Gaining Cultural Insights : Essential for International

Business

S. Tamer CavusgilFuller E. Callaway Professorial Chair

Georgia State University

January 2013

What is Culture?

NATIONALCULTURE

Language

Ethnic

Gender

Region

Religion...

PROFESSIONALCULTURE

AcademeBusinessBankingEngineeringITLegalMedicalMilitary...

ORGANIZATIONALCULTURE

Progressive socializations occurring during a person’s life

National Culture• Culture relates to a system of shared

assumptions, ideas, beliefs, and values that guide human behavior

• Appears in statements, actions, material items

• Culture is acquired and inculcated; acquisition of cultural norms and patterns is a subtle process

• Culture is transmitted from generation to generation; with embellishment and adaptation over time

The Iceberg Concept of Culture

Fine Arts Literature

Drama Classical Music

(High Culture)

Popular Music

Games

Courtship Practice

MythologyCooking

Folk Dancing

Rites of Passage

Humor EtiquetteDress Diet

(Primarily in awareness)(Folk Culture)

(Primarily out of awareness) (Deep Culture)Mores and Ideals

Family Relationships

Gender Roles

Conception of the Self

Preference of Cooperation vs. Competition

Behavior in Public Places

Decision-Making Practices

Methods of Problem-Solving

Nature of FriendshipConceptions of Status Mobility

Notion about Leadership…and much more…

Conception of BeautyNonverbal Communication

Superior/Subordinate Relationships

Arrangement of Physical Space

Tempo of Work

Eye Behavior

Ordering of Time

Conversational Patterns

Religion

How National Culture May Influence Human Resource Management

• Teamwork

• Lifetime employment

• Pay for performance system

• Informal communication

• Organizational structure

• Union-management relationships

• Attitudes toward ambiguity ...

Cultural Differences inEntrepreneurship

It’s been said that when someone in Hong Kong starts a new business venture, the entire family works around the clock to make it a success. In the U.S., friends put up their money for the entrepreneur. In the U.K., everyone tries to discourage the entrepreneur by explaining why it is likely to fail and then scratch his car. In Turkey, friends will ask the entrepreneur to hire their sons, nephews. In India, the administrative system will put up monumental red tape.

• Unique history and geography• Turkish speaking• Moslem, but secular• Democracy since 1923• Pro-west, pro-secular military• Young population (1/2 under 29)• Rapidly urbanizing• Liberalizing EM economy since 1980s• WTO & NATO member, applicant to EU

Turkey: Quick Facts

Ataturk – Mustafa Kemal

Founder of modern Turkish Republic in 1923 is a national hero

How to Detect Cultural Orientations

• Cultural metaphors• Expressions; idioms” proverbs• Stereotypes

generalizations about a group of people that overlook real, individual differences; perceptions

Cultural Metaphors Serve as aGuide, Map, or Beacon

Swedish Stuga (summer home)

Spanish bullfight

Irish conversations

Israeli Kibbutz

Japanese garden

U.S.A ?

Asure (Noah’s Pudding) is a good metaphor for Turkish culture – diversity

Modern and Conservative-- together

For me, a key metaphor for Turkey is contrasts. Turkey is really a place of

contradictions. It's not only the fact that Istanbul sits on two different continents. You can see women people wearing western fashions and headscarves side by side. At the same time as women are becoming top executives in such companies as Turkcell,

they are still kept away from schooling in the rural areas. While rapidly modernizing,

Turkey has a long journey to travel.Daniela Almeida (a Brazilian journalist

who accompanied GSU students studying in Istanbul in 2012)

Turkish Coffee – Another Useful Metaphor for

Turks

Tea Garden “Cinaralti”, Uskudar - Istanbul

Proverbs Reveal CulturalValues and Traits

Japan

Australia

Thailand

Sweden

“The nail that sticks up getsstruck down”

“Cutting down the tall poppy”

“If you follow older people,dogs won’t bite you”

“Jantelegen” (Don’t think thatyou are better than others)

Group conformity

Egalitarianism

Wisdom

Modesty

Expressions Characterize a Culture

• Jeitinho (Brazil)Finding a way… A rapid, improvised, creative solution… Brazilian method of social navigation where one can obtain favors or to get an advantage.• Guanxi (China) Reciprocity of favors within personalized networks of influence. • ‘Inshallah’ TurkeyFatalism (If God is willing) - The belief that God or some moral order controls man’s destiny and the outcome of his actions.

