1. Chapter
3
Differences in
Culture

2. 3-2
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.”

McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
Hofstede, Namenwirth and Weber
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

3. 3-3
Different components of culture

Values and Norms

Folkways and mores
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

4. 3-4
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
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

5. 3-5
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
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

6. 3-6
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
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

7. 3-7
Determinants of culture
Fig: 3.1






Social structure
Religion
Language
Education
Economic philosophy
Political philosophy
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

8. 3-8
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
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

9. 3-9
Religious and ethical systems





Christianity
 Economic implications
Hinduism
 Economic implications
Islam
 Economic implications
Buddhism
 Economic implications
Confucianism
 Economic implications
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

10. 3-10
Language


Fig: 3.2
Spoken
 Verbal cues
 Language structures
perception of world
Unspoken
 Body language
 Personal space
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

11. 3-11
Education

Education can be a source of competitive
advantage

Example
 India
 Malaysia
 Singapore
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

12. 3-12
Culture and the workplace

Study on the relationship between culture and the
workplace by Geert Hofstede 1967-73


40 countries
100,000 individuals
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

13. 3-13
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions

Four dimensions of culture




Power distance
Individualism versus collectivism
Uncertainty avoidance
Masculinity versus femininity
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

14. 3-14
Power distance

Cultures are ranked high or low on this
dimensions based on the particular society’s
ability to deal with inequalities
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

15. 3-15
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
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

16. 3-16
Uncertainty avoidance

This dimension measures the extent to which
a culture socializes its members into
accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating
uncertainty
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

17. 3-17
Masculinity versus femininity

This dimension looks at the relationship
between gender and work roles
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

18. 3-18
Work related values for twenty countries
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

19. 3-19
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)
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

20. 3-20
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
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

21. 3-21
Managerial implications



Cross cultural literacy
Culture and competitive advantage
Culture and business ethics
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
International Business, 5/e
© 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved.