Chapter 03 Differences in Culture
Chapter 03 - Differences in Culture
Chapter 03Differences in Culture
True / False Questions
1.(p.88)In today's world of global communications, rapid
transportation and global markets, cultural differences have ceased
to exist.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
2.(p.88)Culture is static.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
3.(p.89)Values are abstract ideas about what a group believes to
be right, good and desirable.TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
4.(p.89)A society is another name for a country.FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
5.(p.89)A country is defined as a system of values and norms
that are shared among a group of people and that when taken
together constitute a design for living.FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
6.(p.89)People who violate folkways are considered to be evil or
bad.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
7.(p.90)Folkways include rituals and symbolic behavior.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
8.(p.90)The bow that is given by a Japanese business executive
to another business executive is an example of symbolic
behavior.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
9.(p.90)Mores have much greater significance than
folkways.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
10.(p.91)If a country is characterized as having a single
homogenous culture, then its national culture also is homogenous
and not a mosaic of subcultures.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
11.(p.91)The values and norms of a culture are
evolutionary.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
12.(p.92)A society's social structure refers to its basic social
organization.TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
13.(p.92)Individualism has led to a high degree of managerial
mobility between companies resulting in managers who have good
general skills but lack company-specific experience.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
14.(p.93)The emphasis on individualism in the U.S. may raise the
costs of doing business due to its adverse impact on managerial
stability and cooperation.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
15.(p.93)The group is the primary unit of organization in
Western societies.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
16.(p.93)As demonstrated by Japan, the primacy of the group is
always beneficial.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
17.(p.94)The term social strata refers to the extent to which
individuals can move out of the strata into which they were
born.FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
18.(p.94)The most rigid system of stratification is a class
system.FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
19.(p.94)A caste system is a closed system of stratification in
which social position is determined by the family into which the
person is born.TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
20.(p.94)A class system is a rigid form of social stratification
in which the position a person has by birth cannot be changed
through his or her own achievements or luck.FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
21.(p.95)Historically, upward mobility could be achieved in a
single generation in Britain.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
22.(p.95)China's communist rule strengthened class
divisions.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
23.(p.96)An antagonistic relationship between management and
labor classes may result in higher costs of production.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
24.(p.96)Confucianism can be accurately characterized as a
religion.FALSE
Difficulty: Hard
25.(p.96)Christianity is nonexistent in Africa.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
26.(p.98)Several sociologists have argued that of the three main
branches of ChristianityCatholic, Orthodox and Protestantthe latter
has the most important economic implications.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
27.(p.98)Islam is the largest of the world's major
religions.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
28.(p.99)Islam has roots in both Judaism and
Christianity.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
29.(p.100)Muslim countries are likely to be receptive to
international business as long as those businesses behave in a
manner that is consistent with Islamic ethics.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
30.(p.100)The protection of the right to private property is
also embedded within Islam.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
31.(p.102)A mudarabah contract banking method of Islamic banks
is similar to a profit-sharing scheme.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
32.(p.102)Like Christianity and Islam, Hinduism's founding is
also linked to a particular person and it has an officially
sanctioned sacred book.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
33.(p.104)Hindus perceive the pursuit of material well-being as
making the attainment of nirvana easier.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
34.(p.104)Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism does not support the caste
system.TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
35.(p.105)Guanxi is an important mechanism for building
long-term business relationships and getting business done in
China.TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
36.(p.106-107)Since English is often thought of as the global
language of business, it is not important for an American business
executive to learn foreign languages.FALSE
