TASK 1: What is Culture

Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Today, in the our country and as in other countries populated largely by immigrants, the culture is influenced by the many groups of people that now make up the country.  Culture is the spiritual wealth created by man, such as literature, art, education, science and so on.

                                              (Li & Karakowsky (2001). Do We See Eye-to-Eye?)

Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. Culture is communication, communication is culture.

                                              (Li & Karakowsky (2001). Do We See Eye-to-Eye?)

Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behaviour; that is the totality of a person's learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behaviour through social learning. A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviour’s, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skill, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.

                                             (Li & Karakowsky (2001). Do We See Eye-to-Eye?)

Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviour acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artefacts, the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values, culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning influences upon further action.

                                                 (Li & Karakowsky (2001). Do We See Eye-to-Eye?)

Culture is the sum of the total of the learned behaviour of a group of people that are generally considered to be the tradition of that person and are transmitted from generation to generation. Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.

                                                 (Li & Karakowsky (2001). Do We See Eye-to-Eye?)

  

Theory of cultural determinism, the position that the ideas, meanings, beliefs and values people learn as members of society determine human nature. People are what they learn. Optimistic version of cultural determinism places no limits on the abilities of human beings to do or to be whatever they want. Some anthropologists suggest that there is no universal "right way" of being human. "Right Way" is almost always "our way"; that "our way" in one society almost never corresponds to "our way" in any other society. The proper attitude of an informed human being could only be that of tolerance. The optimistic version of this theory postulates that human nature being infinitely malleable, human being can choose the ways of life they prefer. The pessimistic version maintains that people are what they are conditioned to be, this is something over which they have no control. Human beings are passive creatures and do whatever their culture tells them to do. This explanation leads to behaviourism that locates the causes of human behaviour in a realm that is totally beyond human control.

                                                  (Li & Karakowsky (2001). Do We See Eye-to-Eye?)

Cultural relativism, different cultural groups think, feel, and act differently. There is no scientific standard for considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to another. Studying differences in culture among groups and societies presupposes a position of cultural relativism. It does not imply normalcy for oneself, not for one's society. It, however, calls for judgment when dealing with groups or societies different from one's own. Information about the nature of cultural differences between societies, their roots, and their consequences should precede judgment and action. Negotiation is more likely to succeed when the parties concerned to understand the reasons for the differences in viewpoints.

            (The Journal of Psychology, 135(5), 501-517.)

Cultural ethnocentrism, ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to that of other cultures. It is a form of reductionism that reduces the "other way" of life to a distorted version of one's own. This is particularly important in case of global dealings when a company or an individual is imbued with the idea that methods, materials, or ideas that worked in the home country will also work abroad. Environmental differences are, therefore, ignored. Ethnocentrism, in relation to global dealings, can be categorized as follows. Important factors in business are overlooked because of the obsession with certain cause-effect relationships in one's own country. It is always a good idea to refer to checklists of human variables in order to be assured that all major factors have been at least considered while working abroad. Even though one may recognize the environmental differences and problems associated with change, but may focus only on achieving objectives related to the home-country. This may result in the loss of effectiveness of a company or an individual in terms of international competitiveness. The objectives set for global operations should also be global.

              (The Journal of Psychology, 135(5), 501-517.)

The differences are recognized, but it is assumed that associated changes are so basic that they can be achieved effortlessly. It is always a good idea to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the changes proposed.  Sometimes a change may upset important values and thereby may face resistance from being implemented. The cost of any changes may exceed the benefits derived from the implementation of such changes.

              (The Journal of Psychology, 135(5), 501-517.)

Manifestations of cultural, Cultural differences manifest themselves in different ways and differing levels of depth. Symbols represent the most superficial and value the deepest manifestations of culture, with heroes and rituals in between. Symbols are words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning which is only recognized by those who share a particular culture. New symbols easily develop, old ones disappear. Symbols from one particular group are regularly copied by others. This is why symbols represent the outermost layer of a culture. Heroes are persons, past or present, real or fictitious, who possess characteristics that are highly prized in a culture. They also serve as models for behaviour­­­. Rituals are collective activities, sometimes superfluous in reaching desired objectives, but are considered as socially essential. They are therefore carried out most of the times for their own sake (ways of greetings, paying respect to others, religious and social ceremonies. The core of a culture is formed by values. They are broad tendencies for preferences of a certain state of affairs to others (good-evil, right-wrong, natural-unnatural). Many values remain unconscious to those who hold them. Therefore, they often cannot be discussed, nor they can be directly observed by others. Values can only be inferred from the way people act under different circumstances. Symbols, heroes, and rituals are the tangible or the visual aspects of the practices of a culture. The true cultural meaning of the practices is intangible; this is revealed only when the practices are interpreted by the insiders. Layers of culture, people even within the same culture carry several layers of mental programming within themselves. Different layers of culture exist at the following levels, at the National level, associated with the nation as a whole. The Regional level, associated with ethnic, linguistic, or religious differences that exist within a nation. The gender, level, associated with gender differences, female versus male, the generation level, associated with the differences between grandparents and parents, parents and children. The social class level, associated with educational opportunities and differences in occupation. The corporate level, associated with the particular culture of an organization.  Applicable to those who are employed.
                                             (The Journal of Psychology, 135(5), 501-517.





REFERENCES
The Journal of Psychology, 2010. What is Culture? [Online] Available                                                    at: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSearch?                                                  quickLinkJournal=&journalText=&quickLink=true&type=simple&filter=multiple&stemming=yes&searchText=what+is+culture&publication=40001843&searchType=journal. [Accessed 8 March 2014].