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Science of Bullshit

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Levels of culture

11th juror: (rising) 'I beg pardon, in discussing ...
10th juror: (inlerrupting and mimicking) 'I beg pardon. What are you so goddam polite about?'
11th juror: (looking s- raight at the 10th juror) 'For the same reason you're not. t It's the way I was brought up.'
From Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men

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Twelve Angry Men is an American theatre piece which became a famous motion picture, starring Henry Fonda. The play was written in 1955'. The
-scene consists of the jury room of a 'New York court of law. Twelve jury members. who have never met before have to decide ~,.manimously on the guilt or innocence of a boy from a slum area, accused of murder. The quote abo-ve is from the second and final act when emotions have reached boiling point. It is a confrontation between the tenth juror, a garage owner, and the eleventh juror, a European-born, probably Austrian, watchmaker. The tenth juror is irritated by what he sees as the excessively polite manners of the other man. But the watchmaker cannot behave otherwise. After many years in his new home CQUlltry, he still behaves the way he was raised. He carries within himself an indelible pattern of behavior.

Different minds but common problems
The world is full of confrontations between people, groups, _and nations who th-ink, feel, and act differently. At the same time these people, groups, and nations, just like our twelve -angry men are exposed to common problems which demand cooperation for their solution. Ecological, economical, military, hygienic, and meteorological developments do not stop at national or regional borders . Coping with the threats of nuclear warfare, acid rain,
_ocean pollution, extinction of animals, AIDS, or a worldwide recession demands cooperation of opinion leaders from many countries. They in their turn need the support of broad groups of followers in order to implement the decisions taken.

unaersta~ding the differences in the' ways th'e'se%~iders' and fllei'ffolJowers'

t~in k, iee I,a nci act is a condition for bringihg:ib6iIh"orldwide si>h:rfions that'

wor~, Questions of econo~ic, techn9i~gicaf~irTi'edfc~1"Oi'-"bi~logicarCo()p': ;i eration have 't()0 often been c'onsidered as"'mereIY 'fe'c hnical One 'of th~ reasOns why so many solutions do not work ;,r'c'ann'at 'b e implemented i., because differe""es in 'thinking am'ong the' partne,,· haVe' been " gnored',' .
Understanding such differences is at least as essemial as un'derstanding tbe . technical factors.
The objective of this book is to help. in: dealing with .the differences in: thin'king, feeling, and acting of people around the globe, It will shqw,that although the variety in people's ;rninds' is enormous, there is,a structure in' this va'riety which ,can serve as'a bas's for mutual understanding,

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eolture as mental prog'.mtning
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Every·person carries wi!hin h'im or herself pa Items of thin kinllA eel ing, and pOlentj'al :acting which we're leariled ·th'!-oughouUheir.lifetime'. Much ofithas been acquired in ea'rIY 'childhood: bec'ause, at. · t~at timea . persofl'(is most
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susceptj·ble to learning :and assimilating.' As 'SOon as > cer'tain .patterns of thinking. feeling and acting have'- established themseives''Within:;a.~e-rs0n's mind, (s)he must unlearn these before being able to learn something different, and unlearning is more difficult than learning for th~ first time .

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UsingJhe aRal ogy,.of th~ wa y, in which com pUlerf~re p,oll!:,".\l1'1\e1i,,!jli§9!lok wiIl'.all••ch pa tIer.. Qfthin ki ng, fceliog. ,an d a<ling.",,,,,!a!P!4C![Qf11:{,
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the sub-!itJe goes, :$0f1waro of the mind', ;This aqyS 'lot meilI\" 9t F9!\~. ,J?al people are programmed the way computers are. A person's beifavio{A~,lm!~ partially' predetermined by her or his mental programs: (s)he has a basic aWit iIO<le"iate ,from them, an d to react in ways 'Which irre, mow .. creati. , e destnic-tive, 'or unexpected; The' 'So!tw: r.e, of the .min d.::t.hjs ,:hook "is:about a ' only- iodicales what reacti0ns , are, likely :ail·d · understandable, ,gi.vcn, ;@ne's
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The SOurces of one's mental programs lie within' the soctid~ri~h'&h'~~'r)(~'i/i which one grew up and collected one's life experiences, The progfi{fum'ng sta rts wit.hin. th,' fam iIy,; it COn tin y <' ,\Ii! I/>in tljl; J\l~ig)l.bpr,b ~-I'~·"'!,*h!lRI••in
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you lhogroups, ,a t I he WO rk place, and;g ~!>\;livil1g~<>m'!'!ln~*,».J~J!r~pta,1l watehmakeF,[r<>m Ihequote M the qegin~i,ng ·!>t tJ/iM~_ H\\~s..frof''I!,''
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country and a social 01 ass in ,whjch,P0Jit e.be ha~i~r,jj§!!lI;gt a,me,w.\'1I11JpiIi!x,
Most,!"'olde fmm that envirOnment,
American 'garage owner, who .worked;hnl)seJJ.lI.p (;OIQtl\e,~!Pro~Jr,fP quite di fferen t.me.nt aI. progra mS" Me .ntal,prQgt:ams ,v'\l)\~~, mUf!>,~JiI.>\h'!"Si<>:l environ ments in wh ieh they were acg
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A cuslOJnary term for stich'm erim I software is 'CUllur?c, ;'J1i\';siwor~:~~.riat all derived from its Latin soltrce; whiCh 'refer,.·{o tli'Cl'l#Iin'gofthe

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:ij¥M'\lWost~ West~m I~ngu~ges 'c~lt:ur~~ . co~monly mea"!$:'~iYilizCltip( .or:

~mY.~v~J the Jllind' an<U,~p'~r,t~~:l;lJ~r:, t~ef~~~J~~pf,sl.lc.h r~'~llewent~)I,~[~,

'~~J'21J~~1 ;tr~; . ,and litc:ia.~~.r~. -~ .T"j~, ,is ~~·\;lltuJ4{•.,in ..the . arr9 w ~ensc(~, .l n ",q;tilt!~S ;.caU -:-it. ,f. ulture one ·.~ ~.W~HHh ~,~ ,meQta,l , software '. ~ow.e:ver, c ~,iir~~P9,nd,S)O, a rou.ch broader use orth~ ~~rd which is comm.on among

~l~9:th-f.Qpologists: this is 'c~Jtur(( ,twp'.t and it i~, the concept Which will~,

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Spcial (or cultural) anthropology is the science of human 'societies, 'in' lrticular' (although nOLonly) tradjtional or 'primitive' , ones: I~·. social
~hrQPology, 'culture' is a catchworq ·for all those patterns of thinking, ding~, and acting';Feferred· to in- t-be tprev:ious paragraph~., NOl-qnly those
' ties supposed. to.. refineJhe mind are.included'-in ',c\Jlture two' ,:, b.ut.also ordinary and menial things in' life: greeting, eating, showing or not
~~;;;:';;)'~" :showing feelings. keeping' a certain phy~i~·a h,d.s.ta~c.e ;,fTQm·~Q~h~r;S" imOJ:~if1g
, ~pr 'maintaining ' body hygi~ne., P_ liticians iaiid joum~!ists _ o sometimes fuse ~ulture. two and culture one 'w.ithaul being·, aware qf it: ttle ;adap­
. . _~'""_ .on ~pFOblems 5 0f. immigrants '10 theit Qew: hos~:' ~ntry are, ~1.iscussed, in
%. ibrms:@f' promoting folk dance groups ..;But. cultur~ two deals with , m~ch
. mIi)re ftl~Hianlental"human processes than ,culture Qne; i~ deals with the thiQg-s ipatl huI't .'-: '
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$h1if~d: with'j:>eople:\vho ' live· dr lived: Within ·thes·ame social ;enviTof\r'rlent~ evh;i~h' isO\vhe're' ,j t wa~i rear-ried ;' It ;;5.,he ,collecti-ve:programming' of'the mind t .. w"h';clidislinguish,ef1he members otone'grouli or'category)' ot;peopie f'rom