Difficulty: Easy
37.(p.107)Unspoken language refers to nonverbal
communication.TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
38.(p.108)Hofstede's power distance dimension focused on how a
society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and
intellectual capabilities.TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
39.(p.110)Culture is a constant; it does not evolve over
time.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
40.(p.112)Cultural change is unidirectional, with national
cultures converging toward some homogenous global entity.FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
Multiple Choice Questions
41.(p.88)During the 1960s and 1970s, class divisions in _____
raised the cost of doing business there, relative to other European
countries.A.Great BritainB.SwitzerlandC.NorwayD.Germany
Difficulty: Hard
42.(p.88)Which of the following is not true regarding
culture?A.Culture is staticB.Culture is evolvingC.It is a system of
values and norms that are shared among a group of peopleD.It
involves the knowledge and beliefs of people
Difficulty: Easy
43.(p.89)_____ is/are best defined as shared assumptions about
how things ought to be.A.NormsB.ValuesC.SocietyD.Culture
Difficulty: Easy
44.(p.89)The system of values and norms that are shared among a
group of people and that when taken together constitute a design
for living best definesA.SocietyB.Value
systemsC.PrinciplesD.Culture
Difficulty: Easy
45.(p.89)Social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate
behavior in particular situations are best described
asA.NormsB.ValuesC.CultureD.Society
Difficulty: Easy
46.(p.89)A group of people who share a common set of values and
norms form aA.CultureB.SocietyC.CountryD.Caste
Difficulty: Easy
47.(p.89)_____ are the routine conventions of everyday
life.A.FolkwaysB.MoresC.RitesD.Beliefs
Difficulty: Easy
48.(p.89)_____ are social conventions concerning things such as
the appropriate dress code in a particular situation, good social
manners, eating with the correct utensils, neighborly behavior and
the like.A.ValuesB.BeliefsC.MoresD.Folkways
Difficulty: Medium
49.(p.90)An act, as simple as shaking hands when meeting new
people is an example ofA.ValuesB.Symbolic behaviorC.MoresD.Social
stratification
Difficulty: Medium
50.(p.90)A Japanese executive's ritual of presenting a business
card to a foreign business executive is an example
ofA.MoresB.ValuesC.AttitudesD.Folkways
Difficulty: Medium
51.(p.90)Mores areA.The norms that are seen as central to the
functioning of a society and its social lifeB.The routine
conventions of every day lifeC.Abstract ideas about what a group
believes to be right, good and desirableD.The social rules and
guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular
situations
Difficulty: Easy
52.(p.91)Which of the following statement about values and norms
of a culture is not true?A.The values and norms of a society do not
emerge fully formedB.They are the evolutionary product of a number
of factorsC.They are influenced by social structure and
religionD.They do not influence social structure and religion
Difficulty: Hard
53.(p.92)The social organization of Western society tends to
emphasize onA.A group orientationB.The familyC.Individual
achievementD.Work groups
Difficulty: Medium
54.(p.92)The emphasis on individualism in the U.S. results in
all of the following disadvantages exceptA.Managers tend to develop
good general skills but lack the company-specific
experienceB.Difficulty in building teams within an organization to
perform collective tasksC.Executives are not exposed to different
ways of doing businessD.Difficulty to achieve cooperation both
within a company and between companies
Difficulty: Medium
55.(p.93)A central value of Japanese culture is the importance
attached toA.The individualB.Group membershipC.Individual
achievementD.Personal accomplishments
Difficulty: Easy
56.(p.93)It has been argued that the success of Japanese
enterprises in the global economy has been based partly all of the
following exceptA.The diffusion of self-managing work teamsB.The
close cooperation among different functions within Japanese
companiesC.The high degree of managerial mobility between
companiesD.The cooperation between a company and its suppliers on
issues such as design, quality control and inventory reduction
Difficulty: Hard
57.(p.94)Which of the following refers to the extent to which
individuals can move out of the strata into which they are
born?A.Caste stratificationB.Class systemC.Social
mobilityD.Individual potential
Difficulty: Easy
58.(p.94)A _____ is a closed system of stratification in which
social position is determined by the family into which a person is
born and change in that position is usually not possible during an
individual's lifetime.A.Caste systemB.Class systemC.Social
systemD.Culture system
Difficulty: Easy
59.(p.94)This is a less rigid form of social stratification in
which social mobility is possible.A.Social systemB.Caste
systemC.Cultural systemD.Class system
Difficulty: Easy
60.(p.94)These strata are typically defined on the basis of
characteristics such as family background, occupation and
income.A.Demographic strataB.Economic strataC.Social
strataD.Cultural strata
Difficulty: Medium
61.(p.94)A class systemA.Is the same as a caste systemB.Is a
rigid form of social stratification that does not permit social
mobilityC.Allows an individual to change his or her position via
personal achievementsD.Is more rigid than the caste system
Difficulty: Medium
62.(p.95)A condition where people tend to perceive themselves in
terms of their class background and this shapes their relationships
with members of other classes is known asA.Economic
