Chapter 4: Differences in Culture Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on key concepts, terminology, cultural dimensions, and theoretical frameworks from Chapter 4: Differences in Culture.

Culture

A system of values and norms shared among a group of people that, taken together, guide how they live.

Values

Shared assumptions about how things ought to be — what a group believes is right, good, desirable, or important.

Norms

Social rules and guidelines that tell people how to behave in specific situations.

Folkways

Routine conventions of everyday life whose violations are not considered a serious matter.

Mores

Norms that are seen as central to the functioning of society and have greater moral significance, where violations can lead to serious punishment.

Society

A group of people who share a common set of values and norms.

Cross-Cultural Literacy

An understanding of how cultural differences across countries and within countries affect the way business is practiced.

Ethnocentrism

The belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture.

Determinants of Culture

The six main forces shaping a culture's values and norms: religion, political philosophy, economic philosophy, education, language, and social structure.

Social Structure

A society's basic social organization, determining how the society is arranged and how people relate to each other.

Social Strata

Hierarchical social categories in a society often based on family background, occupation, and income.

Social Mobility

The extent to which individuals can move out of the social stratum into which they were born.

Caste System

A closed system of stratification where social position is determined by birth and change in that position is usually not possible during a person's lifetime.

Class System

A form of open social stratification where individual position can be changed through personal achievement or luck.

Class Consciousness

The tendency for individuals to perceive themselves in terms of their class background, which can dictate their relationships with members of other classes.

Religion

A system of shared beliefs and rituals concerned with the realm of the sacred.

Ethical System

A set of moral principles, or values, used to guide and shape behavior.

Protestant Work Ethic

A concept identified by Max Weber suggesting that Protestant ethics of hard work, discipline, saving, and reinvesting profit helped create the spirit of capitalism.

Riba

The payment or receipt of interest, which is prohibited under Islamic law.

Guanxi

A network of personal relationships built on mutual reciprocal obligations, central to conducting business in Chinese culture.

Power Distance

A Hofstede cultural dimension measuring how much a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.

Uncertainty Avoidance

A Hofstede cultural dimension measuring the extent to which a society feels uncomfortable with risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

A Hofstede cultural dimension measuring whether primary identity and value are placed on the individual or on the group.

Masculinity vs. Femininity

A Hofstede cultural dimension looking at the degree to which achievement, assertiveness, and material success are valued versus relationships, quality of life, and care for the weak.

Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation

A Hofstede cultural dimension measuring a society's commitment to values like persistence, thrift, and future planning versus quick results, tradition, and current social obligations.

Indulgence vs. Restraint

A Hofstede cultural dimension measuring whether a society allows free gratification of natural human desires or suppresses gratification through strict social norms.

GLOBE Instrument

A research framework that argues a leader's effectiveness is contextual and compares societal cultures across nine specific dimensions.

World Values Survey (WVS)

An ongoing research project exploring people's values and norms, how they change over time, and their impact on society and business.