1. What is culture?

► WARM-UP

1) How would you define ‘culture’?

2) ‘Culture’ is often defined as ‘the way we do things round here’. What communication difficulties have you had with people from other countries as a result of them ‘doing things differently’?

3) What do you think you personally would find most challenging about living and working in a culture very different from your own?

4) Do you think it is important to go beyond simply describing (or complaining about) cultural difference?

Levels of culture

Culture is a difficult word to define, as it can mean various things. So this section briefly looks at some of the most frequently cited models of cultural difference.

Dr Fons Trompenaars suggested that in fact there are different levels at which culture can be understood.

The observable, expressed or explicit elements of culture include:

Behaviour: norms of personal and interpersonal behaviour, including forms of address, communication styles, expression of emotion and use of body language.

Artefacts: concrete expressions such as art and literature, architecture and interior design, dress codes, symbols and heroes or role models.

Rituals: patterns of collective behaviour which have customary or symbolic value, such as greeting behaviours, business formalities and social courtesies.

Beneath these observable phenomena are the values and beliefs which invest the behaviour, artefacts and rituals with meaning. Values and beliefs cannot be directly observed but may be discovered by questioning.

Beneath this level again is the realm of assumptions: the foundational beliefs and values that are no longer consciously recognized or questioned by the culture, but which ‘programme’ cultural meanings and expressions and form the culture’s perceptual world. Because these are subconscious, they can only be analysed by interference and interpretation.

► GROUP discussion

1) Select a culture other than your own with which you have had some experience. What behaviours have you noticed that are different from the norms of your own culture?

2) What values do you think might underlie each of these behaviours?¹

3) How easy is it to interpret the cultural values underlying behaviour? What do you need to understand the behaviour better?

4) Look at the examples of culture and discuss which ones can be referred to behaviour, rituals or artefacts.

Classical music Dress at work Poetry

Punctuality Art Directness of communication

Decision-making style National customs Attitudes to power

5) Consider the cultural meaning of the expressions below. What subconscious cultural values and beliefs do you think underlie them?

American smile, Russian soul, German punctuality, Irish hospitality, English manners, Dutch courage, Chinese whispers, Latin fever, British phlegm.

B. The Trompenaars cultural model

♫ Listening (1)

You are going to listen to a radio programme devoted to the work of two experts in the field of cross-cultural communication Fons Trompenaars of the Netherlands and Charles Hampden-Turner of Great Britain.

PRE-LISTENING

Before listening consider the following situation. Discuss your opinions in class.

You are riding in a car driven by a close friend, who hits a pedestrian. Your friend was driving at least 35 miles an hour in a 20 mile-an-hour zone. There are no witnesses. Your friend’s lawyer says that if you testify under oath that your friend was driving only 20 mph, it will save him from serious consequences. Will you lie under oath for your friend?

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

(1) Listen to the tape again and fill in the gaps.

1. Universalist societies follow the rules and ……………………………………………… They try to get everyone ………………………That way, they believe, …………………

2. Particularist societies, on the other hand, believe that …………………………………… and that your response depends on ……………………………………………………….

3. Universalist countries take contracts very seriously and they ……………………………….... Particularist countries think that ………………………………….. and that a good deal ……………………….. – the particular people and the particular situation ……………………………………..

4. A culture is a …………………………………………………………..

5. The individualist culture allows outstanding individuals to …………………………… in unprecedented ways and has produced …………………………………….. such as Rockefeller and Henry Ford or, today, …………….

6. Individualism encourages the …………………………………………….. On the other hand you could say it celebrates ……., it punishes …………. and consumes ……………………….. The Communitarian culture, however, ………………………….

7. A society focused on community encourages its members to ……………………………. that will last ……………………and to have a ……………………………………………

8. On the other hand, these cultures are …………………………………………… They support …………. rather than ………………………………..

9. In business, individualist cultures put the ………………………………….., communitarian cultures think ……………………………………………….

10. What makes a community dynamic is ……………………………………., but what gives meaning to an ……………………………………………………………….

(2) Answer the following questions.

1) What kind of research did Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden Turner carry out? What were the main findings of that research? What is a value dimension?

2) How can discrepancy in universalist / particularist values affect management and work environment? What mistake did the speaker make with his Chinese dealer?

3) How does the speaker define ‘culture’? Do you agree with this definition?

4) What is said about Anglo-American culture? How is it relevant to the international management and business?

5) What paradox do the authors see in the modern world?

6) What is meant by ‘circular thinking’?

7) What are the most individualist and communitarian nations according to the findings of the research?

8) How do you understand the phrase: “In business, individualist cultures put the shareholder first, communitarian cultures think stakeholder not shareholder”.

9) What answer to the cultural dilemma do the authors suggest?

10) What does the example with IBM salespeople illustrate?

FOLLOW-UP

1. POSING A DILEMMA.

Reproduce the beginning of the programme observing the intonation of the tape.

Consider for a moment this dilemma: you are a passenger in a car driven by a close friend, and your close friend’s car hits a pedestrian. You know that your friend was going at least thirty-five miles an hour in an area where the maximum speed was twenty miles an hour. There are no witnesses. Your friend’s lawyer says that if you testify under oath that the speed was only twenty miles an hour then you would save your friend from any serious consequences. What would you do? Would you lie to protect your friend? What right does your friend have to expect your help? On the other hand what are your obligations to society to uphold the law?

(2) Read the brief description of Trompenaars’ dimensions.

Dr Fons Trompenaars is a consultant in cross-cultural communication. His findings suggested that certain cultures emphasise some values more than others, on seven key dimensions. Cultures do not embody one value or another on each dimension, but differ on the amount of emphasis placed on each.

