Intercultural Communication CHAPTER 3 Beliefs, Values, and Cultural Universals

CHAPTER Beliefs , Values , and Cultural SOURCE Well , Beliefs , values , and cultural . In Speaking . Retrieved February 13 , 2020 , from ( Creative Commons international License ) LEARNING OBJECTIVES . List the five questions that every society must answer , according to and , and identify the three potential responses to each question . KEY TERMS Dimensions of Culture theory individualism collectivism indulgence VALUE THEORY The Value theory represents one of the earliest efforts to develop a theory of values . According to and beck ( every culture faces the same basic survival needs and must answer the same universal questions . It is out of this need that cultural values arise . The basic faced by people everywhere fall into categories and concerns about ( human nature , the between human beings and the natural world , time , human activity , and ( social relations . and hypothesized three possible responses or to each of the concerns ( Table ) What Is the Inherent Nature of Human Beings ?

This is a question , say and , that all societies ask , and there are generally three different responses . The people in some societies are inclined to believe that people are inherently evil and that the society must exercise strong measures to keep the evil impulses Value orientation . List and define six dimensions of culture . Identify four problems that critics have identified with theory . masculinity femininity power distance uncertainty avoidance of people in check . On the other hand , other societies are more likely to see human beings as born basically good and possessing an inherent tendency towards goodness . Between these two poles are societies that see human beings as possessing the potential to be either good or evil depending upon the that surround them . also on whether human nature is immutable ( unchangeable ) or mutable ( changeable ) What Is the Relationship between Human Beings and the Natural World ?

Some societies believe nature is a powerful force in the face of which human beings are essentially helpless . We could describe this as nature over Other societies are more likely to believe that through intelligence and the application of knowledge , humans can control nature . In other Words , they embrace a humans over nature tion . Between these two extremes are the societies who believe humans are Wise to strive to live in harmony with TABLE Summary of Values Orientation Theory Basic Concerns Human nature Evil Mixed Good Relationship to natural world Subordinate Harmony Dominant Time Past Present Future Activity Being Becoming Doing Social relations Hierarchical Collateral Individual 56

BELIEFS , VALUES , AND CULTURAL 57 What Is the Best Way to Think about Time ?

Some societies are rooted in the past , believing that ple should learn from history and strive to preserve the traditions of the past . Other societies place more value on the here and now , believing people should live fully in the present . Then there are societies that place the greatest value on the future , believing people should always delay immediate satisfactions while they plan and work hard to make a better future . What Is the Proper Mode of Human Activity ?

In some societies , being is the most valued orientation . Striving for great things is not necessary or important . In other societies , becoming is what is most valued . Life is regarded as a process of continual unfolding . Our purpose on earth , the people might say , is to become fully human . Finally , there are societies that are primarily oriented to In such societies , people are likely to think of the inactive life as a wasted life . People are more likely to express the view that we are here to work hard and that human worth is measured by the sum of accomplishments . What Is the Ideal Relationship between the Individual and Society ?

Expressed another way , we can say the concern is about how a society is best organized . People in some societies think it most natural that a society be organized hierarchically . They hold to the view that some people are born to lead and ers to follow . Leaders , they feel , should make all the ant decisions . Other societies are best described as valuing collateral relationships . In such societies , everyone has an important role to play in society therefore , important should be made by consensus . In still other societies , the individual is the primary unit of society . In societies that place great value on individualism , people are likely to believe that each person should have control over own destiny . When groups convene to make decisions , they should follow the principle of one person , one In an early application of the theory , and interviewed members of cultural groups in the American Southwest ( Navajo people traveling around the Southwest seeking work , White ers in Texas , Mormon ers , and ( pueblo dwellers . Researchers have found the framework useful in making sense of diverse cultures around the world . As Hill ( 2002 ) has observed , and beck did not consider the theory to be complete . In fact , they originally proposed a sixth value here , there , or far away , which they could not quite figure out how to investigate at the time , And Hill has proposed a number of additional questions that one might expect cultural groups to grapple with . Space Should space belong to individuals , to groups ( especially the family ) or to everybody ?

Work What should be the basic motivation for work ?

To make a contribution to society , to have a sense of personal achievement , or to attain security ?

Gender How should society distribute roles , power and responsibility between the sexes ?

Should be done primarily by men , by women , or by both ?

The Relationship between State and Individual Should rights and responsibilities be granted to the nation or the individual ?

