DevelopCultural Metaphor

Radmila R / radmila.radojevic@hu.nl

Learning Goals What you should know /understand/be able to do. Broad, general statements, learning directions.

Learning Objectives They define how the goals will be achieved, what specific things you have to do. They are concrete, measurable. and tied to specific assignments, knowledge, skills, and behaviours you need to demonstrate in the assignments.

Assignments How we know you met the goals/objectives (evidence)

Assessment How your learning will be measured

Learning Goals > Objectives > Assignments > Assessment

Formative Assignments They are not graded, but are designed to scaffold summative assignment . Their purpose is to monitor your progress and give you feedback so that you can improve learning. They indicate to your tutor where you are struggling and what you need the help with.

Use them in your monthly progress discussions.

Your formative assignments = Reflective Journal entries.

Summative Assignments They are obligatory and graded.

What you are required to do:

● DEVELOP CULTURAL METAPHOR (graded): slides 30-up

● REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ENTRIES(not graded): slides 28

Learning Goals > Develop Cultural Metaphor

As in your other intercultural competence related tasks the goal is that you:

● Develop an understanding of cultural complexity in a workplace and increasingly multicultural world, importance of cultural awareness, and cultural self-awareness (KNOWLEDGE)

● Develop intercultural competence - intercultural communication skills - to be able to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries in a diverse workplace (SKILLS)

● Demonstrate greater appreciation of other cultures.(ATTITUDE)

● ICM Competencies: Working in an Intercultural Environment, Professional Behaviour

Learning Objectives > Develop Cultural Metaphor

● Apply Gannon’s metaphorical approach to explore work placement native/national culture (C10b).

*C#= ICM Competency#; c= the level of independence/you perform the

assignment with some guidance (b) or independently (c)

Action verbs: reflect from multiple perspectives, critically reflect, devise action planBloom: applying, analyzing, evaluating

Learning Objectives > Develop Cultural Metaphor

→ Create a poster to present and explain cultural metaphor (C4b, C10b) → Apply the metaphor in discussion of culture (C10b)

*C#= ICM Competency#; c= the level of independence/you perform the assignment with some guidance (b) or independently (c)

Action verbs: reflect from multiple perspectives, critically reflect, devise action planBloom: applying, analyzing, evaluating

Assessment Criteria > Develop Cultural Metaphor

CRITERIA %

• The posterContent: information on the poster is interesting and relevant. It is accompanied with annotations/short explanations explaining the key aspects of the metaphor. It ‘stands alone’, communicated information without the need for broader explanation.Format: The poster is presented professionally, with good quality photographs, is easy to read.

35%

20%

Assessment Criteria > Develop Cultural Metaphor

Explanation/Analysis• The explanation is complex and shows that you build knowledge on placement culture and integrated it in the design of your cultural metaphor. Dimensional framework (Hofstede, Kluckhohn, E.T.Hall) is also well integrated and supports your analysis.

Feedback• Feedback from members of national culture (friends you made, colleagues and supervisor) is included, on how they identify with your metaphor/

35%

10%

(!) Readings:Please read from Gannon’s and Pillai‘s ‘Understanding Global Cultures’ (2016) • Part 1 • Belgian Lace

(older version of the book with access to few more case studies is available from Google Books)

Videos● ICM WP YOUTUBE channel, check for related playlists

(videos from there will be referred to in this presentation)

Read carefully this presentation!

Why Does Culture Matter?

● Recall your relevan ICM classes. Culture can make us see things differently (like in the picture on the left)VIDEO: how the notion of beauty differ across cultures:

● Culture is learned behavior. It guides appropriate responses in social situations.

● VIDEO: How culture drives our behavior:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yy6poJ2zs

● Culture can affect business negotiations, and act as a hidden entry barrier.

● VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMwjscSCcf0&index=3&list=PLpAuuHXAG-CsKjCT2Tc5UMK0jz-wl8w1U

● IBM study by Hofstede demonstrates that national culture accounted for 50% of the difference in attitude of IBM’s 53 countries.

● Similar empirical studies confirm that culture plays a significant role and affects between 25%-50% of our attitudes, whereas other aspects of the work place diversity, such as social class, race, sex, and age, account for the remaining % .

Dimensional Approach to Culture

Culture, Various Definitions

● Recall various definitions of culture -- by Hofstede, Hall, Kluckhohn, Trompenaar -- that you learned during your ICM classes, and consider how they afford you thinking differently about culture

You can find more videos on WP YouTube channel

Limitations of Dimensional Framework

● Culture-general, rather than culture-specific.● Hofstede’s framework concludes that Belgium is

individualistic whereas practical experience tells us there is also strong collectivistic aspect.

● Dimensions can be abstract, ‘lifeless and narrow’. Lack detail that cultural anthropology can provide.

● Dimensions act as ‘predictors’, but don’t trigger participatory approach to cultural exploration. Many aspects of culture are activated in daily cultural activities, which are omitted from the dimensional approach.

● Cultural metaphors concept was proposed by Gannon to complement dimensional culture theories and provide more ‘grounded and content-rich approach’.

● Metaphorical approach, argues Gannon, enables us to get to know the culture from ‘closer’ angle. E.g. members of culture tend to be emotionally more expressive about metaphors of their culture, which triggers conversations and participation.

Gannon’s Proposal

Metaphorical Approach to Culture

What Is Metaphor?

● Metaphor is an object used to substitute for another to help us understand the other better.

● E.g. ‘New York is a melting pot of people and cultures’

● What popular metaphors for culture you can think of?

● Culture as an Iceberg, E.T.Hall (1976)

The Iceberg illustrates that there are two parts of culture. Above the waterline there is visible, observable culture, dress, music, language etc.. But there is much more than meets the eye, the world of hidden values and assumptions we can only learn by participating in culture. Thus, culture is a part of both, our conscious and unconscious mind.

