Copyright 2016 pearson education inc

Learning Objectives

1. Explain culture and the need for cultural knowledge.

2. Summarize the cultural importance of values and behavior.

3. Describe the roles of social structure and education in culture.

4. Outline how the major world religions can influence business.

5. Explain the importance of personal communication to international business.

6. Describe how firms and culture interact in the global workplace.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-1

Hold the Pork, Please!

qGermany-based Haribo (www.haribo.com)

qCultural Challenge and Blunders: qPork-based product: off-limits to

Muslims and Jews qNot meeting the needs of a globally

dispersed subculture qPotentially worth $2 billion annually qPrinting on packages: Backward, but

Hebrew is read from right to left

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-2

http://www.haribo.com/
What Is Culture? National Culture

qCulture: Set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions held by a specific group of people

qNation-states support and promote the concept of national culture qBuilding museums and monuments to preserve the legacies of

important events and people.

qNation-states intervene in business to preserve treasures of national culture qRegulate culturally sensitive sectors of the economy

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-3

What Is Culture? Subcultures

qSubculture: a group of people who share a unique way of life within a larger, dominant culture

qA subculture can differ from the dominant culture in language, race, lifestyle, values, attitudes, or other characteristics

qSubcultures sometimes exist across national borders

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-4

What Is Culture? Physical Environment

qLand features affect personal communication in a culture.

qPhysical environment affects consumers’ product needs.

qClimate can play a role in determining work habits.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-5

What Is Culture? Need for Cultural Knowledge

qA visual depiction of culture would resemble an iceberg.

qAvoiding Ethnocentricity: qEthnocentricity is the belief that one’s own ethnic group or

culture is superior to that of others. qEthnocentricity can seriously undermine international

business projects.

qDeveloping Cultural Literacy: qCultural literacy: detailed knowledge about a culture that

enables a person to work happily and effectively within it.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-6

Values and Behavior

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-7

Figure 2.1 Components of Culture

Values and Behavior Values

qValues: Ideas, beliefs, and customs to which people are emotionally attached.

qValues include concepts such as honesty, freedom, and responsibility.

qValues are important to business because they affect a people’s work ethic and desire for material possessions.

qThe influx of values from other cultures can be fiercely resisted.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-8

Values and Behavior Attitudes

qAttitudes reflect a people’s underlying values.

qAttitudes are positive or negative evaluations, feelings, and tendencies that individuals harbor toward objects or concepts.

qAttitudes are learned from role models, including parents, teachers, and religious leaders.

qAttitudes differ from one country to another because they are formed within a cultural context.

qA “European” attitude

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-9

Values and Behavior Aesthetics

qAesthetics: what a culture considers “good taste” in the arts, the imagery evoked by certain expressions, and the symbolism of certain colors.

qAesthetics includes the art, images, symbols, colors, and so on.

qAesthetics are important when a company does business in another culture.

qThe importance of aesthetics is just as great when going international using the Internet.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-10

Values and Behavior Appropriate Behavior

qManners: Appropriate ways of behaving, speaking, and dressing in a culture are called manners.

qCustoms: Habits or ways of behaving in specific circumstances that are passed down through generations in a culture.

qFolk Custom: Behavior, often dating back several generations, that is practiced by a homogeneous group of people.

qPopular Custom: Behavior shared by a heterogeneous group or by several groups.

qGift Giving Customs qProper type of gift varies qLegal and ethical rules

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-11

Social Structure

Social Group Associations

• Collection of two or more people who identify and interact with each other

• Family: Nuclear vs. Extended • Gender

Social Status • Positions within the structure• Social Stratification

Social Mobility

• Ease with which individuals can move up or down a culture’s “social ladder”

• Caste System • Class System

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-12

Education

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-13

Education The “Brain Drain” Phenomenon

Brain Drain

Departure of highly educated people from one profession, geographic region, or nation to another

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-14

Religion Christianity

qChristianity was born in Palestine around 2,000 years ago.

qChristianity boasts more than 300 denominations: qMost Christians belong to the Roman Catholic, Protestant, or

Eastern Orthodox churches.

qWith 2 billion followers, Christianity is the world’s single largest religion.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-15

Religion Christianity (Cont.)

qThe Roman Catholic qRefrain from placing material possessions above God and

others qProtestants

qSalvation comes from faith in God qHard work gives glory to God—a tenet known widely as

the “Protestant work ethic” qDevelopment of capitalism and free enterprise in

nineteenth-century Europe qChristian organizations sometimes get involved in social

causes that affect business policy. Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-16