Today , the and framework is just one among many attempts to study universal human values . Others include those of ( 1979 ) and Schwartz ( 2006 ) DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE THEORY articulated a Dimensions of Culture ory in the , and has updated and revised it over the years . theory currently gets a lot of attention in basic texts that include discussion of cultural values . Based on survey data collected from IBM employees , has argued that his theory is particularly useful for lighting similarities and differences between national , initially identified four dimensions . Power Distance Power distance is a measure of the degree to which less powerful members of society expect and accept an unequal distribution of power , There is a certain degree of inequality in all societies , notes however , there is relatively more equality in some societies than in others . Countries vary along a continuum from countries where power distance is very low to countries where power is very high ( Table ) Measured on a scale of 100 for instance , Denmark scores very low and Mexico scores quite high . The falls somewhere in between . Countries with lower values tend to be more egalitarian . For instance , there is more equality between parents and children with parents more likely to accept it if children argue with them , or talk back to use a common expression . In the work place , bosses are more likely to ask employees for input , and in fact , subordinates expect to be consulted . On the other hand , in countries with high power distance , parents expect children to obey without questioning . People of higher status may expect

58 TABLE Power Distance Index ( for 50 Countries and Regions Country Region Malaysia 104 France 68 95 Hong Kong 68 Panama 95 Colombia 67 Philippines 94 El Salvador 66 Mexico 81 Turkey 66 Venezuela 81 Belgium 65 Arab countries 80 East Africa 64 Ecuador 78 Peru 64 Indonesia 78 Thailand 64 India 77 Chile 63 West Africa 77 Portugal 63 Yugoslavia 76 61 Singapore 74 Greece 60 Brazil 69 South Korea 60 Australia 36 Iran 58 Costa 35 58 Germany Spain 57 Great Britain 35 Pakistan 55 Switzerland 34 54 Finland 33 Italy 50 Norway 31 Argentina 49 Sweden 31 South Africa 49 Ireland 28 45 New Zealand 22 USA 40 Denmark Canada 39 Israel 13 Netherlands 38 Austria A country may score above 100 if it was added after a formula for the scale had already been . From ( 1997 ) conspicuous displays of respect from subordinates . In the workplace , superiors and subordinates are not likely to see each other as equals , and it is assumed that bosses will make decisions without consulting employees . In general , status is more important in high power distance countries . Individualism Collectivism Individualism collectivism anchor opposite ends of a continuum that describes how people themselves and their relationships with others . Countries that score higher on individualism measure are considered by less collectivistic than countries that score lower ( Table ) In more highly individualistic societies , the interests of individuals receive more emphasis than those of the group ( the family , the company , societies put more value on and accomplishment , while more collectivistic societies put more emphasis on the importance of relationships and loyalty People are more by what they do in individualistic societies while in collectivistic societies , TABLE Individualism Index ( for 50 Countries and Regions USA Germany 67 Australia 90 South Africa 65 Great Britain 89 Finland 63 Canada 80 Austria 55 Netherlands 80 Israel 54 New Zealand 79 Spain 51 Italy 76 India 48 Belgium 75 46 Denmark 74 Argentina 46 France Iran 41 Sweden 71 39 Ireland 70 Arab countries 38 Norway 69 Brazil 38 Switzerland 68 From ( 1997 ) 53 . Turkey 37 Thailand 20 36 El Salvador 19 Greece 35 South Korea 18 Philippines 32 17 Mexico 30 Peru Yugoslavia 27 Costa 15 East Africa 27 Indonesia 14 Portugal 27 Pakistan 14 Malaysia 26 Colombia 13 Hong Kong 25 Venezuela 12 Chile 23 Panama West Africa 20 Ecuador Singapore 20

