1. CULTURECULTURE
AND SOCIALAND SOCIAL
FORCESFORCES

2. CULTURE DEFINITIONCULTURE DEFINITION
AntropologyAntropology
•Studies human behavior
Cultural antropologyCultural antropology
•Examines all learned behaviors, including social, linguistic,
and family behaviors.
CultureCulture
•Encompasses the entire heritage of a society transmitted orally,
via literature, or in any other form. Includes all traditions, morals,
habits, religion, art, and language.

3. CULTURE CONCEPTSCULTURE CONCEPTS
“Culture is the integrated sum total of learned behavioral
traits that are shared by members of a society” (Hoebel)
“Culture is the entirety of societal knowledge, norms and
values” (Antonides and Van Raaij)
“Culture is the collective mental programming of the
people in an environment. Culture is not a characteristic
of individuals; it encompasses a number of people who
were conditioned by the same education and life
experience” (Hofstede)
Culture both affects and describes human
behavior,
it is essential in international marketing and
international business

4. CULTURE Vs. PERSONALITYCULTURE Vs. PERSONALITY
Human nature depends on culture: ideas, values, acts, emotions… are cultural
products. Cultural patterns help people to live together in a society.

5. MANIFESTATIONS OFMANIFESTATIONS OF
CULTURECULTURE
ExpressionExpression
s of cultures of culture

6. SYMBOLSSYMBOLS

7. HEROESHEROES

8. RITUALSRITUALS
Rituals are the collective activities considered socially
essential within a culture.
They are carried out for their own sake.
They are easily observed, but not always understood.

9. VALUESVALUES
Values are at the core of culture.
Values are stable beliefs regarding desired behavior or end
states.
They often have a religious, ideological or humanistic
background.
Values are among the first things children learn, not
consciously but implicitly.
Core values are resistant to globalization; they vary across
cultures and are not likely to change frequently.

10. NORMSNORMS
Norms and values are part of the “non-material”
culture.
Norms are beliefs regarding how to behave and
how not to behave (do’s and don’ts).
People differ in the extent to which they accept
and comply with norms.
They create expectations and criteria regarding
the conduct of others.

11. BUSINESS AND RELIGIONBUSINESS AND RELIGION

12. BUSINESS AND EDUCATIONBUSINESS AND EDUCATION
It shapes people’s outlooks, desires and motivations.
Affects: The consumer level and the employee level
Less literacy – Different communication options – More challenge

13. ATTITUDES TOWARD TIMEATTITUDES TOWARD TIME
Monochronic culture: Activities are undertaken one at a time and
people respect schedules and agendas.
Polychronic culture: Multitasking is common, schedules and
agendas bend to the needs of people, and interruptions are
common

14. WORK AND LEISURE TIMEWORK AND LEISURE TIME
Work or leisure?
Holidays + vacation days?

15. HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL MODELHOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL MODEL
Hofstede’s 4D or 5D model
Quantitative and longitudinal study of cultural differences between
countries
Why some concepts of motivation do not work in all countries in the
same way
“Culture’s Consequences” and “Cultures and Organizations: Software of
the Mind”
Scores for each country explain why people and organizations in various
countries differ, comparative data.
Reference in international business and international marketing

16. POWER DISTANCE (PDI)POWER DISTANCE (PDI)
High PDI vs. Low PDI
“the extent to which less powerful members of a society accept and
expect that power is distributed unequally”
Reflected in the values of both the less powerful and more powerful
members of society
Influences the way people accept and give authority
Shows class or social structure
Focuses on the degree of equality, or inequality, between people in
the country’s society

17. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE (UAI)UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE (UAI)
High UAI vs. Low UAI
“ the extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and
ambiguity and try to avoid these situations”
Strong UAI = need for rules and formality to structure life, search for
truth and belief in experts
Conflict and competition are threatening
Higher level of anxiety, show of emotions is accepted

18. INDIVIDUALISM (IDV)INDIVIDUALISM (IDV)
Individualistic vs. Collectivistic
“people looking after themselves and their immediate family only, versus
people belonging to in-groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty”
“I”-conscious and “we”-conscious
Focuses on the degree the society reinforces individual or collective
achievement and interpersonal relationships
Distinguishes between societies where the group and being a member is
important (collectiveness) and societies where the group is less important
(individualism)

19. MASCULINITY (MAS)MASCULINITY (MAS)
Masculine vs. Feminine
“the dominant values in a masculine society are achievement and
success; the dominant values in a feminine society are caring for others
and quality of life”
Focuses on the degree the society reinforces, or does not reinforce, the
traditional masculine work role model of male achievement,
performance, control and power
Shows the importance of status in societies
Indicates the degree of gender differentiation and the importance of
masculine values (assertiveness, money, material goods, success…)

20. LONG-TERM ORIENTATION (LTO)LONG-TERM ORIENTATION (LTO)
Long-term vs. Short-term orientation
Chinese value survey, “Confucian dynamism”
“the extent to which a society exhibits a pragmatic future-oriented
perspective rather than a conventional historic or short-term point of view”
High LTO = perseverance, ordering relationships by status, thrift, sense of
shame, family ties, long-term thinking, paternalism
Focuses on the degree the society embraces, or does not embrace, long-
term devotion to traditional, forward thinking values
Indicates whether the country prescribes to the values of long-term
commitments and respect for tradition

21. Intracultural differences
Few cultures are homogeneous in terms of
cultural traits and norms
Consequence of globalization?
Intracultural differences (nationality, religion,
race, language or geographic areas) result in
the emergence of distinct subcultures
Existence of cross-cultural and intracultural
differences: opportunities and threats

22. TO SUMMARIZE ONTO SUMMARIZE ON
CULTURE…CULTURE…
Culture is complex and multi-dimensional, but classification
is important in business
Cultural distance is essential in international business
Culture influences perceptions and drives how we
communicate and what we communicate
SRC and ethnocentrism can explain the failure of many
companies in the international arena
Acculturation (adjusting and adapting to a specific culture
other than one’s own) is one of the keys to success in
international operations