The Cultural Environments Facing Business

The Cultural Environments Facing Business

* Culture includes norm based on learned attitudes, values, and beliefs. Almost everyone agrees there are cross-country differences in the culture, but most experts disagree as to exactly what they are.

* International companies must evaluate their business practices to ensure that their behavior accords with national norms.

* In addition to being part of a national culture, people are simultaneously part of other cultures, such as a professional or organizational culture.

* Distinct societies are often found within a given a country. People also may have more in common with similar groups in foreign countries than with groups in their own countries.

* Cultural change may take place as a result of choice or imposition. Isolation from other groups, especially because of language, tends to stabilize cultures.

* People fall into social-stratification systems according to their ascribed and acquired group membership. These memberships determine an individual’s level of access to economic resources, prestige, social relations, and power. An individual’s affiliation may determine his or her qualifications and access to certain jobs.

* Some people work far more than is necessary to satisfy their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. They’re motivated to work for various reasons, including the preference for material possessions over leisure time, the belief that work will bring success and reward, and the desire for achievement.

* There are national differences in norms that influences people’s behavior. Such norms determine whether they prefer autocratic or consultative working relationships, whether they prefer their activities to follow set rules, and how much they prefer to compete or cooperate with fellow workers.

* There are national differences in norms determining such behavioral factors as trust, belief in fate, and confidence in planning for the future....