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Cuhure:isleamed " not · inh~rited,ltcJerives . from -,one ~s · social _envitonm~.nt, not 'from one 's:ge,nes.. Cultun~ shQuld ,be distinguisl;Ie9,fro!ll ,hu,m an,n ature
On!ooe:side,.• and.fromallJindiv.id:uat's pers.on.ality on,the .Qther (~~e Fig. 1.1.), although exactly where the borders lie between human nature and culture,
~ r~: ,p~:~.~~e:~ ~p'ltu~~ ..~n'?i(PC?,r~pn~I!\W, is a mat_t~~ of discussio~, amo~~. social

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Human 'nal~re . is '\vhahil\ 'hu'm'afl,'heings;fTom'the Russian professor to ·the
'Australia'n', aborigine, ha-v~·.;.in cOlTimon~: it represents the' universal level in one '5 me'ntal software; If is-inherited·with:one 's genes;' within the computer ar:talogy ~ it is the' 'operating ' system': ,which ' dete'rmines one:s physical , and basic pS5'choI6~ical functioning ..The human ·ability to.feel fear, anger, love. joy " sadJless~:'tbe need·to associate with others,:to play and exercise oneself, the fadliJy·to:"observe, the :environmerit" and tQ t ,alk about it,. with other humans all belQn·g to this level ofrtlenta"'prog~amming . Howeyer. what one
,\\oe,:> ·,wjl!lit 'w~~/ feeJ! ng~ ~ . h.9\\' ,~n~ ..~~J?.rS~~s ; fe~ r ~ jpy , o~servat,i()~s,. ~,l}ld so ql)·.tjs };Q~,~~fi~d . ~y' ,culture,;:HumJin na~~~e , i~. n.o t as 'hul1)ar(. as the, ~~erw .

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·Cultural relativism affirms tttat one culture has no absolute'criteria for judging the activities of another culture as "low" or "noble", However, every culture can and should apply such judgment to iis owil actiVities, because'its members are actors as well as observers.·f,

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HUMAN NATURE

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suggests, because certain.. aspc;cts ,of!i~ .~~, s;h~e~::i~thd?~jit~ ~Q(t,n~ ,ilJiI~~J world .3
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The pers;naliiy .6i an ind: vidual ,-, "n 'rHct 6the r :haildtJsV.li-er7fi;~J'uniqu~
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o personal'se't 'ofmerital prognlms which' ("S)he" do-eis ;dSt:'sH'aie~-wJill'~nfothtr hum~n ~e!~g , It ~~ '~ased "tipon:' trai.~s whldFarr :lpa1:tJX:' inherlid:ll\vitni.;the o ind!~id.uars . u~i.qlie set :6f,genes 'ancr'partly.' 'iearne~j\: ~Le1lrri?~CP~riiea:ris:
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~nique pe"',inal experiences: .
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Cultural traits have'often been-attributed tQ.ll,eTeqity, b.e~~~s~. ph~Jq~QP1,l~~ and other scholars in the pas,t,did .: not k.OQW)Ww..'t(Le~f~tq, :o.~~.~: ~~..t.he remarkable stability of differences in culture patterns among human groups.
They underestimated the impact of lea.rnin,g from previous generations and
o.f teaching to a fu ture generatio.n w'fiar hill'ffas l~:arrie'(j 0n(rsl~1r. llHe'<:-f.6Je {jf
'heredity' is exaggerated"in the' pseudb'~tH~oiie~:'of race~' wllibhi~h~\ie'! gee'j}
.res'ponsible, among'other things, fot 'the' 'fI6locaust 6<tg1in'&eft" lfY':'f.Jite:NaZis during the SecOnd Wo.r1d War. Racial and"ethriiC"strife'is'ofielf jt:isiified'by unfounded ,arg'uments o.f cultural superio.rity and inferiority;: ;,.. ~· :f i:: . .:, : .
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In the USA. a heated scientific di~cussion ertlp.t~d t~ -~~.~ , ~~~; ~2@s.: :~,n whether blacks were genetically less intelligent than whites.4 The issue
'9705, after 'Some: Tes.earchers had QemQn~~r.a-t~d became'Jess popular in the 1 that' us-ing the same 'Iogic :and tests; Asi~fns ',ill the 'USA': QlliaY:¢l"ag~ :s.Gor.~d more in'intelligence than whit~s, It is' extremelydjfficuJr'1 ' i f~ot .W'p~o~ibl,~,-to find tests that are culture free. This means thaftheY'tefl:eW~~nly!:~t?Wty, 'not the di'fferences in, for-example. 'so.cial Opportunity : There.,jsii}H~~~ubt,that . on average; blacks in the' USA (and other.rnjnorily. and' eNen' lJ)-c:tjMtY~r0jUPS in other countries) have fewer opportunities than whites. ' ! l,zFi II". .;,:,,< ;.
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Cultural relativism does not imply normlessness fo.r o.neself, nor fo.r one's society, It does call fo.r suspending judgment' when dealing with groups o.r societies diffe're ri t' fro'fu ' o'ne' ohi"should·:think 'twite·'before applyiTtg the no.rms o.fo.ne pers'on, group or society to ano.ther, Informatio.n about the
,nature of the cultural differences between societies, their 'roots, and their
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The student of culture find~ h4m~n groups and ca~egories thinking, feeling. and acting differently, bu.l there.~:~re/no sci~ntifi~ . stapdards for considering one group as intrinsically superi(?J,,'!=>!),9(erio to another, StUdying differ­ ences in culture among gro.ups .ancCsoCieties presuppo.ses a position of cultural relativism .5 Claude Levi-Strauss, the .grand o.ld maD of ,French anthropology, has expressed it as follows:
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(s)h.e iT)ay very well want induce change· ..',~·r\ oolopial s ciays,,Joreigners often"wielded ' abs,oi4t~dpO'wer in oth,er sqc.ietles 'and ttiey could impose theiT rules on it. In these ·postcolo.niar9a·Ys~\ foreig,ners who want to' change sumething in ano.ther society wiii have to negotiate their interventions .· Again, negolfati<;,n'·is'more likely to succeed when the parties
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Fig.: 1.2 these ar~ j!lus~,If~t~;~ ,as ·,;J:l(f,,~~jg~pf,~ I}; ~pio0!b tJ)dic.a~,ip~ th~t symbols repr,t:sent the most. superficial and values the deepest manifestations of cult·u·re .l.,. .he'roes and' 'dtli"als' jh be~eeni.; \.;'
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;Symboi's --are ,words; gestutes~ " pictW'es or'tbbjects ,that' c~rry a .particular
.meaAing,which,is,onl}i recognized.by thosewho.share the , ulture, The words c j:n a:la'n'guage or jargon belong to this catego.ry., as do dress, hairstyles. Coca­
'·eo.hiA~ags, .a-nd!status symbols. rNeWJsyrribols are e~sily, developed and 'Old b ·n.5es \disappear, :symbols-from ,o.ne·,cultural ,group .are regularly co, ied by p .Qtn'er.s'tJfhisds why. sym bois hawe': been i.put:into the outer•.most supe,rficial layer of Fig. 1.2.
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Heroes are persons, alive or dead"re-dor 'ilJlagi~ary, wh6'possess character­ istics which are highly prized ·ili a cultijre,: :~nd·wfro,lhus serve as models for behavior. Even phantasy 'or cart-oon figutes:" Ii'k~ Bat~an or, as a contrast,
Snoopy in the USA, Asterix in FrJmc~;2~pUi~ B>.~om~eJ (MT'Bum~I~) in the Netherlands can serve -as ,cuJt,u.r3'J"ileioes~.: 'In'\this\'age of teleVISion, outward appearances have' become more imPorfl,lnt In th~ choice of heroes than they were before.
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For systematic research 'on ·values; 'jnferring them : f(Oir'Fpe6pletS:~aCti6ris"is cumbersome and ambiguous. ' Various'" paper-and~pe-ridl ~''<Juest-i0jllia'ires have' 'been 'deVeloped which' ask fo~ pe'o ple's ' prefere·nceS1 .a·m ong".alterna. rives. The answers should not be ·ta'ken tbE>'literaIIY: 'in' praCtice;' peopiciWlII

