Intercultural

Management-
the notion of
culture and
related
concepts – cont’

Sit together with your own group,

 Lesson plan
Last week: This week:

• Define culture Explore culture

• Investigate the
Explore the non-
meaning of culture
verbal dimension in
• Conceptualize culture culture
through a Cultural
Intelligence Model Differentiate some
(Thomas and Inkson, concepts of culture
2004)
 Components of Cultural Intelligence ( CQ)

The ability to pay attention

Fundamental principles of
in a reflective and creative
cross cultural interactions ,
way to hints in the cross-
meaning knowing what
cultural situations
culture is, how culture vary,
encountered and the one’s
and how culture affect
own knowledge and
behavior
feelings

Behavior/Skills involve choosing

the appropriate behavior from a
well-developed selection of
behaviors that are correct for
different intercultural situations
Source: cultural intelligence, Living and
working Globally. Thomas and Inkson (2004)
 • Let’s brainstorm and define the following
Obj 1: terms
• Each group will get 1 to 2 words to define
Exploring • Present without reading your preparation
culture notes (use keywords )
• You have 5 minutes
 Differentiating the interactions with cultures

Acculturation (6
• Intracultural (1
Enculturation (7
• Multicultural (2
Endoculturation (7

• Cross-cultural (3 Transculturation/ (8
Neoculturation (Ortiz, 1947)

• Intercultural (4 Deculturation (8

Against-acculturation (9
• Transcultural (5
Adaptation from Zeigler, 1990; and Reculturation (9
Jensenius, 2012 Leothaud (cited in Gobert, 2007)
• Working culture and
environment
• Addressing culture…
• The degree of formality in
addressing business relations send
important signals that may not be
intended , anything from respect,
to friendliness, to disdain
• How to communicate with
superior,
with peer, colleagues?
• How to greet internationally?
• Is there an international corporate
culture?
• Should you disregard your own
cultural traits to satisfy international
professional relations?
• Making contacts…
• …is a term describing the first
meeting of two cultures previously
unaware of one another.
• Dress code…
are written and, more often,
unwritten rules, with regard
to clothing. Clothing like
other aspects of human
physical appearance has a
social significance, with
different rules and
expectations being valid
depending on circumstance
and occasion.
• Writing and verbal communication.,..
• Etiquette
• Syntax
• Grammar
• Intonation
• Speed
• Pitch
• Style
• Humor (sarcasm, irony, derision, cynicism…)
• Greeting and culture…
• Notion of personal space and degree of
body contact
• Rules (do & don’t)
• Cultural difference in non-verbal
communication (what, how, when, with
whom…)
• Greeting culture
• Personal
• Individual
• Group
• Professional
• Private
 Obj 2: • Cultural non-verbal communication codes…
Cultural • Physical appearance
• Proxemics (space)
differences • Chronemics (time)- punctuality, willingness to
wait, and interactions
in non- • Kinesics (motions, gestures and expressions)
verbal • Haptics (tactile)-use of touch feedback when you
interact.
communicat • Oculesics (eye contact)
• Vocalics and paralanguages- tone
ion • Olfactics (smell, noises, etc)- use of perfumes
• Source: Andersen (2012) in Intercultural
communication, a reader (Samovar, Porter and
McDaniel)
• Dimensions of intercultural non-verbal communication…
• Context
• Low: verbal, explicit, detailed and specific. Culture such as Swiss, German,
North American, Scandinavians-Norway, Sweden, and Denmark
• High: emphasis and reliant on non verbal communication codes, mostly
from Asian countries such as China, Japan and Korea.
• Dimensions of intercultural non-verbal communication…
• Identity
• Individualism: can be arguably the basis of liberty,
democracy and freedom but might be linked to
loneliness, selfishness and pollution…
• Collectivism: individual entities based on groups,
belonging to and dependent from larger entities.
• Dimensions of intercultural non-verbal communication…
• Power distance
• Low: smaller status differential, may sound offensive,
vocalics and kinesics generally well expressed…
• High: modesty, respect for the hierarchy, no
questioning of the orders given, smile is important...
• Dimensions of intercultural non-verbal communication…
• Gender
• Feminine: warmth and emotionally oriented, affection,
compassion and nurturance are valued …
• Masculine: dominance and anger are key, strength,
assertiveness, competitiveness and ambitiousness are
valued...
• Dimensions of intercultural non-verbal communication…
• Uncertainty
• Avoidance: seek clear, black and white answers, need
societies with clear rules and limited individual decision
making, seem rigid and controlling…
• Tolerance: acceptance of ambiguous answers and gray
areas; less codification, less rules and seem
unconventional...
• Dimensions of intercultural non-verbal communication…
• Immediacy
• Low: avoid public touching or non tactile culture, less expressive
and less immediate…
• High: smiling, touching, eye contact, closer distance, vocal
animation are valued...
 Group activity

