The psychology of culture | Fernando Lanzer | TEDxAUBG
Summary
TLDRThis script delves into the significance of understanding cultural values to foster global harmony and productivity. It introduces Hofstede's model, which identifies five cultural dilemmas—hierarchy vs. equality, individualism vs. collectivism, performance orientation vs. quality of life, uncertainty avoidance, and flexibility vs. discipline. Through examples from Thailand, Sweden, and Denmark, it illustrates the impact of power distance on societal norms. The script contrasts cultures like the US, known for individualism and performance orientation, with more collectivist and hierarchical societies like Bulgaria. It emphasizes that no culture is superior, and effective cross-cultural communication requires recognizing and respecting these differences.
Takeaways
- 🌟 Understanding cultural values is crucial for better interpersonal relations, productivity, and peaceful coexistence.
- 📏 Hofstede's cultural dimensions provide a framework to measure and compare cultures based on five key dilemmas: power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, performance orientation vs. quality of life, uncertainty avoidance, and flexibility vs. discipline.
- 👑 Power distance is evident in societal hierarchies, with examples like the prime minister of Thailand showing deference to the king, versus the prime minister of Sweden using an ATM like any other citizen.
- 🌐 Cultural norms are not static and are influenced by local practices and global interactions, as seen with the Danish princess receiving a royal welcome in Thailand.
- 👶 Cultural values are ingrained from a young age, shaping an individual's perception of power, authority, and social roles.
- 🏙️ Different cultures prioritize individualism or collectivism, affecting social dynamics and group interactions.
- 💼 Performance-oriented cultures reward achievement and status, while caring cultures prioritize work-life balance and quality of life.
- 🚧 Uncertainty avoidance is a cultural trait that influences behaviors such as planning, organizing, and religious practices.
- 🔄 Flexibility and discipline in a culture dictate how societies approach problem-solving and adapt to change.
- 🌐 Recognizing cultural differences is essential for effective communication, management, and leadership in a globalized world.
Q & A
What is the main idea behind understanding culture according to the script?
-The main idea is that understanding the values behind culture allows us to comprehend people better, accept them for who they are, and ultimately lead to more productivity, less violence, and peaceful coexistence.
What are the five dilemmas that all communities have to cope with according to Hofstede's research?
-The five dilemmas are hierarchy versus equality, individualism versus collectivism, performance orientation versus caring for others or quality of life, uncertainty avoidance, and flexibility versus discipline.
How does the script illustrate the concept of high power distance in Thailand?
-The script illustrates high power distance in Thailand by showing the prime minister sitting on the floor in the presence of the king, indicating the importance of showing power differences even among the most powerful individuals in the society.
What is the contrast in power distance culture between Sweden and Thailand as described in the script?
-In Sweden, which is a low power distance culture, the prime minister is shown standing in line to use an ATM like everyone else, indicating a more subtle and less evident power hierarchy. In contrast, Thailand, with a high power distance culture, shows a clear distinction in power and respect, even when treating foreign royalty.
How does the script explain the influence of childhood on cultural values?
-The script explains that cultural values are learned during childhood, particularly before the age of 10, when children are taught what is right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate in their community, thus shaping their cultural understanding.
What is the difference between individualism and collectivism as described in the script?
-Individualism emphasizes the importance of the individual over the group, valuing independence and personal expression. Collectivism prioritizes group loyalty and harmony, with the group taking care of its members as long as they remain loyal.
How does the script describe the performance-oriented versus caring cultures?
-In performance-oriented cultures, achieving and performing are highly valued, and success is often rewarded with financial or status gains. In caring cultures, the quality of life is more important, with work seen as a means to enjoy life, rather than the meaning of life itself.
What does the script suggest about the relationship between culture and management practices?
-The script suggests that management practices often reflect the values of the culture in which they originate. It highlights that what works in one culture, such as direct communication in contest cultures, may not work in another, like pyramid cultures, where indirect communication is more common.
Why is it important to understand cultural differences when addressing issues like corruption or nepotism?
-Understanding cultural differences is crucial because these issues are often linked to cultural values such as power distance and collectivism. Without addressing the underlying cultural aspects, efforts to combat corruption or nepotism may be ineffective.