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not always act as they have ·scored pn the .questIonnaire. Still .the.qQesti, n­ q naires provide useful information) because they show differences in answers between groups or categori~s of resp9ndents, ' For example, suppose a qu-estl'6\1 'a$ks for one's preferb;ce' for 't ime off from: work v6rsusmore'pay'.
An indl~id'ual erhploye'e whO: statesTs)ne prefers titn'e off may'in'faetchoose the;mhhey if presented With th'e ·'aCtualdiorce;·h ut jfin'groupA more people
'c1aim preferring time off than in group S, this does indicate a cultural difference between these groll:Ps.,)~ the : ,.~e,~ative value of free time versus money. " . . .,

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Fig. 1.1 The 'onion diagram'; manifestations of culture at different levels of depth ,;'
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ugly vs. be~,utiful
:,.. . . ii. unnatural vs.. na.,t~ra.1 .
~~~,. ~)~~. "'~ - ~ .' abnormal vs. -normal paradoxical ~~..I~ogi~~t " " , , . ',._~ ,'.;~;:.;._ . 1\,:'~".:· irrational ,vs.' r"'tio ' i l
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Values- are 'among the '· first things :cmldren ")earn:-::-not" conS'ciously: Lbut implicitiy,"Dev'e lopment psycnologlsts' believe ;th: fbY'1 he'age"bf to':'~ iif0St a ch{ldien their basic value' system! fihhly in place'';' and~:afterfttt~i ; age:. changes a'r e' crrfflcu}t ~o make', Be-cause"th"eY'w'ere"acqulred1 sCi¥'iir.IY11T 61:lT
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lives, many 'values' t'emai'n' unconsCious to those' wna hbid 'therri~!%efef0re they can'n ot b:~ discussed, nof'ca'n they be''ilirectly ·o~s~rVe(rDyouisi, ders.:
-They can 'only' be inferred 'fiom the way 'p-eople' il'ct '·uh)der\'anoustdrcurn.: stances .
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~.roac;J teJ;l<ge! J;lcie~ ~9. prefer ,~ertl;lj.n ~tf~Jes .or~c"i,T.~ g~~r,;~m~r~,,;Y:~}H.~~; ~~,
~.eJi~gs .\1{ith ah ;~rr~~ t~ it : they)~~ye..a £~us:~~~~, , ~ !pin~.~,.~~q~~ Th~}: 9~~~

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In Fig. 1.2 symbols, heroes, and rituals have been subsumed under the ferm practices. As such , they are visible to an outside observer; their cultural meaning, however , is' invisible and .' lies .precisely.and '( )nlyin the ·~ay. these' practices are interpreted by the insiders.
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Rituals are collective activi~ies, technicalJy.. sup~tflu.ous .n·reac~ing desired ends, but which, within ~ culture, a,re 'c'o nsigered socially essential: they are therefore carried out for their Own sake. W( ys Q greeting and paying f respect to others, social and religious ceremonie~ 'are examples. Business and political meetings organized fOr seemil'!gly rational reasons o~ten serve mainly ritual purposes, like allOwing the ieaders to assert themselves.
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Jn interpreting people's statemen't~ , 'abo~ftheir values it is important to distinguish between the desirable' and' thif desited: how people think the world ought to be versus what pe'Op-le\va,nt·forthemselves. Questions about the desirable refer to people ir{ g~iral ariq ar'(~ worded in terms of rightl wrong. agree/disagree or something similar. In the abstract, everybody is in f~\!or .pt yirtAl~ . and .-oppo~~ tq ~i9' :iWP ~ws~~rs. aboUl ~h~ .cie~ira~le e,xpr~ss p~9ple~s vj~ws : a~out .wha:l.reprt;s.~rt~S;,yjrtu.e and 'wh~t.corresponds to sin.
The Qesired. on·the contrary" i~ wor.ded.i~ terms of 'y.ou' or 'me ~ find wh~t we
~ons.idel' i~portant,' what we ·want fo,r.ourselves, including .o ur less virtuous desires,. The desirable. bears only a fain,t resemblance to actual behavior, but even statements 'a bout the desired, although :closer to actual .behavior, should not . neces~arily ,cOrrespond. to the way .people ·reaily b, have when . e they have to choose.
W,tlat .Gis.tinguis~es ·the des~rable.from, th~. de~ired is the,nature ofthe nQrms
.iIJV~Jv~.:__ Norms :are the ,standards for " vaJu.e s ~hat exist within a grollp"or

c~t~gQr.y - 9L ·peopl¢::~: .In . the .; c~~-~.~f tb~ ctesirfible. the norm is ~l?so.lu~,.
~rt~i.9iJ)g t~ wi)a.~ tis ethic~Uy rigl1~ . ]n :!he~ casepf~.~e , ~~sirec;J.•.the· nonn, j~

statistical: it ,indicates; ,the ,.ch-.cices' ~:actualJy, made'--;Q¥ i1tbe ,"maj~t-y. ' The desirable relates more tQ ideolcgy, the desired to practical.matte:T$:,: ,"

mental progl'ams within people make:wdifftcuit to' anticipatetheit"behawor ' in a new si-tuation. ~, .:
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Interpretaticns of value studies which neglect?\tp~9!~~~_~~ ,,~c;t":V~;~r : ~h.~ desirable and -the desir~d;, may l~~d, lq;?P~f',lpq~~r ~f~Y~~r ,A,cas~jn, 'yh1Ch. the two produced diame,tncalJ'y- .QPP,9,S~~i :~~~er§;;~~;sl!pL.t~q)~: i~h~, ~B;M , studies (see later in this chaptet). ,I:,,IjO'plpy~e~ , iE :~ di{f~m~flt cc~nt.ries ~eTe asked for their agreement cr ,disagreem,entw~h.the statement 'Empl.oyees in industry should participate mor:e :in !qx; ; ge~~,jp~s ;~~~::~'~Y ! m~agf:meI1i:·.
This is a statement about the ~e~ir~~I:e; ~ . I}'l! ,an~~h~r."q~,~~t.ion, ;p.~QP~~ ~er~ asked whether they personally preferred a manager who 'usually cQnsults t with subo'rdinates befQre 'reaching:a-dect-s-iori".; This: i~ 'a{st-atemerit :aootft ,tit:( : desired.' A comparison between- the. answe~rs'to'th-e-se-lwo;qt\estiods revealed that em'ployees' in· CQUntries where the ' in~rrag'er "Wh0"'c'bh'Strltsf'w'a'S' Jess'· ,
PQPular, "agreed rIlcte with'the geneial 's'ta:femenr'th'af'employe'e;vsRould - - ' participate m'cre, 'arid vice versa; maybe -the ideorcgy~served:'as a ' compeh '-', ' ~ saticn for the day~to-day relaticnship with the boss '(Hbfste'CJe';:1980, 'P: 109;;:'
