CUL1UkAL

DIIILkLNCLS
resenLed by
Anura[ rasad
ManlLa !lndal
ShruLl Mallk
SumlL
JhaL ls CulLure?
lL has been derlved from Lhe LaLln word
nfwhlch ls relaLed Lo culL or worshlp
CulLure ls an acqulred knowledge LhaL people
use Lo lnLerpreL experlence and generaLe
soclal behavlor
CulLure as a sysLem of values and norms LhaL
are shared among a group of people and LhaL
when Laken LogeLher consLlLuLe a deslgn for
llvlng
values are absLracL ldeas abouL whaL a group
belleves Lo be good rlghL and deslrable
norms are Lhe soclal rules and guldellnes LhaL
prescrlbe approprlaLe behavlor ln parLlcular
slLuaLlons
SocleLy refers Lo a group of people who share a
common seL of values and norms
Ialues And norms
Ialues provlde Lhe conLexL wlLhln whlch a
socleLy's norms are esLabllshed and [usLlfled and
form Lhe bedrock of a culLure
norms lnclude folkways (Lhe rouLlne
convenLlons of everyday llfe) and mores (norms
LhaL are seen as cenLral Lo Lhe funcLlonlng of a
socleLy and Lo lLs soclal llfe)
CulLure SocleLy And 1he naLlon
sLaLe
1here ls noL a sLrlcL oneLoone relaLlonshlp
beLween a socleLy and a naLlon sLaLe
naLlonsLaLes are pollLlcal creaLlons LhaL can
conLaln one or more culLures
Slmllarly a culLure can embrace several naLlons
eLermlnanLs of culLure
SCClAL S18uC1u8L
lL refers Lo lLs baslc soclal organlzaLlon
1wo dlmenslons are parLlcularly lmporLanL
1
sL
ls Lhe degree Lo whlch Lhe baslc unlL ls Lhe lndlvldual as
opposed Lo group
2
nd
ls Lhe dlmenslon Lo whlch a socleLy ls sLraLlfled lnLo classes or
casLes
lnlIluALS An C8CuS
1he value sysLem of many wesLern socleLles emphaslze lndlvldual
achlevemenLs 8eneflL of Lhls ls hlgh level of enLrepreneurshlp
acLlvlLy ln uSA hlgh managerlal moblllLy Lhls approach has many
dlfflculLy llke Lo bulld up Leams wlLhln organlzaLlon Lo perform
collecLlve Lasks
ln some socleLy llke !apan soclal sLaLus of an lndlvldual ls
deLermlned as much by Lhe sLandlng of Lhe group Lo whlch he or
she belongs
SCClAL S18A1lllCA1lCn
1hese sLraLa are deflned on Lhe basls of characLerlsLlc such as
famlly background occupaLlon and lncome
SCClAL MC8lLl1?
CAS1 S?S1LM
lL varles from socleLy Lo socleLy 1he mosL rlgld sysLem of Lhls ls casL sysLem
ofLen a casLe poslLlon carrles wlLh lL a speclflc occupaLlon Jhlle soclal moblllLy
ls noL allowed ln Lhls
CLASS S?S1LM
ln Lhls soclal moblllLy ls posslble
SlCnlllCAnCL
lL ls slgnlflcanL lf lL affecLs Lhe operaLlon of buslness organlzaLlon
CLASS CCnSClCuSnLSS when people Lend Lo percleve Lhemselves
ln Lerm of Lhelr class background
8LLlClCuS An L1PlCAL S?S1LMS
8LLlClCn ls a sysLem of shared bellefs and rlLuals LhaL are
concerned wlLh Lhe realm of Lhe sacred Jhlle L1PlCAL sysLem
refers Lo a seL of moral prlnclples or values LhaL are used Lo gulde
and shape Lhe behavlor
1here are Lhousand of rellglons ln Lhe world Loday ln Lerms of
addeherenL 4 domlnaLes ChrlsLlanlLy lslam Plndulsm and
8uddhlsm
kLLIGICNS CnAkAC1LkS1ICS LCCNCMIC IMLICA1ICN
CP8lS1lAnl1?
