Intercultural Business Communications: Chapter 3 Contrasting cultural values

Intercultural Business Communication, 4th ed., Chaney & Martin

Chapter 3

Contrasting Cultural Values


Topics

• Semantic Differences

• Attribution and Perception

• Attitudes Toward Women

• Work Attitudes

• Attitudes Toward Ethics

• Religious Influences

• Individualism and Collectivism


What are Values?

Social principles, goals, or standards accepted by persons in a culture. They are learned by contacts with the family, teachers, and religious leaders. The media also may influence one’s value system.


Hofstede’s “Onion” Diagram

RitualsValues

Practices

Symbols

Heroes

Rituals


U.S. Culture

69% 65% White Americans

12% 13% African Americans

3% 4% Asian Americans

12% 15% Hispanic Americans

4% 3% Other Americans

2000 2010Census Projected Ethnic Group


Cultural Contrasts in Values

Americans Japanese Arabs

1. Freedom Belonging Family security

2. Independence Group harmony Family harmony

3. Self-reliance Collectivism Parental guidance

4. Equality Age/Seniority Age

5. Individualism Group consensus Authority


Semantic DifferencesSemantics - the study of the meaning of words; involves the way behavior is influenced by words and nonverbal means of communication.

Example: A U.S. American, while traveling in Bolivia, observed that drivers rarely stopped at the red octagonal sign with the word “alto,” the Spanish word for “stop.” A local Bolivian explained that in that country, the stop sign is more a recommendation than a traffic law.


Attribution and PerceptionAttribution - the ability to look at social behavior from another culture’s view

Attribution training - involves making people aware of their own cultural context and how it differs from that of the host country

Perception - the learned meaning of sensory images Uncertainty-reduction theory - “involves the creation of proactive predictions and retroactive explanations about our own and others’ behavior, beliefs, and attitudes” (Gudykunst & Ting-Toomy, 1988, p. 22).


Uncertainty Avoidance

• Uncertainty avoidance is defined as the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations.

• We all face the fact that we do not know what will happen tomorrow. Extreme uncertainty creates anxiety. Like values, feelings of uncertainty and how to deal with it are acquired and learned. Ways of coping with uncertainty are part of our cultural heritage; they are reinforced by the family, school and government.



• The more anxious cultures are said to have strong uncertainty avoidance.

• Latin American, Latin European, and Mediterranean countries plus Japan and South Korea had high rankings.

• The more anxious cultures tend to be more expressive; they talk with their hands and show their emotions (Japan is an exception).



• Countries whose anxiety level is low are said to have low or weak uncertainty avoidance.

• Low ranking countries are USA, India, Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, and Singapore.

• In weak countries people are controlled, easy-going, quiet, and do not show emotions. Since stress cannot be released, people die from coronary heart disease.


Differences Between Weak/Strong Uncertainty Avoidance Societies

Weak Uncertainty Avoidance Strong Uncertainty Avoidance

Citizen protest acceptable Citizen protest should be repressed

Civil servants positive toward Civil servants negative toward political process political process

Positive attitudes toward young Negative attitudes toward young people people

One group’s truth should not be There is only one truth - ours imposed on others

Human rights: nobody should beReligious, political, ideological persecuted for their beliefs fundamentalism and

intoleranceScientific opponents can be Scientific opponents cannot be

personal friends personal friends


GLOBE Uncertainty Avoidance

• Defined as tendency toward orderliness, consistency, structure, and regulation

• Related to societal, economic, and organizational values

• Higher values found with higher team orientation, humane orientation, and self-protective leadership

• Lower values found with lower participative and charismatic leadership values


Attitudes Toward Women

• Influenced by cultural roots--U.S. women are supposed to have the same rights as men while in Kenya women are considered subordinate to men.

• Gender differences in the U.S. workplace are de-emphasized--women are accepted at higher levels in government and in many corporations.


• U.S. women have taken two-thirds of new jobs created; they are starting new businesses at twice the rate of men. In France, one-fifth of small businesses are owned by women; in Canada, the rate is one-third.

