ADM 3318 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Political Philosophy, Individualism, Masculinity
16 Jun 2018
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The Cultural Environment
What is Culture?
Culture is the "complex who which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
customs, and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society
It is basically values and norms shared among a group of people in a
society
Values are abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good,
right, and desirable
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Norms are social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate
behaviour in particular situations
Norms can be subdivided into two major categories
Folkways
These are the routine conversations of everyday
life
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These are actions of little moral significance
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They define the way people are expected to
behave
A violation is not normally a serious matter
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Mores
These are seen as central to the functioning of a
society and to its social life
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This includes, theft, adultery, incest, cannibalism,
and more
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Society is a group of people who share a common set of values and
norms
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The determinants of culture
Values and norms are the evolutionary product of a number of factors
Political philosophy
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Economic philosophy
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Education
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Language
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Social structure
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Religion
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Social Structure
Society's social structure refers to its basic social organization
There are two dimensions that are particularly important
The first is the degree to which the basic unit of social organization
is the individual, as opposed to the group
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The second is the degree to which a society is stratified into classes
or castes
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Individuals and groups
A group is an association of two or more individuals who have a shared
sense of identity and who interact with each other in structured ways on
the basis of a common set of expectations about each others behaviour
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An individual is the basic building block of social organization
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Social stratification
All societies are stratified on a hierarchical basis into social categories
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The strata's are typically defined on the basis of characteristics
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Social mobility refers to the extent to which individuals can move out of
that stratum into which they are born
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A class system is a less rigid form of social stratification in which social
mobility is possible
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Class consciousness refers to people perceiving themselves in terms of
their class background, which shapes their relationships with members of
other classes
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Religion and ethical systems
Religion may be defined as a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are
concerned with the realm of the sacred
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Ethical systems refer to a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to
guide and shape behaviour
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Language
Language shapes the way people perceive the world, it also helps define culture •
Culture and the workplace
Power distance
This dimension focuses on how a society deals with the fact that people
are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities
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Individualism vs. collectivism
This dimension focuses on the relationship between the individual and
his or her fellows
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Uncertainty avoidance
This dimension measured the extent to which different cultures socialized
their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating
uncertainty
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Masculinity vs. femininity
This dimension looks at the relationship between gender and work roles
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Long-term vs. short-term orientation
This dimension looks at how different countries take decisions, if its for
instant reward, or future reward
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Chapter 3
Monday, January 22, 2018
11:10
