The Culture

environment
Learning Objectives:
1. Define culture and identify the four
characteristics of culture that companies
doing business abroad need to
recognize.
2. Name several elements of culture.
3. Distinguish among the cultural
dimensions proposed by Hofstede and
Trompenaars.
4. Describe the cultural aspects of doing
business in various countries, including
East Asian Countries.
 WHAT IS
culture
culture
“Learned behavior; a way of life for one group of people living in a single,
related, and independent community”.

four characteristics of culture:

First, culture is not inherited.
Second, it is nearly impossible to change an entire country’s culture; culture is relatively
static and not easily modified.
Third, it is the responsibility of the global firm to ascertain the level of importance of
various aspects of culture in the foreign markets it serves and recognize these aspects
when doing business overseas.
Fourth, companies’ operation, chiefly marketing and management, need to recognize
and adjust to the cultural environment existing in the countries the global company
serves.

Acculturation is the term used to describe the ability of a firm to adjust

to a culture different from its own.
Elements of culture
 Language
- is important to managers when
evaluating employees, communicating
on an intra-company basis with overseas
divisions, and helping to interpret the
circumstances in which language occurs.
- is also crucial when providing
access to local markets through
advertising.
Verbal Communication
– a message’s actual contents
Non-verbal
Communication
– tone of voice, gestures, eye
contact, body positions, facial
expression and other body
languages that accompanies
verbal communication
 Religion
- is a powerful cultural aspect that must be recognized as companies
manage their overseas operations and market their products in foreign
cultures.

Companies marketing food

Different religions observe products overseas must be
Different religions vary on
different holidays. aware of religious
weekends and works
Muslim - Ramadan differences.
hours:
Jews - Purim, Passover, Jews & Muslim - prohibited
Kuwait - weekends,
Shavuot, the Day of from eating pork.
Thursday, and Friday
Atonement, and Hanukkha Islam - prohibits the drinking
of alcoholic beverages.
 VALUES AND
ATTITUDES
Values are basic beliefs or
philosophies that are pervasive in
a society.
Attitudes reflect the
predispositions and feelings that
individuals hold toward various
aspects of their work, colleagues,
and the organization itself.
manners and
customs
- The way society does
- It affect both the
management and marketing
operations of a company.
Discussion Question:
In general, is gift giving appropriate?
 material elements
Material culture is often a direct result of technology.
Demonstrated by economic infrastructure – transportation,
energy and communication
Social Infrastructure – housing, medical services and
educational institutions
Financial Infrastructure – banks
Marketing infrastructure - marketing research and advertising
forms
 AESTHETICS

Aesthetics refer to the ideas in a

culture concerning beauty and good
taste as expressed in the arts

Color
Form
Music
 EDUCATION

The level of education

held by people in foreign
countries is a major in
explaining growth.
 SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Refer to the way people relate to one another within group
settings in a society.
• Examples: Families, churches, workplaces and friends

Reference groups -groups

Social stratification -
that are important to you
groups at the top of the
as sociologists stated. It
social pyramid exert a
can be those people are
great deal of control over
already a member or those
others at lower levels of
to which people aspire to
the pyramid.
belong.
Clustering Countries
and Regions by
culture
Hofstede’s Research
CULTURAL DIMENSIONS DEFINITIONS EXAMPLES

Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions Low: U.S. and Canada
POWER DISTANCE and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed
unequally. High: Japan and Singapore

Individualistic: U.S., Australia, and

Individualism describes cultures in which the ties between individuals are loose.
Great Britain
INDIVIDUALISM AND COLLECTIVISM
Collectivism describes cultures in which people are integrated into strong,
Collectivistic: Singapore, Hong
cohesive groups that protect individuals in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.
Kong, and Mexico

Masculinity: Japan, Austria, and

Masculinity pertains to cultures in which social gender roles are clearly distinct. Italy
MASCULINITY - FEMININITY
Femininity describes cultures in which social gender roles overlap. Femininity: Sweden, Norway, and
Netherlands

Low: Singapore, Jamaica, and

Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel Denmark
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE (UAI)
threatened by uncertain or unknown situations.
High: Greece, Portugal, and Japan

Long-term: China and Japan

Confucian dynamism denotes the time orientation of a culture, defined as a
CONFUCIAN DYNAMISM
continuum with long-term and short-term orientations as its two poles.
Short-term: U.S, and Canada
The GLOBE Project
Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Project

Basic Cultural Dimensions from the GLOBE project

1. Power distance - How equally should power be distributed?

2. Uncertainty avoidance - How much should social norms and rules reduce uncertainty and
unpredictability?
3. Institutional collectivism • How much should loyalty to the social unit override individual interests?
4. In-group collectivism - How strong should one's loyalty be to family or organization?
5. Gender egalitarianism - How much should gender discrimination and role inequalities be
minimized?
6. Assertiveness - How confrontational and dominant should one be in social relationships?
7. Future orientation - How much should one delay gratification by planning and saving for the future?
8. Performance orientation - How much should individuals be rewarded for improvement and
excellence?
9. Humane orientation • How much should individuals be rewarded for being kind, fair, friendly, and
generous?
 CLUSTER COUNTRIES ATTRIBUTES

Canada, USA, Australia, Ireland, England, Competitive and results-oriented; places less emphasis on family and close
ANGLO South Africa, New Zealand kinship ties.

Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, South Results driven and focused on groups working together, with strong loyalty to
CONFUCIAN ASIA Korea, Japan family bonds.

EASTERN Greece, Hungary Albania, Slovenia, Poland, Low on performance orientation, with strong support for co-worker and gender
EUROPE Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan equality.

GERMANIC Values competition; more results-oriented than people-oriented; plans and

Austria, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany
EUROPE invests in the future, being considered individualistic in this respect.

Ecuador, El Salvador, Columbia, Bolivia,

LATIN AMERICA Brazil, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, Loyal and devoted to family, but less focused on performance and institutions.
Venezuela, Mexico

Israel, Italy, Switzerland, ( French-speaking),

LATIN EUROPE Spain, Portugal, France
Values individual autonomy and place less emphasis on societal goals.
Cultural
Dimensions of
conducting business
in Individual
Countries
 is it important to
have a personal
relationship before
conducting a
business?
 Cultural Dimensions of
conducting business in JAPAN
Japanese society is strongly hierarchical
Upon meeting a Japanese executive, a
slight bow and handshake are
appropriate.
Business card etiquette is important
Japanese business has a group orientation,
rather than an individualistic one.
Personal relationships are important in
order to create profitable business
relations.
Cultural Dimensions of conducting
business in KOREA
Korean culture is profoundly influenced by Confucian principles.
Maintaining their “kibun” (face, honor, personal dignity) is
generally highly important for Koreans.
Respect for age and status are very important in Korean culture
Rocks, tress, clouds and skies are important elements in Korean
culture
"Inwha" korean term for harmony among unequal or "harmony
in diversity."
"Yongo" is a Korean term that translates to "connection" or
"relationship."
A personal relationship needs to occur before business
matters can be discussed with foreigners.
Greetings
Cultural Dimensions of conducting
business in CHINA
cultural aspect of doing business in China is
called “Guan Xi”
Guan Xi means "networks" or "connections
refers to the relationship between subordinates
and superiors.
open doors for new facilitate deals.

Person of Iow rank maybe powerful and

influential due to guan xi relationships with
superiors. Therefore foreigners who wants to
conduct business in China may need to seek out
these lower-level persons.
 Thank you
for listening!