What can individuals do to better understand and adapt to different cultures according to the script?
-Individuals can enhance their understanding by recognizing their own biases, learning about other people's values, and judging others according to their values. Additionally, maintaining curiosity and interest in learning about other cultures can help in adapting to different cultural contexts.
Outlines
🌐 Understanding Cultural Values
The speaker introduces the concept of standing in someone else's shoes to better understand cultural values. They emphasize the importance of recognizing the unwritten norms that dictate behavior and perceptions of right and wrong across cultures. The speaker references Professor Hofstede's work, which categorizes cultures based on five dilemmas: hierarchy vs. equality, individualism vs. collectivism, performance orientation vs. caring for others, uncertainty avoidance, and flexibility vs. discipline. These dilemmas are used to measure and understand cultural differences, and the speaker provides examples from Thailand, Sweden, and Denmark to illustrate the concept of power distance within cultures.
👣 Early Cultural Learning and Dilemmas
The speaker discusses how cultural values are learned from a young age, particularly before the age of 10, and how these early experiences shape our understanding of societal norms. They share personal anecdotes from growing up in Brazil, a hierarchical society, and contrast it with their experiences in the Netherlands, which has a more egalitarian culture. The speaker explains the concepts of individualism and collectivism, highlighting the differences in how societies value the individual versus the group. They also touch on the third dilemma of performance versus caring, explaining how some cultures prioritize achievement and performance, while others focus on quality of life and work-life balance.
📊 Cultural Dimensions and Their Impact
This paragraph delves into the practical implications of cultural dimensions, using Bulgaria, the USA, and the Netherlands as examples. The speaker outlines how each country scores on Hofstede's dimensions, affecting their societal structures and work cultures. They explain how different cultural dimensions lead to distinct workplace expectations and behaviors, such as the importance of a detailed resume and loyalty in Bulgaria versus the emphasis on individual achievement and assertiveness in the USA. The speaker also introduces the concepts of contest, network, and pyramid cultures, which are different cultural models that influence how people interact and conduct business.
🏢 Cultural Impact on Management and Communication
The speaker explores how cultural values affect management practices and communication styles. They contrast direct communication in contest cultures with the more indirect approach in pyramid cultures. The paragraph discusses the differences in meeting styles and decision-making processes across cultures, emphasizing the importance of understanding these nuances to effectively work in a global context. The speaker also addresses the concept of feedback, which is common in contest cultures but can be perceived as personal criticism in pyramid cultures. They stress the importance of considering cultural values when addressing issues like corruption and nepotism.
🌟 Embracing Cultural Diversity
In the final paragraph, the speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding and embracing cultural diversity. They argue that there is no single 'best' culture, and that what works in one culture may not be effective in another. The speaker suggests that to change cultural practices, one must first understand the underlying cultural values and then decide what aspects to keep or change. They also highlight the difficulty of changing a culture, which requires re-educating adults and changing childhood education. The speaker encourages individuals to recognize their own biases, learn about other cultures, and maintain curiosity as a means to better navigate and appreciate cultural differences.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Culture
💡Hofstede's Dimensions
💡Power Distance
💡Individualism vs. Collectivism
💡Performance Orientation
💡Uncertainty Avoidance
💡Flexibility vs. Discipline
💡Egalitarian Culture
💡Hierarchical Culture
💡Cultural Adaptation
💡Cultural Bias
Highlights
Understanding cultural values can lead to better acceptance of people and promote peace.
Culture consists of unwritten norms that dictate right and wrong, and appropriate behavior.
Hofstede's research provides a framework for measuring culture through five dilemmas: hierarchy vs. equality, individualism vs. collectivism, performance orientation vs. caring for others, uncertainty avoidance, and flexibility vs. discipline.
Hierarchical cultures, like Thailand, emphasize power distance and deference to authority figures.
Egalitarian cultures, such as Sweden, exhibit less overt power distance and more subtle hierarchy.
The treatment of royalty in Thailand illustrates the cultural emphasis on hierarchy even towards foreign dignitaries.
Societies are considered hierarchical or egalitarian based on the acceptance of power structures by the general population, not just the leadership.
