woensdag 13 juni 2012

postheadericon Schwartz and 7 value priorities between cultures

Dr. Schwartz presents a theory amd methods for characterizing cultures in terms of value priorities. Schwartz and Ros come to the conclusion that even if we think that the West has the same values there are still a lot of differences between West Europe and US ( even that much as between Western nations and East Asian Nations). These values are:
- Conservatism (social order, respect for tradition, family security, self-diacipline)
vs
Autonomy ( preferences, traits, feelings, motives)
Intellectual: curiosity, broadmindedness, creativity and Affective: pleasure, exciting and varied life
- Hierarchy (social power, authority, humility wealth)
vs
Egalitarianism (equality, social justice, freedom, responsibility, honesty)
- Harmony (unity with nature, protecting the environment, world of beauty)
vs
- Mastery (ambition, success, daring, competence)

postheadericon OECD site

Just came across a very interesting and handy website and papers to understand cultural differences. It also helps to build a strategy for new markets penetration: www.oecd.org
And more interesting are the ITCS papers, statistics and databases
donderdag 5 april 2012
http://geert-hofstede.com/national-culture.html
http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html GENIUS
donderdag 2 juni 2011

postheadericon Edward T. Halls Proxemics - needs to be writen - just for information

Proxemics is the study of measurable distances between people as they interact.

Body spacing and posture, according to Hall, are unintentional reactions to sensory fluctuations or shifts, such as subtle changes in the sound and pitch of a person's voice. Social distance between people is reliably correlated with physical distance, as are intimate and personal distance, according to the following delineations:
  • Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering
    • Close phase – less than 6 inches (15 cm)
    • Far phase – 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 cm)
  • Personal distance for interactions among good friends or family members
    • Close phase – 1.5 to 2.5 feet (46 to 76 cm)
    • Far phase – 2.5 to 4 feet (76 to 120 cm)
  • Social distance for interactions among acquaintances
    • Close phase – 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m)
    • Far phase – 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m)
  • Public distance used for public speaking
    • Close phase – 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m)
    • Far phase – 25 feet (7.6 m) or more
Hall notes that different cultures maintain different standards of personal space. In Latin cultures, for instance, those relative distances are smaller, and people tend to be more comfortable standing close to each other; in Nordic cultures the opposite is true. Realizing and recognizing these cultural differences improves cross-cultural understanding, and helps eliminate discomfort people may feel if the interpersonal distance is too large ("stand-offish") or too small (intrusive). Comfortable personal distances also depend on the culture, social situation, gender, and individual preference.
woensdag 1 juni 2011

postheadericon The Synovate Censydiam Model!

Unbelievable interesting....
http://www.censydiam.com/ModelExplained.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synovate
vrijdag 1 april 2011

postheadericon Positioning of countries on cultural dimensions

Positioning of countries on cultural dimensions
Countries scoring high on left dimension attributes
Countries scoring average
Countries scoring high on right dimension attributes
Collectivism
East & West Africa, Latin America, Portugal
Arab countries, Greece, Japan, Spain, Turkey
Australia, Switzerland, Scandinavia, France, UK, US, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium
Individualism
Low Power
Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, US, UK, The Netherlands
Spain, Taiwan, Greece, Japan, Italy, Portugal
Malaysia, Guatemala, Arab countries, West African countries, Philippines
High Power
Feminine
Scandinavia, Portugal, The Netherlands, Turkey
Belgium, France, Greece, Spain, Arab countries
Austria, Canada, UK, Ireland, Italy, Kjapan, Switzerland, US
Masculine
Uncertainty tolerant
Scandinavia, UK, US, Ireland, Canada, India
Arab countries, Austria, Switzerland, Germany
Belgium, France, Greece, Japan, Portugal, Spain
Uncertainty Avoidance
Short-term Orientation
Pakistan, Nigeria, Canada, UK, US, Australia, Germany, Poland, Sweden
India, Thailand, Hungary, Singapore, The Netherlands
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea
Long-term Orientation
High Context
Japan, China, Arab countries, Latin America
Italy, Spain, France UK
North America, Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland
Low Context
pg 250, Chapter 7: advertising
maandag 14 februari 2011

postheadericon Non-verbal language: Space

Different Cultures -different space meanings

  • Asian and Arab people tend to stand very close to one another. 
  • Western and American people leave more space and find it rather threatening when people stand to close to them.

According to Hall's proxemics:
Western countries are characterised by three primary zones of space

  • The intimate zone (0-45 cm)
  • The personal zone (45 -100 cm)
  • The social zone (1-2 m)

Within Europe differences concerning optimal space also appear:

  • The further south you go, the smaller the distance gets.
  • Northern Europeans, the English and Americans are said to have a low-touch culture, demonstrating low contact in public.
  • Southern Europeans, Arabs and Eastern Europeans are said to have a high-touch culture.

It's not because a culture has a high-touch culture, theire are some subtleties in touching rules in advertising.
Touching a woman is usually a more sensitive area. In Arab countries this may cause problems.

Who touches whoe also depends on the culture.
In Europe it is usual to see people of the opposite sex (a couple) walking hand in hand on the street.
This is not the case for many Asian and Arab countries. Here you would rather see people of the same sex (not a couple, but acquaintances) holding hands.

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