DEFINITIONS/DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MOST COMMON TERMS
RELATING TO CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CLASSIFICATION
(* indicates discussion terms that have their own alphabetical definition)
INDEX
DEFINITION
Adaptation culture
Alma
Amoral
Anglo-Saxon cultures
Asian community
Authoritarian
Authority of self
Buddhism
Buena gente
Bureaucracy
Co-determination system
Community culture
Cordata
Dialectic
Egalitarianism
El jefe
Emotionally expressive
Emotionally neutral
Ethnocentrism
Etiquette
Existentialism
Extended family culture
External locus of control
Face
Fatalism
Feng shui
Getting drunk etiquette
Guanxi(wang)
Harmony
High context
High power distance
High tolerance of social
diversity
Hinduism
Humility
Idealism
Imperialism
Impersonal business culture
Individualism culture
Inshallah
Institutional business culture
Internal locus of control
Jante law
Karaoke
Little emperor generation
Low context
Low power distance
Low tolerance of diversity
Machismo
Manaña attitude
Mastery culture
Middle class structure
Monochronic
No culpa
PAGE
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5
5
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Nuclear family
Paternalistic
Personalismo
Personalized business
Plutocracy
Polychronic
Post-modernism
Pragmatism
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
Physical proximity distance
Quantity vs. quality of life
Renging
Savvy (savior faire)
Screen culture
Screened communication
Secularism
Sharia law
Simpatico
Situational behavior
Social Darwinism
Surface harmony
Tao
Third gender
Traditional cultures
Transformational leadership
Tribal group
Unisex culture
Universal generation
Western culture
Example of screened
communication
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CULTURAL TERM
Adaptation culture
Alma
Amoral
Anglo-Saxon
cultures
Asian community
Authoritarian
Authority of self
DEFINITION/DESCRIPTION
Adaptation cultures (African; Middle East; many Latin American and Asian nations) react more than proact to
life events via: Valuing the free things of life; Seeking *quality of life via family, friends, religion, and traditions;
Separation of gender duties; Learning to cope with weak institutions (especially government) and *external
locus of control.
Alma refers to the importance Hispanics place on having a strong inner life (“corazon” = heart), entailing
unconditional acceptance of others and a “spiritual” approach to life.
Amoral people and organizations largely ignore ideals and values on the grounds that “the end justifies the
means”; Amorality involves an impersonal approach to doing business; Win-lose temperament; Profit
maximization/cost minimization; The “just do it” Nike mindset; Productivity > people; Success > character.
Examples: (1) Using sex and brainwashing in advertising; (2) Billion dollar “amateur” college athletics; (3)
Erasing debts via bankruptcy; (4) Eliminating jobs via corporate downsizing, outsourcing, or off-shoring; (5)
Hiring only part-time workers to avoid paying overtime wages, insurance, and other worker benefits; (6)
Relocating corporate factories to nations with low worker wages, little or no government regulation of
business, no minimum wage, lax safety standards, etc.
Part of overall *Western culture, Anglo (from the English)-Saxon (from the Germanic) populations are the
population majority in Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, and
the USA. Anglo-Saxon cultures tend to be *individualistic, *monochronic, *mastery-oriented, and *low context.
They have *low power distance, *high tolerance of social diversity, and high *physical proximity distance.
The Asian concept of community consists of the people Asians depend on most in life: the interdependencies
of family, friends, and work associates. Asians rely on complex social *etiquette to signify their respect (*face)
for others and believe that community *harmony is the highest *ideal in life.
Authoritarianism (commonplace in many areas of Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and in Russia) is the
cultural mindset that people in societal authority (government officials, military/police, bosses, religious
leaders, etc.) must be obeyed and complied with. Institutions in authoritarian cultures are typically weak and
corrupt, making it easy for “power players” (dictators, wealthy business men, land owners, lifetime judges,
politicians, etc.) to become empowered.
This is the 21st century *post-modern belief (180 degrees opposite from authoritarianism) that societal
authority, especially in *Western cultures, has historically declined to the extent that “truth” has become
subjective (based solely on personal opinion and feelings), and each person is therefore his or her own
personal, self-appointed authority on right and wrong, acceptable behaviors, social values, and lifestyles.