Cultural norms are learned from a young age and shape an individual's understanding of power dynamics.
In individualistic cultures, personal achievement and independence are valued over group loyalty.
Collectivist cultures prioritize group harmony and loyalty, often suppressing individual dissent.
Performance-oriented cultures reward achievement and status, viewing work as a central life focus.
Caring cultures prioritize quality of life and view work as a means to enjoy life, rather than an end in itself.
Uncertainty avoidance is high in cultures that use planning, organizing, and religion to mitigate uncertainty.
Flexibility is valued in cultures that adapt to situations and accept multiple paths to achieve goals.
Disciplined cultures adhere strictly to a single path and apply laws uniformly without exceptions.
Comparative cultural studies, such as those between Bulgaria, the USA, and Holland, reveal significant differences in power distance, individualism, and performance orientation.
There is no 'best' culture; all cultures have unique values that should be respected and understood.
Management practices taught in Western universities may not be universally applicable and may require adaptation for different cultural contexts.
Understanding cultural values is crucial for addressing societal issues like corruption and nepotism effectively.
Personal biases should be recognized, and an effort should be made to understand and respect other cultures' values.
Maintaining curiosity and interest in learning about other cultures is essential for personal and societal growth.
Transcripts
hi so let's
start this is actually all about
um standing in someone else's
shoes I believe that if we can
understand understand the values behind
culture we can understand people better
we can accept them for who they are for
what they stand for where they're coming
from and then we'll have more
productivity we'll have less
violence and we can live uh in
peace now when I say culture I mean the
set of Unwritten Norms that guide
people's behavior and gives them a sense
of what is right and what is wrong what
is appropriate and what is
not today we can measure
culture we use tools developed by
Professor her hofstead that allow us to
measure culture based on
statistics and how people react to
different
situations what Hof identified was that
all communities basically have five
dilemas five dilemmas that they have to
cope with one way or
another these are hierarchy
versus
equality individualism versus
collectivism performance orientation
versus caring for others or quality of
life uncertainty avoid or not worrying
about
uncertainty and flexibility versus
discipline now the research of hoffstead
is not new but these dilemas they are
still valid they have been with us for
centuries and they continue to be valid
today let's look at uh some of these
dilemmas the guy in white is the the
prime minister of
Thailand so how come he's sitting on the
floor because the guy behind the desk is
the king of
Thailand Thailand is a very hierarchical
culture it has what we call a big Power
distance in high power distance
societies like Thailand it's very
important to show the power distance
among the different rungs in the
hierarchy even among the two most
powerful people in that
Society
now this guy over here is the prime
minister of
Sweden but he's standing in line to use
the ATM like everyone
else Sweden is a low power distance
culture in a low power distance culture
there is also hierarchy there is also
power distance but it's much more
subtle it's not so
evident now
this is the princess of
Denmark and Denmark is also uh an
egalitarian culture low power distance
so how come she's getting the red carpet
treated and uh people are throwing
petals at her
feet because she's not in Denmark she is
visiting
Thailand this is how people this is how
people in Thailand treat
royalty even if it's not their own
royalty if it's somebody coming from
abroad and maybe this is why the
princess of Denmark enjoys visiting
Thailand so much because she would never
get this treatment in
Denmark now this is very important
because
it is the people at the bottom of the so
social pyramid that determine whether
the societ is high power distance
hierarchical or not it's not the
dictator who determines the dictatorship
it's the people at the bottom who accept
a dictator or do not accept a
dictator they are the ones who determine
if a society is hierarchical or
egalitarian
and it all begins in
childhood when we are less than 10 years
old that's when we all learn what is
right and what is wrong what is
appropriate and what is not appropriate
in our community that's when we learn in
which way of those dilemmas is our
community
going let me give
you a couple of examples
when I was a young kid in Brazil Brazil
is a very hierarchical society and I
would come into the living room with my
sister playing and my parents were
entertaining guests and they would tell
us go play outside we're having an adult
conversation and of course we would go
outside and we learned that in this
world there are some people who have
more power the adults and some people
have less power the
children but now I live in Holland when
I go to my next door neighbor and his
kids come playing running into the
living room he stops talking to me he
includes the children in the
conversation he treats the children as
adults so his children learned that in
this world people have more or less the