1984, P', 82).
- . '_ .
"

National 'culture differences
H~man societies have existed {drat le's srlO 000 ye'ars~ possibly,much longer. '
, Afchaeologists believe 'that the firSt 'humans led a nomadic existence ' as huhier-gatherers. ''Aftei-\nany' ,thousa'rids of ye'ars, 'some of~them ' settled do~n') ~i's iarmei-s~' Gradually ~~Ofu-e' farming ' communities - grew frlto -larger settremients, which became'towns; 'd ties; arid'finally modern inega]opollS~ likb,'Mextco ,Clfy WIth ' over'25"rrlil1ion(: 'ffihabitant~: ",,',
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Di~erent, human, s~cieties; ,h:ave, . fQ.ll9-}Ve,d,,:thjs :develQpmen

e~~'1qts",~ tlla,t~unfet:7ga~he~er,~ surv~y,e:.ey'j::11 today (ac~rdi~g tq some, t,~e, mq$,m,-, ~.lfb~n yuPPY has [e;y:e,~pd JR: a::~~l)ting-::-gatllering state)" , s the
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wQrlpJ~~carnY, !1lqr,e;a[~ m~re P9P\l:Ia:W~, ~~ amazit;lg v~riety of ~riswer~-w~, fQ~nd: ~9.,.t-~e ba~icquestipn ofhowp'eopl~,can I~ve togeth~r anc,i fo~ SOme,

kind:, ~f.~ ,~tt;Uct\lf~9 sp,~~W·

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Layers of-'culture

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As ah'nost evdyQne belQfrgs to a number .of tlxfferein.'gtoilpSa:nd cate'gbries

of people" at",the sam'e 'time':peQ'ple unavoidably carry --several :1 *riiof' .

, mehtar programming Wiihln tneinselv'es'; ccrresponding',t'o'different l'c~v:ds' of ..

: culture~ FC'i'ex:ampl,e: '
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• :' a 'regional ' aildior e,thnic >an'd/0f7;\-j:~UiiGUs 'and/or linguiMid ,'. a~fi1iation ' ' level;' as'most 'F!"ations"ar'e- comp'ose-o '6fitu huraUy different- regions 'and! ' or ethnic andJ.or-Te Iigioi.!: , andfor'hmgnage' groups; , ' s " , ;~, :, ,
• ~ genqer level "accQrding tc whethq a pers,cn w~s,bcrn aS ,a ~!;I,-5n,as a

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Next'to '~nd' o'fteri'within'the' reiritoIj:bf these'larger empires; smaller ,units survived in the form of tribes or independent sman 'kingdoms'. Even now; in

: N'ey,(Gulnea<mos( of the popuiatiQn'livesin small and reiativelY~ lsolated
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• a sociai' cla~s level, ass.ociated with educational opportunities an'd with ,a
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• f.oT th~se who are 'employed, an ,' .organization~I' ?r cor.pora~e ,lev.el acccr~m~, to ' the way employees' have been socIalized, by, theIr work
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Additi'ons to this list are easy ·tc make. The mental programsJrolT;Hhes~ various levels are Rot necessarily in harmony. In modern society-t-ney, :are : ofte,n partly conflicting: fcr 'eX'al'llpie-,.. religious values :may',co'lltlk~ wilh generation-values; gender v,a)ues with organizational practices; C(!)l'lfiMing,

,; ; :' " '-:',:';

grew, flQurished, and fell, only tQ be succeeded by Qth~r.~:" th,~ Sumerian,
BabylQnian, -Assyrian, Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman; --and Turkish states, tQ,m~nti.on , Qnly ",a,: few., 'The:, ~'Qut)l; As~~J'I sub.con:tin~l).tand the "
IndQnesian archipelago had ilidr empires,i1lke theiMaurya'i~h~ Gupt~,- ,and lal,e ! 1he'M.oghul,,iJl,India,i3Il,d tb~i~~.japahi,t ,Qn Java,; in ~n~r~ :and-South .
Americ;a the ,Aztec, M~ya, and lnca e.,rnpires.,pave,left theirm~num~nts ..In
Africa, Eth'iopia and B~njrt ;a.!e_~'S~IDPle~ ofapcient_;s'~tes.

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:o:~~~raticn l'eve'I," which separa'~~';~,"~r~n,dpa,rents" from ' p~~:~t/'{;~:m

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• anation'aHevel according to one's country (or countries,for .people who :



.

In the fertile areas of the world large empires had already been built several ' thousand years ago, usually because the rule~ of .one part succeeded in ccnquering other parts. The oldest empire in existence wit~Q ,¥Mlljl~'m~f.\l·9JY is;;.9HQ"::,,~\t~oug~ ~tc:had ,~', ~~W~-¥~'l~~~l1, ~~iji,~~,:},he:, ,Ch-i,~~se,,~rJ\pjr~ ,
PQSSc;~S~Q: .a ;c,oI1-tiQu~~', histon~ 9f. ~qutJQOO years, ,O,ther:empires di~i.(lt~-_

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The- inventlo n' of 'na~i.ons',, _pplitj<;~1 ,u~it~,j nto, ,which"!he entire w.orld is ' as divide.d aod ,to on,~ , Qf which e'{~T)\ ,hu~an. be,iJlg is s~pposed to belong--:-­ manifested by her or his passport-is a recent phenomenon in human history. Earlier, there were stales, but not everybody belonged to one of these ' Of iden-tified with one. The nation 'system was ,only introduced' w0r1dwide' in 'the mid~twentieth century.' It fonowed the colonial ,system which h'ad:developed'during;,t-he ,preceding; three'c~nturies_,:In -this colonial period> 'thetechrWlogi'caBy ad.vance;d,countries:of Western Europe divided,

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among ,themselves yirtuanY',~ll,~ ~be ,~t~~~riC*.iO~t~~·:; g~q9,f;.:wh.}Rh lWe~e: ":qF: ' ,~i , ~~gued" irt 'the; be'g inmng'of th'l's-chapt'eri",the (over 200ln'at1ons,that cexist today populate one singie·world and·wc!either-s'uTYive·orperishtogether. So held.by another. strongpoliti.ca"ppwe!,;,a,::p~;lm'r4~r~1ge,W';~n ~.h~g~,~,~~I,q~tla,t . if~a'kes practical sense to ·'fociis on cultural, factors separating or uniting, nalions sti n reflect ,.the colonial-J~g~cy.; ~fl ,) ~frj~~:,~~ ~rt1fularly ~ rHitiopal borders correspond more to the logic of the colonial powers than. tp, .tQ~
, , natiOns~ cultural dividing lines of the local popul,ations.
NatiOfZs, therefore, should not be equated,to:~ob.kti~s~Histprj<;aU)(,,,.;soci~tie$: are organically developed forms ,or s9ci~LonganiZa,ti0o ,'Jand'~he ;CQ1')cept of·a common culture applies strictly spea'k.ing~i~0fet0;iSQci.'e,lie,S',: than t,o 'natipns .
