La cultura

La Cultura

Definition: combination of beliefs, values, attitudes, traditions, and practices of a group of people

Our culture influences the way we see the world, even down to the smallest everyday items. For example, when you hear the word «house», you might picture something similar to the first photo. However, someone in the region of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia would likely envision something like the second photo.

Dimensiones culturales

Hofestede Insights is a company that provides training on culture to businesses and organizations in order to help them be more competitive internationally. In order to help people better understand cultural differences, they created a tool to compare countries according to the following 6 aspects:

• Power distance: the degree to which a society accepts power inequalities. A high score indicates an acceptance of inequality, and a low score indicates that power is shared.
• Individualism vs collectivism: the degree to which members of a society looks out for themselves and their family versus the community.
• Masculinity vs femininity: the extent to which a society is driven by achievement, competition, and success versus caring and looking out for others. In masculine society men are expected to be more assertive, whereas in a feminine society, male and female roles overlap, and there is more focus on good relationships.
• Uncertainty avoidance: the degree to which members of a society feel threatened by the unknown and have created mechanisms to avoid this ambiguity. A high score indicates a society that attempts to make life more predictable and controllable, and a low score indicates a society that is more relaxed and open to change.
• Long-term vs short-term orientation: the extent to which a society encourages innovation as a way to prepare for the future versus maintaining time-honored traditions. A high score indicates a society where there is a focus on future rewards, and perseverance and thrift are valued; a low score indicates a society that focuses on the past and present, with an emphasis on fulfilling social obligations.

Indulgence vs restraint: the extent to which people realize their indulgences and desires and prioritize leisure time and enjoying life. A low score indicates a society where positive emotions are less freely expressed and there is more regulation of people’s conduct and stricter social norms.

Cultural values

In the last section you learned about Hofestede’s model of national culture and the six dimensions that distinguish different countries. These cultural dimensions influence the values held by those living in the country. The following are two definitions of values:

• One’s judgement of what is important in life (Oxford Dictionary)
• The commonly held standards of what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable, etc., in a community or society. (Business Dictionary)

Here is a list of values to consider when making cultural comparisons.

Self-oriented values

• individual vs. collective
• youth vs. age
• extended vs. limited family
• gender roles/power
• competitive vs. cooperative
• diversity vs. uniformity

Other oriented values

• active vs. passive
• sensual gratification vs. abstinence
• material vs. non-material
• instrumental vs. terminal
• hard work vs. leisure
• religious vs. secular

Environment-oriented values

• cleanliness
• performance vs. status
• tradition vs. change
• risk-taking vs. security
• problem-solving vs. fatalistic
• nature

In a language class, students often learn about national cultures, but it is important to remember that within each national culture, there are also micro-cultures. For example, in the United States, while the north and south share some aspects of U.S. culture, there are also cultural differences.

Within these micro-cultures, there are even smaller cultural groups determined by ethnicity, religious affiliations, political affiliations, lifestyle, etc., Individuals are often part of multiple cultures; and therefore, their own values reflect a combination of cultural values.