Cross Cultural Communication Chapter 3 The Meaning of Culture

Chapter 3 CCC 1

Learning Outcomes

   

Understanding the Concept of Culture Layers of Culture Stereotyping Cultural orientations

Chapter 3 CCC 2

Layers of Cultures

Chapter 3 CCC 3

Layers of Cultures



The Outer layer : explicit products

 An individual ’ s first experience of a new culture is the less esoteric, more concrete factors.

    This level consists of explicit culture Language, food, buildings, houses, monuments, agriculture, shrines, markets, fashion, art etc.

These are the symbols of deeper level of culture Prejudices mostly start on this symbolic and observable level.

Chapter 3 CCC 4

Layers of Cultures

 The Middle layer –   Norms and Values

Norms are the mutual sense a group has of what is ‘ right ’ or ‘ wrong ’

 Norm can develop on a formal level as written laws, and on an informal level as social control

Values determine the definition of ‘ good ’ or ‘ bad ’

     A value serves as a criterion to determine a choice from existing alternatives Value is the concept an individual or group has regarding the desirable.

A culture is relatively stable when the norms reflect the values of the group Norms give us a feeling of ‘ this is how I normally should behave ’ Values give us a feeling of ‘ this is how I aspire or desire to behave ’ Chapter 3 CCC 5

Layers of Cultures

  The Core : assumptions about existence implicit –      survival and fitness (man-made) Most basic value people strive for is survival.

The way people fit themselves in their lives People find ways to deal most effectively with their environments, given their available resources “ Culture ” comes from the same root as verb “ to cultivate ” .

From the fundamental relationship with the (natural) environment man, and after man the community takes the core meaning of life.

Chapter 3 CCC 6

Culture directs our action

    Culture is beneath awareness and it forms the roots of action.

Culture is man-made, confirmed by others, conventionalized and passed on for younger people or newcomers to learn.

“ Culture is the means by which people communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about attitudes towards life. Culture is the fabric of meaning in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and guide their action ” .

 Clifford Geertz Over time, the habitual interactions with communities take on familiar forms and structures – called as the organization of meaning  Culture can be distinguished from each other by the differences in shared meanings they expect and attribute to their environment.

Chapter 3 CCC 7

Stereotyping

    Using extreme and exaggerated forms of behavior is stereotyping It is the result of registering what surprises us rather than what is familiar It is a very limited view of the average behavior in a certain environment It exaggerates and caricatures the culture observed and the observer Chapter 3 CCC 8

Stereotyping

   Ignores the fact that individuals in the same culture do not necessarily behave according to the cultural norm.

People often equate something different with something wrong – ‘ their way is clearly different from ours, so it cannot be right ’ Stereotyping ignores the fact that individuals in the same culture do not necessarily behave according to the cultural norm. Individual personality mediates in each cultural system.

Chapter 3 CCC 9

Stereotyping

Chapter 3 CCC 10

Solutions to common problems and dilemmas

 According to F. Kluckhohn & F.L. Strodtbeck the five basic problems mankind faces are

:

     What is the relationship of individual to others? (relational

orientation)

what is the temporal focus of human life? (time orientation) What is the modality of human activity? (activity orientation) What is the human being ’ s relation to nature? (man-nature

orientation)

What is the character of innate human nature (human-nature

orientation)

Chapter 3 CCC 11

Various solutions to common problems

   In short, Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck argue that mankind is confronted with universally shared problems emerging from relationships with fello beings, time, activities and nature Different cultures choose different solutions to solve these problems effectively The solutions depend on the meaning given by people in life in general, and to their fellows, time and nature in particular.

Chapter 3 CCC 12