MGMT1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Ethnocentrism, Masculinity, Gender Equality

Week 5: When in Rome: The socio-cultural environment

1. Know what is meant by the culture of a society

Culture: system of values and norms shared among a group of people

Values:

• Abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right and desirable

• Proide otet ithi hih a soiet’s ors are estalished ad justified

Rituals and symbols:

• Most visible manifestations of a culture

• Constitute the outward expression of deeper values

Culture, society, and the nation state:

• A society that can be defined as a group of people that share a common set of values and

norms; that is, a group bound together by a common culture

2. Identify the forces that lead to differences in culture

Determinants of culture:

• Caste system: closed system where social position determined by

birth and change in position not possible during a lifetime

• Class system: open system where a position by birth can be changed

through achievement or luck

• Social structure is significant. E.g. in the US, a high degree of social mobility and emphasis on

individualism limits impact of class background on business while in the UK, a relative lack of

class mobility and differences between classes have resulted in class consciousness.

• Class consciousness: people perceiving themselves in terms of their class background; this

shape their relationship with others and prescribe the way individuals from different classes

in a society work together. Antagonism between management and labour classes raise costs

Ethical practices of individuals within a culture are often closely intertwined with religion

(Confucianism not a religion but shapes behaviour and culture in many parts of Asia)

3. Political philosophy

4. Economic philosophy