- Climate strongly influences culture by affecting factors like work ethic, social interaction norms, diet, and humor. Cold climates promote industriousness while warm climates engender more open socializing. - Religion profoundly shapes culture through impacts on conflicts, languages, writing systems, and societal norms. The major world religions all originated in core regions and diffused cultural features outward. - Both climate and religion establish deep-rooted, long-lasting effects on cultural worldviews, values, and behaviors that distinguish different human groups.

1. HOWEST University Belgium
Office management
Dirk Laverge
part 1

2. • 1 The roots and routes • 8 Pacific Rim
of Culture • 9 China Phenomenon
• 2 Culture and Climate • 10 Americanization vs
• 3 Culture and Religion Asianization
• 4 Cross-century • 11 Culture &
Worldviews globalization
• 5 Cultural spectacles • 12 Empires-past,
• 6 Cultural black holes present & future
• 7 Cognitive processes • Epilogue after 9.11

3. • incomplete version history
• culture, genetics or cultural
programming?
• roots and routes

4. • Do we (Europeans) have a complete version of the
history of mankind in mind?
• Let’s check this?
• What are the most important facts of our history?

5. • Generally people start talking about
• Greece culture
• Rome Empire (= benchmark)
• Middle Ages
• Etc…
• But our history did not start 2,000 years ago but
500,000
• So we ignore 99,5% of history….
• -500 000 0 2011

6. • We know a little bit about the history of Europe and
perhaps the US, but mostly nothing about:
• History of Africa
• History of Asia
• History of South America
• Aztecs, Mayas, Incas
• History of Australia
• Aboriginals
• So our cultural awareness is …

7. • The most
• populous
• influential
• technically advanced
• country in history is….
• its culture dates back from
5,000 years (ours + 2,000)

8. - 1,000,000,000 social behaviour
Prehumans
- 50,000 Homo Sapiens
cultural dvlpt.
- 5,000 Regional divergence
Indians Chinese Finns Celts Mediterraneans

12. • In a fast changing economy, where our village is the
world culture is moving higher up the world agenda as a
major challenge in business and politics…
• So as a management assistant,
you need to be aware of cultural
differences, and how to deal with them.

13. • The roots of culture align themselves with the routes of
culture.
• diagram (page 8)
• Africa -> Europe
• Africa -> Asia -> America
• historical ‘rendezvous’ 1492 Columbus
• 4 basic roots of culture
• geographic environment & climate
• religion
• language
• historical happenings

14. • How many cultures now?
• 200 different
• How many languages?
• 400 à 500 different
• However: trend of globalization and standardization
• of values
• and modes of behavior

15. • collected wisdom
• filtered and passed down
• through hundreds of generations
• as shared
• core beliefs
• values
• assumptions
• notions
• persistent action patterns

16. • a collective programming
• of the mind
• that distinguishes
• the members
• of one human group
• from another

17. • visual
• hidden

18. genera- class
tional gender
profes-
religious
sional
educa-
ethnic
tional
regional corporate
layers
national of personal
culture

20. • Culture is strongly influenced by
• the geographic environment and climate
• religion
• language
• historical happenings

23. East Side story
Effects of climate

24. • Why did the dino’s disappear?
• What caused the first humans to leave Africa?
• Answer = climate
• Climate is also the only factor we cannot change
• religion: we have a choice
• environment: can be changed (sustainability)
• geography: Holland (delta werken)

25. • correlation between:
• evolution of climate
• evolution of the hominids
• birthplace of humans = Africa
• 2 500 000 years ago: drastic change in climate
(cooling of the whole earth) left East Africa dry
• upright stance
• from vegetarian to meat-eating diet
• brain enlarged

26. • Cold climate
• Sweden,
• Finland
•…
• Moderate
• France
•…
• Hot climate
• Brazil,
• Saudi Arabia
• ….

