Culture is an important aspect of human behavior. It encompasses everything that a person has learned about life, from his family and religion to his values, beliefs and traditions. It can even include his language and art. A person’s culture is the defining element of his personality, and influences his outlook on life.
Interestingly enough, the word “culture” derives from the Latin word colere which means “to cultivate.” In a very broad sense, culture is all about caring for things and making them grow. It includes language, ideas, beliefs, customs, codes and institutions, tools, techniques and works of art as well as rituals and ceremonies.
While people’s cultures vary greatly, many of them also share some common elements. These are called cultural universals. For example, all societies recognize some form of family unit. However, how families are structured and related to each other can differ greatly from one culture to another.
In order to understand these differences, it is important to look at a culture from different angles. The anthropological approach to culture is helpful in this regard. This approach looks at a culture in terms of what a society has learned and passed down over time. It can include things like mythology, folklore and other oral traditions. In addition, it can include a society’s history, values and beliefs.
The other major approach to understanding a culture is the sociological approach. This approach is based on what a society has learned and developed over the years as it has interacted with other societies. It includes things such as religion, laws and social norms. It also focuses on how a society perceives its own values and traditions.
Both approaches to the study of culture have relevance in international marketing. They help to explain why some products or services are successful in some countries and not others. For example, Hofstede’s four dimensions of culture may be useful in describing differences in the rate at which people accept new products or ideas.
In addition, it is important to remember that while a culture is a set of beliefs, values and behaviors that a society has inherited or adopted over time, a culture can be changed by outside forces as well as by the actions of individuals within the culture. This process is known as acculturation. A person can also become a member of more than one culture, a process called transculturation. This is often the result of immigration, when a foreign culture replaces or blends with a native culture. It can also happen in cases of assimilation, when a person adopts some aspects of a foreign culture while retaining his own. In these cases, the individual is considered to be a bicultural individual. Similarly, it is possible for a business to have a multicultural workforce. In this case, it is important to make sure that the employees have a good understanding of each other’s cultures. This will enable everyone to work together effectively and will create a more positive atmosphere.