BELIEFS , VALUES , AND CULTURAL 59 TABLE Masculinity Index ( MAS ) for 50 Countries and Regions Country Region MAS Country Region MAS Japan 95 USA 62 Austria 79 Australia 61 Venezuela 73 New Zealand 58 Italy 70 Hong Kong 57 Switzerland 70 Greece 57 Mexico 69 India 56 Ireland 69 Argentina 56 68 Belgium 54 Germany 66 Arab countries 53 Great Britain 66 Canada 52 Philippines 64 Malaysia 50 Colombia 64 Pakistan 50 Ecuador 63 Brazil 49 South Africa 63 From ( 1997 ) they are more by their membership in particular groups . Communication is more direct in individualistic societies but more indirect in collectivistic societies . The ranks very high in individualism , and South Korea ranks quite low . falls close to the middle , Masculinity Femininity Masculinity femininity refers to a dimension that describes the extent to which strong distinctions exist between men and womens roles in society . Societies that score higher on the masculinity scale tend to value , competition , and material success ( Table 34 ) Countries that score lower in masculinity tend to embrace values more widely thought of as feminine values , eg , modesty , quality of life , interpersonal relationships , and greater concern for the disadvantaged of society . ies high in masculinity are also more likely to have strong opinions about what constitutes men work women work while societies low in masculinity permit much greater overlapping in the social roles of men and women . Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty avoidance measures the extent to which people value predictability and View uncertainty or the unknown as threatening . People in societies that measure high in uncertainty avoidance prefer to know exactly what to expect in any given situation ( Table ) They want rules and strict codes of behavior . They dislike ambiguity . People from countries that score low on uncertainty generally have a higher tolerance for ambiguity . They are happy to have few rules and prefer less structured rather MAS MAS Singapore 48 South Korea 39 Israel 47 38 Indonesia 46 37 West Africa 46 Thailand 34 Turkey Portugal 31 45 Chile 28 Panama 44 Finland 26 France 43 Yugoslavia 21 Iran 43 Costa 21 Peru 42 Denmark 16 Spain 42 Netherlands 14 East Africa 41 Norway El Salvador 40 Sweden than more tightly structured . In educational tings , people from countries high in uncertainty avoidance expect their teachers to be experts with all of the answers . People from countries low in uncertainty avoidance don mind it when a teacher says , I dont Orientation orientation is a fifth dimension developed some years after the initial four . It emerged as a result of an effort by a research group ( Chinese Culture Connection , 1987 ) to develop a universal values framework with a bias . According to ( 1997 ) the resulting Chinese Values Survey overlapped with three of dimensions power distance , individualism , and masculinity although not with the uncertainty dimension . In addition , the group found a unique factor not in work , which they called Confucian dynamism . has since incorporated Confucian dynamism into his own theory as orientation . orientation is with thrift , savings , persistence toward results , and the willingness to subordinate oneself for a purpose ( Table ) orientation is associated with less saving , a preference for quick results , and unrestrained spending in response to social pressure ( often referred to in English as keeping up with the ) Indulgence Indulgence represents another new dimension . People living in countries that score high on indulgence are more likely to value the free gratification of

CHAPTER TABLE Uncertainty Avoidance Index ( for 50 Countries and Regions Country Region Greece Portugal El Salvador Belgium Japan Yugoslavia Peru Panama France Chile Spain Argentina Costa 04 Turkey 101 South Korea 00 Mexico 94 Israel 94 Colombia 92 Venezuela 88 Brazil 87 Italy 86 Pakistan 86 Austria 86 86 Arab countries 86 From ( 1997 ) 113 . TABLE Orientation ( LTO ) for 23 Countries Country China Hong Kong South Korea 75 Brazil LTO Country 18 India 96 Thailand 87 ore 80 Netherlands 65 Sweden From ( 1997 ) 166 . 86 85 85 82 81 80 76 76 75 70 70 69 68 LTO 61 56 48 44 40 33 Country Region Ecuador 67 Germany 65 Thailand 64 Iran 59 Finland 59 Switzerland 58 West Africa 54 Netherlands 53 East Africa 52 Australia Norway 50 South Africa 49 New Zealand 49 Country LTO Poland 32 Germany Australia New Zealand 30 USA 29 Great Britain 25 Indonesia Canada USA Philippines India Malaysia Great Britain Ireland Hong Kong Sweden Denmark Singapore Country Zimbabwe Canada Philippines Pakistan TABLE Indulgence . Restraint . Ranking of 40 Countries from Most to Least indulgent Countries Venezuela Mexico Puerto Rico El Salvador Colombia Trinidad Sweden New Zealand ) From land ! 2016 ) 175 . 11 12 12 14 15 15 15 18 19 19 Australia Cyprus Denmark Great Britain Canada Netherlands USA Iceland Switzerland Countries 74 Morocco 75 China 76 77 Russia 77 77 77 81 82 83 Hong Kong 83 85 85 85 88 88 90 91 92 93 Iraq Ukraine Egypt Pakistan 48 48 46 44 40 36 35 35 29 29 23 13 LTO 25 23 19 16

