Week 2: CMS 1004: Culture What is culture? Before we can compare how people from different countries and cultures communicate, we need to consider what culture is. One definition provided by Geert Hofstede (2014) is that: “Culture is the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others”. In an organisation, Bower (1966), defines culture as: “The way we do things around here”. To consider: Can this simpler definition be applied to other groups such as families, communities, countries?
Characteristics of culture
is shared is learned and is enduring is a powerful influence on behaviour is systematic and organised is largely invisible – expressed in living artefacts may be tight or loose in its effect on the life of members of a culture.
These and other aspects of specific cultures can affect the quality and outcomes of intercultural communication. (Archee et al 2013)
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Culture is shared – something that a group has in common. Culture is learned and is enduring – does not arise by accident but is built systemically over time. It is passed on to the next generations partly through the group’s accepted beliefs and rules such as religious beliefs, systems of land ownership and forms of marriage. Other elements are passed on through the family in the form of parental role-modelling and advice to the young. Culture is a powerful influence on behaviour. If we move to another culture we need to adapt to the new culture, go through a process of acculturation. People adapt most effectively when they keep some of their original cultural values and add values from the new culture over time. Culture is systematic and organised, it is not random. Each culture has an organised set of values, attitudes, beliefs and meanings that are related to each other and to the environmental context. With further examination each is discriminating, logical and coherent. Culture is largely invisible and expressed in living artefacts. That is, anything manmade such as language including non-verbal communication, customs, ceremonies
and dress, as well as physical artefacts including architecture, art and decoration. The social structures and ways of thinking express the underlying values and assumptions. Culture may be tight or loose and differ in how entrenched the culture is. Tight cultures can be identified by a population being more in agreement on dominance of particular religious beliefs e.g. Japan. Countries like US and Australia with populations from many cultural backgrounds have relatively ‘loose’ cultures which are influenced by the encouragement of freedom of thought and action. Cultures are diverse and complex
Factors that affect your cultural outlook, behaviour and interactions. History and world view: How has your family/community influenced your view the world? What experiences have you had? Consider factors such as peace, war, religion, no religion, political allegiance, indigenous, environment, elders, cultural background eg Greek, Vietnamese. Socialisation: How did you learn the accepted norms and values of the community? Education: primary, secondary, tertiary, gender, group roles, friendship rules, attitudes to authority, relations with older and younger people, study, work, community links, sport Language: How does knowledge influence your appreciation of a culture? How many languages do you speak? Why is this so? What are some of the subtleties? What might be the benefits? What are the challenges when people speak different languages? Silence? Translation. Situation. Non-verbal communication: In your family/community how do non-verbal cues influence interpersonal communication? For example, body language, body design, time, space, furniture and clothing. Consider how patterns of communication could result in misunderstanding non-verbal communication. How might face-to-face meetings, podcasts and web-based meetings be affected by non-verbal communication?
National culture Nations, Thomas and Inkson (2009) suggests, are often formed because of cultural similarities among different population groups, and over time they reinforce their support for a national culture by means of shared institutions such as legal and educational systems, the mass media.
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The impact of this is important because this can affect groups conducting business within another country’s national, legal and political systems.
Australia Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2014) shows that as of 30 June 2013 27.7 per cent of Australia's population was born overseas or 6.2 million people. The top 12 countries of birth for 2012-2013 are in decreasing order are United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, India, Vietnam, Philippines, Italy, South Africa, Malaysia, Germany.
Ethnocentrism One of the biggest obstacles to effective intercultural communication is assuming that all people from another culture are the same, for example, assuming that all British people are reserved. Ethnocentrism is using one’s own culture to interpret all others and often believing that your culture is superior in all ways. This is how we define ourselves. Based on this we can knowingly or unknowingly differentiate, exclude, intentionally or unintentionally, have a negative or positive bias towards other groups and may categorise them in unfair ways. To minimise this effect, the first step is to understand your own culture and how it affects your own interpretation of the behaviour of others. How do we define ourselves as members of a country? What differentiates us? What are our expectations, attitudes and behaviours? Now try looking at your culture through the eyes of a different culture, its special features, characteristics and habits.
A global culture? Consider MacDonalds and Starbucks, both are American based global companies with locations in many different cultural environments from India to Japan to Egypt. The pace of cultural change is slow to change.
Acculturation Anthropologists use ‘acculturation’ as a negative term to describe the way in which a dominant culture imposes itself on a weaker culture so that members of the latter eventually lose most of their cultures (Archee et al, 2013, p89). Bennett, (Eunson, 2012), suggests that when people interact with people from other cultures, they may be able to recognise and experience relevant cultural differences, which may then allow them to develop the ability to think and act in interculturally appropriate ways. Worldwide there is now increasing recognition of the value of diversity in culture. Diversity offers a wider range of viewpoints and ways of doing things. Most societies now protect minority cultures from being overwhelmed by more influential cultures. 3
References Archee, R Gurney M & Mohan T, Communicating as professionals, 3rd edn, Cengage Learning Australia Pty, Ltd, South Melbourne Bower, M 1966, The will to manage: corporate success through programmed management, McGrawHill, New York. Eunson, B 2012, Communicating in the 21st Century, 3rd edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia, Milton. Hofstede, G 2014, National Cultural Dimensions, The Hofstede Centre, viewed 2 June 2014, < http://geert-hofstede.com/national-culture.html> The Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014, 3412.0 - Migration, Australia, 2011-12 and 2012-13, The Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed 6 June 2014, <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3412.0Chapter12011-12%20and%202012-13> Thomas, D & Inkson, K 2009, Cultural Intelligence, 2nd edn, Berrett-Koehler Publications Inc, San Francisco.
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