intercultural business communication instructor: hsin-hsin cindy lee, phd unit 6: synthetic cultures...
TRANSCRIPT
INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
INSTRUCTOR: HSIN-HSIN CINDY LEE, PHD
Unit 6: Synthetic CulturesSection B
Dimension III: Gender
Gender
In different cultures, people are given different roles, expectations, rights or duties according to their gender.
In some cultures, men and women do not share the same rights.
In other cultures, men and women enjoy equivalent status and rights.
The relevant status of men and women shape different kinds of culture.
Masculine CultureAchievement-oriented Culture
Masculine CultureAchievement-oriented Culture
Feminine CultureCare-oriented Culture
Feminine CultureCare-oriented Culture
In all countries in the world, an unequal role distribution between men and women coincides with a tougher society.
In such Masculine country with unequal role distribution, there is more emphasis on achievement and fighting than on caring and compromise.
If men and women are more equal, the result is to see more feminine qualities within the society such as caring and compromises.
It is also common to more female executives in the working place.
Gender
Masculine CulturesMasculine Cultures Feminine Cultures Feminine Cultures
GermanySwitzerlandAustria Colombia Most other Latin
American countriesJapan
NetherlandsThe Scandinavian
countries Costa RicaPortugalThailand BritainUSA
Examples
Dimension IV: Truth
Truth
Truth
Truth here indicates how people in a culture cope with the unpredictable and the ambiguous.
Anxiety and the search for truth are closely related.
Anxiety is a basic human feeling, or in other words, fear of the unknown.
This aspect of a culture has been called Uncertainty Avoidance and Uncertainty Tolerance.
Note that uncertainty avoidance is not at all the same as risk avoidance; if risk can be acknowledged and quantified, it is not threatening to people from uncertainty avoiding cultures.
Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance Uncertainty Tolerance
Many people in this kind of a culture believe that what is different is dangerous.
They may not be very friendly to strangers.
It is also called one-truth orientation.
People have greater tolerance for differences.
Strangers are not necessarily bad.
People tend to accept that many truths can co-exist.
Traits
Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance Uncertainty Tolerance
RussiaJapanKoreaMexicoBelgiumFrance Germanic countries
English-speaking countries
ChinaSingaporeJamaicaDenmark
Examples
Dimension V: Virtue
Short-Term VS Long-Term Orientations
The last basic problem in a society is the choice between future and
present virtue.
Short-Term OrientationShort-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation
Long-Term Orientation
People in short-term oriented culture are more concerned with truth than virtue.
They care about present virtue and do not necessarily follow traditions.
They are more willing to spend for the present.
Good partnerships are not necessarily equivalent to long-term relationships.
The issue of virtue is particularly important in Asia.
People in long-term oriented culture tend to concern about future virtue and traditions.
They are willing to save for the future.
They value long-term partnership.
Traits
Short-term Oriented Culture
Short-term Oriented Culture
Long-term Oriented Culture
Long-term Oriented Culture
PhilippinesMost European
countriesMost American
countries African countries Pakistan
ChinaJapanMany countries of
East AsiaNetherlands (The
Dutch)
Examples
Summary
Dimension One Extreme Other Extreme
Identity Collectivism Individualism
Hierarchy Large Power Distance
Small Power Distance
Gender Femininity Masculinity
Truth Strong Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty Tolerance
Virtue Long-Term Orientation
Short-Term Orientation
Conclusion
All people are unique individuals, and each person is unlike anyone else in the world.
All people are also social beings, and from early infancy on, they are taught how to survive in a social world.
People are taught to cope with the five big issues just introduced: identity, hierarchy, gender, truth and virtue.
The world of a child in each culture is filled with symbols, heroes, and rituals that together embody and re-create that culture.
Behind these manifestations are the values of culture. The culture values are taught from birth and manifest
themselves across social settings: family, school, workplace, and others.
Final Reminding
Culture is not a universally accepted notion. The cultural value system you learn from this session
is based on empirical data on ‘national’ cultures. There are many subculture groups in each country.
The subculture groups have their own heroes, symbols and rituals, but they share most of the values of the national culture.
Because culture is so complex and dynamic, problems of reliability and validity make it very difficult to measure.
Member of a culture may not be able to describe that culture accurately and articulately in a way that would be accepted by another person who is also a member of the same culture!
Value systems are implicit, and values often defy conscious reflection.
Checkpoint & References
1. What are the five main problems of society? 1. What are the five main problems of society?
2. What dimension of culture do the following extremes represent ?2. What dimension of culture do the following extremes represent ?
1. _____ Collectivism and Individualism
2. _____ Long-term and short-term orientation
3. _____ Large and small power distance
4. _____ Uncertainty avoidance and tolerance
Checkpoint
Five main problems of society
Five main problems of society
Dimensions of national culture
Dimensions of national culture
Identity HierarchyGender Truth Virtue
1. Identity 2. Virtue 3. Hierarchy4. Truth
Answers
References
Gert Jan Hofstede, Paul B. Pedersen Geert Hofstede
(2002) Exploring Culture. Intercultural Press.
Craig Storti (1994) Cross-Cultural Dialogues.
Intercultural Press. Robert Gibson (2002) Intercultural Business Communication. Oxford University Press.
THE END OF SYNTHETIC CULTURES
The End