Culture

Perception
Behaviour
Communication
Culture hides much more than it reveals,
and strangely enough what it hides,
it hides most effectively from its own
participants.

Years of study have convinced me that the
real job is not to understand foreign culture
but to understand our own.

Edward T. Hall

What is Culture ?
Culture is:
something that is shared by all or almost all
members of some social group,
something that the older members of the
group try to pass on to the younger
members,
something that shapes behaviour or
structures ones perception of the world.
A Model of Human Behaviour
From G. Hofsteede, Cultures Consequences, Sage, London. 1984
individual
universal
CULTURE
genetic
conscious
learnt
unconscious
New experiences and perceptual encounters are rarely
neutral.
They are followed by the assignment of status in relation
to personal/cultural norm.
A value judgement - we assign values + / - on how
closely the experience being perceived matches our
own preference.
Culture and Communication

Messages
There is never one message when people
communicate.
contextal
relational
Aspects:
What is Culture ?
Culture refers to the total way of life of a particular group
of people. It includes everything that a group of people thinks,
says, does and makes. Culture is learned.
Francis Kluckhohn
Culture is the sum total of all the beliefs, values and norms
shared by a group of people.
Clifford Geertz
Culture means patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting.
Robert Kohls
Culture is the collective programming of the minf which
distinguishes the members of one human group from another.
Geert Hofstede
The way we do things around here.
Iceberg Model
Surface and Deep Culture
Artifacts
Behaviour
Norms
Values
Assumptions
Beliefs
Visible In awareness
Out of
conscious
awareness
Invisible
Perceptual Patterns
Perception is selective. At any one time there are too many stimuli in the
environment for us to observe. Therefore, we screen out most of what we
see, hear, taste, and smell. We filter out the overload and allow only selected
information through our perceptual screen to our conscious mind.
Perception tends to remain constant. Once we see the world in a particular
way, we continue to see it that way.
We therefore see things that do not exist, and do not see things that do
exist. Our interests, values and culture act as filters and lead up to distort,
block, and even create what we choose to see and hear. We perceive what
we expect to perceive. We perceive things according to what we have been
trained to see, according to our cultural map.
Perceptual patterns are neither innate nor absolute.
They are selective, constant, inaccurate and culturally determined.

The Value of No
Yes = is not
overwhelmingly
clear
No = is
between
the lines
Yes
=
Yes
No
=
No
Yes = yes
if you follow up
No =
convince me,
keep talking
Culture and communication
Norms for interpersonal behavior
Proxemicsuse of space
Kinesicsposture/expression

Power Position
Culture and communication
Norms for interpersonal behavior
Proxemicsuse of space
Kinesicsposture/expression
Hapticstouching/temperature
Oculesicseye contact
Vocalicsvoice and volume
Olfacticssmell and odours
Chronemicsuse of time
Do MANY things at a time

Integrate interruptions

Consider time commitments an
objective to be met/negotiated


Windows of time begin with
time announced

Committed to people and
relationships

Change plans often and easily
From E.T.Hall
Do ONE thing at a time

Concentrate on the job

Are reluctant to change
commitments, deadlines,
schedules

Windows of time end with
time announced

Committed to the task

Adhere religiously to plans

POLYchronic
MONOchronic
The Notion of Time
Cultural Differences
monochronic polychronic
Swiss Sweden US Germany UK France Egypt China India

TIME SCALE