Unit 6: Synthetic Cultures Section B INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION INSTRUCTOR: HSIN-HSIN CINDY LEE, PHD

Dimension III: Gender Identity Hierarchy Gender Truth Virtue

Gender In different cultures, people are given different roles, expectations, rights or duties according to their gender. In some cultures, men and women do not share the same rights. In other cultures, men and women enjoy equivalent status and rights. The relevant status of men and women shape different kinds of culture.

Achievement-oriented Culture Care-oriented Culture Gender Masculine Culture Achievement-oriented Culture Feminine Culture Care-oriented Culture If men and women are more equal, the result is to see more feminine qualities within the society such as caring and compromises. It is also common to more female executives in the working place. In all countries in the world, an unequal role distribution between men and women coincides with a tougher society. In such Masculine country with unequal role distribution, there is more emphasis on achievement and fighting than on caring and compromise.

Examples Masculine Cultures Feminine Cultures Germany Switzerland Austria Colombia Most other Latin American countries Japan Netherlands The Scandinavian countries Costa Rica Portugal Thailand Britain USA

Dimension IV: Truth Identity Hierarchy Gender Truth Virtue

Truth Uncertainty Avoidance Tolerance

Truth Truth here indicates how people in a culture cope with the unpredictable and the ambiguous. Anxiety and the search for truth are closely related. Anxiety is a basic human feeling, or in other words, fear of the unknown. This aspect of a culture has been called Uncertainty Avoidance and Uncertainty Tolerance. Note that uncertainty avoidance is not at all the same as risk avoidance; if risk can be acknowledged and quantified, it is not threatening to people from uncertainty avoiding cultures.

Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance Traits Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance Many people in this kind of a culture believe that what is different is dangerous. They may not be very friendly to strangers. It is also called one-truth orientation. People have greater tolerance for differences. Strangers are not necessarily bad. People tend to accept that many truths can co-exist.

Examples Russia Japan Korea Mexico Belgium France Germanic countries Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance Russia Japan Korea Mexico Belgium France Germanic countries English-speaking countries China Singapore Jamaica Denmark

Dimension V: Virtue Identity Hierarchy Gender Truth Virtue

Short-Term VS Long-Term Orientations The last basic problem in a society is the choice between future and present virtue. Orientation Short-term Long-term

Short-Term Orientation Traits Short-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation The issue of virtue is particularly important in Asia. People in long-term oriented culture tend to concern about future virtue and traditions. They are willing to save for the future. They value long-term partnership. People in short-term oriented culture are more concerned with truth than virtue. They care about present virtue and do not necessarily follow traditions. They are more willing to spend for the present. Good partnerships are not necessarily equivalent to long-term relationships.

Short-term Oriented Culture Long-term Oriented Culture Examples Short-term Oriented Culture Long-term Oriented Culture Philippines Most European countries Most American countries African countries Pakistan China Japan Many countries of East Asia Netherlands (The Dutch)

Summary Dimension One Extreme Other Extreme Identity Collectivism Individualism Hierarchy Large Power Distance Small Gender Femininity Masculinity Truth Strong Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance Virtue Long-Term Orientation Short-Term Orientation

Conclusion All people are unique individuals, and each person is unlike anyone else in the world. All people are also social beings, and from early infancy on, they are taught how to survive in a social world. People are taught to cope with the five big issues just introduced: identity, hierarchy, gender, truth and virtue. The world of a child in each culture is filled with symbols, heroes, and rituals that together embody and re-create that culture. Behind these manifestations are the values of culture. The culture values are taught from birth and manifest themselves across social settings: family, school, workplace, and others.

Final Reminding Culture is not a universally accepted notion. The cultural value system you learn from this session is based on empirical data on ‘national’ cultures. There are many subculture groups in each country. The subculture groups have their own heroes, symbols and rituals, but they share most of the values of the national culture. Because culture is so complex and dynamic, problems of reliability and validity make it very difficult to measure. Member of a culture may not be able to describe that culture accurately and articulately in a way that would be accepted by another person who is also a member of the same culture! Value systems are implicit, and values often defy conscious reflection.

Checkpoint & References

Checkpoint 1. _____ Collectivism and Individualism 1. What are the five main problems of society? 2. What dimension of culture do the following extremes represent ? ___ 1. _____ Collectivism and Individualism 2. _____ Long-term and short-term orientation 3. _____ Large and small power distance 4. _____ Uncertainty avoidance and tolerance

Five main problems of society Dimensions of national culture Answers Five main problems of society Dimensions of national culture Identity Hierarchy Gender Truth Virtue 1. Identity 2. Virtue 3. Hierarchy 4. Truth

References Gert Jan Hofstede, Paul B. Pedersen Geert Hofstede (2002) Exploring Culture. Intercultural Press. Craig Storti (1994) Cross-Cultural Dialogues. Intercultural Press. Robert Gibson (2002) Intercultural Business Communication. Oxford University Press.

THE END OF SYNTHETIC CULTURES