4.1  What is culture? (Business Context)

Key Takeaways

• The major elements of culture are symbols, language, norms, values, and artifacts.

• Major values that distinguish a certain group in a culture include individualism, competition, and a commitment to the work ethic.

Lead-in: cultural diferences in work place

Figure 4.1.1 Percentage of People WhoThink Competition Is Very Beneficial

Source: Data from World Values Survey,2002.

Figure4.1.1 “Percentage of People Who Think Competition Is Very Beneficial” illustratesthis difference between the two nations’ cultures with data from the 2002 WorldValues Survey (WVS), which was administered to random samples of the adultpopulations of more than 80 nations around the world. One question asked inthese nations was, “On a scale of one (‘competition is good; it stimulatespeople to work hard and develop new ideas’) to ten (‘competition is harmful; itbrings out the worst in people’), please indicate your views oncompetition.” Figure4.1.1 “Percentage of People Who Think Competition Is Very Beneficial” showsthe percentages of Americans and Japanese who responded with a “one” or “two”to this question, indicating they think competition is very beneficial.Americans are about three times as likely as Japanese to favor competition.

视频：Culture and management

补充阅读：The Elements of Culture