Culture and Civilizations

Cultural Differences in International Negotiation

• When Enron lost a contract in India due to perceived aggressive negotiation tactics, it highlighted the importance of cultural differences.

• Different cultures perceive time differently in negotiations; some prioritize speed while others value slow, trust-building approaches.

Cultural Variations

• Examples of cultural differences:

  • Different treatment of dogs (pets vs. food).

  • Varying practices of body and face decoration.

  • Diverse beliefs about communication with God.

  • Differing approaches to directness in communication.

  • Varying comfort levels with assertive behavior among healthcare providers of different nationalities.

Cross-Cultural Interactions

• Navigating unfamiliar cultures can lead to disorientation and missteps.

• Cultural misunderstandings may impede negotiations and conflict resolution.

Proverbs as Cultural Elements

• Asian cultures:

  • "One does not make the wind, but is blown by it" suggests guidance by fate.

• Spanish culture:

  • "Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get" reflects acceptance of destiny.

• Mexican culture:

  • "Man proposes and God disposes" affirms fate.

• Japanese culture:

  • "Fall seven times, stand up eight" teaches persistence.

• Arab culture:

  • "A man’s tongue is his sword" values powerful use of words.

• Confucius:

  • "Those who know do not speak and those who speak do not know" stresses silence.

• Jewish culture:

  • "Even in paradise, it’s not good to be alone" reaffirms collectivism.

  • "A table is not blessed if it has fed no scholars" combines interaction, education, and collectivism.

• Ethiopian culture:

  • "When spiderwebs unite, they can tie up a lion" teaches collectivism and group solidarity.

• Japanese culture:

  • "A single arrow is easily broken, but not a bunch" expresses importance of collectivism.

• Yoruba of Africa:

  • "A single hand cannot lift the calabash to the head" teaches the same lesson as above.

• Chinese culture:

  • "A harsh word dropped from the tongue cannot be brought back by a coach and six horses" stresses anger management.

• Japanese culture:

  • "The spit aimed at the sky comes back to one" is a similar proverb.

• Korean culture:

  • "Kick a stone in anger and harm your own foot" advises keeping interpersonal anger in check.

• German culture:

  • "Sweep only in front of your own door" reflects privacy and dislike of gossip.

• Swedish culture:

  • "He who stirs another’s porridge often burns his own" is a similar proverb.

• Maasai of Africa:

  • "A zebra does not despise its stripes" expresses acceptance.

• Mexican culture:

  • "I dance to the tune that is played" is a similar proverb.

• Turkish culture:

  • "The candle of someone who lies almost always burns just to midnight" teaches against deceit.

Basic Functions of Culture

• Culture helps people adapt to their surroundings.

• Culture transmits knowledge and experience to the next generation.

Deep Structure of Culture

• Cultural differences often underlie serious misunderstandings.

• Civilizations differ in their views on various aspects of human life and society.

Deep Structure Institutions

• Family, state, and religion carry a culture’s core beliefs.

• These institutions shape decisions about life choices.

• Content generated by these institutions evokes strong emotional responses.

Dominant Culture

• The term "dominant culture" refers to the group in power within a society.

• This group controls major institutions and sets the cultural tone.

• In America, the dominant group historically traces back to English settlers and their systems of law, commerce, and religious ideas.

Social and Cultural Transformation

• Social changes in the United States have redefined the concept of family.

• Factors driving these changes include:

  • Economic shifts

  • Technological innovations

  • Demographic changes

  • Evolving gender roles and opportunities for women

• Examples of diverse family types in the United States:

  • Single-parent families

  • Cohabitating heterosexual couples

  • Same-sex couples with adopted children

  • Single individuals adopting children

  • Divorced individuals living with family members

• Only about 49.7% of American families consist of male/female married couples.

Worldview

• Worldview is defined as the way people interpret reality and events.

• It includes orientation toward God, humanity, nature, and philosophical issues.

• A concise definition: A worldview provides a model of the world which guides its adherents in it.

Worldview Summary

• How one views the world has profound effects on the way you live your life in the world.

• Major worldviews that exist today:

  • Deism:

    • Originated during the scientific revolution.

    • God is viewed as a divine watchmaker.

    • God is transcendent, not immanent.

    • God doesn't care or love the world

    • Humans are part of clockwork universe with no relation to God.

  • Panentheism:

    • "Everything is in God."

    • Everything in the world exists as a part of God.

    • Everything that happens in the world affects and changes God.

  • Agnosticism:

    • We cannot know whether God exists or not.

    • Suspending judgement on all matters divine.

    • Even if God does exist, He is irrelevant to modern life.

  • Existentialism:

    • Attempt to 'transcend nihilism'.

    • Does not look for meaning in the objective world but rather in the individuals subjective self-consciousness.

    • Since there is no God it is people who are in total control of their lives and who make themselves who they are.

    • In order to transcend the absurdity of the world and create meaning we must learn to love life.

  • Pantheism:

    • "Everything is God".

    • God is immanent in the world.

    • God is an impersonal force animating the world.

    • The sense of time in the world is illusory.

    • Man without any real freedom in the world.

  • Apatheism:

    • Apathetic view of God.

    • Don't care about God and whether or not he exists because they believe that God has shown no evidence of caring about us.

    • Since God does not care about us, he does not care about what we do which leaves the Apatheist free to not care about what they or others do or believe.

  • Humanism:

    • Emphasizes the special value of human beings and their aspirations and values.

  • Polytheism:

    • "Many Gods".

  • Atheism:

    • 'Without God'.

    • The most extreme form of Atheism is a denial of the existence of any God.

  • Christian Theism:

    • God who is transcendent and immanent, personal and infinite who creates, sustains and controls the world.

    • God has made himself personally known in Jesus Christ.

  • Naturalism:

    • Matter which exists eternally is all that there is.

    • The cosmos as a closed system of cause and effect governed by natural laws.

    • Human beings are complex machines in the system.

  • Relativism:

    • The truth is relative to each individual.

  • Nihilism:

    • Denial of everything - God, philosophy, knowledge, morality, values, even the reality of existence itself.

  • Theism:

    • God exists.

Religion, Worldview, Politics and Business

• Connections between values and religion.

• Globalism and religious pluralism are facts of life.

• Religious traditions shape consumer perceptions and corporate decision-making.

What is Civilization?

• A complex state society characterized by urban development, social stratification, symbolic communication forms, and a perceived separation from and domination over the natural environment.

Braudel and His Concepts of Civilizations

• Fernand Braudel: French historian and author.

• Civilisation matérielle et capitalisme, XVe-XVIIIe siècle.

• The longue durée: long-term historical structures prevail over events.

World Population Changes

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• The United Nations estimates that the world’s population could grow to over nine billion by mid-century.

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• World Population (thousands) (1950–2050)
  

  Year	Population
  1950	2,535,093
  1960	3,031,931
  1970	3,698,676
  1980	4,451,470
  1990	5,294,879
  2000	6,124,123
  2010	6,906,558
  2020	7,667,090
  2030	8,317,707
  2040	8,823,546
  2050	9,191,287
  Huntington’s Concept of Major Civilizations

  • Huntington divided the world into major civilizations:

    • Western civilization

    • Latin American

    • The Orthodox world

    • The Eastern world

    • The Muslim world

    • The civilization of Sub-Saharan Africa