Nevertheless, many nations 'do .form..h,stoncatl¥!dev~loped~hoh~s ~yen i(

they consist of clearly different ,,groups La'Bd:'~e'ven~\jf:' tl)ey.,; contain 'I~ss integrated minorities: ,
.: ,;;;",-',",;,, " ;:m ~f;fiFi;g;~'i{/1 t't~ - "'" " ;," /,,(;,', 1 '
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Within nations tha,t haye existe.d fOLsPl11e: ~,iJl1~_J'h~r~~,aTe.1~,t~gQg f9r~s Ji. towards furlher jntegration; .(usuaUy) :,one q.Pql;Q.;~Jl~: ~m~t.i~Q~I" l,a'r!g\1~,g~) ., common mass media; a nationale.du!;~tiQP , ~Y:~t.~m, dl.' ; fI~\i9'p~U~rn1Y,. :,4 national political system, national ,repr.esentatiQl,l :,in.;..sRQrt~, J;y~n!s ,' ~ith : ~ strong symbolic and emotional appeal, a ,national,nwrket for, cet1~inskills" prosuC'ts. and services; Today's nation~ <;10 not,attai:n!lh~,de~ee'; Qf;intem,~1 homogeneity of the isolated, 'usually. non literate, so",i~ti~st\1d\e,d~by, field ' anthropologists,,', 'but they are the source ,of a 'Gonsic,:ierable ,~QlOUI;lt. of common mental programming of their citizens ,R
On the other hand there remains a tendency for, ,ethl)~C" 'iqg~istic. an¢ religious groups to fight for recognition pf ,their, 'own i,dentity:,Oi'( , 0,1 for
0
national independence; , this , teJ;ldency has . 'be~n' iq~i~~sjf;li r.~,(her, ,than decreasing in . the ,laqcr part o,f , ~h~ t~enti~~h"c~,rJl!rr,'0E,~"WH~ ar,c "the
UI$ter Ro~~n Catholics, the ~elgial1 , Flen1i~h:,.. t.~e ,J3~s,qu::~, ~r,;.~p~in anp
France"the,Kurds' in Iran" Ir, q •.~yria~,~an~ Turkey_ ,~nd ~~py. qf ,the;ethnic a "
' , " -- ,,,._' " " groups in the former Soviet Union.
In 'research on cultural' differenc~s' n~tioriality"'::":"'tlie' passport on~ holdS­ should therefoI:c be !,lsed ,with Cil(~ ~ YeU~ is oft~n Jh,e ;~>n!y" ,feas,i!iI~,cri~eri9n for c1assificfltion. ,RightlY,or: wrongly, ~0Ilecti~\~' .prop7r,t~r~,a;~, ~s~V,~~P t. '~
O
the citizens, ~fcertain countrie$: people ref~r ,tQ , 'typic~lIy: Aryl~r\~~r1.':,

" l~pic~l1y: Ger~an', or 'typic~lJy Ja'panes,~' b,~~a~i9i· ,.t:tsfqg Q~~.!BPr~)~\y: ·~s:a

cntenon IS a matter of expedIency, because It IS Immensely easier to QPtcHo 'l~ '" dat~ for natio~s ,t~an for organic h9mogen~ous societ,ies, ~atio.ns'- a.?p~~itic~1

bodies supply all( kinds of stati$tics " abourthdr ' pop'uJaiion~: $urve-y data,

i.e" the answers of people on pa,'per-and-pencil questioJlriaires~ retated'to their culture, are also mostly collected through national networks.. Where,'it is possible to separate results by regional, ethnic orlinguistil:> group, ,this should be done .
'
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A strong reason for .cQllectin.g , data., a~ .J~e ' Ievc~: p:f.n~~iqn~. j~Jh~t j q,n.~ " of the purposes of the rcsearch is to pr.omo:t,~ ,cooper.~tipn l!IB0J)g, .na~iq,~s~.As w~:s

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Dlrile-DSioDs.of-nationai culture5 -,' . '

l~tbtdlrst ;half of the twentieth,century'. social ,anthropology has developed th~conviCtion lhatall ,societies; 'modem or traditional i,face ,t he same ,basic

p'roblems ~ 'onlythe' answers ,differ.. American;an,thro.poiog1sts. in particular
Rulh,', Benedict' (1887-19.48}a.nd ,MaTgaret' ,M ead (:19D.1~1978), ,playeq an important role in popularizing this,message for a wide" audien~.

TIl'e'logical 'n ext' step' was'that 'Social''scientists,< attempted ,to'identifo/' what irb'blerm: were 'comiri'on''fo' aH s6cieti~s;,: throughconceptuaJ-reasonl'ng ,and refle'clioni\ip(jiHield ,experiences,"3s\veWas ,through ',slatisticat ,~tudies. -, l.n
. 195'4 "'-twtl,Americans; ' the-' soc'i(U~s"·' ~lex' Inkeles ' and ,the' psychologist
Ii~~tel;Dev'i'risOn, \publjshed" a' broad survey of the ,English-language lite'fa­
\ure-Bniri:fltihrial;tuUure/TheyISugg~redjthai\tbe ' 1olI0w.inglsStreS qualify!as

el>ffim6rf''basiC'prdbleJtls~w6rldw.irl'e'~ ' wi,th 'C~nsequ~nces:ft:;r:the';fuilctioning

lff sbCtelie's , 'Of'gi(jups 'Wi thin lho'se' s'0'¢ietie:s;:an d'ofindividua'ls *,ithin: those
.'~r: .'S1 ' ,:;

groups:

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il i'~:Da » (l~e ielcitiohsllip bet~een' inai'vldo'{d arid 'societyt' artd" "! ! ; ,:1," ', ]\,.':

:f;-; \);.J~ "' lie'i'iidiVldlial's' tOndeptbfriia~ullnity, and 'femiriinity : >u,<fo "

t
S:'iB, '!I'~y.~ Of dea'l;ilig\viU\(COriffiCts~\rlC1il~ifig the cohtT~'~r awe~i6rdind

.~~ fHl lYle' j6~pressi'dn 'Of 'feelings,! {irilC'el~s; and 'LeVirisorl /1969; 'PI>,''441ff·Y ..,

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T~,enty yt?ars later I w~ given the opportunity ,of studying a large body of

'~u1N~j, ' dat~ 'a'l)otlt' the yalues of 'Pe'Qple- in over 50 countries 'ar'o und the'

~Qtfd', ' These" peopJe worked\ln ,t he"'local' subsidianes of one li:lrge--inultf­

" n~tf6'n'~r';~orPoril:t16:ri'-: ;.> IBM. ,:At~ 'fint- ~ ~~b('it' - ay'~iem ('suip'rlSlog "tnat

tri'
'ehipi6'y~~s of a iti<ina~io'na\~a :vetY'spetiaFk.Tnd6f pebpi~uld serVe

:for>diritifying diffetence~ !in..'riaiib1Wfwlut" ~y~tems: ; Howe-\ter, from' 'o ne

l'
:b~untry ;to:' a~othe~i''th'ey represent 'alfflost } peiieciJ'y:matchea' samples: they
;~,r,e~;;~i Hi i1~r 'ijo( 'aU' re.s~Ct's~ 'except ;n1itid~~li~'y~' wbich 'makes' the effect of
'fi}l~joria)ifY'differen'ce-s'i'n their answ'irs'~hlnd ()ufunus'llany 'dearl)". .
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,IA : stitt~iic:a;,analysis' Of the answers tin-'q uestions about the values of s-imilar
,iSM 'empl'oyees 'in different 'Countries:revealed common 'problems; but with solutions differing from country to country, in the following areas:

'f.' ;' Sociltl~me'qualjtY ;'iricluding lhe :relationship with authority;
2.'" :Therel'litionshipbetweerftne,individmil and the 'group,
