Understanding Global Cultures

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UnderstandingGlobal Cultures

• A Four-Stage Model of
• Cross-Cultural Understanding

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A Four-Stage Model of Cross-Cultural Understanding

1. four-cell typology of process / goal orientation
2. more specificity
3. inclusion of other etic or culture-general
   dimensions along which specific cultures have
   been shown to vary
4. cultural metaphors are employed for understanding
   a culture

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A Four-Stage Model of Cross-Cultural Understanding

1. four-cell typology of process / goal orientation

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Four-Stage Model

• one variable of the is the degree to which
  process such as effective communication and
  getting to know one another in depth should
  precede discussion of specific goals

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Four-Stage Model

• another variable is the degree to which a
  culture fosters and encourages open emotional
  expression

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Fig. 1.1. Process, Goals, and Expression of
Emotions (p. 14)
Open Expression of Emotions and Feelings Open Expression of Emotions and Feelings Open Expression of Emotions and Feelings Open Expression of Emotions and Feelings
Degree to Which Process Must Be Emphasized Before Goals Can Be discussed Lower Higher
Degree to Which Process Must Be Emphasized Before Goals Can Be discussed Lower England, Ireland, and Scotland United States and Germany
Degree to Which Process Must Be Emphasized Before Goals Can Be discussed Higher China, Japan, and India Mexico, Spain, and Italy
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Cultural Metaphors

• four generic types of cultures
• horizontal collectivism
• community sharing
• vertical collectivism
• hierarchical (authority) ranking
• horizontal individualism
• equality matching
• vertical individualism
• market pricing

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Horizontal Collectivism / Community Sharing
• reflects community sharing in which members of
  the in-group share all of their goods
• as in a small village
• even to the extent that there is no such
  phenomenon as theft

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Horizontal Collectivism / Community Sharing
• not much differentiation between individuals
• ethics are based on group membership
• in-group or out-group
• members of out-groups are viewed as nonpersons

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Collectivism / Authority Ranking
  Cultures
• Ch. 02 The Thai Kingdom
• Ch. 03 The Japanese Garden
• Ch. 04 India The Dance of Shiva
• Ch. 05 Bedouin Jewelry and Saudi Arabia
• Ch. 06 The Turkish Coffeehouse
• Ch. 07 The Brazilian Samba
• Ch. 08 The Polish Village Church
• Ch. 09 Kimchi and Korea

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Collectivism / Authority Ranking
  Cultures
• authority ranking
• found in large parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin
  America
• involves a psychological relationship between the
  leader or leaders and all others in the culture

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Collectivism / Authority Ranking
  Cultures
• frequently, such a culture is symbolized not by
  the handshake, which reflects equality, but by
  different forms of bowing

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Collectivism / Authority Ranking
  Cultures
• there is a dynamic, two-way relationship between
  subordinates and leaders in authority ranking
  cultures
• although the leaders receive more rewards, they
  are responsible for safeguarding the livelihoods
  of subordinates

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Horizontal Individualism / Equality Matching
  Cultures
• Ch. 10 The German Symphony
• Ch. 11 The Swedish Stuga
• Ch. 12 Irish Conversations

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Horizontal Individualism / Equality Matching
  Cultures
• equality matching
• dominant in Scandinavian nations
• Sweden
• Norway
• all individuals are considered equal, even when
  some are taxed heavily

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Horizontal Individualism / Equality Matching
  Cultures
• it is expected that those who cannot make
  individual contributions to the common good will
  do so at a later time if possible

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Individualism / Market Pricing Cultures
• Ch. 13 American Football
• Ch. 14 The Traditional British House

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Individualism / Market Pricing Cultures
• market pricing
• found in the United States and other
  market-dominated nations

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Individualism / Market Pricing Cultures
• although individualism is emphasized, so, too, is
  the free market
• inequality resulting from the operation of the
  free market is deemed acceptable

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Individualism / Market Pricing Cultures
• there is equality of opportunity and a level
  playing field
• but not equality of outcomes

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Four Generic Types of Cultures

• Vertical Individualism / Market Pricing Cultures
• ethics revolves around the operation of a free
  market

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Cultural Metaphors

• four generic types of cultures, plus
• Cleft National Cultures
• one in which the subcultures of the diverse
  ethnic groups are difficult to integrate . . .
• Torn National Cultures
• one, such as Russia, that has been torn from its
  roots at least once

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Cultural Metaphors

• Cleft National Cultures
• Ch. 15 The Malaysian Balik Kampung
• Ch. 16 The Nigerian Marketplace
• Ch. 17 The Israeli Kibbutzim and
  Moshavim
• Ch. 18 The Italian Opera
• Ch. 19 Belgian Lace

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Cultural Metaphors

• Torn National Cultures
• Ch. 20 The Mexican Fiesta
• Ch. 21 The Russian Ballet

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Cultural Metaphors

• Same Metaphor,
• Different Meanings
• Ch. 22 The Spanish Bullfight
• Ch. 23 The Portuguese Bullfight

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Cultural Metaphors

• Beyond National Boarders
• Ch. 24 The Chinese Family Altar

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• Scaling
• nominal
• ordinal
• interval
• ratio
• After H. Russell Bernard, Research Methods in
  Anthropology, 1994

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Scaling

• Horizontal Collectivism / Community Sharing
• nominal scaling
• only names are given to entities
• in-group vs. out-group

