Complete summary of the course: diversity management

Cross-cultural skills summary


Lecture 1: What is culture?

 Culture is a unique meaning and information system, shared by a group and
transmitted across generations, that allows the group to meet basic needs of survival,
pursue happiness and well-being, and derive meaning from life (Matsumoto & Juang,
2017).
 Culture is also a pair of glasses that we are constantly looking through – a schema to
help us evaluate and organize information.
 Psychological research is often based among WEIRD samples (Western, educated,
industrialized, rich and democratic). These participants are not representative for the
whole world. 73% of authors were at American universities, 99% were at Western
universities. 96% of psychological samples come from countries with only 12% of the
world’s population.

How to conceptualize culture?
 Culture explains behavior.
 For example, Japanese culture is credited for calm recovery. Do they act like that
because it is Japanese to do so?

Hierarchy of interpretations (Poortinga)
1. Cultural values/traits
Do national characteristics explain the behavior?
Look out for stereotyping, be aware of cultural attribution errors
2. Historical/political context
Can the behavior be understood in terms of the wider context?
Acquire information about the pre- and post-migration context
3. Cultural conventions
Can the behavior be understood in terms of conventions?
Ask about possible conventions
4. Other person/Own person (group)
Watch for attribution errors (fundamental error, essentialism)
5. Situation
Obtain more information
How would you react n this situation?
6. Behavior  lowest level
Check your assessment of the facts
Take away message:
Always look for an explanation at the lowest possible level in the hierarchy–this is usually
more accurate and forms a better basis for action

Theoretical approaches
 Hofstede
o Most cited general framework to classify cultural patterns on the country level.
o Examination of work-related values in employees of IBM during the 1970s
(Hofstede, 1981).
o Four classic dimensions:
 Power distance

,  The extent to which the members of a society expect and accept
that power in institutions and organizations is distributed
unequally.




 Individualism/collectivism
 Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between
individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself
or herself and his or her immediate family.
 Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which
people from birth onwards are integrated into strong cohesive
in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to
protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.




 Masculinity/femininity
 Femininity: Preference for relationships, modesty, caring for
the weak, and the quality of life.
 Masculinity: Preference in society for achievement, heroism,
assertiveness, and material success.

,  Uncertainty avoidance
 The degree to which the members of a society feel
uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.




o Later, 2 dimensions added.
 Long-term/short-term orientation
 Long-term: the world is in flux; preparing for the future is
always needed
 Short-term: the world is as it was created; the past provides a
moral compass, adhering to it is morally good
 Indulgence
 Indulgent: life is good, value of freedom, acting on impulse,
importance of friendship
 Restrained: life is hard, value of duties
 Criticism on Hofstede: Minkov, 2017.
o Power distance seems to be a part of individualism/collectivism.
o Uncertainty avoidance not reliable (does not predict criteria, e.g., job security).
o Masculinity/femininity similarly not reliable.
 Markus & Kitayama (1991)
o Independence vs. Interdependence