Schwartz’s and the GLOBE Cultural Taxonomies by Sigrid Brevik Wangsness 20 February 2013

Schwartz’s Cultural Taxonomy Professor Schwartz’s background and research What are the three cultural dimensions that Shalom Schwartz has singled out? What is his reasoning for highlighting these three in particular? What is the difference between intellectual and affective autonomy? Give examples of cultures that represent these two value orientations. How would you explain the idea of embeddedness, and give examples of cultures that value this ideal.

Schwartz’s Cultural Taxonomy How does Schwartz describe the two extremes of his second dimension? (Exemplified by Spain and Belgium vs. Turkey and Thailand) What is the difference between harmony cultures and mastery cultures (Schwartz’s third dimension)? How do you explain that Schwartz describes the dominant cultures of China and India as mastery cultures?

Schwartz’s Cultural Taxonomy Describe the relationships among Schwartz ’s cultural value orientations . (See figure 5.1) Explain the following quote: ”Whereas each dimension represents a continuum of possible cultural responses, a culture’s tendency to prefer one pole of a given dimension means that the opposite pole is less emphasized and therefore less important to that culture.”

The GLOBE Cultural Taxonomy What is the GLOBE study? How big a research team is it, and what have they accomplished so far? To what extent is the GLOBE study indebted to Hofstede? Outline the nine GLOBE dimensions and their main cultural characteristics.

The GLOBE Cultural Taxonomy Which examples are given as typically high and low power distance cultures? How is upward mobility viewed in these cultures? What is your reaction to the author’s assertion that uncertainty avoidance is relatively low in Russia, Bolivia and South Korea – and that dissent is tolerated in these cultures? Explain the difference between in-group collectivism and institutional collectivism.

The GLOBE Cultural Taxonomy How is Hofstede’s masculinity-femininity dimension represented in the GLOBE study? Do you support their division of Hofstede’s dimension into two separate dimensions? Why/why not? Describe and exemplify the performance orientation dimension. How is this dimension linked to Edward T. Hall’s research?

The GLOBE Cultural Taxonomy How important do you think the future orientation dimension is? Mention some cultural aspects commonly seen in cultures with low or high future orientation. Explain the humane orientation dimension. Give examples of cultures with high and low humane orientation. How would you evaluate the usefulness of the GLOBE project?

A Synthesis of Cultural Taxonomies What are the seven cultural dimensions that the authors of this chapter consider fundamental for our understanding of culture? Do you agree that these are essential issues that all cultures must confront? Are they universal issues? How do the authors of this chapter suggest that you use these taxonomies to increase your intercultural competence?