;

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3: " 'Ccmcepts':. of "ma'sculinity' ' and :feminhlit¥':Gti'tei\ sti£iaJ jmplicatj~RS": of having been ,bom as a bdy or::.a'.giF):;di iii. ,f'l:::td~2i- " 0 b:'>lt),':;t>',,:'; 'C':;"r"
4. Ways of dealing withUrrcerlainty.~ relating\1OJthe~¢ont<foj;of 'aggressioo and,the expressio'nof emotioris '; ""_I:;c~ l 'N-i. <'!<:.v-:~ ";r; :: iU : 1,
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These empirical results covered amazingly ~wen t'h~e -- 'are~s' 'predicted by
Inkeles and Lev-inson ,20 years befpre ~:T~~ -~l~F.gY~.I)'{1# , theic.vr.~~iqipn

prov,ided strong , support- Jorthe ,,~l:l,~P.t;~ti~~bt~Bq~~~H~: 9!'~:lhe , ~rr Bip,~~1 findings . Problems which 'are ba&ic/~9; '~ H' qY,:m~!l\~~f~~ffi~r$~g,¥,~~} t,I,I},l:l",u,P. ,n i differ~nt ,studies, regardles'S pfJhe, aPJ?rO)l~-9Y~iJp.ne~'~'lr1P,~-, ',In,~-ele.~ a~d
Le'vinson study: is,not;the @nlY '0ne wh;o$e'cq~(;i~1.:l~i.q~\<;>v~.I~p wi~,~,rpin~" ,qut
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it ist-he onethatmost , strik,inglYipl\edi,ct~'W~~t~;f~:H.1:n,q ill ;'l:.."" ' I;,~,., : ~; " , "' ,
The four basic problem atea~_ de'(ined '~Y' InKeh:~S'~a'rt!<f1:evinson' and erripiri­ calJy found in theTSM ,d~ta represerifdi~en~iQ'nsofd#ltU;r~s~0\(!d-im'efl'si0n:is l an aspect of a culture that'cari--be l1Jea'suteai re!~ltivt?1t6'otHef(cultures,.\.'The ba~ic p'roblein areas ' correspond"io :': diinensidn's'; ~hlcli\ iI~ :¥iafued- -paWer distance (from _ small to'larg'e), collectiviSm.'-v'ersus irldiv'idii4iism//erriJ.tiin ity versus ,masculinity) and un-cercain'ty avoidance ('frc6m ;weaklt(rsfridng'l.-;E~ch o'f these terms existed alie-ady in'some part ~ofthe'sdcial~lencb's/8rrd-'1hOey
~eemed tc) apply 'reasonably well to tb'e ibasi~.'problem iar~a; each, ~im'eRsion stands for. Together: they form a four-dimensional (~D) ~odel ofdi~f~r~ . ences a,mong nation~1 cultures. Each country 'in thismod~Hs "d'laracte'iized
b.y a score on eac~ ,oft.h~'~~u-r,oi~.~~,si~ns. _'~: ;; ' ; ,\ :~::":: :":;i~O;_,;:;~'L~:':~:::;~~~!'~'~;-:": l i) I

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A d,irnension groups :togelher a:, -nurnher~ of: phen~m~na.:- in '~~.:$O~i~Y" Wb,i.Gh were empirically found -to occur in ,cOQ'lbillatiol'l:,; e~eI1 ~ifi~l'6~J.1~jgb, t,fJI~re does not always-seem to -be a,'logica1-necessity fonth:ejq~Qi~Og\\tQ~th~1)\, ;rhe logic of sOcieties; however " is Dol ,the. same ,asih~do,gicrQfjlme::J.P4iyld':lals looking at them: The g.rouping :€)fthe ! different aSj.>ecW,,:-ri.fa ,"im,~sion is always based on statiSt1cfd r.elalionships,lhat,is- on tre.n4sifor tb~.~~~pbMOO1­
,
ena to occur in combination. not on iron Jinks. Some asPects in ; ome s socie:ties( may go against--a general' t-~hd'-'fouritr'acfo~ ..most 'o,thetso'Cieties.
Because'they'ite faum:f 'with'lhe1help~Of'statiStical'-methbdS: ditn~msions;can only be detected "on 'the basis' of -informat'ion :abo.ut.. :a~certain numoor"of
COlI ntries---say',:at 1east ro. In the' cast';oHhe-1B M·tis,ear.ch -I wasfGrtunate,to obtain' tomparabJe data' ,about' ':'(:uh-uraHy -:deter-nUn'ea '-values ', irom 50 countries and -thr'ee 'multicouritry-:' regi6ns.--which ,made -the' ,dimensions within their differ~nce~ '-st:ail_d oufqu'ite':c1early.
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More recently. a fifth dimension' of difference~ among national cultures ~as identffied, opposing a Io.ng-term orientation in life to a short-term orien­ tation. The fact that it had 'not been encountered earlier,can ,be,attributetl to a cultural bias in the minds of the various scholars studyingculture, _nclu<\jng
,
myself. We all shared a 'Western' W8'Y ofthinking..-l?he new dimensiap,was discovered when 'Michael Harris Bond;, a'.@anadian-Iocaled in the 'F.ar: East

f0r 'm-any',yeaTs, Sti1died~p'eople 1s:val-ue.s arQund: tile, W rlp u~i9g~a, qy~~ion­ q naire composed by 'Eastern', in th:s: cfl~e;C~it)ese~, miJ:lQs.: Be~i_~~· ~4ding i .this:n1gh)y ~elevant.'ne-wdim~ioni ~~Q'-&. wo_Fj< .showe~,th~,an~pe~~djng impact of culture: even the minds of: the ..research- rs ,studying.it are e , .mo.~~~~~,~ a,~c,~~di.n ~ to . t?ei,~:~~~, 'parti;~,~l~~ .~,ult~r.~<' fral1l~,,;od(..
:fne" ~coH~s" 'fhr eaCli"coiiritty

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bn 'one"dhnenslon can tl>e"pictlired '-as ,pai'nlts

1~t()Hg 'a'fine~:-For tWd ttimensioiis~t'a', t'im~;lhe)"betome'poiJlts>in,a;.dia,gr'atD,

f'F O't'tn(fe~ di'me'tt'si-ohs:;'tfiey'could; with'so'ine' imagination'he 'seen 'as p,oinlSlin l,-W!~c.e).' ~o~ loth 'Or fi~e di mensi'6ris th~¥:beb6me diffi'elil t!t'O envl'Sa:-ge~' This'is a
)tHsa'dv~ritage of·th~ ': aimerisl~naP modet. <An(')t:her., way of pjcturing,:differ­ ences among countries '{orfdtlte-r'sobial>systeffi&) is throtlgh:rypbl()~es,iBstead of< Qi,mensjpJ}s,:,A typO;logy Qescrlb,e~ .'}p.~~ber. ()~.iq~al~~yp,es 1 _~,~!=h" o~.' them

,easy:to)i:~gifl~ ..P.i'yjdit:lg cP~fHP,~',AnlR,rpe)' ri,rst,~_~c._pnd"a,n9 :I:hiid,~p~ld

:.ifSUQ~,ftJy,p.ol(?gy.;,~ ,~of~~~gph~~~~~~nq ~_~nwle ~~fQ~ri~ {Q, 'th~'~,~r~, ?f'~he

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rtb~s:is.ds 2JP,a~"i~~e~5;'J*!P~i~I\Y~WP~~~r# l~l!l,H~;. ~\fij~wr:1~,·,~,~p~;~m: \~,e
'; ~U,~~$S ~f).a" p'arl~~,I,1-) ~~'Jy.~;f?f;R9J~tl9,} ~.ge~*~gYf_~,lE9~9trY, q~~qq-, ~9~~).
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problematic in empirical researc\l: ' Re~r cases"se1 q6jn' f}l11y corre'sporid'lo one single ideal type. Most cases ~~~iI)ibiids', :ari(fa'ibitriiifh:iles~h'~~ 't o"-be
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ca>tly';be so Fle'd 'intQ'-:¢lusterswith! simiJar<S~tes. Th~se,,~lu~m;men ,foflll,~n
:em,pir.tcal !typoklgy... tv.lore,tban: 50 CQuntri~io "t~~}a:M ~t,~~,~~I~.1:, ~,tl:le
