Culture Week 4 Lecture 1 Chapter 2

1. Culture Week 4 Lecture 1 Chapter 2

2. Basic Framework Motivation Perception Search Evaluation Choice Learning

3. What is culture? It is a combination and mixture of • Values • Non verbal communications • Demographics • Language It is not just music and art

4. What is culture? In other words it is based upon • Knowledge – Education • Beliefs' - Religion • Mores – morals • Customs • Any other capabilities and habits acquired / learned by members of a society.

5. Cultural Norms • Must comply with • Optional – nice to conform • Not significant

6. Orientation of culture • Other • Environment • Self • Hofstede

7. Other Orientation • Individual vs Collective • Youth vs Age • Family - Extended vs Limited • Masculine vs Feminine • Competition vs Co-operation • Diversity vs Uniformity

8. Environment Orientation • Cleanliness • Performance and Status • Tradition vs Change • Risk – taking vs Security • Attitudes to Problems • Nature – live with or change

9. Self Orientation • Lifestyle – physical / active • Sensual gratification / abstinence • Hedonism - materialistic • Work ethic – hard work / Leisure • Gratification – want it now or save for later • Religion vs Secular…

10. Sub Cultures Global Cultures Globalisation of Brands – media Teen culture T Shirts Music Jeans and McD Middle Classes – Designer Clothes, Hotels Wealthy Pensioners – equivalent ppp Foreign Travel

11. Cultural Variations in Non Verbal Communications Time Space Etiquette – politeness Artefacts – Symbols Relationships Agreements

12. CULTURE, • Hofstede’s Dimensions • Globalization and anti-globalization • Western vs. Asian culture

13. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions • Individualism (vs. collectivism) • Power distance • Masculine vs. feminine • Strong vs. weak uncertainty avoidance • Short vs. long term orientation (Confucianist dynamics) • “The Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountain” Based on interviews with IBM executives throughout the World--1980s

14. There is an ancient Chinese fable called "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains". It tells of an old man who lived in northern China long, long ago and was known as the Foolish Old Man of North Mountain. His house faced south and beyond his doorway stood the two great peaks, Taihang and Wangwu, obstructing the way. He called his sons, and hoe in hand they began to dig up these mountains with great determination. Another graybeard, known as the Wise Old Man, saw them and said derisively, "How silly of you to do this! It is quite impossible for you few to dig up those two huge mountains." The Foolish Old Man replied, "When I die, my sons will carry on; when they die, there will be my grandsons, and then their sons and grandsons, and so on to infinity. High as they are, the mountains cannot grow any higher and with every bit we dig, they will be that much lower. Why can't we clear them away?" Having refuted the Wise Old Man's wrong view, he went on digging every day, unshaken in his conviction. God was moved by this, and he sent down two angels, who carried the mountains away on their backs. Today, two big mountains lie like a dead weight on the Chinese people. One is imperialism, the other is feudalism. The Chinese Communist Party has long made up its mind to dig them up. We must persevere and work unceasingly, and we, too, will touch God's heart. Our God is none other than the masses of the Chinese people. If they stand up and dig together with us, why can't these two mountains be cleared away?

15. Individualism vs. collectivism • The extent to which • Individuals as opposed to groups are rewarded • It is desirable to “stand out” from others • In collectivism, the unit of responsibility can be (sometimes depending on context) • Work group • Family • Nation, community, or society as a whole

16. Power Distance • The extent to which “rank” is important in work and relationships • Rank can be based on • Position • Family/ethnic status • Age • Implications for • Strategy formation • Delegation • Correcting mistakes

17. “Masculine” vs. “Feminine” • “Masculine” values: Dominating environment, “conquering” nature, “progress” • E.g., damming, tunnels, land development, land reclamation • “Feminine” values: Harmony, preserving environment • E.g., environmental impact, working around nature

18. Uncertainty Avoidance • Low uncertainty avoidance • Willingness to • Take risks • Investments • Social situations • Consider new ideas • High uncertainty avoidance • Reliance on authority for decision making

19. Long vs. short term orientation • Not included in Hofstede’s original work • Complications—is U.S. shortsighted? • Short term financial performance • Investment in new technologies; firms with high price/earnings ratios • Net present value (NPV) analysis/discounted cash flows • Economic structure • Accountability to stockholders; disclosure of information

20. Characteristics of Culture • Comprehensive • Acquired (learned) • Manifested in boundaries of acceptable thought and behavior--norms and sanctions • Conscious awareness limited (frequently taken for granted) • Dynamic vs. static

21. Homogeneity of Culture—Some Dimensions • Linguistic • Religious • Ethnic • Climatic • Geographic • Institutional/political • Social/income Source: Usinier and Lee, 2005

22. Eastern vs. Western Culture • Differences in • Values • Perceptions of • Objects • Reality • Stability vs. change • Control • Perceived roles

23. Time as tangible, valuable commodity “Time is money” vs. Traditional means of relations Monochronic vs. polychronic approach to combining events Eating times Regularity vs. flexibility Social purpose Meal purpose and content Distribution of food consumption across the day Life as “single continuous event” vs. a series of repeating cycles Impact of religion, attachment to nature’s cycles Preferred temporal orientation Past Present Future Time Issues in Culture

24. Perceptions of outsiders—may be seen as “barbarian” “lazy” “backward” “inefficient” vs. “un-cultured” profane (relative to in-group’s religion) Tendency to perceive “out-groups” as more homogeneous than one’s own group—the Sherif Boys’ Camp studies Locus of in-group—may depend on context Relating to Outsiders Source: Usinier and Lee, 2005