• The U.S. and Canada lead the world in the number of women in executive positions; Northern and Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand also have high numbers of women managers.


Percentage of Women in Top Management Positions

• Japan 6 to 8.9%

• United States 5.1%

• United Kingdom 3.6%

• Germany 3.0%

• France 2.0%

• Australia 1.3%


Work Attitudes

• Work ethic - hard work is applauded and rewarded; failure to work is viewed negatively.

• U.S. persons value work; U.S. senior-level executives work far more and take fewer vacations than those in many European countries.


2002 Weekly Hours WorkedCountry Weekly Working Hours

China 47.9India 47.3South Korea 46.2Singapore 46.0New Zealand 44.9Mexico 43.3United States 42.6Japan 42.2England 39.6Germany 38.7Canada 31.9


Cultural Attitudes Toward Work• Europeans have a relaxed attitude toward work;

many businesses close during the month of August when people go on vacation.

• Most Europeans do not work on weekends or holidays.

• The French take longer vacations than any other country.

• Australians value free time; they have the shortest working hours of any country in the world.

• The Japanese work Monday through Friday, often 18 hours a day.


Attitudes Toward Ethics

• Ethical behavior means acting with integrity, honesty, competence, respect, fairness, trust, courage, and responsibility.

• Ethical standards are guidelines established to convey what is perceived to be correct or incorrect behavior by most people in a society.

Chicago Rotarians, 1932

Ethics: The Four-Way Test

• Is it the truth?

• Is it fair to all concerned?

• Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

• Will it be beneficial to all concerned?


Personal vs. Societal Ethics

• Personal ethics – may vary from person to person– often influenced by religious beliefs, cultural

backgrounds, or personal experience

• Societal ethics – rules of conduct shared by most people in a

culture– agreed-upon standards of behavior


Standards of Business Ethics are Culturally Relative

• The Islamic standard of ethics is based on participating in religious ceremonies, adhering to codes of sexual behavior, and honoring one’s parents.

• South Africans and the Chinese use “backdoor connections” for conducting business.

• In Brazil and Spain, unorthodox accounting and taxation practices are used.

• The nonsanctity of legal contracts causes problems when dealing with the Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese.


Religious Influences• In the U.S., Australia, and Europe,

lifestyle and religion are separate. • In northern Africa and southern Asia,

religion is a lifestyle and directly affects work.

• The separation of church and state is followed in the U.S.

• In Islamic countries religion affects all aspects of life.


Religious Influences• Muslims stop work five times a day to pray.• Religion is not a significant part of life in China;

the ideology of communism endorses atheism.• Nonliterate religions are practiced by Native

Hawaiians and by people of Zaire.• Religion affects what people eat in some

countries. – beef is not eaten by Hindus– pork is consumed by neither Muslims nor Orthodox

Jews


Individualism and Collectivism• Individualism - attitude of valuing ourselves as

separate individuals with responsibility for our own destinies and actions.

• Collectivism - emphasizes common interests, conformity, cooperation, and interdependence.

• The Hofstede and GLOBE studies – Hofstede’s uses a linear scale– GLOBE has multiple levels

• In-group collectivism• Institutional collectivism


Power Distance• Inequality within society

– Power, wealth, status, and social position– Physical– Intellectual

• Index measures the degree of acceptance of unequal distribution of power.

• Both Hofstede and GLOBE agree on this construct.


Gender Indices

• Hofstede’s Masculinity and Femininity Index measures assertiveness versus modesty

• In the GLOBE study, gender egalitarianism measures roles men and women are suited for– Denmark and New Zealand most gender

egalitarian; Eastern Europe and Nordic Europe– Iran and Qatar are the least gender egalitarian;

Middle East, Confucian Asia, Germanic Europe


Long-term versus Short-term Goals—Future Orientation

• Long-term orientation– Concerned with future, perseverance, thrift,

hard work, learning, openness, accountability, self-discipline

– Family and work are not separated• Short-term orientation

– Concerned with bottom line, control systems, respecting tradition, and preserving face

– Fulfilling social obligations