Transcript Slide 1
Culture and Values
Frameworks Used to Characterize Cultures
Class Outline
• Mini debate on the implications of
cultural values in different economies
• Mini-lecture on Frameworks for
assessing dimensions of culture
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Hofstede
Bond
Trompenaars
Ronen & Shenkar
What is culture?
Umbrella term often used for differences in:
• etiquette (e.g. greetings)
• individual customs (e.g. routines for sleeping, bathing)
• ways of thinking
Definition: the way people understand their
world and make sense of it, a shared system of meanings.
• Culture is learned and imprinted (it is a collective
phenomenon). Cultural programming deals with both values
and practices.
• There are different layers of cultural programming: national
culture, professional culture, corporate culture.
Resolution
• Let it be resolved that distinct
Chinese values explain the
extraordinary growth rates of
China
Culture is Difficult to Study
Ethnic, religious, class, age and other
sources of heterogeneity
Individual variation within groups
Danger of ethnocentric stereotypes
Intra-cultural vs. cross-cultural behaviour
Evolution as circumstances change
“Measuring” Culture
Cultural differences can be inferred from data
about a collectivity of people:
Direct measurement through asking well designed
questions about people’s values or beliefs.
Data “clustering” methods
Matched samples can then be compared to
discover similarities and differences.
At the individual level we speak of cultural
attitudes and orientations (but these may not
be representative of one’s culture).
Cultural Classifications
Hofstede
Bond
Trompenaars
By and large, these classifications show
similar dimensions and classify countries in
the same clusters.
Ronen and Shenkar – “Country Clusters”
based on multiple studies
Hofstede
A study of IBM employees in 50 countries.
Studying values (“the broad tendencies to
prefer certain states over others”
Four dimensions
power distance
uncertainty avoidance
individualism/collectivism
femininity/masculinity
Power Distance
• The extent to which less powerful members
of institutions and organizations accept that
power is distributed unequally.
• A bottom-up view of power differences
• Large: Mexico, South Korea, India
• Small: U.S.
Uncertainty Avoidance
• The extent to which members are
intolerant of ambiguity and rely on
formal rules
• A proxy for risk propensity and tolerance
• High (i.e. risk averse): Japan, Greece
• Low (i.e. risk taking): U.S., Hong-Kong
Individualism/Collectivism
• The tendency of people to look after themselves
and their immediate family versus belonging to
groups or collectives and looking after each other
in exchange for loyalty
• There is an association between collectivism
and wealth per capita
• High individualism: U.S.
• High collectivism: China, Brazil, Venezuela
Applications of PD & UA
• Small PD, Weak UA
• Examples: USA, UK
• Less formal rules, less “unnecessary layers of hierarchy”.
Control and coordination through mutual adjustment of people
through informal coordination
• Small PD, Strong UA
• Examples: Israel, Austria, Germany
• Clearly defined rules and procedures without imposing strong
hierarchy
• Large PD, Strong UA
• Examples: Japan, Korea, Portugal, Mexico
• Pyramids, clear authority lines
• Large Power Distance, Weak UA
• Examples: Singapore, Hong Kong
• Family structure. Allocation of duties, strong patriarch
Masculinity/Feminity
• Values concerning work goals and
assertiveness (masculinity) as opposed
to personal goals (getting along, having
friendly atmosphere) and nurturance
(femininity).
• A proxy for assertiveness
• High: Brazil, Chile, Sweden
• Low: Japan, Mexico
Bond: The Chinese Connection
• Confucian Dynamism
Important:
persistence
ordering relationship by status and observing this order
thrift
having a sense of shame (sensitivity to social contacts)
Less important:
personal steadiness and stability
protecting your face
respect for tradition
reciprocation of greetings, favors and gifts.
Trompenaars
• Individualism versus collectivism
• Universalism versus particularism
• Neutral versus affective relationships
• Specific versus diffuse relationships
• Achievement versus ascription
Universalism/Particularism
• Universalism is the belief that ideas and
practices can be applied everywhere
without modification.
• Universalistic: Germany, U.K.
• Particularism is the belief that
circumstances dictate how ideas and
practices should be applied.
• Particularistic: China, Hong-Kong, Venezuela
Neutral vs. Affective
• A neutral culture is one where emotions
are held in check (repressed)
• Neutral: Japan, U.K.
• An affective country is one in which
emotions are openly and naturally
expressed
• Affective: Mexico, Netherlands, Switzerland
Specific Vs. Diffuse
• Public versus private spaces
• In specific cultures people tend to have a larger public
area and small private area. They prefer to keep private
life separate.
• Highly mobile; Separate work and private life
• Direct, open
• “To the point” – may appear abrasive
• In diffuse cultures the private space is usually larger
while the public area is smaller and more guarded.
People come across as cool initially the private space is
more accessible.
• Low mobility; Work and private life closely linked
• Indirect, close and introvert
• Flexibility is very important
Achievement vs. Ascription
• Achievement: people are accorded
status based on how well they perform
their functions.
• Achievement: U.K., Argentina
• An ascription culture in one in which
status is attributed based on who or
what a person is.
• Ascription: China
Questions for Discussion
• What are the similarities and differences
between the dimensions of uncertainty
avoidance and universalism/particularism?
• What are the similarities and differences
between masculinity/feminity and
neutral/affective?
• What are the similarities and differences
between power distance and
achievement/ascription?