classificationB.Social mobilityC.Class mobilityD.Class
consciousness
Difficulty: Medium
63.(p.95)_____ has been played out in British society in the
traditional hostility between-upper-middle class managers and their
working class employees.A.Class consciousnessB.Cultural
unityC.Social awarenessD.Category mindfulness
Difficulty: Medium
64.(p.95)In china, class divisionsA.Have historically been of no
importanceB.Were strengthened during the high point of communist
ruleC.Increased even during reforms of the late 1970s and early
1980sD.Were weakened because of a rigid system of household
registration
Difficulty: Hard
65.(p.95)The emergence of class-consciousness in Great Britain
can be attributed toA.The relative lack of class mobilityB.A high
degree of social mobilityC.An extreme emphasis on
individualismD.Most of the population perceiving itself to be
middle class
Difficulty: Medium
66.(p.95)Class consciousnessA.Refers to a set of moral
principles or values, that are used to guide and shape behaviorB.Is
a condition where people tend to perceive themselves in terms of
their class backgroundC.Is the extent to which individuals can move
out of the strata into which they are bornD.Is a closed system of
stratification in which social position is determined by the family
into which a person is born
Difficulty: Hard
67.(p.96)Which of the following cannot be characterized as a
religion?A.IslamB.HinduismC.ConfucianismD.Buddhism
Difficulty: Easy
68.(p.96)Ethical systems areA.A set of moral principles or
values, that are used to guide and shape behaviorB.Shared beliefs
and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the
sacredC.Routine conventions of everyday lifeD.Social rules that
govern peoples' actions toward each other
Difficulty: Easy
69.(p.96)Religion may be defined asA.Routine conventions of
everyday lifeB.Social rules that govern peoples' actions toward
each otherC.Shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the
realm of the sacredD.A set of moral principles or values, that are
used to guide and shape behavior
Difficulty: Easy
70.(p.96)_____ is the most widely practiced religion in the
world.A.ChristianityB.IslamC.HinduismD.Buddhism
Difficulty: Medium
71.(p.98)The second largest of the world's religions
isA.ChristianityB.BuddhismC.HinduismD.Islam
Difficulty: Medium
72.(p.98)According to sociologists which of the following
branches of Christianity has the most important economic
implications?A.CatholicB.OrthodoxC.ProtestantD.Mormon
Difficulty: Hard
73.(p.98)Identify the sociologist who made a connection between
Protestant ethics and "the spirit of capitalism" that has since
become famous.A.Paul MassingB.Max WeberC.Franz OppenheimerD.Francis
Galton
Difficulty: Easy
74.(p.100)Which of the following observations is correct?A.None
of the economic principles established in the Koran are profree
enterpriseB.The Koran speaks approvingly of free enterpriseC.The
Koran speaks disapprovingly of earning legitimate profit through
trade and commerceD.Protection of the right to private property is
not embedded within Islam
Difficulty: Medium
75.(p.100)According to Islam, those who hold property are
regarded asA.TrusteesB.OwnersC.TenantsD.Speculators
Difficulty: Medium
76.(p.102)This is an Islamic banking method where banks lend
money to a business and rather than charging that business interest
on the loan, they take a share in the profits that are derived from
the investment.A.MudarabahB.MurabahaC.MaysirD.Mudarib
Difficulty: Hard
77.(p.102)Which Islamic banking method is the most widely used
among the world's Islamic banks, primarily because it is the
easiest to implement?A.MudaribB.MurabahaC.MaysirD.Mudarabah
Difficulty: Hard
78.(p.102)According to _____ the way to achieve nirvana is to
lead a severe ascetic lifestyle of material and physical
self-denial, devoting life to a spiritual rather than material
quest.A.BuddhismB.HinduismC.ConfucianismD.Islam
Difficulty: Medium
79.(p.104)According to Max Weber,A.Principles embedded in
Hinduism encourage high levels of entrepreneurial activityB.Hindu
values emphasize that individuals should be judged by their
material achievementsC.Pursuit of material well-being makes the
attainment of nirvana easierD.Devout Hindus would be less likely to
engage in entrepreneurial activity than devout Protestants
Difficulty: Medium
80.(p.104)Identify the incorrect statement pertaining to the
caste system in India.A.It was supported by HinduismB.Traditionally
mobility between castes within an individual's lifetime was not
possibleC.It has been completely uprooted from the country's social
lifeD.It has been abolished in India
Difficulty: Hard
81.(p.104)BuddhismA.Stresses the afterlife and spiritual
achievementB.Advocates extreme ascetic behaviorC.Supports the caste
systemD.Stresses maximum involvement in this world
Difficulty: Medium
82.(p.105)ConfucianismA.Is best characterized as a religionB.Is
highly concerned with the supernatural and afterlifeC.Teaches the
importance of attaining personal salvation through right actionD.Is
built around a comprehensive legal system
Difficulty: Medium
83.(p.105)Three values central to the Confucian system of ethics
have very important economic implications. Which of these is not
one among them?A.LoyaltyB.Rule-based lawC.Reciprocal
obligationsD.Honesty in dealings with others
Difficulty: Medium
84.(p.106)While _____ is the mother tongue of the largest number
of people in the world, the most widely spoken language
isA.Spanish; ChineseB.English; HindiC.Hindi; SpanishD.Chinese;
English
Difficulty: Medium
85.(p.108)The _____ dimension of Hofstede's study explores how a
society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and
intellectual capabilities.A.Power distanceB.Individualism vs.