same amount of
power when we moved to the Netherlands
years ago there was a knock on my
door a guy identified himself as being
from the mayor's office and he said
we're going to refurbish the playground
there's a playground down the street and
we're going to refurbish it we're going
to put in new toys but we want to make
sure that the toys that we're going to
put in are the toys that people prefer
that the children prefer in this
neighborhood so do you have children at
home and I said yeah cool I do have I
have two daughters they're very young
they're four and five and they like the
slide they like the Seesaw and said no
sir are they home I want to speak to
them my jaw dropped to the floor rolled
on the
sidewalk this would never happen in
Brazil
he didn't want to speak to me he wanted
to speak directly to my kids now that's
a
difference can you imagine how Dutch
children grow up learning that they are
treated like
people
so individualism is the other dilemma
between individualism and
collectivism in individualism it is more
important the individual is more
important than the group and it's
important to be independent and to
express your own opinion even if you
don't please other
people while in collectivism the most
important thing is to belong to a group
remain loyal to that group as long as
you are loyal to that group the group
will take care of you and it's most
important to maintain Harmony in the
group so you don't express disent
opinions mind you in collectivistic
societies there are many groups and
these groups sometimes fight with each
other but within the same group you try
to maintain
Harmony the third dilemma is about
performance versus caring in a
performance-oriented culture it's
important to achieve to perform and
people who do that are rewarded by
Society in financial Cal terms or in
status terms this is where pay for
performance comes from performance is
more important while in caring cultures
quality of life is more
important it doesn't mean that people in
caring cultures do not perform they also
perform they also have to work but in
these cultures work is a necessary evil
you work so that you may enjoy life in
performance oriented
cultures work is your
life work is the meaning of
life the fourth dilemma is uncertainty
avoidance or just letting it
be there are some societies that have
all kinds of mechanisms to avoid
uncertainty some of these mechanisms are
for instance planning organizing
structur ing things yeah checking if
everything is
okay if a society scores high on
uncertainty avoidance another mechanism
is also religion
Superstition because if you pray you
will pass the
exam it avoids
uncertainty while in other societies
there is less religion or less planning
they don't wor so much about uncertainty
avoidance they think okay let's worry
about crossing the river when we get to
the river it's no use worrying about
that before we get
there last but not
least the fifth uh dilemma is between
flexibility and discipline flexibility
means that if you have a objective far
away in the distance there are many
different paths that you can take
to reach your exact your objective so
it's important to be flexible go one way
or go the other according to the
situation it all
depends but when a a society scores High
sorry low on this the most important
thing is discipline and the idea is you
have one true path that you must follow
all other paths are
wrong so this discipline is much more
important and the law is applied in all
situations exactly the same way there's
no room for
exceptions no room for exceptions while
in high flexibility cultures there's a
lot of exceptions because everything
depends on each
situation
now let's look at Bulgaria the USA and
Holland
this is a study carried out in Bulgaria
so you can see that Bulgaria
scores
high on power distance it's hierarchical
it's more collectivistic than
individualistic it scores somewhere in
the middle in terms of performance
orientation but uncertainty avoidance is
very high we don't have a score for
flexibility in Bulgaria it hasn't been
it hasn't been researched maybe we can
talk about it later yeah now let's
compare
with the
States you can see that it's much more
egalitarian less hierarchical than
Bulgaria it's much more
individualistic it's the most indiv
individualistic Society on Earth the
highest
score it scores higher also in
performance orientation and it's lower
in uncertainty avoidance and if you
compare it to Holland just to uh have a
different frame of reference you see
that Holland is very similar to the
states in terms of hierarchy
individualism but it's much lower in
terms of performance
orientation and it's similar again in
terms of uncertainty avoidance now if
you look at the gaps between Bulgaria
you can see that there's a big
difference in terms of hierarchy
big difference in terms of individualism
and an interesting situation in terms of
performance orientation because Bulgaria
scores higher than Holland but less than
the
us but what does this
mean in real
life things are not bar charts so there
are combinations
these these different dimensions they're
always combined in a situation and we
have some names for these different
combinations for instance the Americans
are part of what we call a contest
culture the Dutch are part of what we
call a network culture and Bulgaria is
what we call a pyramid
culture what does this mean in
practice what are the implications at
