Approaches to Cultural Understanding 15 or 19 March 2018 by Sigrid Brevik Wangsness

The concept of culture - again Which aspects do most definitions of culture include? Why have culture and communication become essential elements in corporate strategy and planning?

What is the best way of approaching cultural differences? What are the two main approaches to cultural understanding, and what are the major differences between the two? Which approach has been favoured by most business schools until now? Why? Why has this approach been challenged?

The functionalist approach List the strong points of functionalist theory. List the main points of criticism of the functionalist approach. Explain the concepts of ethnocentrism, determinism and stereotyping. Which functionalists have you studied?

The interpretive approach What are the strong points of the interpretive approach? What do you think the Danish International Sales Manager meant when stating that in intercultural communication ”you should know, what you don’t know”.

A leading representative for the interpretive approach: Clifford Geertz. His concept of culture: “The concept of culture…is essentially a symbolic one. Believing that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs. The analysis of culture is therefore not an experimental science in search of law, but an interpretive one in search of meaning.” (a shortened and somewhat simplified definition)

“Webs of significance”

The interpretive approach Does Clifford Geertz’ definition of culture make sense to you? Why do the interpretivists reject the functionalists’ assumption that there is a one-to-one relationship between thoughts and behaviour?

The interpretive approach How do the interpretivists react to Hofstede’s view that cultures are relatively static and change very slowly? According to the interpretivists, what should we do rather than predicting a certain behaviour by representatives of a particular culture?

Etic vs. emic perspectives Explain the difference between the etic and emic way of studying culture. How do these two ways of studying culture relate to the functionalist and interpretive approaches to culture? How can an emic approach to culture improve intercultural marketing? (How is Danish butter marketed in China compared to in Australia?)

The problems of the interpretive approach List the main points of criticism of the interpretive approach. “Despite the problems with stereotypes, it is necessary to make cultural generalizations.” Why? Do you agree with the above statement? How problematic are cultural stereotypes? What do we mean by “sophisticated stereotypes”?

Conclusion of the article: “Culture in a business context” According to the authors of this article, how should we approach culture in order to become competent cross-cultural communicators? Should we be functionalists or interpretivists? (Why?)