1. Defining

2. How could we define culture?
“[A] complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”
- E.B. Tylor (Anthropologist)
A simpler definition: A way of life; a lifestyle influenced by a group’s customs, morals, codes, and traditions from a specific time and place.

3. Invisible vs. Visible Culture
“Culture hides much more than it reveals and, strangely enough, what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants.”  – Edward T. Hall
Visible cultural characteristics include behaviours and practices. FOR EXAMPLE: Clothing, dance, language, physical features, food, music, architecture, gestures, greetings, devotional practices, and more.
Invisible cultural factors include perceptions, attitudes, values and beliefs. FOR EXAMPLE: Spiritual beliefs, worldviews, rules of relationships, approach to the family, motivations, tolerance for change, attitudes to rules, communication styles, modes of thinking, comfort with risk, the difference between public and private, gender differences, and more.
The visible elements of a culture are driven and shaped by the invisible elements of the culture. The two cannot be completely separated.

4. It might help to think of culture as several aspects that influence each other.

5. Some Examples of Cultural Differences:
Speaking very close to, or very far from, the listener
Preference for communicating by , phone, or in-person
Using titles or nicknames
Etiquette hospitality/tipping
Promptness for meetings
Flexibility on deadlines
Preferring to read manuals/textbooks vs. hands-on learning
Closed-door immigration policies vs. open-door immigration policies
Preferring to work alone or to work in a group (Collectivist Society vs. Individualist Society)
Discussing personal feelings vs. keeping them inside
Living in the moment vs. Planning ahead

6. Is there an objectively “correct” approach to any of these?
Speaking very close to, or very far from, the listener
Preference for communicating by , phone, or in-person
Using titles or nicknames
Etiquette hospitality/tipping
Promptness for meetings
Flexibility on deadlines
Preferring to read manuals/textbooks vs. hands-on learning
Closed-door immigration policies vs. open-door immigration policies
Preferring to work alone or to work in a group (Collectivist Society vs. Individualist Society)
Discussing personal feelings vs. keeping them inside
Living in the moment vs. Planning ahead

7. Personal Space in North America…

8. Personal Space in Shanghai…

10. Today’s Activity
Groups of (approximately) five people will receive a handout with an image on it
Each image is an analogy for understanding culture (you could also think of them as metaphors)
In your group, discuss the following two questions:
What is the similarity between the object on the handout and culture?
What insight does this give you about how to work effectively across cultures?

12. Like an onion, people are shaped by many layers of culture: national culture, regional culture, organizational culture, and many other types of culture (gender, religion, family, etc.)
Often, people may think about someone as only one layer. For example: We may just see someone as a French person and not think any deeper about them than that. We then typically get stuck in divisive language: us and them. When we think of or only see one layer of an individual, we are not seeing that person for the complex individual they are and what they bring to a situation. All of us are complex individuals shaped by a number of layers, and we need to do the same for others.

14. When we think about culture, we often tend to think of the tip of the iceberg elements (food, dress, national symbols such as famous buildings, a nation’s flag, etc.), yet the majority of culture is hidden from view and is represented by deeper elements of culture, such as fundamental ideas about what is right and wrong.
The deeper the element of a culture’s iceberg you experience, the harder it is to adapt or shift. We can often adapt more easily to the local customs of dress or food, or adopt another culture’s way of doing, such as how to politely eat. However, when we’re asked to switch how we think about something, or when our worldview is different from someone else’s, it becomes more challenging.
The goal of learning about cultures is to continue to probe the depths of an iceberg to seek to understand the drivers behind the actions and behaviours of another.

16. Like water to a fish, the influence of our own culture is often invisible to us: It is simply what we know and what we depend on for survival.
It is not until we become a fish out of water that we may realise our dependency on our own cultural environments or be able to see clearly what the water was that we lived in.
Often the first step in working across cultures is to discover your own ocean and understand your own cultural influences.

18. French-Cuban writer Anais Nin once said that “We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.” Culture is a system for making meaning of things, and as a result, we all wear cultural lenses or filters when we interpret a situation. This may lead to different concepts about everything, from what makes a good movie to the role of a teacher.
The goal of working across cultures is to recognize our own lenses or cultural filter we are wearing in any situation. As often as we can we should put on the lenses of someone from a different cultural background.

19. Can you think of examples of visible culture in Canada?
Brainstorming:
Can you think of examples of visible culture in Canada?
Can you think of examples of invisible culture in Canada?