Republic of the Philippines

POLA COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Brgy. Zone II, Pola, Oriental Mindoro

BACHELOR OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
Course: Sociology Module 2
BACHELOR OF
Date: April 11-15 2022 Instructor: Juan Miguel D. Sarabia,
SCIENCE IN
LPT
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

What is a culture?

Culture is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior and norms
found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs,
capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups. Humans acquire culture
through the learning processes of enculturation and socialization, which is shown by the
diversity of cultures across societies.

What does culture mean in sociology?

Sociology understands culture as the languages, customs, beliefs, rules, arts,

knowledge, and collective identities and memories developed by members of all social
groups that make their social environments meaningful.

What is your culture?

Culture is our way of life. It includes our values, beliefs, customs, languages and

traditions. Culture is reflected in our history, in our heritage and in how we express
ideas and creativity. Our culture measures our quality of life, our vitality and the health
of our society.

What is the importance of culture in sociology?

Because culture influences people's beliefs and behaviors, culture is a key

concept to the sociological perspective. Many sociologists are wary of biological
explanations of behavior, in part because these explanations implicitly support the
status quo and may be used to justify claims of biological inferiority.

Why are beliefs important to a culture?

The first, and perhaps most crucial, elements of culture we will discuss are its
values and beliefs. Values are a culture's standard for discerning what is good and just
in society. Values are deeply embedded and critical for transmitting and teaching
a culture's beliefs.
How does culture affects religious beliefs?

However, cultural influences do not just change the external “shape”

of religion. Cultural messages can create tension, conflict and confusion within individuals when
they run counter to religious beliefs and teachings, making it harder to integrate religion into
their lives.

What is difference between culture and tradition?

The main difference between culture and tradition is that traditions describe a

group's beliefs and behaviors that are passed down from one generation to
another. Culture describes the shared characteristics of the entire group, which has
been amassed throughout its history.

Types of Culture

1. Material Culture

An essential type of culture is Material culture that refers to the material or

physical objects and resources that is used by people to define their
perceptions and behaviour.It includes outlets, products and services, tools,
factories, offices, religious places like temple, mosque, church etc., and social
infrastructures like the education system, house and
health, economic infrastructures like energy capabilities, transportation etc.
and financial infrastructures like insurance, banking etc. and numerous other
things.

2. Non-material Culture

Another type of culture is the non-material culture that refers to non-

physical ideas that individuals have. It also refers to the intangible things
produced by culture or parts of a culture that you cannot hold, taste, feel or
touch. It includes language, morals, norms, rules, values and beliefs.
3. Corporate Culture

The culture that is prevalent in a workplace is referred to as corporate

culture. It includes the dressing sense of the workforce, the design of the
office, how employees are treated, the attitude of management, and how an
organization projects itself in front of its customers.
 4. Culture of Diversity

It refers to a place where individuals belonging to different gender, race,

origin and sexual orientation live. The diversity culture is prominent
because the Community calendar includes events and festivals belonging
to different races.
5. Popular Culture

This type of culture refers to the everyday activities of the individuals in

a place. It includes the best-selling books, top music on the chart etc.
6. Foreign Culture

When an individual travels to another country and comes across people

that speak, dress, interact, behave, eat differently from himself, it is
referred to as foreign culture.
Elements of Culture

1. Language

The first and foremost element of culture is language. It is the vehicle

that is used to transfer knowledge, ideas and information. It helps in direct
connection with people and permits a better understanding of any given
situation.
2. Symbols

Every culture has symbols that are used as a means of non-verbal

communication and even stand for motions and reactions
3. Norms

Another element of culture is norms because various culture differs in

their norms. It can be formal and informal. The formal norm is laws and
refers to the set standards of behavior which are most important to every
society. The informal norms are often known as customs and refer to the
standard of conduct which is not so rigid but still can influence a great deal
4. Values

It is the element value that determines the behavior of a person and

what he considers right or wrong
5. Customs

These are established practices, rules and traditions that are considered
appropriate in society.
6. Attitude

This element signifies the underlying belief of an individual and his

tendency to behave in a specific manner

7. Rituals

It is a set of activities with a specific meaning that occurs in a particular

circumstance.
8. Physical Artifacts

This is one of the critical elements of organizational culture. Each

organization is unique in terms of its culture that includes the use of
facilities, physical layout etc. It is created specifically to represent the
beliefs, values and meaning of the firm.
9. Unique metaphor and jargons

Business organizations with time, develop their unique metaphors and

jargons that are used explicitly by its employees.
10. Behavioral Norms

One of the essential elements of culture is behavioral norms. It is about

the nature of expectations that a company has from its employees and the
standards for their behavior and interaction with each other in the company
and customers of the company.
Characteristics of Culture

1. Culture is Abstract

It is not possible to see culture, but it can be glimpsed through human

behavior in a regular or patterned fashion. It exists in the habits and minds
of individuals and is often referred to as a specific way of thinking and
doing things.
2. Culture is Learned Behavior

It is a fact that most of our behavior is learned although there are many
things we pick up unconsciously. This is why the terms conscious and
unconscious learning is used to differentiate between the learning
processes.
3. Culture include values and attitude

It is a misconception that attitude, values and options of people are their

own. It is a fact that these things we pick up unconsciously as part of our
culture.
4. Culture is share

People shares different aspects of culture unequally.

5. Culture includes material
Human beings modify the form of an object and change it to suit
their needs, for instance, it cuts the tree and uses the wood to make
furniture for his comfort.
6. Culture is pervasive

It implies that culture touches cultural norms inspire all the aspects of
our lives as both emotional and relational actions to a great extent
7. Culture is Idealistic

It represents the norms and ideals of a group and includes social,

artistic and intellectual ideas which the members strive to uphold
 8. Culture is trans missive

An essential fact about culture is that it is passed from one generation to

the next and thus is called transmissive. With the help of language, imitation
and instruction, it becomes possible for this generation to understand the
intricacies of the culture from the earlier generation.
9. Cultured is transmitted

Culture is passed and learned from one to another person. In most cases,
it is handed down by the elders and even by contemporaries in some cases.
Much of the learning process is accidental or unintentional.
10. Culture varies society to society

The culture of every society is unique and will vary from another society.
It is a fact that cultural elements like beliefs, values, morals and traditions
are not uniform so will vary.
11. Culture is continually changing

Change is imminent even though in some cultures it is at a fast pace

whereas in others it is a slow process.
12. Culture takes the help language

Without the advantage of a language; it would have been a tad difficult

to pass on the culture from one to another. It is the language that creates a
common bond between members of a specific group.It acts as an
intermediary between past, present and future and helps to transmit the
learned knowledge to others.