CULTURE AND VALUES

Facultad de Humanidades
Departamento de Lingüística
Inglés para los negocios Internacionales

Unidad I
La comunicación Intercultural

Abril, 2024
INDEX
1: NATIONAL CULTURES. Preliminary discussion/Brainstorming
1.1. Cultures and value systems
1.2. National identity and MNE’s
1.3. Cultural collision. Problems within companies.
1.4. Language competence and business
1.5. Religions and business practices.
1.6. Cultural research

2: BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES AFFECTING BUSINESS

2.1. Social stratification
2.2. Work motivation
2.3. Relationship preferences
2.4. Risk-taking behavior
2.5. Information and task processing
3: PROBLEMS IN COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES
1.1. Translations
1.2. Silent language.

4: GUIDELINES FOR CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT

2.1. Cultural distance
2.2. Similar cultures
2.3. Culture shock v. reverse culture shock

5: COMPANY AND MANAGEMENT ORIENTATION

1.1. Ethnocentric management
1.2. Polycentric management
1.3. Geocentric Management.
6: STRATEGIES FOR INSTITUTING CHANGE
2.1. Value systems
2.2. Resistance to too much change.
2.3. Participation
2.4. Rewards sharing
2.5. Opinion Leadership
2.6. Biculturals as mediators
2.7. Good timing
2.8. Learning abroad
Within companies, cultural diversity can be a competitive advantage, but managing it
can be difficult.
What kind of problems can we anticipate?
Brainstorming ideas
• What’s culture? How do we transmit culture?
• Are values learned? How can cultural value systems (especially core values set early
in life) change?
• Similarity among people is both a cause and effect of national boundaries. Analyze.
• Can some people be bicultural or multicultural? How?
• How is national identity perpetuated?
• ¿Cultural collision? What may it cause in the business world?
• How can language be a stabilizer of culture? How do MNE use language
competence?
• Why is English so dominant in business? Is that situation a real privilege to native
English speakers?
• Are many strong values the result of a dominant religion?
BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES AFFECTING BUSINESS
• Social stratification
• Meritocracy v. group affiliation by birth or acquired (seniority, gender, caste, family
//education, political, religion)

• Work motivation
• Materialism and Motivation. The desire for material wealth is a prime motivation to work,
positive for economic development.
• People are more eager to work if rewards for success are high relative to failure, there is
some uncertainty of success
• Performance and Achievement The Masculinity–Femininity Index
• Hierarchies of Needs According to the hierarchy-of-needs theory
 BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES AFFECTING BUSINESS
• Relationship preferences

• Power distance

• Individualism Versus Collectivism in work environments

• Risk-taking behavior

• differs among nationalities because of their ease of handling uncertainties, degree of trust among people, future
orientation. attitudes of self-determination and fatalism.

• Information and task processing

• Differences in perception of cues may result from genetics and language.

• Obtaining Information: Low-Context Versus High-Context Cultures

• Información Processing

• Monochronic Versus Polychronic Cultures

• Idealism Versus Pragmatism

PROBLEMS IN COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES

• Translations and language competence

Hand gestures
Silent language:
colors, distance, time and punctuality, body
language and prestige.
GUIDELINES FOR CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT

• What’s cultural distance?

• Host cultures do not always expect foreigners to adjust to them
• When doing business in a similar culture, companies usually have to
make fewer adjustments, may overlook subtle differences. However,
some may feel their self-identities threatened by foreign companies.
• Culture shock v. reverse culture shock
THE REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK
COMPANY AND MANAGEMENT ORIENTATION

• Polycentric management may be so overwhelmed by national

differences that it won’t introduce workable changes.
• Ethnocentric management overlooks national differences and ignores
important factors believes home-country objectives should prevail,
thinks acceptance by other cultures is easy.
• Geocentric management often uses business practices that are
hybrids of home and foreign norms.
ARE CULTURES SUBJECT TO CHANGE?
• If so, how do those transformations happen?

• Globalization
• The Internet
• Progress: education , infrastructure, political conflicts.
• Different generations
• Changes in values and tolerance
STRATEGIES FOR INSTITUTING CHANGE

• Because people do not necessarily accept change readily, the management of

change is important.
• Value systems
• Resistance to too much change
• Participation
• Reward sharing
• Opinion leadership
• Biculturals as mediators
• Timing
• Learning abroad
Sources
• Daniels, J. D., Radebaugh, L. H., Sullivan, D. P. (2018). International Business:
Environments & Operations, Global Edition. United Kingdom: Pearson
Education.