Always creative – and daring!

Perceptions of U.S.Businesspeople

Americans are…• argumentative and even profane; not quiet or

humble.• individualistic and lovers of freedom; not group

oriented.• nonhierarchical; others believe titles are to be

respected.• risk takers and just go for it; not conservative and

have time-honored ways.• direct, express emotions, and look for immediate

return on the bottom line; others take time to be social and get to know their business partners.

Core Characteristics ofAmerican Culture

• Individualism and autonomy

• Low tolerance for ambiguity

• Hard work

• Resourcefulness and creativity

• Emphasis on success, winning; competitive

• Career advancement

• Material rewards and community recognition

• Parochialism

Recognition of Some Typically American traits

•Outgoing, friendly•Informal•Loud, rude, boastful, immature•Hard working•Extravagant, wasteful•Confident, they have all the answers•Lacking in class consciousness

•Disrespectful of authority

•Racially prejudiced

•Ignorant of other countries

•Wealthy

•Generous

•Always in a hurry

Asian Spirit/Asia’s Moral Values

Based on teaching of Kung Fu-tzu (Confucius) 500 B.C.

• Discipline• Loyalty• Hard work, rather than inheritance as key to

entitlement• Long-term investment• Focus on education• Esteem for the family• Concern for the collective harmony of the group• Control over one’s desires

• High on collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and power distance and more emphasis on relationship rather than competition (Hofstede, 1980). • Above average in values of hierarchy, conservatism, egalitarian commitment and harmony (Schwartz, 1994;2004). • Above average on in-group collectivism, power distance and assertiveness; below average on gender egalitarianism, uncertainty avoidance and social collectivism (Kabasakal & Bodur, 1998; Kabasakal & Bodur, 2002).

Highlights of Turkish Culture

Rapid Change Though culture persists,

values are subject to change across generations

No. 1 in the world (of 138 nations) in mobile-network coverage.(World Economic Forum, 2011)

Facebook ranks Turkey 4th in the world in number of registered users (over 40m users)

• Cell phone ownership in households: 92%

• Internet access rate: 43%• PC penetration rate in households:

34.3%• 1 in 5 people owns a vehicle. (2011)

DynamiDynamic Marketc Market

Godiva -- now a Turkish brand (Yildiz –Ulker)

PRESS FREEDOM IN PRESS FREEDOM IN TURKEYTURKEY

Press Freedom Rankings Hürriyet Daily News, January 26, 2012

• Turkey dropped dramatically in press freedom rankings in 2011, losing 10 places to be 148th out of 178 countries.

• The escalation of judicial harassment of journalists and anti-terrorism laws are listed among the reasons … Turkish Contemporary Journalists Association currently lists 95 journalists in prison.

Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) World Press Freedom Index for 2011

Turkey's bad example on democracy and authoritarianism

March 10, 2011http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/10/AR2011031005620.html

An Unusual Export:Turkish Soap Operas are a Huge Hit in the Region !

Interesting Videoshttp://www.turkishculture.org/ http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5s15o_the-cultural-heritage-of-turkey_people http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O44fFSBfqs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsgdQ6RXvJE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFnAww8v0sc

http://www.funhous3.com/404/Cool_Turkish_Commercial/

Culture, Travel and Tourism• Music, Culinary Arts, Lifestyles (Newspapers, Radio/TV) …

– http://www.turkishculture.org/• Turkey’s Official Tourism Portal

– http://www.goturkey.com/• Turkish Embassy, Washington DC, USA

– http://www.washington.emb.mfa.gov.tr/AboutTurkey.aspx• Turkish News (choose categories)

– http://www.turkishnews.com• http://www.turkishnews.com/en/content/2011/11/23/turki

sh-journalists-face-judge-in-test-of-media-freedom/• http://www.turkishnews.com/en/content/2012/01/11/turk

ey-imprisoned-journalists-publish-own-newspaper/• http://www.turkishnews.com/DiscoverTurkey/politics/fore

ign/

For More Information, Contact:

S. Tamer CavusgilFuller E. Callaway Professorial Chair

Executive Director, CIBERGeorgia State University

cavusgil@gsu.edu 404/413-7284http://robinson.gsu.edu/ciber/