CHAPTER 5 CULTURAL ORIENTATIONS AND BEHAVIOURS



CHAPTER 5: CULTURAL AND VALUE ORIENTATIONS

Questions for discussion

1. Do you think it is coincidence that Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan with strong economies are all cultures that reflect Confucian work dynamism? Why or why not?

2. Where would you rank your culture on this long-term versus short-term orientation dimension? Could you give an example to support your claim?

3. Could you give an example to illustrate how uncertainty avoidance dimension can be reflected in the classroom?

4. Do you believe humans should conquer nature or live in harmony with nature? Why?

5. How would activity orientation affect people’s attitude towards work and play?

6. Do you feel that ethical universalism’s claims about the universality of ethnical principles are appropriate in every situation? Can you think of a situation in which an ethical relativist position would be more appropriate?

7. Do you agree with Evanoff’s statement that ethical relativism is essentially conservative? Why or why not?

8. How might prior knowledge of a culture’s value orientations improve intercultural communication? Consider time orientation, activity orientation, man-nature orientation, human nature orientation and relational orientation, each in turn. For example, knowing that someone’s culture operates on an informal system might prevent that person’s lateness to an appointment being misinterpreted as rudeness or carelessness.

9. Is there a practice associated with your culture that is commonly misunderstood by outsiders? For example, the Japanese practice of opening gifts at a later time out of respect could be misunderstood by an Australian as disinterest. How might such misunderstanding be prevented?

10. What cultural values accompany a polychronic time orientation? For example; punctuality, completing set tasks or goals, work/leisure time divisions. What cultural values accompany a monochronic time orientation? What do you see as the positives and negatives associated with each type of time orientation? Is it possible for a culture to have elements of both?

11. Do you think the three issues or dimensions that Schwartz raises are applicable to all cultures? Why/why not?

12. Select one of Condon and Yousef’s six sphere’s of universal problems, for example, family. What universal problems do you think cultures face in relation to the sphere you have selected? How do differing cultural orientations influence the way in which these problems are dealt with?

Activities

1. Find and write down five or six proverbs or adages from you culture. Share with the class and discuss the cultural dimensions they reveal (e.g., collectivism, power distance, high-context culture). Share with your classmates about those proverbs.

2. Individually: For each statement, identify the value orientation illustrated and place a + in front of the statements you personally agree with, a – in front of those you disagree, and leave blank those with which you neither agree nor disagree.

_____ 1. Humans have power to control the plants and animals of the earth.

_____ 2. You can tell something about a person by their possessions.

_____ 3. Work gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

_____ 4. Work should be serious business.

_____ 5. It’s important to organize and plan your time.

_____ 6. It is more important to focus on achieving short-term goals than long-term

goals because the distant future is uncertain.

_____ 7. We should use the present to work for a better future.

_____ 8. People are born with the potential for good and evil.

_____ 9. People can make decisions for themselves.

_____ 10. It’s important to have an identity that is based on yourself and not on other people.

_____ 11. It’s important to decide goals for yourself.

_____ 12. Everyone should have equal opportunity.

In groups or pairs, discuss:

• Which three statements on this list are most important to you?

• To what extent, do you think, the mass media play a role in influencing your views?

• Could you think of some examples to show how those value orientations are reflected in your language?

3. Read through daily newspapers and find a current issue (either global, national or local) which lends itself to either an ethical universalist or an ethical relativist interpretation. What perspective do you initially adopt? Why? Try to examine the situation for the alternative perspective – what issues does this raise?

4. Divide into four groups, with each group adopting one of Chen and Starosta’s principles of communication ethics. Brainstorm a list of 5–6 guidelines/informal ‘rules’ that could be followed in an intercultural scenario to help ensure that this principle is upheld. Share your list with class.

5. Explore Hofstede’s cultural dimensions online at , which rates countries according to the various dimensions. Do you agree with the ratings in respect to your own country? Were there any country’s ratings that surprised you? For example, you might have expected Norway to be lower in Uncertainty Avoidance. What implications might this have for your understanding of that culture?

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