2
Buddhism
Buena gente
Bureaucracy
Co-determination
system
Cordata
Dialectic
Egalitarianism
El jefe
Emotionally
expressive
Emotionally neutral
Ethnocentrism
Etiquette
Existentialism
Extended family
culture
External locus of
control
Face
Fatalism
Feng shui
Traditional “objective” authority of the past (institutions, intellectuals, scientists, religious leaders, and
government officials) no longer hold substantial credibility or authority with today’s polyglot lifestyle groups
and ideologies. The massive global rise and hegemony of online social media (opinions, self-reports, imagemaking, diverse points of view, debates, gossip, “news”) is penultimate authority of self.
This ancient India-Asian non-deity “religion” (philosophical lifestyle) holds that all people are part of a cosmic
“spiritual” community which eventually absorbs us into one undifferentiated “mind” of universal truth.
Buddhism, and in similar ways *Hinduism, is an acetic (no desire for material things) lifestyle of right
actions/beliefs designed to extinguish your “false” sense of individuality and separation from the universal one
mind (sometimes referred to as brahma).
“Good Person” in Spanish, this is the Mexican ideal of a good boss--someone who *paternalistically looks out
for his workers and treats them uniquely based on differing needs, in return for their obedience and loyalty.
“Be loyal and obedient to me, and I’ll take care of you at work.” The buena gente boss is the father figure in
the traditional Mexican workplace “family.”
Bureaucratic organizations create and enforce a paperwork system of regulations, policies, rules, standards,
and protocols that impersonally control employee behavior and client outcomes. Bureaucracies, like the Civil
Service system, military, and government agencies, work in a routine, legalistic manner counterproductive to
innovative thinking or productive change. Nations with weak institutions often resort to bureaucracy in an
attempt to corral corruption of officials, self-serving behavior, and mutual back-scratching politics.
German workers are elected to the boards of their organizations to represent labor needs and wants. In the
USA and most Western nations, workers are un-empowered except through labor unions.
Many large Italian companies are managed as though they were a small family business (the most admired
approach to business in Italy). Large company executives (“godfathers”) divide up the company into small
units held together by a “cord” (cordata) of individual godfathers who hire employees (loyal to that godfather
rather than to the company) for their cordata and operate it as though it were a separate small firm. The
various cordata godfathers then meet periodically to coordinate a business plan for the organization as a
whole.
A cultural “dialectic” takes place when people from two or more cultures interact in both compatible (“thesis”)
and incompatible (“antithesis”) ways, which prompts them to form a “synergy” (a new, more constructive,
harmonious interaction approach) that produces win-win cultural outcomes. Examples: Use of “second”
languages such as English; separation of church and state; sharing the same technology globally.
This is a culturally unique Scandinavian (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Netherlands, Denmark) mindset of “equal
results,” > “equal opportunity,” which Scandinavians believe dismiss as unrealistic due to inevitable social,
political, economic, and heredity imperfections and inequalities present in all nations.
“The boss” is the in-charge authority figure at the grass roots level of the Mexican workplace. He “runs the
show” expecting complete worker loyalty and obedience in return for el Jefe’s paternalistic (father-like)
treatment.
Most Latin, Middle Eastern, and African cultures are comfortable with emotion as a normal part of life, and
thus deem it socially acceptable for people to emote (talk loud, laugh, cry, embrace, display anger, etc.) in
public.
Emotionally neutral cultures (mainly Asian and *Western) discourage public show of emotion for fear of
violating interpersonal harmony, embarrassing others, or causing stress.
Ethnocentric people feel their nation’s culture is superior to other cultures. They reject most “foreign” cultures,
ethnic groups, and “foreign” ways of life.
Etiquette consists of socially-sanctioned interpersonal behaviors and ceremonies designed to show respect
for others and maintain personal and community harmony.
This most important French-*Western 20th century philosophy holds that, since people no longer agree on the
purpose of life or in universally-authoritative values/truth, each person must define their own unique and
personal values, lifestyle, self-identity, and social responsibilities. In return for the freedom to be who we want
to be and live the way we wish, we must accept “alternate” lifestyles different from own = “political
correctness.”
Most people in extended family cultures (mainly Latin, African, and Middle Eastern) find personal identity and
social role/status in an enlarged (extended) family unit that includes their nuclear family + blood relatives
(grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) in other nuclear families + in-laws (mother and father in laws) married
into their extended family.
