Cross-Cultural Communication
Culture
What is culture?
There are a lot of definitions for this term, but the definitions have the following in
common:
- Culture refers to habits (<-> one-time phenomena)
- Culture is a characteristic of a social group (<-> individuals)
- Culture refers to learned aspects of social life (<-> biological or inherited traits)
à Culture is the software of the mind and of the heart
Culture is everywhere – and nowhere
Meaning everywhere, it affects people’s feelings, thoughts and actions on many levels and
occasions.
e.g. shaking hands
Culture is like the wind.
Meaning nowhere, it does not exist in any specific or ‘real’ sense. It is something abstract.
! Cultures are no actual ‘things’ with clear borders that separate people or groups and
determine their behaviour!
Often culture is referred to nationality or ethnicity.
Multi-collectivity = being a part of multiple groups/cultures at the same time.
Cultures provide people with a repertoire of ideas, behaviours and symbols. These
repertoires can be values, norms, languages, heroes, traditions, ...
,For example, values can be what people find appropriate, desirable, good, ...
à People appreciate honesty in all forms
For example. Languages literally gives words to people’s experiences
à India has 28 official languages
Diversity is not about how much we differ from one another but using each other’s
uniqueness.
What is SRC?
Self-reference criterion, meaning a set of norms, a frame of reference that will guide your
decisions.
e.g. the Sephora case in Japan
Sephora used to be in Japan but were unprofitable. This is because cosmetics are a very
competitive item in Japan and as soon as Sephora was placed in Japan, the store had two
floors. The first floor that was on display for the people, was full of cosmetics and the
second floor was full of perfumes and scents. Due to the fact that the second floor was not
on display to the customers, Sephora in Japan had to close because of its lack of customers.
Diversity competence
à read portfolio week 2
, Geert Hofstede: 6-D model
Geert Hofstede is a Dutch social psychologist, who explains the definition of culture.
According to him, culture is= “the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the
members of one group or category of people from other”
The 6 dimensions represent independent preferences for one state of affairs over another
that distinguishes countries.
1. Power Distance Index (PDI)
How a society treats inequalities
For example, countries like China are highly hierarchical compared to countries like
Denmark who are pretty egalitarian.
Meaning high PDI: centralized organizations, more complex hierarchies, large gaps in
authority and respect
Meaning low PDI: flatter organizations, everyone is considered as equals
2. Individualism vs Collectivism
Meaning, individualism is where one only takes care of himself and their immediate
families. Being individualistic you prefer to have respect for privacy.
Culture
What is culture?
There are a lot of definitions for this term, but the definitions have the following in
common:
- Culture refers to habits (<-> one-time phenomena)
- Culture is a characteristic of a social group (<-> individuals)
- Culture refers to learned aspects of social life (<-> biological or inherited traits)
à Culture is the software of the mind and of the heart
Culture is everywhere – and nowhere
Meaning everywhere, it affects people’s feelings, thoughts and actions on many levels and
occasions.
e.g. shaking hands
Culture is like the wind.
Meaning nowhere, it does not exist in any specific or ‘real’ sense. It is something abstract.
! Cultures are no actual ‘things’ with clear borders that separate people or groups and
determine their behaviour!
Often culture is referred to nationality or ethnicity.
Multi-collectivity = being a part of multiple groups/cultures at the same time.
Cultures provide people with a repertoire of ideas, behaviours and symbols. These
repertoires can be values, norms, languages, heroes, traditions, ...
,For example, values can be what people find appropriate, desirable, good, ...
à People appreciate honesty in all forms
For example. Languages literally gives words to people’s experiences
à India has 28 official languages
Diversity is not about how much we differ from one another but using each other’s
uniqueness.
What is SRC?
Self-reference criterion, meaning a set of norms, a frame of reference that will guide your
decisions.
e.g. the Sephora case in Japan
Sephora used to be in Japan but were unprofitable. This is because cosmetics are a very
competitive item in Japan and as soon as Sephora was placed in Japan, the store had two
floors. The first floor that was on display for the people, was full of cosmetics and the
second floor was full of perfumes and scents. Due to the fact that the second floor was not
on display to the customers, Sephora in Japan had to close because of its lack of customers.
Diversity competence
à read portfolio week 2
, Geert Hofstede: 6-D model
Geert Hofstede is a Dutch social psychologist, who explains the definition of culture.
According to him, culture is= “the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the
members of one group or category of people from other”
The 6 dimensions represent independent preferences for one state of affairs over another
that distinguishes countries.
1. Power Distance Index (PDI)
How a society treats inequalities
For example, countries like China are highly hierarchical compared to countries like
Denmark who are pretty egalitarian.
Meaning high PDI: centralized organizations, more complex hierarchies, large gaps in
authority and respect
Meaning low PDI: flatter organizations, everyone is considered as equals
2. Individualism vs Collectivism
Meaning, individualism is where one only takes care of himself and their immediate
families. Being individualistic you prefer to have respect for privacy.