27. • Stereotype
• We work
• Mexicans, Africans and Arabs don’t
• They lie in the shade of tropical trees…
• This is of course not true, but still we can make a
generalisation about work ethic:
• low temperatures are conducive to vigorous physical activity
• cold wether gets you on the move

28. • There is a direct effect of sunshine, heat and cold on the
way people greet and talk to each other.
• Northern Europe
• meeting friends on street = brief interaction
• a broad American smile at -20° in Helsinki makes your front teeth
ache
• this culture of outdoor succinctness carries over to indoor habits.
• We observe this also in
• USA: Maine, Montana, Wyoming ….
• UK: Lancashire, Yorkshire
• Murmansk
• Japan’s Hokkaido

29. • Mediterranean countries
• part of their lives = on the street, village square,
waterfront, ….
• conversation = art , social enjoyment
• gossip
• nasty connotations in Nordic ears
• an essential component of the social structure
in
hot-weather cultures
• Generalisation
• European latins= open, smiling exterior
appearances
• cold Nordics = pinched faces
• suspicious Germans or Brits

30. • eye contact
• Latins and Arabs maintain almost
constant eye contact
• Nordics and Brits avoid prolonged eye
contact
• tactile behaviour
• Latins, Arabs & Africans often touch each
other while they talk
• This friendly gesture is less easily
attainable through thick Nordic furs or
British duffle coats.

31. • Humor in the rain
• constantly changing weather imparts a sense of humour
• Mediterranean
• Wit = jeu de mots, double entendres, aphorisms
• British = a sense of humour born of disappointment
• rained-oud cricket matches
• postponede Wimbledon encounters
• ruined garden parties
• burst pipes in winter
• foggy weddings

32. • Greek: paint boats with • Swiss, Finnish &
light blue, turquoise,
pink Swedish houses
= inspiration from azuer • grey
sky, blue-green sea, • reflecting cloudy sky
pink sunsets
• Portuguese: vivid
orange, green and blue
boats
• Mexican shawls
• Guatemalan rugs
• Indonesian dancers
• Bolivian ponchos
• Tahitian tribal dress

33. • Mediterranean
• local resources: fish, seafood, fruits, vegetables cooked in olive oil,
and washed down with …..
• Nordic
• eat more meat with thick sauces to combat the cold
• Scots
• porridge
• whisky

34. http://www.asianoffbeat.com/default.asp?display=1052

38. • examples
• perennial droughts of Somalia, Eritrea, parts of
Ethiopia, …
• permafrost northern Siberia
• life-threatening cold Arctic regions
• frequent catastrophic flooding India, Bangladesh.
• Are these people decisive about seeking
habitation elsewhere?
• guess….
• climatological hardships seem to engender
a fatalistic attitude

39. • what do Inuit & African Bushman have in common?
• a London spring would be chilly for the Bushman
• and hot for the Inuit
• so they have a completely seperate experience of habits,
foods, philosophies, …..
• Sicilians and Finns don’t have a lot to talk about…..

40. • climate affects culture
• as heat increases, industriousness decreases
• warm temperatures engender loquaciousness ( = ….)
• cold conditions produce taciturnity ( = ….)
• rainy weaher engenders
• tolerance,
• adaptation,
• humor.

41. Islam, hinduism, judaism, jainism,
sikhism buddhism, shinto,
christianity, globalization of
religion

42. • impact of religion on war
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• breakup of Yogoslavia
• war in Chechnya
• troubles in Ireland
• september 11

43. • Hinduism
• greatest number of adherents
• Islam
• fastest-growing religion
• Buddhism
• key to mental workings of more than a billion people in Asia
(China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, ….)

44. • religion and writing
• hieroglyph = sacred carving
• religion could spread thanks to a prestige language
and the success of a religion guaranteed fame to the
language
• patnerships
• Jewish & ….
• Islam & …
• Buddhism & …
• Christianity & …

45. • Kemal Ataturk modernized Turkey
• replaced the Arabic script with the roman alphabet
• replaced the Islamic calenderar with the Western one
• abolished the fez
• so he tolerated Islam as a religion, but banned it as a
lifestyle.

