T1. ‘Culture’ Definitions

TASK 1. Defin itions of 'Culture'…….

Well, before we start asking questions about interculturality and its impacts upon business, we'd better start thinking about what we mean/understand by the word 'culture' and how it might affected by the addition of the prefix 'inter'….. and then there is the entire issue of its application to business and to different cultures!  Let's begin at the beginning!

This can involve no end of things – questions like:

• What IS 'culture'?,
• What does it involve?
• What does it mean?
• Who does it concern,
• How do we 'get' it?
• Does it change?
• Does it matter?
• Can we live without it?
• Do we all belong to it to the same degree?
• Is culture just a national:regional/geographical 'thing'?
• What purpose does it serve?

So our first question is one of definition…. before we start speaking about 'culture' we had all better be sure what we mean by the word and that we all understand it in the same way! …. if, of course, we can all agree upon a definition (and we might not be able to for cultural reasons!!!).

TASK 1. Instructions:

TEAM BRAINSTORM.

1. FORM a team of FOUR [ideally]
2. FIRST… think INDIVIDUALLY and write down your immediate thoughts in response to the Q. CULTURE IS ….?
3. POOL your individual thoughts and ideas, de-duplicating and making a 'master list'.
4. REVIEW your 'master' list…  does it give answers to all the question words: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How?
5. PRODUCE a definitive definition, in English, which covers all the aspects of the question words above and is as complete as you can make it.
6. SWAP your definition with the group adjacent: do you have any insight to offer them?… Have they missed something?  Annotate their copy and hand it back, explaining and justifying your thoughts.
7. PRESENT your ideas to the whole class.

From the attributes of these definitions we will attempt to create, together, a 'Master Definition' of 'Culture'.

Our next steps will be:

To compare our definition with the definitions of 'the great and good' [writers, preofessional associations, experts etc].  We may just learn something from them and feel the need to improve our own, but I am certain that we will be able to produce a definition which is far better and more complete than others'.

ON THIS POINT: YOU MUST appreciate that your role and duty is not to accept uncritically that which is offered to you by experts and teachers (me included), but to challenge that with which you are presented:

• does it still work?
• is it still valid?
• does it make sense?
• is it still relevant?
• can it be improved?
• does my generation see it the same way?
• Your views … and ours are valid… if you can support and justify them on the basis of analysis, evaluation, synthesis and justifiable conclusions.

Remaining Questions:

• When we add 'inter' to 'culture' what are the implications?
• When we consider 'inter-culturality' and apply it to business management and functions like market research, marketing, HRM etc, what are the implications? 
• Are cultures homogenising with the effect of the www and technological convergeance…. or are the distinctions between cultures becoming more marked as they seek to protect themselves in the face of the hegemony of the West and western technologies