collectivismC.Uncertainty avoidanceD.Masculinity vs. femininity
Difficulty: Easy
86.(p.108)The individualism vs. collectivism dimension of
Hofstede's study exploredA.The extent to which different cultures
socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and
tolerating uncertaintyB.The relationship between gender and work
rolesC.How a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in
physical and intellectual capabilitiesD.The relationship between
the individual and his or her fellows
Difficulty: Easy
87.(p.108)Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance dimension
consideredA.The extent to which different cultures socialized their
members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating
uncertaintyB.The relationship between gender and work rolesC.How a
society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and
intellectual capabilitiesD.The relationship between the individual
and his or her fellows
Difficulty: Easy
88.(p.109)Hofstede's masculinity vs. femininity dimension
examinedA.The extent to which different cultures socialized their
members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating
uncertaintyB.The relationship between gender and work rolesC.How a
society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and
intellectual capabilitiesD.The relationship between the individual
and his or her fellows
Difficulty: Easy
89.(p.110)Hofstede's dimension of Confucian dynamismA.Captures
attitudes toward time, persistence, ordering by status, protection
of face, respect for tradition and reciprocation of gifts and
favorsB.Focuses on how a society deals with the fact that people
are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilitiesC.Explores the
relationship between the individual and his or her fellowsD.Looks
at the relationship between gender and the ability to accept
ambiguous situations
Difficulty: Easy
90.(p.113)The belief in the superiority of one's own culture is
known
asA.EthnocentrismB.EgocentrismC.PolycentrismD.Theocentricism
Difficulty: Easy
Essay Questions
91.(p.89)Explain the role of values and norms in culture.
Values or abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good,
right and desirable, form the bedrock of culture. Norms are the
social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in
a particular situation. Culture can be defined as a system of
values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that
when taken together constitute a design for living.
Difficulty: Easy
92.(p.89-90)Compare and contrast folkways and mores.
Folkways are the routine conventions of everyday life.
Generally, folkways are actions of little moral significance.
Folkways include rituals and symbolic behavior. In contrasts, mores
are norms that are seen as central to the functioning of a society
and to its social life. Mores have much greater significance than
folkways. Accordingly, violating mores can bring serious
retribution.
Difficulty: Medium
93.(p.90)Discuss the relationship between society and the
nation-state.
There is not a strict one-to-one correspondence between a
society and a nation-state. Nation-states are political creations
that may contain a single culture or several cultures. While it is
possible to talk about cultures at different levels, for example,
an "American society" and "American culture," it is important to
recognize there are several societies within America, each with its
own culture. The relationship between culture and country is often
ambiguous. One cannot always characterize a country as having a
single homogenous culture and that the national culture is
typically a mosaic of subcultures.
Difficulty: Medium
94.(p.91)What are the determinants of culture?
The values and norms of a culture do not emerge fully formed.
They are the evolutionary product of political philosophy, economic
philosophy, education, language, social structure and religion.
Difficulty: Easy
95.(p.92-93)Discuss the effect of the emphasis on individual
performance that exists in many Western societies.
The emphasis on individual performance in many Western societies
has both beneficial and harmful aspects. For example, America's
emphasis on individual performance has resulted in a high level of
entrepreneurial activity and the development of new products and
new ways of doing things. However, because individualism finds
expression in a high degree of managerial mobility between
companies, the U.S. has many managers who have good general skills
but lack the knowledge, experience and network contacts that come
with years of working in the same company. In addition, because
individuals are always competing with each other, it may be
difficult to build teams within an organization to perform
collective tasks. In general, the emphasis on individualism in the
U.S., while helping to create a dynamic entrepreneurial economy,
may raise the costs of doing business due to its adverse impact on
managerial stability and cooperation.