● Culture as Onion’ (Schein, 1985, Hofstede 1991, Trompenaars)

The Onion metaphor highlights that culture consists of different layers and has a core made of values.

● Culture as Software (Hofstede, 1997)

Hofstede’s book of the same title highlights what was the pondering question of that decade, the boundary between humans and machines. He thus compares the culture with software which is ‘hardwiring’ our mind.

Gannon’s Cultural Metaphor

● Cultural metaphor is a method that involves identifying of some phenomenon, activity, or institution that members of a nation’s culture identify with emotionally or cognitively and therefore consider it very important and make it into the foundation for understanding and describing that culture and its key characteristics. (Gagnon, 2004:7)

Gannon’s Cultural Metaphor

● Helps outsiders to capture and understand the essential features of a society (ibid.)

● The Thai Kingdom● The Japanese Garden● Bedouin Jewelry and Saudi Arabia● Don Ganh: Two sides of Vietnam

● Kimchi and Korea

Gannon and Pillai’s Culture Metaphors for Authority-Ranking Cultures

● The Swedish Stuga● The Finish Sauna● The Danish Christmas Luncheon

ETC., refer to the book for more examples

Gannon and Pillai’s Culture Metaphors for Scandinavian Egalitarian Cultures

● Cultural metaphor is usually developed from a national culture (which is what you will do), but it does not always apply to every member of that culture (as with most of cultural frameworks, people do not always fit the mould, and we are all mix of different cultures and subcultures).

● Cultural metaphor can also be developed from ethnic groups, within and across a nation (e.g. Cultural Metaphor for Caribbean).

Building on Dimensional Framework

● Gannon emphasizes that cultural metaphors are a good start, but should need lead to stereotypes and/or are complementary of other culture theories. In other words, dimensional theories and metaphorical approach to culture should be used together.

You were assigned two chapters to read about two national metaphors. Use them to make a cross-cultural comparison:

● How are these countries (Belgium and your work placement country) different or similar?

● How the characteristics of these two metaphors (the one from the book, and one you developed) lead you to discover some of the differences we can observe about these two cultures?

Reflective Journal Suggestion: Comparison by Cultural Metaphor

● One should always start from the dimensional frameworks. How are Belgium and your placement country mapped on these different dimensional frameworks?

Culture Framework Belgium Your placement country

E.T. Hall

Kluckhohn Model of Basic Assumptions

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions ..

How to Develop a Cultural Metaphor - Your Assignment!

● You will develop cultural metaphor for the national culture of your work placement.

● It must consist of two parts:1. Poster (visuals, drawings, photographs) that represent the Metaphor, with short explanation/annotations 2. Broader explanation (at least 1000 words)

● Follow the guidelines from the rest of the slides.

Cultural Metaphor for Your Work Placement‘Native’ Culture

● Identify the phenomena, activity or institution that members of that culture recognize as important as a metaphor for that culture.

● Identify and describe its key characteristics

● Develop an understanding of the other culture based on it, for business or any other purpose. Have at least 5 key reasons to justify your metaphor

Developing Steps

You MUST read the assigned chapter, otherwise, you will not be able to do this assignment properly

● The Metaphor: Italian OperaItalians invented opera and love it passionately.

● Characteristics: Overture, spectacle and pageantry, voice, externalization, interaction between the lead singers and the chorus.

● Business implications: expect long meetings with lengthy ‘get acquainted’ time, expect flair, self-presentation, ‘on stage’ etc.

(Gannon, 2004)

Short example

● Start making your poster! Collect images that best represent your metaphor. We will not constrain you here with strict guidelines. All images should be supported with short explanations (your key reasons).

Visuals

Remember that cultural metaphor is a tool that you can use to explain the culture to a newcomer, to someone who does not know it. So, some of below must be included in your broader explanation /analysis text.

● Religion● Family structure● Leisure and interests● Public behavior● Sub-culture behavior

Analysis

● Aural space (the degree to which society members react negatively to noise)

● Work/leisure (time allocation for both)● Holidays and ceremonies● Greetings behaviours ● Humor● Nonverbal communication● Sports (as reflection of national values)● Political structure ● Educational systems● Traditions

● Food and eating behaviour ● Social class structure● Rate of technological and cultural change (how dynamic)

Etc.

Refer to the chapters you’ve read. You are not expected to write a lengthy chapter yourself, but you do have to invest some time and effort in this part.

● Capture the cultural mindset in a single (mental) image● Be anchored (supported) in cultural dimensions

framework (e.g. previously identified dimensions)● Move beyond the dimensions to capture behaviors which

are ignored if applying only dimensional framework.● Be validated, member of the culture should identify

with it.

According to Gannon, Cultural Metaphor Must:

● Be captured in a single image One metaphor, but many visuals (see slides 44 and up)

● Be validated, member of the culture should identify with it. To validate it, you could test this with your supervisor, colleagues, or other members of your work placement native culture.

Examples of Culture Metaphors from Other Students

● To get your ideas tumbling, here are a few examples

of cultural metaphors that were developed by

French and U.S. students during one week course of

‘Teaching International Business Concepts Through

the Exchange of Cultural Metaphors’ in 2001 and

2004.

● Students who do not feel comfortable with drawing

can supplement their sketches with photograph, of

a good quality and clearly representing the metaphor.

● Elements of the Gastronomy Metaphor as developed by French students:

- Creativity- Refined- Sparkle (show off)- Tradition/history

● MakeUp Metaphor for France, as developed by French students:

- beauty and taste- physical perfection - false intellectual perfection- ethnocentrist

● Elements of the Buffet Table Metaphor for the U.S., as developed for U.S. students:

- diversity- over-consume- self-serve- bigger is bette