3: Cultural Frameworks
Perception Defined
The means by which you make sense of your
physical and social world
The reality that’s contained within us: symbols,
things, people, ideas, events, ideologies, faith
Culture influences perception
• Perception is selective
What’s allowed is determined by culture
• Perception is learned
Taught by culture
Beliefs Defined
Foundations of truth; storage system for content of past
experiences (thoughts, memories, interpretations of
events)
Cultures have different realities, belief systems
Beliefs form basis of values
Values = shared ideas of what’s true, right, beautiful
Underline cultural patterns and guide society
Translate into action: Belief > Value > Attitude > Behavior
Inform a culture of what’s normal by identifying
good/bad, right/wrong, worth study, worth protecting
Belief > Value > Attitude > Behavior
In your teams:
– Outline how you would explain this
sequence in terms of the following:
1. Money
2. Drunk Driving
3. Education
4. Family
Cultural Patterns
are integrated
– values act in concert with other values
are dynamic
– cultures change, so do their values
can be contradictory
– standard of living disparity, racial prejudice
Dominant US Cultural Patterns
Individualism
– Values, rights, duties originate in individuals
– ‘self’, self reliance, important identities
Equal Opportunity
– All should have same opportunity to succeed, access
– Informality; equality over hierarchy; social status
Science & Technology
– Belief in ability to predict, explain and control life
– Respect for rationality, objectivity, empirical evidence
• Dismissal of fatalism, subjectivity, mysticism, intuition
Dominant US Cultural Patterns
Progress & Change
– US innovates faster than most
– Environment is something to be conquered, tamed,
harnessed for personal benefit
Work & Play
– Identity grounded in what one does; leisure is earned
– (voluntary) idleness is threatening, wrong
Competitive Nature
– Life is a game to win, for all (children to adults)
– People & their product ranked, graded, evaluated
Each Team:
Hofstede
You will be assigned one
of the following Hofstede
dimensions
– Spend a few minutes
defining your dimension
– Come up with one example
that exemplifies how the
USA fits on that dimension
(high, low, middle + example)
Masc/
Fem
Hofstede’s four value dimensions
1. Individualism/Collectivism
Individualists emphasize: Collectivists emphasize:
• personal rights, responsibilities • community, collaboration
• privacy, independence • public good, harmony
• individual achievement • tradition/social norms
• self-expression • maintaining face
2. Uncertainty avoidance - extent to which people are made
nervous by the unstructured, unclear, unpredictable
High UA: minimize uncertainty through structure, resistance to change
Low UA: tolerant of the unusual, embrace difference/risk; self-reliant
3. Power distance - preference for power in relationships,
institutions, organizations
High PD: powerful and powerless far apart; social hierarchy prevalent
Low PD: power holders and those affected by power significantly closer
Hofstede’s four value dimensions
4. Masculinity/femininity - masculine or feminine traits valued
Masculinity: assertiveness, ambition, competition, materialism;
value what’s big/strong/fast
Femininity: nurture, promote/stress sexual equality, people and
the environment
Hofstede’s additional dimensions
Long- and short-term orientation (aka ‘Confucian Dynamism’)
Short-term orientation: places low priority on status, tries to postpone
old age, seeks quick gratification of needs
Long-term orientation: values social order, long-range goals
Indulgence vs. restraint
Indulgence: societies that allow relatively free gratification of basic
and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun.
Restraint: societies that suppress gratification of needs and regulates
it by means of strict social norms.
Kluckhohns & Strodtbeck’s value orientations
Human nature orientation - different conceptions of evil, good and evil, good
• In Taoism, forces in people and nature: yang (good) and yin (evil) cycle
• U.S. Puritan roots held view that people intrinsically evil; today, seen more as perfectible
• Muslim cultures view people as having penchant for evil, needing rescue, restriction
Social institutions (religion, politics) perfect/manage/monitor individuals
Person/nature orientation - humans subject to or having dominion over nature
Subject to/yielding to nature: oneness with the world, fate
Cooperation/harmony with nature: associated with East Asians, life in harmony with nature
Control/master over nature: Western approach asserting nature can and should be mastered
Time orientation - value placed on past, present, future
Past-oriented cultures place significance on prior events; resistance to change
Present-oriented cultures value here-and-now; see future as vague, ambiguous
Future-oriented cultures look forward to improved condition: Tomorrow is ours to win.
Activity orientation Being- indulgence, living in the moment
Becoming - development, more spiritual than material
Doing - value accomplishments, rapid decisions/actions, expressive
Hall’s high-context &
low-context orientations
Context defined
The information that surrounds an event,
inextricably bound up with the meaning of the event
High-context versus low-context
Degree to which meaning comes from settings OR from words being
exchanged
High-context communication - tuned in to nonverbal; indirect, implicit;
information provided through inference, gestures, even silence; also
conveyed through status, background, affiliations
Low-context communication - inherent to less homogenous populations
lacking common experiences; the mass of information vested in
explicit code; direct, rapid, louder speech
Face and Facework
Face defined Self-image you want to project to other people
Facework defined Construction and communication of face
Priority in collectivist cultures where harmony (conflict
avoidance) valued
Influenced by cultural values
• In Japan, involves honor, appearance of propriety, presence, and
impact on others
• For Chinese, connected with social pride, dignity/honor, respect,
prestige, avoiding shame/disgrace/mistrust
GLOBE Study
Global Leadership and Organizational
Behavior Effectiveness
GLOBE is a multi-phase, multi-method project in
which investigators spanning the world are
examining the inter-relationships between societal
culture, organizational culture, and organizational
leadership
62 societies, 17000 middle managers, 951
organizations
GLOBE: Dimensions
Institutional collectivism: collective distribution of
resources & collective action
In-group collectivism: cohesiveness, loyalty, pride
Power distance
Uncertainty avoidance
Gender egalitarianism: minimizing gender inequality
Assertiveness
Humane orientation
Future orientation
Performance orientation
GLOBE: USA
Institutional collectivism: collective distribution of
resources & collective action
In-group collectivism: cohesiveness, loyalty, pride
Power distance
Uncertainty avoidance
Gender egalitarianism: minimizing gender inequality
Assertiveness
Humane orientation
Future orientation
Performance orientation
Individualism & Collectivism
Perhaps the most robust & useful dimension
Independence vs. interdependence
Refinements:
– Tightness (agreement on behavior) vs. complexity
– Vertical & horizontal dimensions
Hypothetical Distribution
of Individualism–Collectivism
Scores
How Should Culture Frameworks Be Used?
Be conscious of them
Avoid evaluation
Describe norms of a
group better than values
of particular people
First best guess
Modified with experience