1. What is Culture? Culture
The sum total of beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions, and artifacts that characterize human populations.
Consists of learned patterns of behavior common to the members of a given society.
The unique lifestyle of a particular group of people.
Ethnocentricity
Considering your culture superior to all others
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2. Sociocultural Components
Components of Culture
Aesthetics
Attitudes and beliefs
Religion
Material Culture
Education
Language
Societal organization
Legal characteristics
Political structures
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3. Religion
Responsible for many of the attitudes and beliefs affecting human behavior.
Work Ethic
Protestant work ethic
Europeans and Americans generally view work as a moral virtue and look unfavorably on the idle.
Confucian work ethic
In Asian countries, this is the same as Protestant ethic.
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4. Asian Religions Hinduism
Caste system is basis of the social division of labor.
Buddhism
Jainism
Sikhism (Indian)
Confucianism
Inseparable from Chinese culture
Taoism
Shintoism (Japan)
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5. Islam About 1.3 billion followers
This youngest faith is the second largest after Christianity (2 billion adherents).
Founder of Islam is Muhammad
Muhammad was not only the prophet of God but also the head of state.
In Muslim nations, there is no separation of church and state.
Holy Book Koran
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Five Pillars of Faith
Confession of faith
Five daily prayers
Giving charity
Ramadan fast
Pilgrimage to Mecca
Jihad – holy war
Two divisions
Sunni and Shiites
Conflict gives rise to violent clashes

6. Material Culture Refers to all human-made objects
Concerned with how people make things and who makes what and why.
Technology
Mix of usable knowledge that society applies and directs toward attainment of cultural and economic objectives
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7. Education Equips a person to take his or her place in adult society
Yardsticks
Literacy rate
Must verify definition used
Kinds, quality and enrollment of schools
Amount per capita spent on education
Vocationally trained groups
Study trends
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8. Education
Brain Drain
The emigration of highly educated professionals to industrialized nations
Reverse Brain Drain
The return of highly educated professionals to their home countries.
Korea and Taiwan are luring home engineers and scientists
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Women’s Education
Fall in illiteracy rate
Most governments now provide education for both genders
Educated women have fewer, healthier, and better educated children
Educated women achieve higher labor force participation and wages

9. Spoken Language
Language is the key to culture, and without it, people find themselves locked out of all but a culture’s perimeter
Spoken languages demarcate cultures
Switzerland four separate cultures
Many languages can exist in a single country, but one usually serves as communication vehicle
Lingua franca or link language
English primary language of business
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10. Unspoken Language
Nonverbal communication, such as gestures and body language.
Gestures vary tremendously from one region to another
Closed doors convey different meanings
Office size different in various cultures
Conversational distance small in East
Gift giving has specific etiquette in each culture
Gift or bribe?
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11. Societal Organization
Kinship
Extended family
Includes blood relatives and relatives by marriage.
This is a source of employees and business connections.
Member’s responsibility
Although the extended family is large, each member’s feeling of responsibility to it is strong.
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Associations
Social units based on age, gender, or common interest, not on kinship.
Age
Manufacturers of consumer goods are well aware of the importance of segmenting a market by age groups.
This segmentation often cuts across cultures.

12. Understanding National Culture
Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture
Individualism versus Collectivism
Large versus Small Power Distance
Strong versus Weak Uncertainty Avoidance
Masculinity versus Femininity
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