People in *traditional cultures tend to believe that external factors largely beyond their control (powerful
people, institutions, religion, authority figures) determine their behavior and outcomes in life. People with
ELOC often *fatalistically feel they are “pawns” in life.
In Asian cultures, your social respect is based on your status within interdependency networks of people in
your *community who rely on each other more than on institutions. The more important you are within your
interdependency network, the more face you have.
This is psychological mindset (strongest in Muslim and Hindu cultures) that human events are pre-determined
by a deity and are beyond human control or influence. Fatalistic people thus accept the outcomes of life as
supernaturally preordained.
In the *Taoist system of Chinese thought, it is believed that man-made physical structures (buildings, homes,
gardens, sidewalks, ponds) produce “chi” (community harmony) and “sha-chi” (community disharmony) by the
3
Getting drunk
etiquette
Guanxi(wang)
Harmony
High context
High power
distance
High tolerance of
social diversity
Hinduism
Humility
Idealism
Imperialism
Impersonal
business
Individualism
culture
Inshallah
Institutional
business
Internal locus of
control
Jante law
way they harmonize with the overall flow of the *Tao. Feng shui is the ancient art of designing and
constructing (via feng shui consultants) major buildings in harmony with the Tao of artificial human
surroundings.
In Japan, getting drunk (or being around people who are drinking) is used as a *pragmatic excuse for
breaking *surface harmony (such as arguing with your boss or griping about your company). This gives
employees a socially-acceptable excuse for violating harmony: “I didn’t know what I was saying (doing)
because I was so drunk” (even if you weren’t).
Guanxi roughly means influence (*face) that is used in a guanxiwang Chinese network of business
relationships among suppliers, financers, retailers, land owners, etc. “Guanxi” = the capacity to make things
happen in your guanxiwang to your benefit and that of other quanxiwang members.
Asians view harmony as the key to social order and productive interpersonal encounters within a *community
context (workplace, family, relationships). Harmony is generated through the use of sociallyexpected/condoned etiquette, including ceremonies, body language (such as bowing), conversation phrases,
coming through for others in your community “niche,” etc.).
In high context cultures (mainly Latin and Asian), people are treated (greetings, hospitality, conversation)
differently depending on their background (family status, professional ranking, wealth, age, education level) or
the importance of the organizational or social context (meeting, ceremony, job duties, party, etc.). Higher
status people receive more attention, more complex/expensive ceremonies and more valuable gifts. They
commonly are addressed by title and dress formally.
In high distance cultures (mainly Asian, Latin, Middle Eastern), few people have/use power (financial, political,
legal) since it is consolidated in wealthy or politically powerful elites (often long-time land owners, political
officials, of wealthy business magnates) who control most important things in their nation. Many high-power
distance nations (especially small, recently-created nations) have a weak middle class and thus a status-quo
(non-progressive) way of life.
The emphasis on individualism in *Western cultures has undergirded a strong (though imperfect) 21st century
tolerance for diverse lifestyles, ideologies, religious beliefs, and “progressive” social change. The “political
correctness” cultural mindset emerging the 1960s greatly expanded *Western culture’s tolerance for diverse
lifestyles, as well as indigenous ethnicity.
An ancient and very complex Indian religion, Hinduism is somewhat akin to Buddhism in its emphasis on
achieving unity (via “right” living and physical/psychological meditational techniques) with a “one-mind”
universal (“Brahmin”) spirit as the only way to break out of the endless cycle of reincarnation (being
continuously reborn in different forms of life) and karma (punishment or reward for your behavior and actions
in your chain of reincarnated lives). The goal of life is seen as breaking free of reincarnation via dharma
(following the eternal principles of the universe) and uniting your atman (soul) with brahma. Hinduism is polytheistic (numerous gods believed to take human form as “avatars”).
Living a humble life is the traditional Asian ideal of living within your social niche as designated by gender,
birth order, family background, and *community *face.
Idealism is the (mainly Asian) mindset of living for non-physical (“spiritual”) realities bigger and more important
than self: harmony, nature, art, family, beauty, peace, community, health, self-discipline, etc. Asian idealism
values interdependent community over independent (self-focused) individualism.