work for instance suppose that you are
applying for a job you finished College
you're applying for a job if you're
doing that in a contest culture what is
a good candidate in a contest culture
good
candidate is somebody who has a glowing
CV it's somebody who in the interview is
confident assertive and shows a can do
attitude but it's different in other
cultures for instance in pyramid
cultures it's important to have a more
detailed resume
you should show
loyalty you need to ask polite questions
to avoid
confrontation and you indic you you
should indicate who you know because you
might make some relationship links with
people who are already in the
company in contest cultures the task
comes first what needs to be done and
when this is what you need to do
but in pyramid cultures relationship
comes first how can you do business with
people that you don't
know first build a relationship then you
can get down to
business now which culture is
best actually there is no best culture
there is no right culture no wrong
culture we always think that our culture
is the right one and everybody else is
wrong we always think that the culture
that fits our own personal values that's
good the culture that doesn't fit our
own personal values that's
bad but in
practice nobody is right and nobody is
wrong the problem that we have is that
65% of management books in the whole
world are published in the US the UK and
Canada and these principles of
management are taught by universities
all over the world as being the way to
manage which is fine when you do it in
America because it's consistent with
American values or in the UK or Canada
but when you use it in other cultures
you need to have some kind of adaptation
or else it might not work it might
backfire if it clashes with the
values for
instance in contest cultures you have
direct
communication people tell it like it is
they speak it to your
face but in pyramid cultures you have
more indirect communication if you want
to talk to somebody who is over here you
don't go
direct what you usually do is you talk
to someone who can talk to someone else
will talk to the person that you want
the message to get to to avoid
embarrassment to avoid
confrontation meetings meetings are very
different from one culture to another in
a contest culture meetings are short and
they're action oriented you make
decisions in meetings and you decide who
is going to do
what in pyramid
cultures meetings are a platform for the
boss the boss decides before the meeting
Consulting with one or two trusted
advisers and at the meeting the boss
announces the decision and then checks
if everybody is still
loyal so if you want to influence a
decision in a pyramid culture talk to
the boss before the meeting
don't wait for the
meeting feedback feedback is a very
American
concept you tell somebody how you feel
about what that person has done you can
give feedback to your boss your boss can
give feedback to you it works very fine
in a contest culture but in a pyramid
culture it could be very
different if your boss gives feedback
it's probably because he didn't like
something you did you better watch out
and you never give feedback to your boss
because if he doesn't like the feedback
you might get
fired feedback is often interpreted as
personal criticism so it's
avoided why is all this
important because it affects the way we
look at
problems we might be looking in the
wrong
Direction
unless unless we consider the values and
culture so if we want to address for
instance the matter of corruption it's a
big problem in Brazil where I come
from you have to realize that corruption
is linked to power distance and
flexibility the higher the power
distance the more favorable the
atmosphere for corruption the higher the
flexibility the more tolerance for
corruption so if you want to reduce
corruption you have to do something
about the power distance and the
flexibility otherwise you won't get very
far or for instance
nepotism if you want to change a culture
where there is too much nepotism where
people are always favoring their
relatives or their friends you need to
understand that this is typical of
collectivism so you need to do something
about the culture otherwise you won't be
able to change change
nepotism what can you do then first you
need to understand the
culture then you can choose what do you
want to change what do you want to keep
but you need to understand the culture
as a starting point and in the
meantime realize that changing a culture
is very difficult change requires
re-educating adults
about values that they learned as
children not easy to
change it also requires that you change
the way children are being
educated if you want to reduce hierarchy
you cannot continue to educate children
in an authoritarian way because they
will grow up to form a hierarchical
society if you want to change that you
need to change the way children are
being educated
what you can do personally in the
meantime is realize your own
bias what are your
values how do your values affect the way
you judge other
people how can you learn about other
people's values and judge them according
to their values instead of your own and
last but not
least never lose your curiosity
never lose your interest in learning
about other
cultures when you find something in
another culture that is puzzling or
annoying don't be furious be
curious thank you very much
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