Questionb.: Define Culture What Are Culture Dimensions

QUESTIONB.
DEFINE CULTURE WHAT ARE CULTURE DIMENSIONS

Culture & Cultural Dimensions
Culture is a set of behavioral practices and norms, perceptions, beliefs
and values, which are imposed to individual by society.
Norm: a standard of behavior considered as normal (Mehndi)
While human nature is inherited, but culture is learned.

However, individuals within all cultures vary based on differences,
preferences, values, and experiences.
Cultural dimensions are mostly psychological dimensions, or value

constructs, which can be used to describe a specific culture. These are
often used in Intercultural communication-/Cross-cultural
communication.
Five problems of cultural dimensions
Hofstede's (2001) concept of cultural classification is based on the idea
of individual's mind programming.
An individual in the process of socialization from the surrounding

environment gets models which act his thinking, feelings and behavior.
If an individual child or young person receives certain values and
attitudes, he is
considered as a "culture bearer.
Values are key components of the mind programs and are the
basis of culture.
Hofstede have defined the culture as:
The collective programming of the mind which separates the
members of one group from another."
Culture is a system of collective behavior, which is determined by
values.
These cultural values determine how the individual or a social group is
responding to the current environment.
Hofstede identified following five problems of cultural dimensions

( facing every culture, and solves them in their own way)
According to these problems separate cultures can be described and
compared:
1. Power distance;
2. Uncertainty avoidance;
3. Individualism - collectivism;
4. Masculinity - Femininity;
5. Orientation: (Long-term - short-term).
The prevalence of these dimensions reflects the culture in which
individuals act as carriers and multipliers of national cultural treasures.
Power distance - is associated with request or non request of
inequality in society, as well as with dependence and interdependence
levels.
In cultures with a higher power dimension, managers and subordinates
keep each other unequal. Therefore they do not worry and take it as
unavoidability . Here the government is centralized, and experts from
the subordinates to carry out orders.
Lower power distance cultures, managers and subordinates are

treated more equal and there are no such strict boundaries separating
them.
Uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses ambiguity, lack of
tolerance and the need for formal rules. It shows the extent to which
people in a given society feel uncertain threat situations and tries to
avoid them.
This identifies the extent that people feel threatened by uncertainty or
the unknown fear in the culture.
Cultures high in uncertainty avoidance include: strict codes of behavior

and beliefs in absolute truths.
People with high needs for certainty are often characterized as:
1..Active 2..Aggressive
3..Emotional 4..Compulsive
5..Intolerant.
Low Uncertainty Avoidance
Those with low needs for certainty are characterized as:

1..Contemplative
2..Unemotional
3..Relaxed
4..Accepting of personal risk
5..Relatively tolerant.
Individualism - collectivism dimension indicates the extent to
which individual interests have priority above the group interests.
In countries where is strong individualism or weak collectivism, the
individual and the family are emphasized. Here the priority is given to
respect for the person and individualism of the family.
In the culture of Individualism:
1..The interests of the individual takes priority over those of others.
2..Ties between individuals are loose.
3..People look after themselves and their immediate families.
4..Selfness is considered & immediate family is considered.
The United States ranks highest in individualism
Collectivism:
1..The interests of the group are given priority.
2..People belong to strong, cohesive, in-groups that
protects and support in exchange to group loyalty.
3..Highly integrated.
4..Family living culture is preferred.
5..Countries with higher birth rates tend towards
collectivism
6 People are associated with direct & indirect forms of
communication.
Collectivism, collectivity is appreciated because personal identity is

based on membership in a group.
Individualism and collectivism - these views expresses two poles:
Individualism: a tendency more quickly to meet the personal needs
or Collectivism: to see the interests of the group
Masculinity - &- Femininity
*Both men and women express the value characteristics of their
culture.
*Both men and women in every cultures have ambitions.
Masculinity:
Cultures that highly value assertiveness, competition, and
material wealth are masculine and emphasize the differences.
Femininity :
1.. Womens social roles vary less from culture to culture than mens.
2.. Feminine cultures are those that allow for more overlap between
gender roles.
3.. These cultures also emphasis quality of life, relationships, and care.
4.. Both men women in feminine cultures learn to be modest and seek
attachment.
5.. Feminine cultures allow more cross-over between roles.
Masculinity - femininity dimension describes what society tends

to emphasize: persistence and a performance
targets (eg, wages and promotion), or care, and personal goals (eg,
friendly atmosphere, good relationships with
managers and other staff). For this reason, feminine society better
adjusts to gender differences than masculine
society
Orientation:
Long-term oriented societies attach more importance to the
future. They foster pragmatic values oriented towards rewards,
including persistence, saving and capacity for adaptation.
In short term oriented societies, values promoted are related to

the past and the present, including steadiness, respect for tradition,
preservation of one's face, reciprocation and fulfilling social obligations.
Orientation to humanity. It is a measure of the degree, which

evaluates how strong teams, encourage and
reward individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring and good to
others . It reflects how people are tolerant to errors , friendly,
sensitive, and the harmony .
Performance orientation. It shows how groups promote and rewards
group members for performance improvement and competencies. This
reflects how much society encourages its members for innovation,
quality and productivity improvement .
Culture at Organizational level
Organizational level
Within and across countries, individuals are also parts of organizations
such as companies.
Dimensions of national cultures are not relevant for comparing
organizations within the same country".
In contrast with national cultures, embedded in values, organizational
cultures are embedded in practices.
Managing international organizations involves understanding both
national and organizational cultures. Communities of practice across
borders are significant for multinationals in order to hold the company
together.
Integration
Social integration is a highly desirable outcome that reflects the
existence of social cohesion, a strong institutional foundation and a
culture of acceptance.
Societies are better off if they promote social integration through
inclusive policies that reduce economic inequality and poverty, and
promote sustainable and equitable development.

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QUESTIONB.

DEFINE CULTURE WHAT ARE CULTURE DIMENSIONS

While human nature is inherited, but culture is learned.

Cultural dimensions are mostly psychological dimensions, or value

An individual in the process of socialization from the surrounding

Hofstede identified following five problems of cultural dimensions

Lower power distance cultures, managers and subordinates are

Cultures high in uncertainty avoidance include: strict codes of behavior

Those with low needs for certainty are characterized as:

Collectivism, collectivity is appreciated because personal identity is

Masculinity - femininity dimension describes what society tends

In short term oriented societies, values promoted are related to

Orientation to humanity. It is a measure of the degree, which

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