Imperialist nations strive to dominate other nations for nationalistic gain (military power, access to natural
resources or cheap, exploitable labor, and export markets) via military strikes, political partnerships,
technology provisions, or ideological exports (capitalism, democracy, religion, entertainment, liberal lifestyles).
Over the past 300 years, *Anglo-Saxon nations (especially Britain, USA, France, and Germany) have been
the most imperialistic.
Most *individualism cultures (USA, Britain, Germany, Australia, Canada, France) use strong institutions to
back the use of (impersonal/written) legal contracts, invisible supply chains, meritocracy (promotions based
on personal contributions to organization goals), mass media advertising, marketing research, and selfservice retailing. Impersonal business is efficient, readily controllable, and highly profitable.
*Western cultures strive to empower individuals to succeed on their own via institutions, capitalism,
entrepreneurship, debt-financing, technology, higher education, pop culture, meritocracy (promotion by
meritorious production), free trade agreements, natural resource exploitation, etc. Capitalism is fueled by
individualism in the form of privately-owned corporations.
Arabic for “if Allah wills,” Inshallah is the *fatalistic Muslim mindset that human plans and actions are
subordinate to the will of Allah, and hence the future is beyond human control or striving.
Institutions are the impersonal backbone of capitalism in most cultures: corporations, sole-proprietors, banks,
stock markets, suppliers, retailers, advertising/marketing firms, transportation companies, lawyers,
accountants, brokers, insurers, consulting firms, free trade agreements, etc.
Internal locus of control is the mindset (most common in *Western cultures) that you are in control of and
personally responsible for most of your behavior. People with ILOC feel they are the “captains of their life,”
and that talent + effort + risk-taking are the formula for personal career success. Most Western corporations
believe they can win competitive battles and control their own destinies via human-engineered/executed
strategies.
The *egalitarian Swedes hold that personal and professional modesty are preferable to self-importance and
me-first careerism. Jante “law” (a mindset, not legislation) reminds “self-made-men” that they don’t deserve
more than others, because wealth doesn’t make them better than others. The Jante law ideal reminds
4
Karaoke
Little emperor
generation
Low context
Low power distance
Low tolerance of
diversity
Machismo
Manaña attitude
Mastery culture
Middle class
structure
Monochronic
No culpa
Nuclear family
Paternalistic
professionals to recognize how much of their career “success” is due to the help and collaboration of others,
the backing of their powerful organization, and the loyal patronage of customers.
The Japanese, who favor a personalized relationship with foreign corporations, pioneered the hospitality
approach of singing popular songs to recorded background music as a way of bonding with others, especially
foreign business associates. Bad singing + an audience + alcohol = an interpersonal bridge between cultures.
China’s well entrenched state policy of limiting couples to one child only has meant that the one child
generally gets spoiled like an “emperor” by in-laws, already programming the future consumer for Westernstyle Chinese materialism. Unfortunately, the birth-control mandate has caused serious social problems in
many parts of (especially rural) China, in which the parental desire for the one allotted child to be a male has
paved the way to population gender imbalances (“incest villages”) due to the higher incidence of aborted
female fetuses vs. male fetuses.
In low context (mainly *Western) cultures, people of diverse backgrounds, lifestyles, and social status are
treated largely in the same way in most social and professional settings. Background characteristics (age,
economic standing, education level, prominence of family) and contextual settings (meetings, homes, and
institutions) are largely ignored or minimized in importance. Low context cultural behavior is therefore fairly
consistent, generic, and culturally easy to master.
In *Western cultures, wealth and power are widely distributed via representative government, powerbalancing laws and institutions, mass education, and middle-class culture. Low power distance reflects the
democratic approach to distributing power throughout society via numerous institutional and corporate
positions: police officers, military leaders, corporate and institutional well-defined power hierarchies, political
parties, etc.
In contrast to *Western culture, human diversity (ethnic, lifestyle, religious) in not well tolerated in many
*traditional cultures (Asia, Africa, Middle East). People are expected to conform to highly-esteemed traditional
social norms, such as: separate gender roles/duties; a single, official religion; “proper” dress codes; the father
as head of the household; community harmony; expulsion of homosexuality, etc.
Machismo (exaggerated masculinity) in the Mexican male mindset of being tough (quick to fight) and
demanding respect from others. In large part, machismo is an unconscious male over-compensation for
Mexico’s centuries-long domination/disrespect by foreign powers (Spain, France, Republic of Texas, USA, the
Roman Catholic church, and the North American Free Trade Agreement). Machismo may reflect anger over
the “3 Latin accepts”: accept authority; accept the status quo; accept corruption.