ls Lhe mosL wldely pracLlced ln Lhe world approx
20 of Lhe world people ldenLlfled as ChrlsLlans
IasL ma[orlLy llves ln Lurope and Amerlca
2 ma[or ChrlsLlan organlzaLlonLhe 8oman
CaLhollc church and Lhe CrLhodox church
Accordlng Lo Jeber Lhere was a
relaLlonshlp beLween
roLesLanLlsm and emergence of
caplLallsm
1here ls clear susLalned
enLrepreneurlal acLlvlLy and
economlc growLh ln such naLlons
lSLAM
wlLh nearly 1 bllllon adherenL lL ls Lhe 2
nd
largesL
of Lhe world's ma[or rellglon
Accordlng Lo Lhem worldly galn and Lemporal
power are an llluslon
koran esLabllshes some expllclL
economlc prlnclples
Musllm counLrles are llkely Lo be
recelpL Lo lnLernaLlonal buslness as
long as Lhose buslness behave ln a
conslsLenL manner
PlnuSlM
1here abouL 730 mllllon adherenL mosL of whom
are on Lhe lndlan subconLlnenL
1hey belleve ln karma dharma nlrvana
Accordlng Lo Jeber Plndulsm do
noL encourage Lhe klnd of
enLrepreneur acLlvlLy ln pursulL of
wealLh creaLlon
CasL sysLem ls Lhe mosL llmlLlng
facLor ln dolng buslness
UDDnISM Was founded by Gautama
udh |n the 6
th
century
It has 3S0 m||||on fo||owers
most of wh|ch are found |n
centra| And south east As|a
un||ke n|ndu|sm the
|ack of support for
the caste system and
extreme behav|or
suggest that they
may represent a
more fert||e ground
for entrepreneur|a|
act|v|ty
LAnCuACL
Means boLh spoken and unspoken form of
communlcaLlon
SCkLn LAnCuACL
unspoken language
8efers Lo non verbal communlcaLlon llke nonverbal cues ralslng of
eyebrows personal space eLc
LuCA1lCn
formal educaLlon plays a key role
from an lnLernaLlonal buslness perspecLlve one lmporLanL aspecL of
educaLlon ls lLs role as a deLermlnanL of naLlonal compeLlLlve
advanLage
1he avallablllLy of a pool of skllled and educaLed workers seems Lo
be ma[or deLermlnanL of economlc growLh
CulLure and Lhe workplace
Power distance focuses on how a society deals with the fact
that people are unequal in physical and intellectual
capabilities
ndividualism versus collectivism focuses on the relationship
between the individual and his or her fellows
Uncertainty avoidance measures the extent to which
different cultures socialize their members into accepting
ambiguous situations and tolerating ambiguity
Masculinity versus femininity looks at the relationship
between gender and work roles
CharacLerlsLlcs
Learned lL ls acqulred by learnlng or experlence
Shared noL speclflc Lo slngle lndlvlduals
1rans generaLlonal passed down from one
generaLlon Lo nexL
Symbollc based on human capaclLy Lo symbollze
aLLerned lL ls sLrucLured le change ln one parL
wlll affecL Lhe oLher
AdapLlve
Comparlson beLween Lhe
culLure of Chlna and lndla
8uslness MeeLlngs
lL ls lmporLanL Lo show respecL Lo Lhose Lo whom
respecL ls due Lhls ls one of Lhe ways ln whlch you can
show yourself Lo be honourable and ln Lurn worLhy of
respecL
8uslness cards are always exchanged on flrsL meeLlng a
new conLacL Cards are held ln boLh hands when
exchanglng and Lhen scruLlnlsed ln deLall lL ls besL Lo
have your card prlnLed ln Chlnese on Lhe reverse and
