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MODULE 2

SYNOPSIS

CHAPTER 2 - CROSS-CULTURAL BUSINESS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Describe culture and explain the significance of both national culture and subcultures.

2. Identify the components of culture and describe their impact on international business.

3. Describe cultural change and explain how companies and culture affect each another.

4. Explain how the physical environment and technology influence culture.

5. Describe the two main frameworks used to classify cultures and explain their practical use.

Chapter Outline:

What Is Culture?

Avoiding Ethnocentricity

Developing Cultural Literacy

National Culture and Subcultures

National Culture

Subcultures

Components of Culture

Aesthetics

Values and Attitudes

Attitudes toward Time

Attitudes toward Work

Attitudes toward Cultural Change

Cultural Diffusion

When Companies Change Cultures

When Cultures Change Companies

Is a Global Culture Emerging?

Manners and Customs

Manners

Customs

Folk and Popular Customs

The Business of Gift Giving

Social Structure

Social Group Associations

Family

Gender

Social Status

Social Mobility

Caste System

Class System

Religion

Christianity

Islam

Hinduism

Buddhism

Confucianism

Judaism

Shinto

Personal Communication

Spoken and Written Language

Implications for Managers

Language Blunders

Lingua Franca

Body Language

Education

Education Level

The “Brain Drain” Phenomenon

Physical and Material Environments

Physical Environment

Topography

Climate

Material Culture

Uneven Material Culture

Classifying Cultures

Kluckhohn–Strodtbeck Framework

Case: Dimensions of Japanese Culture

Hofstede Framework

Bottom Line...