Lesson 3:: Culture in Moral Behavior

Lesson 3:
CULTURE IN
MORAL BEHAVIOR
LET’S WARM-UP!
Give one (1) word which starts
with the letter of your first name
to describe you culturally
DEFINE
CULTURE
 It refers to the cumulative deposit of
knowledge, experience, beliefs,
values, attitudes, meanings,
hierarchies, religion, notions of time,
roles, spatial relations, concepts of
the universe, and material objects
and possessions acquired by a
group of people in the course of
generations through individual and
group striving.
 It is the systems of knowledge

shared by a relatively large group of
people.
DEFINE
CULTURE
 It is the sum of total of the learned
behavior of a group of people that are
generally considered to be the
tradition of that people and are
transmitted from generation to
generation.
 Culture is communication,
communication is culture.
 Culture in its broadest sense is
cultivated behavior; that is the
totality of a person's learned,
accumulated experience which is
socially transmitted, or more briefly,
behavior through social learning.
THEORY OF CULTURAL DETERMINISM
 No universal "right way" of being human. "Right way" is almost always "our
way"; that "our way" in one society almost never corresponds to "our
way" in another society.
 The optimistic version of this theory postulates that human nature
being infinitely malleable, human being can choose the ways of
life they prefer.
 The pessimistic version maintains that people are what they are
conditioned to be; this is something over which they have no control.
Human beings are passive creatures and do whatever their culture tells
them to do. This explanation leads to behaviorism that locates the
causes of human behavior in a realm that is totally beyond human control.
Cultural
Relativism
 Different cultural groups think, feel, and act differently.
There is no scientific standards foreconsidering one group
as intrinsically superior or inferior to another. Studying
differences in culture among groups and societies
presupposes a position of cultural relativism.
CULTURAL
ETHNOCENTRISM
 Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is
superior to that of other cultures. It is a form of
reductionism that reduces the "other way" of life to a
distorted version of one's own.
MANIFESTATION
S OF CULTURE
 Cultural differences manifest
themselves in different ways and
different levels of depth.
 Symbols are words, gestures, pictures,
or objects that carry a particular
meaning which is only recognized by
those who share a particular culture.
 Heroes are persons, past or present,
real or fictitious, who possess
characteristics that are highly prized in
a culture. They also serve as models
for behavior.
MANIFESTATION
S OF CULTURE
 Rituals are collective activities,
sometimes superfluous in reaching desired
objectives, but are considered as socially
essential. They are therefore carried out most
of the times for their own sake(ways of
greetings, paying respect to others,
religious and social ceremonies, etc.)
 The core of a culture is formed by values. They
are broad tendencies for preferences of
certain state of affairs to others (good-evil,
right-wrong, natural-unnatural).
 Symbols, heroes, and rituals are the tangible
or visual aspects of the practices of a culture.
The true cultural meaning of the practices is
intangible; this is revealed only when the
practices are interpreted by the insiders.
MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURE
Figure 1. Manifestation of Culture

at Different Levels of Depth
LAYERS OF
CULTURES
The national level: Associated
with the nation as a whole.
The regional level: Associated
with ethnic, linguistic, or religious
differences that exist within
nation.
The gender level: Associated
with gender differences (female
vs. male)
LAYERS OF
CULTURES
The generation level: Associated
with the differences between
grandparents and parents, parents
and children.
The social class level: Associated
with educational opportunities and
differences in occupation.
The corporate level: Associated
with a particular culture of an
organization. Applicable to
those who are employed.
MEASURING CULTURAL
DIFFERENCES
 A single-measure technique means the use of
one indicator to measure the domain of a
concept.
 A composite-measure technique means the use
of several indicators to construct an index for the
concept after the domain of the concept has been
empirically sampled.
Hofstede (1997) has devised a composite-measure technique to
measure cultural differences among different societies:
 Power distance index: The index measures the degree of inequality that
exists in a society.
 Uncertainty avoidance index: The index measures the extent to which a society
feels threatened by uncertain or ambiguous situations.
 Individualism index: The index measure the extent to which a society is
individualistic. Individualism refers to a loosely knit social framework in a
society in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and their
immediate families only. The other end of the spectrum would be
collectivism that occurs when there is a tight social framework in which people
distinguish between in-groups and out-groups; they expect their in-groups
(relatives, clans, organizations) to look after them in exchange for absolute
loyalty.
 Masculinity index (Achievement vs. Relationship): The index measures the
extent to which the dominant values are assertiveness, money and things
(achievement), not caring for others or for quality of life. The other end of
the spectrum would be femininity (relationship)
RECONCILIATION OF CULTURAL
DIFFERENCES
CULTURAL AWARENESS:
• Before venturing on a global assignment, it is probably necessary to identify the
cultural differences that may exist between one's home country and the country of
business operation. Where the differences exist, one must decide whether and to
what extent the home-country practices may be adapted to the foreign environment.
CLUSTERING CULTURES:
• Some countries may share many attributes that help mold their cultures (the
modifiers may be language, religion, geographical location, etc.).Based on this data
obtained from past cross-cultural studies, countries may be grouped by similarities
in values and attitudes. Fewer differences may be expected when moving within a cluster
than when moving from one cluster to another.
DETERMINING THE EXTENT OF GLOBAL
INVOLVEMENT:
Figure 2. Cultural Awareness and Extent of Global Involvement

Cultural Relativism
The great pioneering sociologist William Graham Sumner, writing in 1906, put
the point like this:
The "right" way is the way which the ancestors used, and which has been
handed down. The tradition is its own warrant. It is not held subject to
verification by experience. The notion of right is in the folkways. It is not
outside of them, of independent origin, and brought to test them. In the
folkways, whatever is, is right. This is because they are traditional, and
therefore contain in themselves the authority of the ancestral ghosts. When
we come to the folkways, we are at the end of our analysis”
How All Cultures Have Some Values
in Common?
It should not be surprising that, despite appearances, the Eskimos are
protective of their children. How could it be otherwise? How could a group
survive that did not value its young? It is easy to see that, in fact, all cultural
groups must protect their infants:
1. Therefore, Human infants are helpless and cannot survive if they are
not given extensive care for a period of years.
2. re, if a group did not care for its young, the young would not survive,
and the older members of the group would not be replaced. After a
while the group would die out.
3. Therefore, any cultural group that continues to exist must care for its
young. infants that are not cared for must be the exception rather than
the rule.

Lesson 3:: Culture in Moral Behavior

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 3:: Culture in Moral Behavior

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 3:: Culture in Moral Behavior

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 3:

 It is the systems of knowledge

Figure 1. Manifestation of Culture

Figure 2. Cultural Awareness and Extent of Global Involvement

You might also like