25. Acculturation, Not Assimilation • Assimilation: • A group leaves culture and customs behind and adopts culture and customs of another group • Acculturation: • A group adopts or borrows customs and traits from another culture

26. Acculturation is Defined as… • “Change resulting from contact between cultures” • “The process by which people adopt or borrow customs and traits from another culture” • “A merging of cultures as a result of prolonged contact” • “Mutual influence of different cultures in close contact” Source: “Acculturation” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000 Strategy Research Corp. Webster New World Dictionary, Third College Edition

27. Key Indicators of Acculturation • Language • Values

28. Cultural “borrowing” • Adoption of elements from other cultures—e.g., • Language and writing systems • Products (e.g., jeans, pizza) • Adjustments/adaptations • Hidden process; origin may be unknown to contemporary members of the culture Source: Usinier and Lee, 2005

29. Japanese writing system (sound and concept pictorals)—adapted with difficulty from Chinese (concept only pictorals) Arabic numeral system and mathematics English language words from Latin Arabic Germanic and Nordic languages Major world religions Some Examples of Borrowing

30. Perceived Control Over Reality • World is not generally seen as predictable • Trends are not expected to continue • Individual has little control over the world • BUT • Outcome is believed to be tied to effort, not individual skill

31. Some Tendencies Source: Richard E. Nisbett, The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently … and Why, New York, 2003, The Free Press

32. More Tendencies • Westeners tend to rate themselves • More unique than average and what they are • “Above average” in ability • Easteners tend to rate themselves • Less unique than they really are • “Below average”

33. Parenting • Western • Child given choices • In play, parent asks questions about objects • Eastern • Choices made for the child • Child reared to stay with mother most of the time • Parent asks questions about feelings • Feelings in disciplinary talks • “The farmer feels bad that you did not eat everything…” • “The toy is crying because you threw it.”

34. Teaching Language to Children • Emphasis is on verbs, not on • Nouns • Adjectives, adverbs (except if related to emotions)

35. Categorization • Tendency to group into categories based on members that go together (e.g., monkey/banana rather than monkey/panda)

36. Proverbs • Western: “The early bird gets the worm” • Eastern: • “The first bird in the flock gets shot” • “A nail that stands out will be hammered down.”

37. Values Source: Richard E. Nisbett, The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westeners Think Differently … and Why, New York, 2003, The Free Press

38. Some implications • Thanking people—for things they are clearly supposed to do? • Why the need for a choice between 40 different brands of cereal?

39. Socialization • Western textbook: “See Dick run. See Dick play. See Dick run and play.” • Chinese: “Big brother takes care of little brother. Big brother loves little brother. Little brother loves big brother.”

40. Perception of People • Western: People have characteristics independent of the situation • Fundamental attribution error: People attribute their own behavior to the circumstances but that of others to innate characteristics. • Eastern: Person is connected; behavior is the result of specific roles played at the time

41. Western “Atomistic”—broken down to smallest component parts “Unique selling propositions” “How to” Positioning May be “dull and boring” “Copy focused” Asian Holistic “Everything relates to everything else” How things “fit together” and “relate” Visual and oral Contrasting Advertising Perspectives (Aithison 2002) Jim Aitchison, How Asia Advertises, New York: Wiley, 2002.

42. Advertising Content Comparisons • American: • Individual benefit and pleasure (e.g., “Make your way through the crowd) • Korean • Collective values (e.g., “We have a way of bringing people together)

43. “Priming” and learning in a culture • U.S. professor in Hong Kong started letter apologizing for his unworthiness for the job • U.S. manager left room so that an employee could “snoop” on unfavorable report

44. Debate and Conflict • “The first person to raise his voice has lost the argument.” (Chinese proverb) • Use of indirection and projection • Face-to-face vs. anonymous comments • Western adversarial “rule of law” based on consistent universal ideals vs. solution for the case at hand in context

45. Resolving Disputes • Not based on • Universal principles • Formal logic (not because of inability but because this is not a “mature way” to resolve disputes) • Emphasis on • Compromise • Discouragement of bringing about conflict • Inherent belief that “contradicting” statements can each have some truth (attraction to paradoxes)

46. Relationships, Education, and Work • Western • Standing out; being “better” • Self perceived favorably • Self-esteem building • Work longer on successful job • Eastern • Harmony • Must “weed out” personal characteristics that might annoy others • Taught self-criticism • Not recognized in profession until after many years of practice • Work longer on unsuccessful job

47. Chinese Involvement in Product Selection • Low for products consumed individually in private—emphasis on price and quality • Higher for products consumed in public setting—social significance becomes more important—e.g., • Status • Harmony with others

48. Mexican vs. U.S. culture • Cautions • Mexico is a large, heterogeneous country • “Urban” areas vs. indigenous cultures • Large regional variations • Some differences based on income and lifestyle • Some impact of religion

49. Mexican Culture: General Issues • High power distance • Strong uncertainty avoidance • Tendency toward “theoretical” education • Strong patriotism • Relatively formal etiquette • Strong emphasis on family • Extended family • Strong family emphasis within private life • Relatives may be favored for jobs/business

50. Wealth, Positions, Power, and Privileges • “He can’t be the owner; he works there!” • Emphasis on titles—e.g., licenciado/licenciada • Titles may be part of address • Importance of connections • U.S.: “Networking” • Mexico: Greater emphasis on family and social class connections • Manager/subordinate relationships: • Less question of “why” directions are given