BELIEFS , VALUES , AND CULTURAL 61 human desires ( Table ) Enjoying life and having fun are important to them . On the other hand , people in countries high on restraint are more likely to believe that tion should be curbed and that it should be regulated by strict social norms ( et , 2010 ) CRITIQUE OF THEORY Among the various attempts by social scientists to study human values from a cultural perspective , is certainly popular . In fact , it would be a rare culture text that did not pay special attention to theory The current text is a case in point . However , theory has also been seriously questioned , and we will summarize some of the most common criticisms below . First , methodology has been criticized . To begin with , the way in which the questionnaire was has been described as haphazard ( Hauser , 2008 ) Indeed , the questionnaire was not even originally developed to explore cultural values but instead to assess job satisfaction within IBM , It is hard to believe that framed to explore workplace attitudes are relevant to broader cultural attitudes outside of the work place . Critics also point out that conclusions are based on samples ( 2002 ) Although questionnaires were administered , only the results from 40 countries were used . Furthermore , only countries had more than 1000 respondents , and in 15 countries , there were fewer than 200 respondents . Surely it is not appropriate for 200 people to speak on behalf of a country of millions . Critics have also been skeptical about the assumption that IBM employees are representative of national as a whole . And even within IBM , the surveys were administered only to certain categories of workers , leaving out many other employee categories , including workers , dents , retired employees , etc . 2002 ) has suggested that restricting the sample in this way KEY TAKEAWAYS The Value theory posits that every culture faces the same basic survival needs and must answer the same universal questions . The basic questions faced by people everywhere fall into five categories and reflect concerns about human nature , the between human beings and the natural world , time , human activity , and social relations . and hypothesized three possible responses or to each of the concerns . effectively controls for the effects of occupational category and class , insuring that the relevant variable of is nationality However , it seems hard to escape the conclusion that since the study consisted solely of IBM employees , the results may have more to say about IBM corporate culture than about anything broader . Moreover , we should not forget that when research was first conducted , IBM employed mostly men , so women perspectives are also largely missing ( Hauser , 2008 ) theory has also been faulted for promoting a largely static view of culture ( 1997 ) As and Hauser ( 2008 ) have suggested , the world has changed in dramatic ways since research began . The world map has changed , cultures themselves may have changed , and the original data is likely to be out of date . In fact , it is somewhat of a Why theory continues to enjoy the ity that it does . Indeed , over the years , attempts by many researchers to replicate findings have not been very successful ( Hauser , 2008 ) FINAL REFLECTION In this chapter , we have surveyed two approaches to the study of cultural values that of and beck , that of . The study of values will no doubt remain a vibrant subject for researchers . However , implicit in work , in particular , is the idea that there exists such a thing as a national culture . In discussing cultural values , we have temporarily gone along with this suggestion . However , in closing , let us raise the question of whether the idea of national culture actually makes any sense . 2002 , 110 ) echoing the sentiments of many other scholars insists that the ing of the name of a country to something to imply national uniformity is grossly In his view , dimensions are little more than statistical myths . Perhaps culture is a term better applied to small and any such thing as national culture is a mere illusion . Dimensions of Culture theory highlights similarities and differences between national cultures . theory identifies six dimensions power distance , individualism collectivism , masculinity femininity , uncertainty avoidance , orientation , and indulgence . Despite its popularity , theory has been criticized for a number of reasons , including its methodology , conclusions , and poor representation of current cultures .

62 EXERCISES . Choose two national cultures that interest you . Compare and contrast them using six dimensions of culture . Choose a community that you know well and decide where you think most members of the community would place themselves within Table Value framework . Explain your reasoning . Are your views the same or different from those of your primary community ?

REFERENCES Chinese Culture Connection . 1987 ) Chinese culture and the search for culture free dimensions of culture . Journal of Psychology , 18 ( Turner , 1997 ) Response to . International Journal of Intercultural Relations , 21 ( Hill , 2002 ) and values orientation theory . Online Readings in Psychology and Culture , 1997 ) Cultures and Software of the mind . 2010 ) Cultures and organizations Software of the mind ( 2016 ) An introduction to intercultural communication Identities in a global community ( ed . SAGE Publications . Is your primary cultural community a or a community ?

How does this cultural orientation align with your own personal orientation ?

Are you a or a person ?

Do you think it is possible to identify national values , or do you think values differ significantly from person to person and place to place ?

Explain . 1961 ) Variations in value . Row , Peterson . 2002 ) model of national cultural differences and their consequences failure of analysis . Human Relations , 55 ( Hauser , 2008 ) A re inquiry of cultural dimensions A call for century research . The Marketing Management Journal 78 ( 1979 ) Understanding human values Individual and societal . The Free Press . Schwartz , 2006 ) A theory value Explication and applications . Comparative Sociology (