Value dimensions concerning:	Value dimensions
How individuals relate to other people	Universalism Behaviour is governed by the standards, rules and norms of the society or group. eg: North America, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden.	Particularism Behaviour is governed by one’s relationship with the individual concerned. eg: Korea, Venezuela, China, Indonesia.
	Individualism Emphasis is on the individual and individual contribution, the ‘I’ identity and independence. eg: US, Eastern Europe, Denmark, Austria, Nigeria.	Collectivism Emphasis on the group and team contribution, the ‘we’ identity (corporation, family, church) and interdependence. eg: Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, India, Philippines.
	Affective Issues are dealt with emotionally and emotions are openly expressed and displayed. eg: Middle East, Southern Europe, US (though not strongly).	Neutral Issues are dealt with rationally and unemotionally, with a focus on goal-directed behaviour. eg: Japan, Germany, UK, Hong Kong, Korea, Ethiopia, China.
	Specific Work and non-work roles and relationships are kept separate, to preserve privacy and personal autonomy. eg: Netherlands, Sweden, US, UK.	Diffuse Work and non-work roles and relationships are integrated and merged. eg: China, Singapore, Korea, Ethiopia.
	Achievement Status is based on personal attainments and abilities. eg: North America, Norway, Austria.	Ascription Status is based on attributes ascribed to age, gender, background etc. eg: Egypt, Indonesia, Korea, South America, Spain.
How people relate to (interpret/ manage) time	Past/present The future is seen as growing form the past, history and tradition. eg: France, Japan, UK.	Future The future is seen as disconnected from the past, created from a ‘zero base’. eg: US, Netherlands, Nigeria.
How people relate to the environment	Internal control Individuals are presumed to be in control of their own lives: they shape events and create/invent new things. eg: North America, UK, Norway, Austria, Israel.	External control Nature and other external forces are presumed to control much of life: individuals adapt to events and refine/improve existing things. eg: Japan, Egypt, China, Nepal.

(3) Now try yourself to map your cultural orientation on some of Trompenaars’ dimensions. The following questions are based on Trompenaars’ cross-cultural questionnaire.

Place a tick on the point in the line that reflects the strength of your preference for one side of each pair or the other.

1. Which kind of job do you prefer: one in which everyone is allowed to work individually and you receive individual recognition, or one in which everyone works together and you get credit as a team?

Yes __________________________________________________________No

2. If you became very upset (angry, offended), how likely would you be to display your feelings in public?

Show emotion _________________________________________________Don’t show emotion

3. Your boss asks you to come to her home on your day off, to help her paint the house. You don’t want to do it, because you hate painting. Would you accept or refuse?

Refuse _______________________________________________________Accept

4. How far do you agree with the statement: ‘It is important to act in a way that’s consistent with your nature, to be yourself, even if you don’t succeed in the task at hand’?

Disagree ______________________________________________________Agree

5. Which of the following statements do you most strongly agree with? (1) What happens to me is mostly my own doing. (2) Sometimes I don’t feel as if a have control over my life.

1. ___________________________________________________________(2)

(4) Interpretation

Transfer your ticks for questions 1-5 to the same position on the following scales. This indicates where on each value continuum you may lie.

1. Individual ______________________________________________________Collective

2. Affective _______________________________________________________Neutral

3. Specific ________________________________________________________Diffuse

4. Achievement ____________________________________________________Ascription

5. Internal _________________________________________________________External

• LANGUAGE FOCUS: Revise pronunciation of some countries and nationalities

Israel		Israeli
The Emirates (The United Arab Emirates)
Egypt
Norway
Denmark
Switzerland
Argentina
Malaysia
Indonesia
Jordan
Lebanon
Singapore
Iceland
Venezuela
Laos
Taiwan
Nepal

* Which of these countries are in Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Scandinavia?

** How do the terms “Israeli”, “Jewish” and “Jew” correlate in English?

♫ Listening (2)

You are going to hear an interview with Dr Fons Trompenaars about international organisations and their cultures.

Pre-listening

(1) Before you listen, match the terms he uses with their definitions.

Terms	Definitions
1 stereotypes 2 culture 3 intercultural communication 4 practices 5 values 6 recognition 7 reconciliation 8 intercultural competence 9 globalisation 10 respect 11 realisation	a how respectful a person is about cultural differences
	b the standards, beliefs and customs of a group
	c how successfully an individual can communicate with members of other groups
	d how competent a person is at realising the actions necessary to implement the reconciliation of cultural differences
	e fixed prejudgements somebody has about members of another group
	f how competent a person is at bringing together cultural differences
	g something that is usually or regularly done – often as a habit, tradition or custom
	h the increase of trade around the world, mainly by large multinational companies trading goods in many countries
	i the deeply, sometimes unconsciously held beliefs of a group
	j communication between members of different groups, such as nations or professions
	k how competent a person is at noticing cultural differences around him or her

(2) Dr Fons Trompenaars talks about three types of organisation. What do you think the differences are between these types?

a) globalisation-focused organisation

b) multi-local organisation

c) trans-national organisation

LISTENING COMPREGENSION

Match the points (1 - 8) below with one of the organisation types (a - c) above.

1) universal approach

2) multicultural top management

3) is value driven

4) particular approach

5) one size fits all

6) have multi centres

7) local officers have complete autonomy

8) learns locally but globalises best practices

Questions for discussion

1) Which type of organisation does Dr Fons Trompenaars think is the most successful in international business, and why? Do you agree?

2) Discuss what qualities and skills you think someone who wants to work in a trans-national company would need.