Religion Islam

qWith 1.3 billion adherents, Islam is the world’s second-largest religion.

qIslam thrives in north Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan, and some Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia.

qMuslim concentrations are also found in most European and U.S. cities.

qThe prophet Muhammad founded Islam around A.D. 600 in Mecca.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-17

Religion Islam (Cont.)

qIslam means “submission to Allah,” and Muslim means “one who submits to Allah.”

qIslam revolves around the “five pillars”: 1. Reciting the shahada (profession of faith) 2. Giving to the poor 3. Praying five times daily 4. Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan 5. Making the hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca

qReligion strongly affects the kinds of goods and services acceptable to Muslim consumers.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-18

Religion Hinduism

qHinduism formed around 4,000 years ago in present-day India.

qMore than 90 percent of Hinduism’s 900 million adherents live India.

qIt is also the majority religion of Nepal and a secondary religion in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.

qConsidered by some to be a way of life rather than a religion.

qHinduism recalls no founder and recognizes no central authority or spiritual leader.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-19

Religion Hinduism (Cont.)

qHindus believe in reincarnation—the rebirth of the human soul at the time of death. qHighest goal of life is moksha qMoksha: escaping from the cycle of reincarnation and entering

a state of eternal happiness called nirvana

qHindus tend to disdain materialism.

qStrict Hindus do not eat or willfully harm any living creature because it may be a reincarnated human soul.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-20

Religion Buddhism

qBuddhism was founded about 2,600 years ago in India.

qBuddhism has around 380 million followers, mostly in China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand.

qUnlike Hinduism, Buddhism rejects the caste system of Indian society.

qLike Hinduism, Buddhism promotes a life centered on spiritual rather than worldly matters.

qIn a formal ceremony, Buddhists take refuge in the “three jewels”: qBuddha, Dharma, and Sangha

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-21

Religion Buddhism (Cont.)

qThey seek nirvana through qCharity qModesty qCompassion for others qRestraint from violence qGeneral self-control

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-22

Religion Confucianism

qConfucius began teaching his ideas in China nearly 2,500 years ago.

qChina is home to most of Confucianism’s 225 million followers.

qConfucian thought is also ingrained in the cultures of Japan, South Korea, and nations with large numbers of ethnic Chinese.

qSouth Korean business practice reflects Confucian thought in its organizational structure.

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-23

Religion Judaism

qMore than 3,000 years old, Judaism was the first religion to preach belief in a single God.

qJudaism has roughly 18 million followers worldwide.

qImportant days in the Jewish faith: qSabbath, Rosh Ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, and

Hanukkah

qMarketers must take into account foods that are banned among strict Jews.

Chapter 2-24

Religion Shinto

qShinto (meaning “way of the gods”) arose as the native religion of the Japanese.

qShinto can claim only about 4 million strict adherents in Japan.

qShinto teaches sincere and ethical behavior, loyalty and respect toward others, and enjoyment of life.

qShinto beliefs are reflected in the workplace.

Chapter 2-25

Personal Communication

qCommunication: System of conveying thoughts, feelings, knowledge, and information through speech, writing, and actions

qForms of Communication: qSpoken and Written Language

qImplications for managers qLanguage blunders qLingua franca

qCulture’s Body Language Chapter 2-26

Language Blunders

qAn English-language sign in a Moscow hotel read, “You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian composers, artists, and writers are buried daily except Thursday.”

qA sign for English-speaking guests in a Tokyo hotel read, “You are respectfully requested to take advantage of the chambermaids.”

qAn airline ticket office in Copenhagen read in English, “We take your bags and send them in all directions.”

qA Japanese knife manufacturer labeled its exports to the United States with “Caution: Blade extremely sharp! Keep out of children.”

qBraniff Airlines’ English-language slogan “Fly in Leather” was translated into “Fly Naked” in Spanish

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-27

Culture in the Global Workplace

Perception of Time

View of Work

Material Culture

Cultural Change

Cultural Trait

Cultural Diffusion

Cultural Imperialism

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-28

Culture in the Global Workplace Studying Culture in the Workplace

Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Framework

qRelation to nature

qTime orientation

qTrust and control

qMaterial or spiritual

qResponsibility to others

qView of personal space

Hofstede Framework

qIndividualism versus collectivism

qPower distance qUncertainty avoidance qMasculinity vs. femininity qLong-term orientation qIndulgence versus restraint

Copyright © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 2-29