always offer lL Chlneseslde up
Pandshaklng ls Lhe norm buL a Chlnese handshake wlll
Lend Lo be llghL and llngerlng As lL ls consldered
lmpollLe Lo look people sLralghL ln Lhe eye lL ls
cusLomary Lo look down lowerlng Lhe eyes as a mark
of respecL
lL ls common Lo be lnvolved ln a serles of
meeLlngs raLher Lhan one blg meeLlng aL
whlch all ma[or lssues are dlsclosed and
assessed MeeLlngs are abouL bulldlng
relaLlonshlps and exchanglng lnformaLlon lL
ls rare for a declslon Lo be made wlLhln Lhe
meeLlng
ClfL glvlng ls endemlc Lo Chlnese culLure and
has been for Lhousands of years Avold
expenslve glfLs as Lhls could be mlsLaken for
brlbery and always wrap Lhe glfL
1eams work
8elleve ln hlgh Leam work
Cne of Lhe downsldes of Lhls sLrong group
orlenLaLlon ls a percelved lack of lndlvldual
lnlLlaLlve
SLandlng ouL from Lhe crowd can be vlewed as
very negaLlve and resulL ln personal
dlfflculLles
CommunlcaLlon sLyle
Saylng no causes boLh embarrassmenL and loss of face
and lL ls Lherefore beLLer Lo agree wlLh Lhlngs ln a less
Lhan dlrecL manner
lL ls also dlfflculL Lo dellver bad news and Lhls ls ofLen
done Lhrough Lhe use of an lnLermedlary who can
sofLen Lhe blow and Lry Lo preserve as much good wlll
wlLhln Lhe relaLlonshlp as posslble
1he Chlnese use a very llmlLed amounL of vlsual body
language Lack of overL body language does noL mean
LhaL Lhe Chlnese do noL show Lhelr reacLlons
Jomen ln work
Cfflclally women have Lhe same rlghLs as men
ln Lhe workplace and Lhe parLy has promoLed
Lhls sense of equallLy over Lhe pasL LhlrLy
years or so
lorelgn buslnesswomen wlll be LreaLed wlLh
greaL respecL and courLesy
8uslness MeeLlngs
MeeLlng sLyles wlll be heavlly dependenL upon Lhe Lype
of organlsaLlon Many of Lhe successful hlLech
lndusLrles are acLlvely pursulng wesLernsLyle buslness
meLhodology and Lhls wlll resulL ln meeLlngs followlng
famlllar paLLerns wlLh agendas a chalrperson and
reasonable Llme keeplng More LradlLlonal lndlan
companles wlll however reLaln more local approaches
Lo meeLlngs
MeeLlngs wlLh more LradlLlonal lndlan organlsaLlons
are llkely Lo seem very lnformal wlLh Lhe posslblllLy of
lnLerrupLlons where unknown people enLer Lhe room
and sLarL Lo converse abouL oLher dlsconnecLed lssues
or where your conLacL breaks off Lo answer Lhe phone
As a heavlly relaLlonshlporlenLed socleLy meeLlngs
may lnlLlally evolve around seemlngly nonbuslness
focused dlscusslons 1hls ls an lmporLanL parL of Lhe
cycle of buslness and should noL be rushed or
dlsmlssed as Llme wasLlng Show LhaL you are a person
Lo be Laken serlously by engaglng ln Lhe necessary
small Lalk Cnly when you have convlnced your
conLacLs of your personal worLhlness ls buslness llkely
Lo flow smooLhly
ClfL glvlng ls an endemlc parL of llfe ln lndla and lL ls
LhoughL LhaL Lhe glfL glver ls Lhe one who should Lhank
Lhe recelver ClfLs need noL be large or expenslve buL
should always be wrapped Jhen wrapplng glfLs
avold black or whlLe paper whlch ls consldered unlucky
1eam work
A Leam expecLs Lo be glven exacL and compleLe
