Business 3e
Culture
Culture is the collection of values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, and attitudes that distinguish one society from another.
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Characteristics of Culture
Culture reflects learned behavior that is transmitted from one member of society to another. The elements of culture are interrelated. Because culture is learned behavior, it is adaptive; that is, the culture changes in response to external forces that affect the society. Culture is shared by members of the society and indeed defines the membership of the society.
Elements of Culture
The basic elements of culture are:
Social structure Language Communication Religion Values and attitudes

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Social Structure
Individuals, families and groups
In all human societies, there are individuals living in family units and working with each other in groups. Societies differ, however, in the way they define family and in the relative importance they place on the individuals role within groups.
Social stratification
All societies categorize people to some extent on the basis of their birth, occupation, educational achievements, and/or other attributes. But the importance of these categories in defining how individuals interact with each other within and between these groups varies by society.
Social Structure (cont.)

Social mobility
Social mobility tends to be higher in less stratified societies. Social mobility (or lack thereof) often affects individuals attitudes and behaviors toward such factors as labor relations, human capital formation, risk taking, and entrepreneurship.
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Language
Language organizes the way members of a society think about the world. It filters observations and perceptions, and thus affects unpredictably the messages that are sent when those individuals try to communicate. The presence of more than one language group is an important signal about the diversity of a countrys population and suggests that there may also be differences in income, work ethic, and/or educational achievement.
World Languages
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Africas Colonial Heritage
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Language (cont.)
Language as a competitive weapon
Linguistic ties often create important competitive advantages because the ability to communicate is so important in conducting business transactions.
Lingua franca
As a result of British economic and military dominance in the nineteenth century and U.S. dominance since World War II, English has emerged as the predominant common language, or lingua franca, of international business.
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Language (conc.)
Translation
Some linguistic differences may be overcome through translation. Translators must be sensitive to subtleties in the connotations of words and focus on the translating of ideas, not the words themselves.
Saying no
In contract negotiations, Japanese businesspeople often use yes to mean Yes, I understand what is being said. Misunderstandings can be compounded because directly uttering no is considered very impolite in Japan.
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Communication
Nonverbal communication
Members of a society communicate with each other using more than words. In fact, some researchers believe 80 to 90 percent of all information is transmitted among members of a culture by means other than language.
Gift giving and hospitality

Gift giving and hospitality are important means of communication in many business cultures.
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Religion
Often religions impose constraints on the roles of individuals in society. The caste system of Hinduism traditionally has restricted the jobs individuals may perform, thereby affecting the labor market and foreclosing business opportunities. The impact of religion on international businesses varies from country to country depending on the countrys legal system, its homogeneity of religious beliefs, and its toleration of other religious viewpoints.
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Major World Religions
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Values and Attitudes

Culture also affects and reflects the secular values and attitudes of members of a society. Values are the principles and standards accepted by members of a society; attitudes encompass the actions, feelings, and thoughts that result from those values. Time In Anglo-Saxon cultures, the prevailing attitude is time is money. This contrasts sharply with attitudes in Latin American cultures, for example.
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Values and Attitudes (cont.)

Age
Youthfulness is considered a virtue in the United States. However, in Asian and Arab cultures, age is respected and a managers stature is correlated with age.
Education
A countrys formal system of public and private education is an important transmitter and reflection of the cultural values of its society.
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Values and Attitudes (conc.)

Status
In some societies, status is inherited as a result of the wealth or rank of ones ancestors. In others, it is earned by the individual through personal accomplishments or professional achievements.
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Halls Low Context-High Context Approach

A low-context culture is one in which the words used by the speaker explicitly convey the speakers message to the listener. A high-context culture is one in which the context in which a conversation occurs is just as important as the words that are actually spoken, and cultural clues are important in understanding what is being communicated.
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The Cultural Cluster Approach

The cultural cluster approach is another technique for classifying and making sense of national cultures. A cultural cluster comprises countries that share many cultural similarities. Many clusters are based on language similarities.
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A Synthesis of Country Clusters
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Hofstedes Five Dimensions

Social orientation Power orientation Uncertainty orientation Goal orientation Time orientation
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Social Orientation
Social orientation is a persons beliefs about the relative importance of the individual and the groups to which that person belongs. The two extremes of social orientation are individualism and collectivism.
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Power Orientation
Power orientation refers to the beliefs that people in a culture hold about the appropriateness of power and authority differences in hierarchies such as business organizations. The extremes of the dimension of power are power respect, and power tolerance.
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Uncertainty Orientation
Uncertainty orientation is the feeling people have regarding uncertain and ambiguous situations. The extremes of the uncertainty dimension are uncertainty acceptance, and uncertainty avoidance.
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Goal Orientation
Goal orientation is the manner in which people are motivated to work toward different kinds of goals. The extremes of the goal dimension are aggressive goal behavior, and passive goal behavior.
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Time Orientation
Time orientation is the extent to which members of a culture adopt a long-term versus a short-term outlook on work, life, and other aspects of society. Some cultures, such as those of Japan and Taiwan, have a long-term, future orientation that values dedication and perseverance. Other cultures, such as Pakistan and West Africa, tend to focus on the past and present, emphasizing respect for traditions and fulfillment of social obligation.
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Acculturation Acculturation is the process by which a person not only understands a foreign culture but also modifies and adapts his/her behavior to make it compatible with that culture.
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Cultural Differences and Ethics

Cultural differences often create ethical problems. Acceptable behavior in one culture may be viewed as immoral in another.
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Chapter Review
Understanding cultural differences is critical to the success of firms engaging in international business. A societys culture also reflects its values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, and attitudes. A societys culture comprises numerous elements. Language is an important cultural element, for it allows members of the society to communicate with each other.
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Chapter Review (cont.)

Religion influences attitudes toward work, investment, consumption, and responsibility for ones behavior. Religion may also influence the formulation of a countrys laws. A societys culture reflects and shapes its values and attitudes, including those toward time, age, status, and education. Researchers have grouped countries according to common cultural characteristics.
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Chapter Review (conc.)

Hofstede has identified five basic cultural dimensions along which people may differ: social orientation, power orientation, uncertainty orientation, goal orientation, and time orientation. Cultural differences often create ethical dilemmas for international businesspeople.
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INTERNATIONAL

The Role of Culture

Social structure Language Communication Religion Values and attitudes

Prentice Hall 2002 International Business 3e

Social Structure (cont.)

Prentice Hall 2002 International Business 3e

Africas Colonial Heritage

Gift giving and hospitality

Major World Religions

Values and Attitudes

Values and Attitudes (cont.)

Values and Attitudes (conc.)

Halls Low Context-High Context Approach

The Cultural Cluster Approach

A Synthesis of Country Clusters

Hofstedes Five Dimensions

Cultural Differences and Ethics

Chapter Review (cont.)

Chapter Review (conc.)

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