4.5 Cultural variables
A culture is made up of many different components or variables, including everything that a society thinks, says, does and makes (Lahiff & Penrose 1997). Comparing and contrasting cultural variables enables us to further understand the idiosyncrasies of different cultures and how these might affect communication.
Dwyer (2005) focuses on contrasting cultural values as a point of difference between cultures.
Activity 4e
- Read the section on Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions on pages 38 to 41 of the textbook.
- Do you agree with the values relating to your own culture? If not, why not?
Other cultural variables include (Lahiff & Penrose 1997 and Bovee & Thill 1996):
- Religion
- Roles
For example, gender, occupation, financial status, and age are all role related factors that may differ between cultures.
- Time orientation
Monochronic cultures display a preference for doing one thing at a time because time is limited, precisely segmented and schedule driven. For example, the USA is a very schedule driven culture. Polychronic cultures display a preference for doing more than one thing at a time because time is flexible and multi-dimensional. For example, many countries in South America and the Pacific are not so concerned with promptness and schedules. Meetings may start late without concern.
- Social behaviour and manners
Social behaviours and manners differ widely between cultures. What did you find out about business etiquette in Activity 4d?
- Legal and ethical behaviour
In some countries it is acceptable to take bribes whereas in many others these are strictly forbidden morally and legally.
All of these variables help us to understand the differences between cultures. However, we should always be aware that we are all human and share many similarities as well as differences. Competent communication involves overcoming the barriers presented by the differences and finding shared meaning. The Checklist in Reading 4.1 gives you a starting point for these considerations.
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