In Mexico, manaña (tomorrow) is more an attitude than a word: “This is no time for work, because “life is
happening” (being with loved ones, partying, enjoying nature, etc.) now. “
Work will wait on us for another time.” The manaña syndrome reflects the Mexican’s emphasis on *quality of
life, and the free things in life, such as the “7 Fs”: family, friends, fun, fiestas, food, faith, freedom (from the
Anglo rat-race for *quantity of life: materialism, status, workaholism, etc.).
*Western cultures emphasize mastery of their domains via competitive individualism, technology, science,
mass destruction weaponry, big business/big institutions, exploitation of natural resources, managerial
expertise, and imperialistic foreign policy.
*Western nations + Japan are structured around middle class producers/consumers rather than an elite upper
class *plutocracy. Capitalism thrives in middle class cultures, where the majority of people have more money
than they need for the necessities of life, so they can afford to spend some money on wants (stimulating the
national economy at the same time). Capitalistic organizations don’t find *plutocratic cultures very profitable,
because only a small minority of the population is the wealthy or powerful.
Monochronic cultures (mainly *Western) view time as a resource to put to productive use via hard work,
efficiency, scheduling, and lack of interruptions = the “time-productivity continuum.” Professionals must master
the taxing monochronic approach to work: multi-tasking; long hours of concentrated focus and uninterrupted
busyness; aggressive pursuit of goals and deadlines; digitalized work stations and communication; use of
efficient mass transportation to and from work, etc. Monochronic culture is also reflected in self-service
retailing; fast food; microwaveable frozen food; daycare centers; informal attire (“dress down”); celling and
texting (using time-saving abbreviated text-jargon) while driving.
No culpa is Spanish for, “I’m not at fault/Don’t blame me,” reflecting the *external locus of control mindset of
Mexican culture. Mexicans ask to be “understood” (comprende) in light of the many things in life they can’t
control: poverty; inefficient infrastructure; corrupt institutions; domination by *plutocratic wealth; NAFTA; drug
cartels catering to America’s unlimited appetite for drugs; America’s immigrant backlash. No culpa is their way
of saying, “Give me a break--my life is a struggle.”
In *Western cultures, the nuclear family consists of parents + children, but not grandparents, aunts, uncles,
cousins, and in-laws (which are part of the *extended family unit). In most *Anglo-Saxon cultures, the concept
of community stops with the nuclear family (along with single parent families and singles). *Extended family
cultures (mainly Latin, Middle Eastern, and African) have a much broader concept of community/family.
In cultures (mainly Latin, Middle Eastern, African) where the male is the dominant “head of the household,”
men are expected to take care of not only their families, but also be a father figure for those they have
authority over in society. Paternalistic males are expected to “come through” (via personalized help, favors,
and use of network influence) for those they boss, who are obligated in return to loyally obey the father figure.
In paternalistic cultures, religious males often serve as a “god father” to the child of a close family friend,
pledging to be a positive influence in their upbringing and to help the entire family in times of crisis.
5
Personalismo
Personalized
business
Plutocracy
Polychronic
Post-modernism
Pragmatism
Physical proximity
distance
Quantity vs. quality
of life
Renging
Savvy (savior faire)
Screen culture
Screened
communication
In many Latin cultures, males in charge are supposed to act larger than life, displaying a colorful, charismatic
personality/temperament: emotion, passion, compassion, bravado, masculinity, and drama. Powerful people
in Latin cultures are expected to look the part.
In non-institutionalized cultures (partially industrialized nations/regions), business is conducted on the basis of
who you know more than what you know. Opportunities come from specific people or networks of people,
rather than from impersonal institutions (corporations, banks, government agencies, etc.). Instead of the
impersonal legal/contractual way of doing business found in industrialized cultures, personalized cultures get
these done via exchanging favors and building a grass roots level professional reputation as a *savvy, can-do
person who gets things done interpersonally in a community setting.
