BSA CORE 6

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

MODULE 2
(Monday)

Learning objectives
1. Define culture and describe its elements.
2. Explain cultural differences.
3. Describe cross-cultural management and training.

Culture
Everything that people have, think, and do as members of their society.
o This means that in order for a person to have something, some material
object must be present.
 When people think, ideas, values, attitudes, and beliefs are
present.
 When people do, they behave in certain socially prescribed ways.
o Thus, culture is made up of:
 (1) material objects
 (2) ideas, values and attitudes
 (3) normative or expected patterns of behavior
o As members of society, it tells us that culture is shared by at least two
individuals and, of course, real societies are much larger than that.

Thus, it is crucial that international business managers look at groupings of

individuals within a society.

Examples:
o In the United States most goods and services are distributed according to
the capitalistic mode, based on the principle of “each according to his/her
capacity to pay.”
o In socialist countries like China and Cuba, goods and services are
distributed according to a very different principle - “each according to
his/her need” - even though in China this principle is changing.

Culture
o Gives people a sense of who they are, of belonging, of how they should
behave, and of what they should be doing.
o Impacts behavior, morale, and productivity at work as well, and it includes
values and patterns that influence company attitudes and actions.

Katsioloudes, Marios & Hadjidakis, Spyros. 2007. International Business: A Global Perspective. Elsevier
Inc.
 o Often considered the driving force behind human behavior everywhere,
thus it has become the context to explain politics, economics, progress,
and failures.

Marriage and Family Systems

For a society to continue over time it is imperative that it develop systematic
procedures for mating, childbearing, and education.

All societies have patterned systems of marriage and because human infants (as
compared to the young of other species) have a particularly long period of
dependency on adults, there arises the need for every society to develop
systematic ways of meeting the needs of dependent children.

All societies, in order to survive, have patterns of childbearing and family

institutions.
Educational Institutions
In addition to ensuring that the basic physical needs of its children are met, a
society must see to it that these children learn the way of life of this particular
society.

Rather than expecting each new child to rediscover for himself/herself all the
accumulated knowledge of the past, a society must have an organized way of
passing on its cultural heritage from one generation to another.

This universal societal need for cultural transmission gives rise to some form of
educational system in each society.
Social Control Systems
If societies are to survive, they must establish some ways of preserving social
order.
o This means that all societies must develop mechanisms that ensure that
most of its people obey most of its laws at least most of the time.
o If this need is not met, people will violate each other’s rights to such an
extent that anarchy will prevail.
o Example: In the United States, behavior control rests on a number of
formal mechanisms, such as a written constitution; local, state and federal
laws.

Katsioloudes, Marios & Hadjidakis, Spyros. 2007. International Business: A Global Perspective. Elsevier
Inc.
Supernatural Belief Systems
All societies have a certain degree of control over their social and physical
environments.

Societies must develop systems for explaining “unexplainable” occurrences.

The way that people do this is by relying on various types of supernatural

explanations such as magic, religion, witchcraft, sorcery, and astrology.
Culture and its Elements
Elements of culture can be a useful means for better understanding culture itself,
and for studying any group of people.

Dress and Appearance

This includes the outward garments and adornments, or lack thereof, as well as
body decorations that tend to be distinctive by culture.

Examples: headband, sarong, kimono, bowler and umbrella, cowboy’s hat, jeans,
uniforms, cosmetics
Communication and Language
The communication system, verbal and non-verbal, distinguishes one group from
another.

Apart from the multitude of “foreign” languages, some nations have 15 or more
major spoken languages (within one language group there are dialects, accents,
slang, jargon, and other such variations).

Spoken language or verbal communication is the part of a culture’s

communication system that is embodied in its spoken and written vocabulary.

Linguistically different segments of a population are often culturally, socially, and

politically distinct.

Examples:
o A sign in a Romanian hotel informing the English-speaking guests that the
elevator was not working read, “The lift is being fixed. For the next few
days we regret that you will be unbearable.”
o A sign in the window of a Parisian dress shop said, “Come inside and
have a fit.”

Katsioloudes, Marios & Hadjidakis, Spyros. 2007. International Business: A Global Perspective. Elsevier
Inc.
 o Reporting to his firm’s headquarters, an African representative of an
electronics firm referred to the “throat-cutting competition” when in fact he
meant “cut-throat.”
o Japan-based Kinki Tourist Company changed its name in Englishspeaking
markets after people called looking for “kinky” sex tours.
o Braniff Airlines’ English-language slogan “Fly in Leather” was translated
into “Fly naked” in Spanish.

Unspoken language or nonverbal communication communicates through

unspoken cues, including hand gestures, facial expressions, physical greetings,
eye contact, and the manipulation of personal space.
Sense of Self and Space
The comfort one has with oneself can be expressed differently according to each
culture.

Self-identity and appreciation can be manifested by humble bearing in one place

and macho behavior in another.

Independence and creativity are countered in other cultures by group

cooperation and conformity.

Examples:
o Americans and the British have a sense of space that requires more
distance between individuals.
o Latins, Arabs and the Vietnamese stand closer together.
o Some cultures are very structured and formal, while others are more
flexible and informal.
o Some cultures are very closed and determine one’s place very precisely,
while others are more open and changing.

Each culture validates itself in a unique way.

Food and Feeding Habits
The manner in which food is selected, prepared, presented, and eaten often
differs by culture.

Example
o One man’s pet could be another person’s delicacy.
o Americans love beef, yet it is forbidden to Hindus.
o Pork, which is widely consumed by the Chinese, is forbidden in Muslim
and Jewish cultures.

Katsioloudes, Marios & Hadjidakis, Spyros. 2007. International Business: A Global Perspective. Elsevier
Inc.
 o Many restaurants cater to diverse diets and offer “national” dishes to meet
varied cultural tastes.

Feeding habits also differ and the range goes from hands and chopsticks to full
sets of cutlery.
o Even when cultures use a utensil such as a fork, one can distinguish a
European from an American by which hand holds the fork.

Subcultures, too, can be analyzed from this perspective, such as the executive’s
dining room, the worker’s submarine sandwich, the ladies’ tearoom, and the
vegetarian’s restaurant.
Time and Time Consciousness
Sense of time differs by culture: some are exact and others are relative.

Example:
o Germans are precise about the clock.
o Latins are more casual.

In some cultures, promptness is determined by age or status

o In some countries subordinates are expected to be on time for staff
meetings, while executives are the last to arrive.

There are people in some other cultures who do not bother with hours or
minutes, but manage their days by sunrise and sunset.

Managers often experience much conflict and frustration because of differences

in the concept of time around the world, that is the differences in temporal values.
o Examples:
 To Americans and Western Europeans, time is a valuable and
limited resource, to be saved, scheduled, and spent with precision,
lest it be wasted.
 When others are not on time for meetings, Germans and
Americans feel insulted, when meetings digress from their purpose,
they tend to become impatient.
 In Latin America, a common attitude toward time is manana, a word
that literally means “tomorrow.”
 The word bukra in Arabic can mean “tomorrow” or “some time in
the future.”
 Arabs often regard a deadline imposed on them as an insult. They
feel that important things take a long time and therefore cannot be
rushed. To ask an Arab to rush something would imply that you

Katsioloudes, Marios & Hadjidakis, Spyros. 2007. International Business: A Global Perspective. Elsevier
Inc.
 have not given him an important task or that you assume that he
will not treat that task with respect.

International managers have to be careful about not offending people or losing

contacts or employee cooperation because of a misunderstanding about the local
perception of time.

Katsioloudes, Marios & Hadjidakis, Spyros. 2007. International Business: A Global Perspective. Elsevier
Inc.