Difficulty: Hard
96.(p.94)Explain the concept of social stratification.
All societies are stratified on a hierarchical basis into social
categories or social strata. Social strata are typically defined on
the basis of characteristics such as family background, occupation
and income. Individuals born into the top of a social hierarchy
tend to have better life chances than individuals born into a lower
stratum. While all societies are stratified to some degree they
differ from each other with regard to the degree of mobility
between social strata and with regard to the significance attached
to social strata in business contexts.
Difficulty: Medium
97.(p.94)What is the difference between a caste system and a
class system?
A caste system is a closed system of stratification in which
social position is determined by the family into which a person is
born and change in that position is usually not possible during an
individual's lifetime. The caste system is the most rigid form of
social stratification. A caste frequently involves a specific
occupation. In contrast, a class system is a less rigid form of
social stratification in which social mobility is possible through
an individual's personal achievements and/or luck.
Difficulty: Medium
98.(p.95-96)Discuss why the stratification of a society is
important to business.
The stratification of a society is significant if it affects the
operation of business organizations. In a country like Great
Britain for example, the relative lack of class mobility and the
differences between the classes has resulted in hostility between
middle-class managers and their working-class employees. This
hostility and the resulting lack of cooperation can make it more
difficult for firms to establish a competitive advantage in the
global economy. While the last two decades has seen a reduction in
the number of industrial disputes in Britain, there are signs that
class consciousness may be reemerging in China.
Difficulty: Hard
99.(p.96)What is the connection between religion and ethical
systems?
Ethical systems are a set of moral principles or values, that
are used to guide and shape behavior. Most of the world's ethical
systems are the product of religions. Therefore, there are
Christian ethics and Islamic ethics. There are four dominant
religions in the world, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
The relationship among religion, ethics and society is subtle and
complex.The authors make the point that while it is important to
use caution when making generalizations about the relationship
between religion, ethics and business, there is recent research
that suggests that strong religious beliefs have a positive impact
on economic growth rates.
Difficulty: Medium
100.(p.98)Discuss the ideas of Max Weber. What is the Protestant
work ethic? Why is it important to the world economy?
Max Weber was a German sociologist who, in 1904, made the
connection between Protestant ethics and "the spirit of
capitalism." According to Weber, there was a relationship between
Protestantism and the emergence of modern capitalism. Weber
suggested that the Protestant value system that emphasized the
importance of hard work, wealth creation and frugality was needed
to facilitate the development of capitalism.Thus, Weber coined the
term "Protestant work ethic" to denote the tendency on the part of
Protestants to work hard and accumulate wealth, which are the
underpinnings of capitalism.
Difficulty: Medium
101.(p.100)Explain how the Koran views business.
The Koran establishes some explicit economic principles, many of
which are pro-free enterprise. The Koran supports free enterprise
and earning a legitimate profit through trade and commerce, as well
as the protection of the right to private property. However, Islam
is critical of those who earn profit through the exploitation of
others. Islam stresses the importance of living up to contractual
obligations, of keeping one's word and of abstaining from
deception.
Difficulty: Medium
102.(p.104)What are the economic implications of Hinduism?
According to Max Weber, Hindus do not encourage the kind of
entrepreneurial activity in pursuit of wealth creation that can be
found in Protestantism. Weber notes that traditional Hindu values
emphasize that individuals should not be judged by their material
achievements, but by their spiritual achievements. But one must be
careful not to read too much into Weber's arguments. Modern India
is a very dynamic entrepreneurial society and millions of
hard-working entrepreneurs form the economic backbone of the
country's rapidly growing economy.
Difficulty: Medium
103.(p.105-106)Consider the influence of Confucian ethics on the
economies of China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
It has been suggested that the economic success of China, Japan,
South Korea and Taiwan, may be due, in part, to the influence of
Confucian ethics on the culture in those countries. Three values
that are central to the Confucian system of ethics are of
particular note: loyalty, reciprocal obligations and honesty in
dealing with others. In fact, the notion of guanxi or business
relationships, which permeates business dealings in the region,
revolves around the three values. For example, it has been
suggested that the close ties between the auto companies and their
suppliers in Japan are facilitated by a combination of trust and
reciprocal obligations.