“Plutocrats” (or “oligarchs”) are the multi-generational wealthy/powerful people (dynasties) in mainly smaller
nations. Their social elitism stems from land ownership, high level political influence (friends and family in
“high places”), natural resource ownership, and lack of representative government (usually corrupt and often a
dictatorship). In many non-industrialized, non-*middle class nations (Latin America, the Middle East, and
Africa), a small minority of plutocratic citizens (generally less than ten percent of the population) own or
control most of the nation’s wealth and power (politicians). Plutocracies stunt economic growth (spread of
capitalism) and middle class development, because the ruling elites shun social/economic change. In many
picturesque tourist resort island plutocracies, tourists unwittingly help maintain the exploitative status quo by
feeding the coffers of the hotels, resorts, and entertainment outlets owned/controlled by the plutocrats (while
the majority of citizens who serve the tourist trade remain poor and without economic opportunity).
Polychronic means doing a lot of things at the same time, primarily due to mixing your personal life with your
professional life. *Extended family cultures (mainly Latin America, Middle East, Africa) tend to be polychronic,
because people have large family responsibilities not provided for by institutions (schools, day care,
retirement homes, etc.). Living two lives at the same time creates a complex web of time disruptions and lack
of efficiency (being late to work due to family responsibilities; taking long lunches) siestas” in some Latin
cultures) to reunite with family during the work day; waiting on others after the promised deadline to finish
projects, etc.) counterproductive to corporate profit maximization/cost minimization. The increasingly digitallydriven (continuously texting, tweeting, emailing) lifestyles of young professionals in *monochronic cultures is a
novel intrusion of polychronic behavior into the workplace of most *Anglo-Saxon cultures.
An evolutionary off-shoot of 20th century *Existentialism philosophy (there is no meaning in life other than
what you create for yourself), post-modernism is the reigning 21st century mindset of subjectivism (my point of
view). “Truth” is no longer culturally definable in an objective way (traditionally via religion, education, or
authority figures) among the emerging *universal generation.
Nike’s “just do it” slogan is both American and pragmatic: results is all that matters. Pragmatism is the
*Western culture mindset of being practical (instant results) rather than idealistic (perfectionistic). “Good
enough is good enough.” Examples of pragmatism: Fast food drive-in service windows; Paying the monthly
minimum on multiple credit card bills; $19.99 instead of $20; Advertising chocolate candy as “energy bars”;
Not disclosing that a university’s thousand dollars plus “student activity fee” is in addition to “regular” tuition;
Holding a billion dollar boxing match despite the fact that one of the two “gladiators” has an undisclosed
significant injury; Betting on “amateur” sports.
Cultures differ on how much interpersonal space people need to be comfortable in personal or professional
settings. Most *Anglo-Saxons and Asians (especially males) want more standing or sitting distance between
themselves and others than do Latins, Africans, or Middle Easterners. People’s comfort zones for physical
contact (shaking hands, hugging, kissing, etc.) also vary culturally (with Anglo-Saxons and Asians being more
squeamish about touching).
Strongly capitalistic and materialistic cultures (mainly *Anglo-Saxon) pursue quantity of life (money and
material possessions) more than quality of life (family, security, acceptance, spiritual life, leisure pursuits)
cultures (Latin, Middle Eastern, African, and some Asian) do. However, the rapid acceptance and spread of
capitalism around the world (most recently into China and India) reflects the universal pull of quantity of life.
Grass roots family-based small businesses in pre-capitalist China placed a heavy premium on staying loyal
(doing business exclusively with = renging) to a localized business network of suppliers, financers, and small
operating plants. These outdated informal *quaxiwang business grass roots networks fuelled a personalized
approach to business that is still preferred in capitalist/institutional China today.
Being a savvy (those who have savior faire = “to know how to do”) business professional is essential to
success in cultures (Latin America, Middle East, Africa) having weak or corrupt institutions. Savvy pros know
people who know people who can make business deals happen person-to-person and group-to-group. Savior
faire equips you to impress people with your personality and flair for life. Savvy grass roots operators
understand the culturally-accepted way to negotiate/bargain; to exchange personal favors; to engage in
mutual back-scratching; and to mutually “scratch backs” with influential people.
To most people born in the past thirty years, reality is seen on a screen, whether on a computer, smart phone,
mini-digital device, television, movie, or car dashboard. Reality is experienced vicariously (filtered by others
somewhere else) rather than physically (being there). Mass media screens are the 21st century conduit for
ideological and lifestyle brainwashing: social media, advertising and PR, political campaigning, social
conversation, news, entertainment, professional networking, and self-marketing. 21st century reality is
carefully screened subjective reality.