Open TIMeS / Topic 3 / appendix 1-5 Read appendix 2 and: 10 minutes to prepare, 5 minutes
maximum to present
Summarize the case and State
the facts
Discuss the non-verbal actions
and reactions from Mr Chan
and Mr Thomson
Explain the cultural
ambiguities that occurred and
justify the uncertain status.
Obj 3:
Concepts of
culture
BELIEFS are statements of fact,
about the way things are

VALUES are preferred states about

the way things should be, about
ideal
 Symbols

Heroes

Rituals
Desirable: the norm is
absolute, pertaining to
what is ethically right Values Practices

Desired: the norm is

statistical or relative,
it indicate the choice
made by the majority

The ‘onion’ : manifestations of culture at

different levels of depth
 Concepts of culture
•ETHNOCENTRISM
The habit of seeing things only from the
point of view of ones 'own group. To judge
one culture by the standard of another
culture.
• The term coined by william G. Summer in
1906 in his book “ folkways’

•It creates a strong sense of group solidarity

but it also discourages intercultural or
intergroup understanding.
 • CULTURAL RELATIVISM
‘One culture has no absolute
criteria for judging the activities of
another culture as ‘low’ or ‘noble’.
However, every culture can and
should apply such judgment to its
own activities, because its members
are actors as well as observers.’
Claude Levi Strauss, 1952
• There are no scientific standards for considering the ways
of thinking, feeling and acting of one group as
intrinsically superior or inferior to those of another…
UNIVERSALISM VS PARTICULARISM

a person advocating
exclusive attachment to
loyalty to and concern for
one’s own group, party, or
others without regard to
nation: such barriers are
national or other loyalties.
created by local
particularism and privilege
Universalism and Particularism
Features Universalism Particularism

Underlying belief There are general truths Context and relationships

and principles are most important

Approach to rules Favors clear, universal Rules can be vary

rules depending on the
situation
Decision-making Based on objective Based on specific
standards (absolutism) circumstances and
relationships (relativism)
 Traits that Traits that
someone is someone has
born with. taken on.

A cultural A socio-cultural
position a position a
person receive person takes on
at birth or takes voluntarily that
involuntarily reflect abilities
later in life. and effort

Alternative attitude,
Physical, financial
non-normative behavior
resources, race, height,
(not following dress
weight, sex, family, birth
code), career…
order…
Culture stands for a concrete and
bounded world of beliefs and
practices.
It is in this sense
commonly assumed to belong to
or to be isomorphic with a
society or with some clearly
identified sub-societal group.

For example French culture,

Vietnamese culture, ghetto
culture, Bororo culture.

Ruth Benedict concept of

cultures as sharply distinct and
highly integrated refers to culture
in the second sense while Claude
Levi Strauss’s notion that cultural
meaning is structured by
systems of oppositions is a claim
about culture in the first sense.
 Lesson plan
This week: Next week:

Close W2 topic
Explore Globe Model
(cultural intelligence)
Define the nine
Explore culture
dimensions of the
Explore the non Globe model
verbal dimension in
Identify the key
culture
leadership attributes
Differentiate some
concepts of culture
SEE YOU AFTER
HOLIDAYS!