Chapter 4: The Role of Culture International Business, 4th Edition Griffin & Pustay ©2004 Prentice Hall

Chapter Objectives_1 Discuss the primary characteristics of culture Describe the various elements of culture and provide examples of how they influence international business Identify the means by which members of a culture communicate with each other ©2004 Prentice Hall

Chapter Objectives_2 Discuss how religious and other values affect the domestic environments in which international businesses operate Describe the major cultural clusters and their usefulness for international managers Explain Hofstede’s primary findings about differences in cultural values Explain how ethical conflicts may arise ©2004 Prentice Hall

Culture Behaviors Values Culture Beliefs Attitudes Customs ©2004 Prentice Hall

Characteristics of Culture Learned behavior Interrelated elements Adaptive Shared ©2004 Prentice Hall

Figure 4.1 Elements of Culture Language Communication Social Structure Culture Values/ Attitudes Religion ©2004 Prentice Hall

Social Structure Individuals, families, and groups Importance of family Definition of family Importance of individual relative to the group Social stratification – categorization based on birth, occupation, educational achievements Social mobility – ability to move from one stratum of society to another ©2004 Prentice Hall

Language 3000+ different languages worldwide 10,000+ different dialects Primary delineator of cultural groups Lingua Franca English is the common language of international business ©2004 Prentice Hall

Map 4.1 World Languages ©2004 Prentice Hall

Map 4.2 Africa’s Colonial Heritage ©2004 Prentice Hall

Translation Disasters KFC’s Finger Lickin’ Good Eat your fingers off (China) Pillsbury’s Jolly Green Giant Intimidating green ogre (Saudia Arabia) ©2004 Prentice Hall

Yes and No Across Cultures Latin America meaning of “manana” Japan meaning of “yes” versus “yes, I understand” ©2004 Prentice Hall

Caterpillar has developed its own simplified language instruction program –Caterpillar Fundamental English ©2004 Prentice Hall

Table 4.1 Forms of Nonverbal Communication_1 Hand gestures Facial expression Posture and stance Clothing/ hair style Walking behavior Interpersonal distance Touching Eye contact Architecture/ Interior design Artifacts and non-verbal symbols Graphic symbols ©2004 Prentice Hall

Table 4.1 Forms of Nonverbal Communication_2 Art and rhetorical forms Smell Speech rate, pitch, inflection, volume Color symbolism Synchronization of speech and movement Taste, symbolism of food, oral gratification Cosmetics Sound signals Time symbolism Timing and pauses Silence ©2004 Prentice Hall

adheres to one of these four religions! Christianity Catholicism Protestant Eastern Orthodox Islam Hinduism Buddhism 72% of the world adheres to one of these four religions! ©2004 Prentice Hall

Map 4.3 Major World Religions ©2004 Prentice Hall

Two million Muslims annually descend on the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudia Arabia as part of the Haij ©2004 Prentice Hall

Values and Attitudes Values: accepted principles and standards Attitudes: actions, feelings, and thoughts that result from values Time Age Education Status ©2004 Prentice Hall

Theories of Culture Hall’s Low-Context, High-Context Approach Cultural Cluster Approach Hofstede’s Five Dimensions ©2004 Prentice Hall

Hall’s Low-Context, High-Context Approach Low-context: words used by speaker explicitly convey speaker’s message High-context: the context in which a conversation occurs is just as important as the words spoken; cultural clues are critical to communication ©2004 Prentice Hall

Figure 4.2 High- and Low-Context Cultures U.S./ Canadian Scandinavian Vietnamese Japanese German Spanish Chinese Britain Korean Italian Swiss Greek Arab ©2004 Prentice Hall

Map 4.4 A Synthesis of Country Clusters ©2004 Prentice Hall

Table 4.2 Cultural Differences in Negotiating Styles ©2004 Prentice Hall

Hofstede’s Five Dimensions Social Orientation Power Orientation Uncertainty Orientation Goal Orientation Time Orientation ©2004 Prentice Hall

Social Orientation Individualism Collectivism Relative importance of the interests o the individual versus interests of the group ©2004 Prentice Hall

power/authority within Power Orientation Power Respect Power Tolerance Appropriateness of power/authority within organizations ©2004 Prentice Hall

Uncertainty Orientation Uncertainty Acceptance Uncertainty Avoidance An emotional response to uncertainty and change ©2004 Prentice Hall

to achieve different goals Goal Orientation Aggressive Goal Behavior Passive Goal Behavior What motivates people to achieve different goals ©2004 Prentice Hall

Time Orientation Long-term Outlook Short-term Outlook The extent to which members of a culture adopt a long-term or a short-term outlook on work and life ©2004 Prentice Hall

Figure 4.4 Social Orientation and Power Orientation Patterns ©2004 Prentice Hall

Understanding New Cultures Self-reference criterion Cultural literacy Acculturation ©2004 Prentice Hall