46. • tribes had supernatural beliefs
• if these were classified to form a code, they were
transformed in to a religion

47. • The impact of religion on a nation’s culture depends to
some extent on whether or not it is operating from a ‘core
country’.
• India is the core country for …
• Israel for the …
• Russia for the ….
• Northern Europe for …
• Southern Europe for ..
• Islam = different
• Mekka (Saoudi Arabia = few in number)
• Indonesia = more relaxed form
• bitter rivalry between Shiite and ….
• So who can claim the Muslim world?

48. • 5 pillars
• acknowledge the Oneness of God & his prophet Muhammad
• pray …. times a day
• give alms to the poor and to the mosque
• fast during ….
• make a pilgrimage to Mecca

49. • belief in Allah
• extended family
• respect for the elderly
• conservatism
• gender differentiation
• hospitality
• sincerity
• morality
• sense of honor
• etc…

50. • separate church & • …..
state
• individual = social unit
• cold facts
• fair but just
• believe in
organisations
• equality men &
woman
• behave rationally
• friends = good

51. • official channels : • use personal
business relationships
• negotiating: logical • emotional appeals
conlusions
• elderly are ignored • respect

52. • golden rule : observing their taboos
• alchohol
• pork
• eating with one’s left hand
• discussing female relatives
• causing embarassement
• mingling of sexes in public places
• eldest male = head
• woman are not seen socially
• lamb = most popular meat (right hand!)

53. • securing business depends more on
• establishing trust
• than on price of quality !!!
• in meetings, order of seeting is important
• hard bargainers
• if you do not bargain, they will be disappointed
• when negotiating price, proceed slowly
• emotional arguments > cold reasoning
• nobody must lose face !!

54. • the spoken word has much more weight than written
agreements
• speak in a loud voice
• they like to stand close, don’t shy away.
• show you are interested in the person rather than his
company.
• praise their
• country,
• their arts
• morality
• integrity
• dress & food
• but not their women !

55. • Islam = Arab world
• Arabs account for only 1/5th of the world’s Muslims.
• so most muslims live outside the Arab world.
• Indonesia, Pakistan & Bangladesh = 500 000 000
• Turkey = 70 000 000
• Hindu India = 100 000 000 Muslims.
• Europe = 7 000 000

56. • the most ancient surviving religion on earth
• tolerant religion
• no founder, no hierarchy, no central authority
• Veda = most ancient religious literature
• Vegetarism
• Veneration of cows
• belief of transmigration of souls and karma
• samsara = process of rebirth
• dharma = hindu code of living

57. • if you fail, you can always blame bad karma
• when making decisions, a Hindu wil look back for good
precedents to follow (instead of pesonal choices).
• Hindu rule of nonviolence
• caste system must be borne in mind
• women = underprivileged position

58. • Judaism
• Jainism
• Sikhism
• Shinto

59. • 4 noble truths
• all life is sorrow
• sorrow is the result of unchecked desire
• cessation of desire ends sorrow
• one must follow the middle way
• path is eigthfold
• right understanding
• right purpose
• right speech
• right action
• right livelihood
• right effort
• seet the truth
• conotemplation

60. • they conduct their lives in an unselfish manner
• always display moderation
• emphasize the sharing of mutual goals!
• honesty in business
• flexibility to change course

61. • 3 major branches
• Roman Catholicism (southern Europe)
• Eastern Orthodox (Easterne Europe, former Russia)
• Protestantism (Northern Europe)
• Protestantism
• rising early
• eating meals quickly
• rushing to work
• planning activities
• waisting little time
• being efficient & tidy
• making money asap

62. • Brundtland:
• ironie
• globalization ties people together economically
• but it also internationalizes problems
• organized crime
• drug trade
• ethnic warfare
• ecological pollution