"Culture includes the entire heritage of a society and reflects a total way of life. It is that complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by human beings as members of society." Akhter, 1995

Characteristics of Culture

• prescriptive
• learned
• dynamic
• subjective
• conservative

• language
• nonverbal communications
• spatial customs, manners
• differing values of time
• money & materialism
• material elements
• religion
• education
• reference groups
• family
• friendship patterns
• values and attitudes
• aesthetics
• work and leisure

• Kinship System
• Educational System
• Economic System
• Political System
• Religious System
• Association System
• Health System
• Recreational System

• athletic sports
• bodily adornments
• calendars
• cleanliness training
• cooking
• dream interpretation
• courtship
• dancing
• etiquette
• family feasting
• gift giving
• joking
• mourning
• religious rituals

• monochronic vs. polychronic
• high- vs. low-context (Hall, 1976)
• using cultural characteristics (Hofstede, 1984, 1988: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity)

• Monochronic: time is a commodity; it is quamtifiable and there is a limoited amount of it. Therefore, it is necessary to use time wisely and not waste it.Time is the given and people are the variables; the needs of people are adjusted to suit the demands of time. It is considered most efficient to do one thing at a time or wait on one person at a time. Interruptions are a nuisance.

• Polychronic: time is limitless and unquantifiable. There is always more time and people are never too busy. Time is the servant and tool of peopleand is adjusted to suit the needs of the people. People may have to do things simultaneously, as required by circumstances. It is not necessary to finish one thing before starting another. Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an interruption.

• high context: informaiton is either in the physical context or internalized in the person with little being communicated in the explicit words or message. (Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, China)

• low context: most information is contained in explicit codes, such as words. (Canada, United States, Germany)

• Power Distance: indicates the extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally
• Uncertainty avoidance: indicates the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain or ambiguous situaitons. Uncertainty can be reduced in the future through the widespread use of rules.
• Individualism: refers to a loosely knit social framework in a society in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and of their immediate families only. Collectivism, the opposite, occurs when there is a tight social framework in which people distinguish between in-groups and out-groups; they expext their in-groups (relatives, clan, organizations) to look after them, and in excahnge fo rthat owe absolute loyalty to it.
• Masculanity: expresse the extent to which the dominant values in society are assertiveness, competitiveness, money, and material things, not caring for others, quality of life and people.

1. Time is money.
2. To be late is rude.
3. The focus is on the task, getting the job done.
4. Having to wait is normal.
5. Interruptions are life.
6. Plans are fixed, once they are agreed upon.
7. The focus is on the person, establishing a relationship.
8. Everything depends on the circumstances.
9. People follow an internal clock.
10. Plans are always changing.
11. Having to wait is an insult.
12. People are sometimes too busy.
13. People should stand in line so they can be waited on one at a time.
14. You can get just as much done working on two or three things at the same time.
15. Unexpected things happen all the time; that's life.
16. You shouldn't take a telephone call or acknowledge a visitor when you are meeting with another person.
17. Sometimes you're just too busy to see people; they will understand.
18. Personal talk is part of the job.

• language barriers
• differences in vocabulary and pronunciation
• differences in inflection or volume
• confusion over idiomatic expressions
• body language differences
• ethnocentric reactions
• judging all groups according to one's own standards, behaviors, and customs
• ignoring distinctions between different cultures
• assuming others will react as you do
• stereotyping others

• Withhold judgement
• Show respect
• Empathize
• Tolerate ambiguity
• Recognize your own cultural biases
• Emphasize common ground
• Send clear messages
• Learn when to be direct

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