lnsLrucLlons by Lhe Leamleader or boss and Lhen
Lo follow Lhose lnsLrucLlons exacLly
1eam members would noL be expecLed Lo query
Lhe lnsLrucLlons passed down Lo Lhem and would
expecL Lo follow Lhem even when lL became
apparenL LhaL Lhlngs were golng wrong
1he Leam leader Lakes compleLe responslblllLy for
Lhe success or fallure of a pro[ecL and needs Lo be
consLanLly on Lop of progress and looklng ouL for
problems
CommunlcaLlon SLyles
lndlans flnd lL very dlfflculL Lo say no feellng
LhaL Lo do so would be offenslve and lead Lo
dlfflculL ongolng relaLlonshlps
As lndlans are hlghly famllyorlenLed do noL
be surprlsed lf many meeLlngs begln wlLh
quesLlons abouL your famlly
o noL be overeager Lo move Lhlngs onLo an
emplrlcal buslness basls Loo qulckly
Jomen ln 8uslness
lorelgn women seem Lo have llLLle dlfflculLy
belng accepLed ln an lndlan organlzaLlon
lL ls lmporLanL LhaL women managers acL aL all
Llmes ln a formal manner wlLh male
subordlnaLes as any overL slgns of frlendshlp
or affecLlon could be mlsconsLrued
lfferences
Language ls anoLher key dlfference ue Lo beLLer educaLlonal programs
and many more overseas graduaLes more lndlans speak Lngllsh Lhan do
Chlnese glvlng Lhem a dlsLlncL advanLage ln Lhe lnLernaLlonal
markeLplace
1here are also ma[or dlfferences ln Lhe respecLlve bus|ness env|ronments
of Lhese Lwo counLrles Selllng Lo Lhe Chlnese parLlcularly ln Lhelr own
markeL remalns a real
1|me Chlnese Lend Lo be puncLual unllke lndlans
1he Ch|nese Lake Lhelr own good Llme for before flnallzlng buslness deals
so ouLslde buslnessmen Lend Lo make several Lrlps Lo Chlna before a deal
ls concluded
Cne lmporLanL dlmenslon ls #guanx|' whlch means good connecLlons lL
glves beneflLs llkey lower cosLs lncreased buslness hlgh sales more lnfo
and opporLunlLy and facllaLlon of fuLure LransacLlons
ln Ch|na lL ls lmporLanL Lo be a good llsLner
1hls may mean havlng Lo llsLen Lo Lhelr same
sLorles many Llmes whlch ls noL Lhe case wlLh
Lhe lndlans
1he Chlnese place va|ues and pr|nc|p|es above
money buL Lhe lndlans are more money
mlnded
Cnce Lhe Chlnese declde who and whaL ls
besL Lhe tend to st|ck w|th these dec|s|ons
ln negoLlaLlon rec|proc|ty ls lmporLanL
CulLural Change
CulLure evolves over Llme alLhough changes ln
value sysLems can be slow and palnful for a
socleLy
Soclal Lurmoll ls an lnevlLable ouLcome of
culLural change
As counLrles become economlcally sLronger
culLural change ls parLlcularly common
CrossCulLural LlLeracy
CrossculLural llLeracy ls crlLlcal Lo Lhe success
of lnLernaLlonal buslnesses
Companles LhaL are lll lnformed abouL Lhe
pracLlces of anoLher culLure are unllkely Lo
succeed ln LhaL culLure
Managers musL also beware of eLhnocenLrlc
behavlor or a bellef ln Lhe superlorlLy of ones
own culLure
CulLure And CompeLlLlve
AdvanLage
1he connecLlon beLween culLure and
compeLlLlve advanLage ls lmporLanL because
lL suggesLs whlch counLrles are llkely Lo produce
Lhe mosL vlable compeLlLors
lL has lmpllcaLlons for Lhe cholce of counLrles ln
whlch Lo locaLe producLlon faclllLles and do
buslness
1hank you!