Harmony-minded traditional Asian communication is too subtle and complex for most Westerners to
understand or appreciate. *Surface harmony mandates that all interpersonal communication be screened free
6
Secularism
Sharia law
Simpatico
Situational behavior
Social Darwinism
Surface harmony
Tao
Third gender
Traditional cultures
Transformational
leadership
of potential disharmonious content, such as bad news, criticism, uncomfortable emotion, or unflattering
comments. Thus, an indirect/invitational (feminine) approach is taken to screen out all possible breaches of
interpersonal harmony. The communicator does the filtering; the listener does the interpreting. (Check the end
of this handout for an extended screened communication example).
Secularized cultures, historically individualism Westernized nations, separate church (religion) and state
(government) to offer its diverse citizens the freedom to pick and choose from among many tolerated lifestyles
and values options. Individualism also promotes capitalism and consumerism, as corporations rely heavily on
the sale of materialistic products and lifestyle-affirming services for profit. Consuming lies at the core of
individualism, as people define and differentiate themselves and seek social status in materialistic ways:
houses, furnishings, fashion, transportation, hobbies, charitable giving, etc. Secularism (freedom to be who
and what you want to be) is a mixture of individualism, values-neutrality/“political correctness,” and subjective
truth.
Numerous Islamic sects and social groups have historically supported laws based partially or completely on
religious teachings and commands contained in the Koran. Sharia is an addition to or substitute for secular
(government-derived) laws. The partial *Westernization of many Muslim cultures over the past century
succeed in secularizing pockets of the Muslim world (in the Middle East, Africa and Indonesia, the world’s
most populous Muslim nation), but aspects of Sharia law still hold sway in the Muslim world today.
In Mexican and other Latin cultures, simpatico refers to relationships built around people sharing something
significant enough (often family or professional ties), to permanently bond their friendship and mutual loyalty.
Simpatico friends usually share similar lifestyles, exchange favors, help one another when the going gets
tough, and think alike on many issues.
In *harmony-oriented, *high context Asian cultures, people conform their behavior to fit the unique social
expectations of daily relationships. Who are they interacting with? What is their social or professional status
vs. that of the people they are interacting with? What is the purpose of each interpersonal situation? What is
their role/duty/niche in a given situation? Unlike Westerners who take pride in behaving consistently (“I’m not
fake or two-faced; what you see if what you get”), Asians continually adapt to situational, ever-evolving
*etiquette expectations.
The *Western “survival of the fittest” cultural mindset (derived from Darwin’s theory of evolution) holds that the
more competitive, aggressive, and competent professionals are, they more successful their careers will be:
promotions, pay increases, power, reputation, resume-marketability, etc. Social Darwinism makes heroes out
of organizational leaders who are tough, demanding, hard-charging, and supremely competitive/selfconfident. Football coaches are iconically Social Darwinist.
Harmony-etiquette in Asian cultures calls for you to act/speak in ways that maintain the psychological
harmony of those you interact with personally and professionally, especially your superiors. Surface harmony
is generated via *screened communication, ritual ceremonies (such as bowing), and *humility.
Traditional Chinese philosophy believes the Tao is a harmonious physical (a la acupuncture) and
psychological (inner peace) force that comes from healthy (peace, health, happiness, beauty, etc.)
community. Chi is thought to be the constructive force of positive harmony; non-chi the destructive force
generated by community disharmony. Chi and non-chi are balanced via the Asian “yin-yang” concept of
complementary opposites (male/female; sweet and sour taste; physical/mental, etc.).
*Traditional (gender-separating) cultures have different (*high context) etiquette expectations for the social
behavior of males and females. Business-related etiquette for male professionals only also exists, since most
women in trad-cultures didn’t have professional jobs. As traditional-cultures have become more secularized,
informal etiquette has emerged that treat women professionals as a distinct new “third” gender--neither male
nor female, but a professional female (not subject to the traditional cultural etiquette for stay-at-home women).