Difficulty: Medium
104.(p.106-107)Discuss the spoken language. Which is the most
spoken language in the world? What language is used in business? Is
it important to learn a foreign language?
Language does far more than just enable people to communicate
with each other. The nature of a language also structures the way
we perceive the world. Chinese is the mother tongue of the largest
number of people in the world, followed by English and Hindi.
However, the most widely spoken language in the world is English,
followed by French, Spanish and Chinese. English is increasingly
known as the language of business. Therefore, even when a business
meeting does not involve native English speakers, English is likely
to be spoken. Learning a foreign language is still very important
for native English speakers because doing so can build rapport and
help a company avoid costly translation blunders.
Difficulty: Medium
105.(p.107)Consider the importance of unspoken language. Why is
it important to be familiar with the unspoken language of another
culture?
Unspoken language refers to nonverbal communication. We all
communicate with each other by a host of nonverbal cues. The
raising of eyebrows, for example, is a sign of recognition in most
cultures, while a smile is a sign of joy. Many nonverbal cues,
however, are culturally bound. A failure to understand the
nonverbal cues of another culture can lead to a failure to
communicate. For example, making a circle with the thumb and
forefinger is a friendly gesture in the United States, but it is a
vulgar gesture in Greece and Turkey.Personal space is another part
of unspoken language.
Difficulty: Medium
106.(p.107-108)Why is the role of education in a culture
important to international companies?
A key aspect of education in a culture is its role as a
determinant of national competitive advantage. The availability of
a pool of skilled and educated workers seems to be a major
determinant of the likely economic success of a country. Porter for
example, has argued that Japan's excellent education system is an
important factor explaining the country's postwar economic success.
In addition, a good education system is an important factor guiding
the location choices of international business. The general
education level of a country is also a good index of the kind of
products that might sell in a country and of the type of
promotional material that should be used.
Difficulty: Medium
107.(p.108-109)Describe the four dimensions of culture as
identified by Geert Hofstede.
Geert Hofstede identified four dimensions that he claimed
summarized the differences between different cultures. According to
Hofstede, the power distance dimension focused on how a society
deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and
intellectual capabilities. The second dimension identified by
Hofstede, individualism vs. collectivism, focused on the
relationship between the individual and his or her fellows.
Hofstede's third dimension, uncertainty avoidance, measured the
extent to which different cultures socialize their members into
accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty. Finally,
Hofstede's fourth dimension, masculinity vs. femininity, examined
the relationship between gender and work roles.
Difficulty: Medium
108.(p.110)Discuss the limitations of Hofstede's research.
Hofstede's research has been criticized on a number of points.
First, Hofstede assumes there is a one-to-one correspondence
between culture and the nation state. Second, the research may have
been culturally bound. Third, Hofstede's informants worked not only
within a single industry, but within one company. Finally, because
cultures evolve, Hofstede's research, which was conducted in the
1960s and 1970s, may not be as relevant today.
Difficulty: Medium
109.(p.110)Discuss Confucian dynamism. Explore the debate over
whether Confucian dynamism is good for an economy.
The notion of Confucian dynamism or long term orientation, was
added to Hofstede's model of culture to capture attitudes toward s
time, persistence, ordering by status, protection of face, respect
for tradition and reciprocation of gifts and favors. East Asian
countries such as Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand scored high on
Confucian dynamism, while countries such as the U.S. and Canada
scored low. Hofstede hypothesized that being Confucian was good for
economic growth, however other experts have questioned this
hypothesis, noting that countries that score low of Confucian
dynamism have also achieved high growth rates.
Difficulty: Hard
110.(p.111-112)Economic advancement and globalization are
prompting societal change. Discuss this statement.
Several studies have shown that economic advancement and
globalization are important factors in societal change. There is
evidence that economic progress is accompanied by a shift away from
collectivism toward individualism. In Japan for example, the model
Japanese "salaryman" is disappearing as a new generation of office
workers act more like Westerners. Similarly, advancements in
transportation and communications technologies combined with a
dramatic increase in trade and global corporations are creating
conditions for the merging of cultures.The culture of societies may
also change as they become richer because economic progress affects
a number of other factors, which in turn influence culture.
Difficulty: Hard
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