Chapter
3
Differences in
Culture
3-2
Guanxi-strength of relationship
◼ U.S. ◼ China
◼ Business transactions are ◼ Personal power and
conducted within the relationships or
framework of contract law connections rather than rule
and mechanisms for of law are important in
dispute resolution are in China
place ◼ Reciprocal relationship
◼ Reciprocal networks are networks can often mean
becoming more important doing favors or offering
but have to operate within bribes
the confines of the law ◼ Establish relationships with
◼ Gifts may be frowned upon gifts
as bribery (Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act)
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What is culture?
◼ “A system of values and norms that are
shared among a group of people and that
when taken together constitute a design for
living.”
◼ Hofstede, Namenwirth and Weber
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Different components of culture
◼ Values and Norms
◼ Folkways and mores
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Values and norms
◼ Values: Abstract ideas/assumptions about
what a group believes to be good, right and
desirable
◼ Norms: social rules and guidelines that
prescribe appropriate behavior in particular
situations
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Folkways and mores
◼ Folkways: Routine conventions of everyday life.
◼ Little moral significance
◼ Generally, social conventions such as dress
codes, social manners, and neighborly behavior
◼ Mores: Norms central to the functioning of society
and its social life
◼ Greater significance than folkways
◼ Violation can bring serious retribution
◼ Theft, adultery, incest and cannibalism
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Culture, society and nation states
◼ Society is a group of people who share a
common culture
◼ No one to one correspondence between
society and a nation state
◼ Nation states are political creations
◼ Many cultures can co-exist within a nation state
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Determinants of culture
Fig: 3.1
◼ Social structure
◼ Religion
◼ Language
◼ Education
◼ Economic philosophy
◼ Political philosophy
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Social structure
◼ Two dimensions
◼ The extent to which society is group or
individually oriented
◼ Degree of stratification into castes or classes
◼ Social mobility
◼ Significance to business
◼ Other influences
◼ Political philosophy
◼ Economic philosophy
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Religious and ethical systems
◼ Christianity
◼ Protestant Work Ethic
◼ Islam
◼ Prayer five times per day
◼ No consumption of Alcohol or Pork
◼ Hinduism
◼ Focus on Spiritual Growth
◼ Buddhism
◼ Strong Class System
◼ Confucianism
◼ High Ethics, Loyalty
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World religions
Map 3.1
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Language
◼ Spoken Fig: 3.2
◼ Verbal cues
◼ Language structures
perception of world
◼ Unspoken
◼ Body language
◼ Personal space
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Education
◼ Education can be a source of competitive
advantage
◼ Example
◼ India
◼ Malaysia
◼ Singapore
◼ Japan after WWII
◼ High School Equal to College
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Percentage of GNP spent on education
Map 3.2
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Adult Illliteracy rates
Map 3.3
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Culture and the workplace
◼ Study on the relationship between culture and the
workplace by Geert Hofstede 1967-73
◼ 40 countries
◼ 100,000 individuals
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Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
◼ Four dimensions of culture
◼ Power distance
◼ Individualism versus collectivism
◼ Uncertainty avoidance
◼ Masculinity versus femininity
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Power distance
◼ Cultures are ranked high or low on this
dimensions based on the particular society’s
ability to deal with inequalities
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Individualism versus collectivism
◼ This dimension focuses on the relationship between
the individual and his/her fellows within a culture
◼ Individualistic societies:
◼ loose ties
◼ individual achievement and freedom highly
valued
◼ Collectivist societies-
◼ tight ties
◼ tend to be more relationship oriented
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Uncertainty avoidance
◼ This dimension measures the extent to which
a culture socializes its members into
accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating
uncertainty
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Masculinity versus femininity
◼ This dimension looks at the relationship
between gender and work roles
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Work related values for twenty countries
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Problems with Hofstede’s findings
◼ Assumes one-to-one relationship between
culture and the nation-state
◼ His research may have been culturally bound.
◼ Survey respondents were from a single
industry (computer) and a single company
(IBM)
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Cultural change
◼ Culture is not a constant; it evolves over
time
◼ Since 1960s American values
toward the role of women are changing.
◼ Japan moves toward greater
individualism in the workplace
◼ Effects of globalization
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Changing values
Fig: 3.3
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Managerial implications
◼ Cross cultural literacy
◼ Culture and competitive advantage
◼ Culture and business ethics
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