Depending on cultural circumstances, these “third genders” may be allowed to speak to male audiences,
which domestic household females would not be allowed to do. They may be allowed to participate (at least to
some extent) in negotiating sessions and even some hospitality activities (banquets, tourist attractions, etc.)
that don’t involve male-bonding (via bars, night clubs, and karaoke). Some traditional cultures have
progressed to the point that third genders may be included on negotiating teams visiting foreign business
sites.
Historically, traditional cultures have been less-industrialized, *secularized, and lifestyleliberalized/secularized than *Western capitalism-driven cultures. Traditional cultures are characterized by
different social roles for males and females; small-farm agriculture-based economies; large, extended
families; unstable governments and institutional infrastructure; use of non-mainstream language dialects; lack
of separation of church (religion) and state (government); limited use of technology, especially digital; and
relatively short life spans. Several Muslim nations/cultures (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen,
Afghanistan, and Tunisia) are still “traditional,” as are Africa numerous nations/cultures, including Chad,
Sudan, Zimbabwe, Niger, Mozambique, Somalia, and Guinea. Traditional nations in other global geographical
zones include Haiti, Burma, and rural regions of India.
Professionals in *Western cultures tend to practice “transactional” (“Let’s make a deal”) leadership: Do that for
me, and I’ll do this for you.” Instead of this “quid pro quo” style, Japanese business leaders strive to transform
their subordinates into becoming more *idealistic “clones” of the boss (“sempai”) via internalizing the
professional *etiquette of their boss and company. Little career progress is possible for junior Japanese
professionals until they master their company’s culture/ideals/mission via the role model of their sempai.
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Tribal group
Unisex culture
Universal
generation
Western culture
In some *extended family cultures (Latin, Middle Eastern, and African), extended families intermarry over time
with enough other extended families to constitute a “clan” of blood-related families. Different clans that
significantly intermarry form tribal groups. The term tribal group also has another meaning, associated with
21st century *universal culture, described as the digital intermingling of people around the world who share via
social media outlets and *secular *Westernized lifestyles.
Unisex organizations, found primarily in *Western cultures, are those that don’t expect men and women to
have separate social roles and responsibilities, and in which women are considered (though not always
treated) as the professional equals of men. Unisex culture organizations accommodate both feminine and
masculine work styles via the use of team projects driven by the unique masculine and feminine work styles of
project collaborating members.
A descriptor for people around the world, most under the age of thirty, who are more alike culturally than
different due to the omni-presence and influence of digital social media and communication. People worldwide
probably qualify as “UGEN” if they are *post-modern, individualistic, secular, apolitical, non-religious, and
“politically-correct.” Most UGEN have enthusiastically traveled outside their home cultures, and many are bicultural and multi-lingual.
Western is a general descriptor for (mainly *Anglo-Saxon) cultures/nations in the European Union + the USA,
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Screened communication example: A harmony-conscious boss may tell a subordinate, “You certainly have been working hard using that new
software today!” This was his way of trying to find out if the employee was making good progress on completing a software-driven project in time to meet
a deadline. Rather than asking the employee point blank, “Are you gonna get that report to me by the end of the day?” the boss made a face-saving
neutral statement and expected the employee to pick up the real, between-the-lines message without feeling threatened (thus violating harmony). The
employee responds back to her boss in a similarly oblique, screened way also intended to maintain harmony: “The new software program you gave us to
use is having many impacts on productivity.” This was her way of letting her boss know that the deadline can’t be met, because the software he ordered
isn’t working properly (due to a programming “glitch”). The boss, being well-versed in screened communication, screens back: “Many times new software
programs require thinking, study and patience.” The woman subordinate now knows not to worry about the deadline and also to request help from
company technicians. Surface harmony was maintained via conversational screening. The Asian screened communication style is subtle, since it
requires psychological interpretation—psychologically listening for what the speaker actually meant, but didn’t directly/clearly say. It is feminized in the
sense that most women prefer for men to voluntarily/sensitively respond to the woman’s needs rather than be asked to or told to. Because men tend to
communicate and interact with others in direct, transparent ways, women often have to drop males subtle (screened) hints about their needs, hoping the
male will “get it” and “voluntarily” follow through. Thus a girl may comment to her boyfriend, “Your car air conditioner certainly does work well,” which is
her screened request to the air conditioner to a warmer setting. The alert, sensitive boyfriend immediately replies “The AC in my car certainly does get
cold; here, let me adjust it to make us both more comfortable.”
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