;basis :(;.( theW 4'~:D,scores,~h~s()~ed:tpmrl;3; such ~l\;\&~,~r~.:l~,;; ; , '. -, ." ,,',' ,,",-,
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Jogies .f or teacbilJg,punw~e~. ~hi$,- \,)9P~ WPly,~~ :a , ~~rd pf ~ypolp~y a:j>p,ro~ch

tn~flve ~Qif1l~)l~Ofl~"F(?r every sep~tn~te , diITi.ension' it
~xtr~m~$, ,~hic.h,j;:an be seen as. ioeal tYp'es. Some

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desC17ibesth~

,of.the:dimensio,o.s"are :sJl\;>s,eq~,~,n-tly' ,ta~eR t~p ,~y; two, which crea.tes four ideal types. However, the C~t.J:;D,try, ,s~9,re~ orql;l~;diP1ensi()n~,, \.Vi1I show that most real cases are somewhere in between the extr~'mes 'pictu-red,
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S,uch,groups form rnin()rities ~~-<cr()SSr~ad,~,-t?9~w~~n .tqp, ;d9!m,~ nant culture of the n~tiofl and ,tl\~~r-l o~n rr~ditrotla,l . gro'''P5P:ltu.[~.: Sqrn;~, assimilate into the mainstream, although this may take a generation or more; others cont-inue tQ stick to theirowrl ways. The USA, ,as' the~world~s most pro'minent example of a people composed of., immigrants,,' shows examples of both asSimilation (the "melting:pot') 'and < nrion 'of group fete' identities over generations (an 'example are the 'Pennsylvania' Dlitch~ ~
Discrimination according to ethnic origin delays assimilation' ~nd'Tepresehts a problem in'many countries. Regional; ethn'ic,'aild- reHgious cultures can·' be descri'bed 'in' the same -' terms -asnatiOha- '~cu1tureS': :basi'caUy, , the -'same '
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Religious affiliation by itself is less culturally relevanHharfis' often'a-ssurned~
If we,trace the r~ligious history of .COijJl~.ries,: t~,n.th,e, .f~Jig!pn ~ ,~?{'u!,~H~~ hasemqraced along wit~ the ,version ,of _ tha~i r~ligi9n .s~em ~9" h~y,e r"e.~ri. :~ result of- previously ,exis~ing cul~ural v'alue ,p~tte~,I1~ as:;~p~p., .as " a,~auS~-t ()~
_cU~,t~ra1-. ~i~e.l!en~es. Tpe great religions, pf.Jh~ ~orIQ, ~~--,~PI"J,l.,~ , tjme ;iJ~ ,t,~,t* history, ,have;all ~nqe~,g(!me 'profo- nd. scJ1is~s : (,~e.t ~~~A :~~man , C,~t_~Q~'~1
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Eastern, Prthod,C?x,:fi~d variou~ Prot, stant :gF?':lP~ A &qns,~.(C;l~-i~y;~~P,~'~~~q e !'
Sunni and Sma in Is~am; betwe~n ljb~(als ,~n,9 .v~rio:u~..fu'1~~~tn~ali, ~t~rQ~eS in,Jewry;, bet,w~~n ,Hinayana anq M¥tayana.in -auddh,i,sm.,_Cul.tu.r~1 dj~er­ ences 8mopggroups-of.believe'rs alwCiys 'p'aye~' a ' ~a;o~' ~ol~ , ih ' s~ch schisms. For example, the Reformation movement. 'Yi,~):1~o tbe,, ~om.ap
Catholic Church in the sixteenth century initially affe'cted all of Europe.
However, In -countries which 'ri'fore "than ·'a -fhousand ' -years ,ear.lieF,'-had belonged to the 'Rom-an Empire .. a'Counter-Relormation '~reinstated l the authority -Of the Rom an church. :Irrthe e:ld;,tne'Reforma·tion only -su~eded i in' count-riesw- rhouf a R6rhan'trilditie'n : AU, ou'g h -today most of Nortbern i h
Europe-isProtest'ant'and most'of Southern-Europe -R0man'Catholic, ·il is;not this religious splitwhi'c his at the :oFi'gin of,the' cultural differenees'bet-ween '
North and Southo-ut the inheritan-ce of the Romari' Empire. - Thi~ does,not exclude that once a religioif has 'settled, it does reinforCe 'the'valoe patterns on the b~srs - of whiCh" Was adopted ; ,by'making'these- into 'core:eiemellts in it its teachings.

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Gender differences are not usually described in terms of cult~Tes. It can.be revealing to do' so . If we recogriiz~ that ~thin each society t'h'ere' is mcn's culture which differs from a women's cut'ture. t.hls helps to e'xpl ai 0. wQY jUs so difficuh to change traditiomd,gender roles; Women a,re not c~n~~9~r~d suitable for jobs traditionally 'filJ~d by m~n, npt b~c~.u.se they te~~J~!~aJIY unable to pe.rform these jobs, ~ui.b~ca,use womekl _do~not c~rry; ,t ~~\sy~~~~. do not correspond, to the hero .imag7s, ~o,- noLPfirticipate inJhe .- rJ",~J,~ . < r
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foster the values dominant in the men's C411lJr~;and vice V,l!.I;Sa" Feelings''lnd

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19,5ht:~sp,ect, fOT, t\le values ,of .tbei~:, ,elders ha,,!e \,)een -~ound o~ Egypti.lri
.. p,~'p.y-i:u$. ~ro,lls ~~t,ing fr9m ~()()() :B~;C;\Il4jn,tpe ~Jiting~, of.-H~s~QP, a,9re_*
,
" au t\lQr.{rom,the,end ,of:the eighth cim~,..ry, .J;\C,_Many ,differences in,, pr.~ctices and v-alu.es,betweel1,generation,s will be,just no~m'al ~ttributes o.f age w- jch h . , feP.e,aHhemselves for each successj~e: pair, geI1erations. Historical events, tJ.0~ever, do affect 'so~e generatio.u~jf1:a ,special way,."111e Chin~e . whQ were of student age during the Cultur:al Revolution stand .witness to this.
The development of technology also leads to a difference between gener­
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!rO 'Qld YurkS; j~sf a,youngAmentinsdiffer from alii Amencans. Such nl , cl1ffere1l:ces 'often-'.involvethe relati~elY:1i~pemci~l1-spheres 'ofsymbcits'-a'nd h:eio.e~',~hH~shton :and consumption >
In'ihesphere of vi:ilues-i': e~~' fundamen'­
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:t~r.~tt'it,iide'S tQ~a-ras'i~fe' and towards other people; young Turks'differ ftom yoU'n~ A~eridm's jiisras"inuch " a~ ,ola 'Turks"differed' fi-om :old:Americans;
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Sor:iaLdasses _arT)fJ lifferent ,&l~ ,~}tQ;r:es. Soci~l ,cl~s, ,i.~ associat~d wi~h c n educ;at,jpn a1 ~pportunities,and Wiith ~~'pe.rsQn) occup~tion; orprotessio ; ~hj.~
:eve1):ap-pli~ jn ~ql!Vlri~)WQi~n th~~~:gq~ernRlents ~~lt~o~iaJ~s~, .pr.~acpingB
