1. UNDERSTANDING CULTURE
Lecture : 3
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE

2. Work Place implication of culture
International business people need to understand the following:
how people communicate
how culture impacts how people view time and deadlines
how people are likely to ask questions or highlight problems
how people respond to management and authority
how people perceive verbal and physical communications
how people make decisions

3. Understanding Culture
Perception is that culture is similar in same regions or in similar language-speaking countries.
East Asia example:
The diversity found in many Asian cities and especially South-East Asian cities has been described by Furnivall (1980, p. 86) as "the plural society, [that is], as a society comprising two or more social orders which live side by side, yet without mingling, in one political unit".
Even without colonialization, cities in Thailand, China and Japan have not been free from the influences arising from Western dominance in technology and development.

4. Understanding Culture
East Asia example:
In many Asian cities like Singapore where English is spoken widely, a distinction is sometimes drawn between people who have been trained locally and those who have done so abroad. For a long time in Singapore now, there has been among the Chinese community in the population a distinction between the so-called Chinese-educated and the English- educated.
While there has been the view that culturally the Chinese community in Asian cities is largely homogeneous, different religions influence relationships to be found among Chinese neighbors in a city. Christian Chinese look askance at the rituals of Chinese who practice ancestral worship, some of which involves burning of ceremonial papers and incense outside homes.

5. Business Integration
“Business integration refers to the cultural fit of a company within a non-domestic market”.
Two issues to consider
Does the corporate “modus Operandi” (a Latin term used in English to describe an individual or group's habitual way of operating, which forms a discernible pattern) blend with cultural norms of a particular country ?
As an example, a Ponzi scheme's M.O. involves taking money from new investors and using it to pay off old investors to create the appearance the old investors are earning a return.
A daily routine could be considered an M.O wherein an individual has the same basic routine every day, no matter what, to have the most productive day possible.
To what extent is a company going to be affected by cultural divisions within that market itself?

6. Country Risk Analysis & Culture
Capitalism & market orientation - Today market-oriented frameworks underlie many if not most large-scale sustainability initiatives—from transit-oriented development to LEED certification, from smart growth to eco-city building. Such frameworks—involving new metrics, rankings, and logos—are also used to re-brand cities and corporations.
Cultural differences in values
Language
Pressure groups - A pressure group can be described as an organized group that does not put up candidates for election, but seeks to influence government policy or legislation.
In Britain, the number of political parties is very small, whereas the number of pressure groups runs into thousands; as the membership of political parties has fallen, that of pressure groups has increased.
Social issues
Xenophobia
Competitors/other foreign firms