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Scaling

• nominal scaling
• naming something

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Scaling

• nominal scaling
• a nominal variable is an item on a list of things
• the variables are mutually exclusive
• but they do not exhaust the possibilities

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Scaling

• religion
• Hindu
• Moslem
• Buddhist
• Christian
• Druid
• Other

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Scaling

• Vertical Collectivism / Authority Ranking
  Cultures
• ordinal scaling
• individual A may be more important than
  individual B, and individual C may be more
  important than individual B, but there is no
  common unit of measurement

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Scaling

• ordinal scaling
• putting things in order

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Scaling

• ordinal scaling
• ordinal variables are exhaustive and mutually
  exclusive
• and their values can be rank ordered

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Scaling

• ordinal scaling
• high
• medium
• low

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Scaling

• socioeconomic class (SES)
• upper class
• middle class
• lower class

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Scaling

• types of political organization
• peasant society
• primitive state
• chiefdom
• tribe
• band

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Scaling

• ordinal scaling
• in general, concepts are measured at the ordinal
  level

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Scaling

• level of acculturation
• very acculturated
• somewhat acculturated
• unacculturated

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Scaling

• ordinal scaling
• what ordinal variables do not tell us is how much
  more
• the most important characteristic of ordinal
  measure is that there is no way to tell how far
  apart the attributes are from one another

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Scaling

• Horizontal Individualism / Equality Matching
  Cultures
• interval scale
• culture does have a common unit of measurement,
  but it does not make value judgments about
  individual worth
• there are too many dimensions along which
  individuals can be measures

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Scaling

• interval scaling
• putting items at fixed intervals

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Scaling

• interval scaling
• interval variables are exhaustive and mutually
  exclusive
• and their values can be rank ordered

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Scaling

• interval scaling
• and the distances between the attributes are
  meaningful

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Scaling

• interval scaling
• 30 Fahrenheit
• 40 Fahrenheit
• 70 Fahrenheit
• 80 Fahrenheit

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Scaling

• interval scaling
• 40 F - 30 F 10 F
• 80 F - 70 F 10 F

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Scaling

• interval scaling
• but there is no zero point
• i.e., 80 Fahrenheit is not twice as warm as 40
  Fahrenheit

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Scaling

• interval scaling
• concrete, observable things are often measured at
  the interval level
• but not always

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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Scaling

• Vertical Individualism / Market Pricing Cultures
• scale is ratio
• there is a common unit of measurement
• and a true zero point
• allows members of the culture to transform every
  other dimension and compare them monetarily

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Scaling

• ratio scaling
• interval variables that have a zero point
• there are few interval variables that are not
  also ratio variables

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Scaling

• ratio scaling
• a 40-year-old is 10 years older than a
  30-year-old
• a 40-year-old is twice as old as a 20-year-old

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Scaling

• ratio scaling
• it is common practice in the social sciences to
  refer to ratio variables as interval variables

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Scaling

• ratio scaling
• years of education
• income in dollars, Euros . . .
• years spent migrating
• population size
• doctors / 100,000
• violent crimes / 100,000

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Fig. 1.2. Four Generic Types of Cultures (p. 15)
POWER DISTANCE INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Equality Matching (interval) Community Sharing (nominal)
POWER DISTANCE Low (horizontal) High (vertical) Market Pricing (ratio) Authority Ranking (ordinal)
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A Four-Stage Model of Cross-Cultural Understanding

1. four-cell typology of process / goal orientation
2. more specificity
3. inclusion of other etic or culture-general
   dimensions along which specific cultures have
   been shown to vary
4. cultural metaphors are employed for understanding
   a culture

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Emics / Etics

• emics
• from phonemics
• viewing a culture from the inside
• etics
• from phonetics
• viewing a culture from the outside

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other etic or culture-general dimensions

• achievement motivation
• uncertainty avoidance
• time horizon
• femininity or assertiveness
• tightness or looseness of rules
• collectivistic / individualistic
• etc.

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• Culture Counts
• and it counts quit a bit
• but when does culture matter?

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When Culture Does, and Does Not Matter

• frequently occupational similarities neutralize
  culture
• e.g., two doctors working on a problem

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When Culture Does, and Does Not Matter

• similarity of class can diminish the importance
  of culture
• e.g., middle class use of positive reinforcement
  in raising children

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When Culture Does, and Does Not Matter

• sometimes powerful groups will exclude others
  from opportunities and then stereotype them
  negatively, thus consigning them to permanent
  inferior status
• e.g., English / Irish in Ireland
• e.g., Apartheid in South Africa
• e.g., Rom (Gypsies) in many countries

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When Culture Does, and Does Not Matter

• sometimes the nature of the problem minimizes the
  importance of cultural differences
• e.g., companies from two countries working on
  problem supported by top managements

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When Culture Does, and Does Not Matter

• when trust is present, culture decreases in
  importance

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When Culture Does, and Does Not Matter

• culture is particularly important in
  cross-cultural negotiations

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When Culture Does, and Does Not Matter

• culture is also important when individuals move
  to another nation or culture for an extended
  period of time

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When Culture Does, and Does Not Matter

• to what extent do technological changes such as
  the Internet influence culture?
• internet crime
• more differentiation than integration
• any indirect form of communication, such as
  e-mail, presents special difficulties and
  opportunities

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Cultural Metaphors

• Metaphors are not stereotypes.
• Why?