Cross-Cultural Business PDF

Chapter 3: Cross-Cultural Business What Is Culture? Culture is the set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions held by a specific group of people. Cross Cultural Literacy Avoiding Ethnocentricity, Developing Cross-Cultural Literacy Cross-cultural literacy...

Chapter 3: Cross-Cultural Business What Is Culture? Culture is the set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions held by a specific group of people. Cross Cultural Literacy Avoiding Ethnocentricity, Developing Cross-Cultural Literacy Cross-cultural literacy brings a company closer to customer needs and improves competitiveness. National Culture, Subcultures, Physical Environment, Material Culture Values, Attitudes, and Behavior Values. Values are ideas, beliefs and customs to which people are emotionally attached. Attitudes. Attitudes are positive or negative evaluations, feelings, and tendencies that individuals harbor toward objects or concepts. Aesthetics. Aesthetics is what a culture considers to be in “good taste” in the arts, the imagery evoked by certain expressions, and the symbolism of colors. Behaviors: Manners, Customs Social Structure and Education Social Group Associations: Types of Groups, Family (nuclear vs extended) Collectivism and Individualism: extent to which a culture emphasizes the individual versus the group. Social Status: Social stratification is the process of ranking people into social layers, or classes. Social Mobility. Social mobility is the ease with which individuals can move up or down a culture’s “social ladder.” Caste System, Class System. Education: Education passes on traditions, customs, and values. Religion – Human values often originate in religious beliefs. Different religions take different views of work, savings, and material goods. Beliefs can influence competitiveness, economic development, and business strategies. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Confucianism Personal Communication Spoken, Written Language Implications for Managers – Different cultures communicate differently Body Language Culture in the Global Workplace Perception of Time, View of Work Cultural Change: When Companies Change Cultures, and When Cultures Change Companies. Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Framework Hofstede Framework - psychologist Geert Hofstede developed six dimensions for examining cultures.