INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

INSTRUCTOR: HSIN-HSIN CINDY LEE, PHD

Unit 6: Synthetic CulturesSection B

Dimension III: Gender

Gender

In different cultures, people are given different roles, expectations, rights or duties according to their gender.

In some cultures, men and women do not share the same rights.

In other cultures, men and women enjoy equivalent status and rights.

The relevant status of men and women shape different kinds of culture.

Masculine CultureAchievement-oriented Culture

Masculine CultureAchievement-oriented Culture

Feminine CultureCare-oriented Culture

Feminine CultureCare-oriented Culture

In all countries in the world, an unequal role distribution between men and women coincides with a tougher society.

In such Masculine country with unequal role distribution, there is more emphasis on achievement and fighting than on caring and compromise.

If men and women are more equal, the result is to see more feminine qualities within the society such as caring and compromises.

It is also common to more female executives in the working place.

Gender

Masculine CulturesMasculine Cultures Feminine Cultures Feminine Cultures

GermanySwitzerlandAustria Colombia Most other Latin

American countriesJapan

NetherlandsThe Scandinavian

countries Costa RicaPortugalThailand BritainUSA

Examples

Dimension IV: Truth

Truth

Truth

Truth here indicates how people in a culture cope with the unpredictable and the ambiguous.

Anxiety and the search for truth are closely related.

Anxiety is a basic human feeling, or in other words, fear of the unknown.

This aspect of a culture has been called Uncertainty Avoidance and Uncertainty Tolerance.

Note that uncertainty avoidance is not at all the same as risk avoidance; if risk can be acknowledged and quantified, it is not threatening to people from uncertainty avoiding cultures.

Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance Uncertainty Tolerance

Many people in this kind of a culture believe that what is different is dangerous.

They may not be very friendly to strangers.

It is also called one-truth orientation.

People have greater tolerance for differences.

Strangers are not necessarily bad.

People tend to accept that many truths can co-exist.

Traits

Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance Uncertainty Tolerance

RussiaJapanKoreaMexicoBelgiumFrance Germanic countries

English-speaking countries

ChinaSingaporeJamaicaDenmark

Examples

Dimension V: Virtue

Short-Term VS Long-Term Orientations

The last basic problem in a society is the choice between future and

present virtue.

Short-Term OrientationShort-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation

Long-Term Orientation

People in short-term oriented culture are more concerned with truth than virtue.

They care about present virtue and do not necessarily follow traditions.

They are more willing to spend for the present.

Good partnerships are not necessarily equivalent to long-term relationships.

The issue of virtue is particularly important in Asia.

People in long-term oriented culture tend to concern about future virtue and traditions.

They are willing to save for the future.

They value long-term partnership.

Traits

Short-term Oriented Culture

Short-term Oriented Culture

Long-term Oriented Culture

Long-term Oriented Culture

PhilippinesMost European

countriesMost American

countries African countries Pakistan

ChinaJapanMany countries of

East AsiaNetherlands (The

Dutch)

Examples

Summary

Dimension One Extreme Other Extreme

Identity Collectivism Individualism

Hierarchy Large Power Distance

Small Power Distance

Gender Femininity Masculinity

Truth Strong Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty Tolerance

Virtue Long-Term Orientation

Short-Term Orientation

Conclusion

All people are unique individuals, and each person is unlike anyone else in the world.

All people are also social beings, and from early infancy on, they are taught how to survive in a social world.

People are taught to cope with the five big issues just introduced: identity, hierarchy, gender, truth and virtue.

The world of a child in each culture is filled with symbols, heroes, and rituals that together embody and re-create that culture.

Behind these manifestations are the values of culture. The culture values are taught from birth and manifest

themselves across social settings: family, school, workplace, and others.

Final Reminding

Culture is not a universally accepted notion. The cultural value system you learn from this session

is based on empirical data on ‘national’ cultures. There are many subculture groups in each country.

The subculture groups have their own heroes, symbols and rituals, but they share most of the values of the national culture.

Because culture is so complex and dynamic, problems of reliability and validity make it very difficult to measure.

Member of a culture may not be able to describe that culture accurately and articulately in a way that would be accepted by another person who is also a member of the same culture!

Value systems are implicit, and values often defy conscious reflection.

Checkpoint & References

1. What are the five main problems of society? 1. What are the five main problems of society?

2. What dimension of culture do the following extremes represent ?2. What dimension of culture do the following extremes represent ?

1. _____ Collectivism and Individualism

2. _____ Long-term and short-term orientation

3. _____ Large and small power distance

4. _____ Uncertainty avoidance and tolerance

Checkpoint

Five main problems of society

Five main problems of society

Dimensions of national culture

Dimensions of national culture

Identity HierarchyGender Truth Virtue

1. Identity 2. Virtue 3. Hierarchy4. Truth

Answers

References

Gert Jan Hofstede, Paul B. Pedersen Geert Hofstede

(2002) Exploring Culture. Intercultural Press.

Craig Storti (1994) Cross-Cultural Dialogues.

Intercultural Press. Robert Gibson (2002) Intercultural Business Communication. Oxford University Press.

THE END OF SYNTHETIC CULTURES

The End