What is Culture?  Culture is the sum of the knowledge, values, beliefs and attitudes shared by a particular society and a group of people.  Culture includes:

Characteristics of Culture  Culture is omnipresent;  Culture is different;  Culture is dynamic;  Culture is never wrong or right. Cultural aware Cultural tolerant Cultural adaptive

Religion ShintoIslam Judaism Hinduism ConfucianismBuddhism Christianity

MannersandCustoms Behavior Speech Dress Folk Customs Popular Customs

Aesthetics Music Painting Dance Drama Architecture

Identification and Dynamics of Cultures The nation as a point of reference Cultural formation and dynamics

Identification and Dynamics of Cultures (cont.) Language as a cultural stabilizer Religion as a cultural stabilizer

Cultural Context Low-Context Culture: Communication depends on explicit, verbally expressed vehicles, such as contract, reports, and other written documents. So, people get down to business quickly. High-Context Culture: Communication depends on implicit and nonverbal aspects such as metaphor, hinting, and personal relationship. So, business processes are lengthy.

Hofstede’s Cultural Typology PDI- Power Distance Index This refers to the degree to which power differences are accepted and sanctioned by society.

IDV - Individualism This refers to the degree to which individual decision making and action are accepted and encouraged by society.

MAS - Masculinity This refers to the degree to which traditional male values are important to society.

UAI - Uncertainty Avoidance Index This refers to the degree to which society is willing to accept and deal with uncertainty.

Long-term Orientation This concerns a society’s search for virtue, rather than a search for truth. It assesses the sense of immediacy within a culture, whether gratification should be immediate or deferred.

Cultural Awareness Problems that hinder cultural awareness Cultural awareness can be improved Company’s need for cultural knowledge increases as it

Strategies for Instituting Change Value system Cost benefit of change Resistance to too much change Participation

Strategies for Instituting Change (cont.) Reward sharing Opinion leaders Timing Learning abroad