Cross Cultural Understanding

2. Cambridge English Dictionary states that culture is, "the
way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a
particular group of people at a particular time." In Oxford
English Dictionary, this word also has the same definition.
Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge,
experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies,
religion, and symbols that acquired by a group of people in
the course of generations through individual and group
striving.
So, simply the definition of culture is the way of life, and the
systems of knowledge and tradition shared by a relatively
large group of people.

3.  Culture is learned.
It is not biological; we do not inherit it. Much of
learning culture is unconscious. We learn culture from
families, peers, institutions, and media. The process of
learning culture is known as enculturation. While all
humans have basic biological needs such as food, sleep,
, the way we fulfill those needs varies cross-culturally.
 Culture is shared.
Because we share culture with other members of our
group, we are able to act in socially appropriate ways as
well as predict how others will act. Despite the shared
nature of culture, that doesn’t mean that culture is
homogenous (the same). The multiple cultural worlds
that exist in any society are discussed in detail below.

4.  Culture is based on symbols.
A symbol is something that stands for something
else. Symbols vary cross-culturally and are
arbitrary. They only have meaning when people in
a culture agree on their use. Language, money and
art are all symbols. Language is the most
important symbolic component of culture.
 Culture is integrated.
This is known as holism, or the various parts of a
culture being interconnected. All aspects of a
culture are related to one another and to truly
understand a culture, one must learn about all of
its parts, not only a few.
 Culture is dynamic.
This simply means that cultures interact and
change. Because most cultures are in contact with
other cultures, they exchange ideas and symbols.
All cultures change, otherwise, they would have
problems adapting to changing environments.
And because cultures are integrated, if one
component in the system changes, it is likely that
the entire system must adjust.

5.  Social Organization : is the family patterns and social
classes of a culture.
 Religion : is a system of beliefs that answers questions
about the meaning of life.
 Language : is a system of words and symbols used to
communicate with other people.

6.  Values : is the key word in any
discussion of cultural values is
“guidelines.” In other words, values
help determine how people ought to
behave.
 History : is a diagram that offers
direction about how to live in the
present. What is interesting about a
culture’s history is that, like most of
the important elements of culture, it is
transmitted from generation to
generation and helps perpetuate a
culture’s worldview.

7.  Specific behaviors
Ways of greeting people
Beliefs about child raising
(children and teens)
The role of family
Rules of polite behaviour
Beliefs about hospitality
 Style of dresses
Ideas about clothing
 Attitudes
Work ethic
Attitudes about personal
space/privacy
Greetings

8.  Customs
Holiday customs
Music
Dancing
Foods
 Beliefs
Values
Religious rituals
 Tradition
Celebration

9.  http://www.pengertianpakar.com/2015/09/pegertian-
budaya-unsur-dan-ciri-cirinya.html
 http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/culture/culture-
the-meaning-characteristics-and-functions/9577/
 dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/culture
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture
 http://study.com/academy/lesson/elements-of-
culture-definitions-and-ideal-real-culture.html