Culture can be defined in several ways, such as shared assumptions that guide a group (Schein), how a group solves problems (Trompenaars), or shared programming of the mind (Hofstede). Culture develops over three stages - birth, mid-life, and maturity. It includes elements like communication, behaviors, experiences, values, and artifacts. Culture is important for organizations as it focuses the human side, facilitates systems, provides meaning, and shapes attitudes. There are multiple layers and theories of culture, and guidelines for developing a stable culture in multinational corporations.

1. Culture - definition
• Culture as “ the collective programming of the
mind which distinguishes the members of one
group of people from other.”-Hofsted
• Culture is “ the way in which a group of people
solves problems.”-Trompenaars.
• Culture id defined as” a pattern of shared
basic assumptions that the group learned as it
solved its problems of external adaptation and
internal integration.”Edgar Schein.

2. Creation of culture
• Stage I – birth and early growth : formative stage ,
mission explains culture of society ,the same is
expected from the people
• Stage II – mid life :culture gets stereo typed as
rules and procedures , behavioral norms and it is
shared by members
• Stage III – maturity : society/ organization
obsessed(gripped) with culture , sometimes
become constraint for growth , change and
innovation.

3. Elements of culture.
• Communication
• Cultivated behavior
• Learned and
accumulated
experience.
• explicit and implicit
patterns.
• Norms
• Values
• Artifacts
• Sum total of learned
behavior.
• Collective programming
of the mind

4. Role of culture in the organization
• Focuses the human side of organization.
• Facilitates in creation of systems, norms and standards.
• Provides meaning to help, people to work together to
achieve the desired goals.
• Guides leaders to attach meaning to the behavior of
the people.
• Guides organization to determine its relationship with
the environment.
• Shapes the attitude of the people.
• Gives an individual unique identity

5. Variables of culture
• National variables – applicable across the nation ,
(economic system , legal system , political system
, physical situation , technological know how)
• Socio cultural variables – religion , education ,
and language
• Cultural variables – values , norms , beliefs
• Attitudes – sense of time , materialism ,
individualism etc.
• Individual and group job behavior – motivation ,
productivity , commitment and ethics

6. Characteristics of culture.
• Learned behavior
• Shared behavior
• Based on tradition and
custom
• Seem as a means by
which humans physically
survive
• Adaptive
• Subject to change
• It allows a range of
permissible behavior
related to many things,
does not exist in isolation
• Socially constructed
realities
• Pattern of basic
assumptions
• Best understood in
relation to groups

7. Importance of inter cultural values
• Values lay the foundation for people attitudes
• Values influence the employee perception
• Based on cultural values we can motivate
people
• Values help to better understand the people
• People values interpret the behavior and
outcomes of the organization

8. Layers of culture
• National level – associated with the nation as a whole
• Regional level - ethnic , linguistic ,or religious
differences within nation
• Gender level – gender differences
• Generation level - differences between 3 or 4
generations
• Social class level – educational opportunities and
differences in occupation
• Corporate level – organization culture ,applicable to
those who employed

9. Theories of culture
Cultural determinism
• Culture determines the nature of people
• It is based on their ideas , meanings , beliefs ,
and values
• There is no limit of the abilities of people ,
hence proper cultural inputs can positively
program the behavior of people and make
them true performer

10. Cultural relativism
• This theory argues that culture is relative but not
same
• Different cultural groups think , feel , and act
differently
• Differences may naturally exist among groups and
societies
• This is important for cross cultural negotiation , it
helps in understanding the reasons for
differences

11. Cultural ethnocentrism
• It is a typical syndrome of distortion of one’s
own culture , and a bad way of thinking others
as inferior to one’s own culture
• Ethnocentrism ignores the cause and effect
relationship in cross cultural environment
• Ethnocentrism ignores the changes and
resulting in failure of organization to work in
alien culture

12. Guidelines for stable culture in MNCs
• Defining rules of conduct in clear and
unambiguous terms
• Teach these rules to all members of the
organization
• Ensure uniformity and understanding
• Focus on sense of responsibility
• Acknowledge the values of its members
• Be logical by intellectual reasoning in defining the
rules
• Have some commonality (unique culture is a
competitive strength)