,cl~~~SS') sQCiety,,_ Ed;ijca~ipn_, ~np, q~~R~t~I)- ~!"~. ,i~, tlWW~Jv,~~; PRWerfu1 sources of~cu:i~u,ral _lf;:atni:iig-." T.h6:li~:·'S~"€t~t~da(d ,~P-Qil.i~!l' ~f-~ci~l.,class which" applie$ ' aQross {.' al1 ) C9Un\{i~~,! .~~4r:p~o.ple .in -, djff~re.nt ,CO,uIltries dis· tiogu;sb, ditf~r~)l~- types,and pUIJlPer;s ~t; ;class., The,_criteria~ for allPcating a pers:on ~Q ~' cla~s: a~~ p~ten: cul~UJ;al: ,~yro~l~ play all:i~pp~~ -rqle .,su~ . as ace,en.ts:i~ '<speaki:ng ,the" o~io,,~Hapg~~g~:, ~he ~~:e and ,fl.onu~ of c~rtain words, and manners. The confrontation between the two juror.sit:l Twelve
Angry Men also contains a class component.
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G~nde;', ge~e~'atl~n,_ and class tult ure:s c~n 'only part~ybe classified by the four 'dirilen'~I'ons fo'und foi -riatlemaf tt11tures'.- This'is because they are not

9~OM£,b1.l1;t~!~~ori!' of:people. ~un~n~S(andethniC groups too) are
'nte~ra:ted sQclaJ systems. The four dlmensl,ons'apply 10' the"baslc problems
-'ot'sucti"~ystems. Categories like gendet, generation; 'or 'class are only'p~lTtsof

soCfalsystems and ' th~re~oie not -aU -dimensions apply to -them~ Gender,
, geile'ratiOn~ arid class cultures-should he'desCribed in their own terms, based

'bn:' spe'chll studies'oho.ch cuitUres.'-" , ,

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pair. like Laurel and Hardy. In this latter case , ·one' of the two' words is redundant , ' '.
!':' Sl)me nations are less cultumlly integ.,rated than othen;. Examples',are spme of the
(', ',ex:-C(llonies 'and multilingual, multiethoic countries like ex· Yugoslavia. Belgium or M~laysia , Yet even in tbe~e co~ritries .ethnic and/or lin,8Uistic groups which consider themselves as very different,fro'm each other may have common traits in comparison to the populations 'of other countries. I have shown this to be' the case for the two language groups of Belgium (1980,'pp . 33S.ff~ 1984. pp. 228 ff) .
9" See Hofstede (1980 . r 1984) ,for theJirst analysis coyeri~g 40 countries. and o Hofstede (1983. pp, 335-355) for a laier extension.
III Hofstede (1980. p , 334; 1984, p . 229) shows 11 clusters among the first 40
' co~ntries studied. and the later article in Hofstede (J.983, p . 346) extends this-to
13 clusters among 50 countries and ~hree regions .

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Organization al or corporate cultures have been a.fashionable tQP'c, sJOc~ the early 1980s, At that time; the· rrian~agemeril".fite'l"ature';began to' popularize the da'iIll'that " 'excellence"' ofan 'o'fgaitiiatidii! is~cO'nfciihiedin 'the'\ common the ways by WITich its ':members fia~e::Ie.a~~H)~o<j;illit.k: fee!' and
'Corp'o rate cuiture' is a soft; holistic' con~e'p,~ \V:l'ih' {:;-fi9,~~.~ r,~'J)r:esumedhard, conse­ quences . I once called it 'the psychor0giea~'assets--~t.an· organization ,: ~hich can be used to predict what wil'l happe'Ji to"its:thianciai' assets· in five, years~ time .'
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Organization sociologists haye stresseqth~f()le'of thesoftfactor in organiza­ tions for more than half a century .' Using i:heqaber" ~~lture' '{or;'rhe- shared mental software of the people in an organization is a convenient way of re­ popularizing these sociological views. Yet organiza'tion,al 'cultures' are a phenomenon per se, different in many respects from national cultures. An organization is a social system of a different nature than .a nation ; if only because,the organization's members usually had a certain influence in their decision to join it, are only involved in it during working hours , and may one day leave it again.

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Research results about national cultures and their dimensions proved to be only partly useful for the understanding of organizational cultures, The part of this book which deals with organizational culture differences (Chapter 8) is not based on the IBM studies Qut on a special research project carried out by IRIC, the Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation', within 20
. organizational units in Denmark and the Netherlands.

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Notes
A group means a nU,mber of people in contact with each other , A category consists of people who , without necessarily having contact, have something' in common: e,g .. all women managers , or aU ,people bom.before:1940·
...
2 The concept of a 'collective programming of:the mind" resembles the concept of
'habitus' proposed by the French sociologist- Pien:e : ~oW"dieu: ',Certain COD­ ditions of existence producea habitus, a system of permanent and transferable dispositions. A habitus . , , functions as the basis for practices and images, '. , which can be collectively orchestrated without an actual conductor ,' (Bourdieu,
198fl, pp . 88-89, translation by GH) ,
.' 'Sociobiology' is an area of study which tries to illustrate how,some human ·social behaviors have analogies in the a~imal world . FromiJtese a1l21ogies sociobiology infe~s that these social behaviors are biological\y (Le. genetically) determined,
See Wilson (1975); for criticisms see Gregory et al.',(eds,) (1978) .
~ The name of Professor A.R. Jeosen is 'linked with the genetic inferiority thesis.
US professor Allan Bloom warns against a cultural relativi.~m in ·Ameriom universities which he calls 'nihilism'. but he usesihe word 'culture' in the sense of
'culture one' . (Bloom. 1988, first published in the USA in 1987,) f, Trdnslation by GH from Levi-Strauss and Eribon (1988', p. 229)','
7 In popular parlance. the words 'norm' and' ' value' are often used indiscrimi­ nately . or [he twin expression 'values and nonns' is handled as an inseparable
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