Confucius - Mudita Consultancy · 2020. 3. 4. · POLYCHRONIC cultures are past-oriented, they see time as a cyclical concept, a repetition of natural cycles and patterns. Punctuality

“The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”

- Confucius -

Culture Clusters: the Confucian-Asia Cluster

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Designed by vectorpouch / Freepik

The Confucian Asia clusterincludes the following

countries:

ChinaHong KongSingapore

JapanSouth Korea

Taiwan



HIGH-CONTEXTcultures:

communication is mostlyindirect and implicit,

requiring a certain degree ofcontextual knowledge to be

fully understood.The use of non-verbalcommunication (voice,

gestures, etc) is significant.Since reliance on written

communication is low, knowledge of unwrittenrules, social codes and

rituals tends to beassumed. Proceduresare somewhat flexible,

decisions are based onfeelings and emotional

factors.



POLYCHRONICcultures are past-oriented,

they see timeas a cyclical concept, a

repetition of natural cyclesand patterns. Punctuality is

not a primary concern,people tend to live for the

moment, plans can be alteredto fit a situation as it changes.

Life is unpredictable andscheduling is not

fundamental. Previouscommitments will be

respected if possible.Members of a polychronic

culture manageinterruptions well and tendto do many things at once.



BEING Cultures:Relationship-oriented.

The needs to maintain thecollective well-being

and to respect tradition areprioritized over task

outcomes.Trust and affiliation are

important.Confucian-Asian

cultures tend to valuecooperation, socialharmony and group

consensus. Thedevelopment of

supportive socialrelationships is

considered a priority.



COLLECTIVISTCultures:

The common good is moreimportant than personal interest.

The group takes careof individuals, individuals are loyal

to the group. Relationships arerarely a matter of choice: they are

formed within the group peoplebelong to, often inaccessible to

outsiders.

Defining one’s identity interms of one’s social role

is typical of collectivistcultures. Since

selflessness andconformity are highly

valued, individualachievements

are often portrayed asa result of external

circumstances ratherthan personal merit.




SHAME Cultures:Shame, a reaction to other

people's criticism, is the maintool of social control in

collectivist societies.Eastern cultures are usuallyshame-based, while Western

cultures tend to be guilt-based.

"In true shame-orientedcultures, every person

has a place and a duty inthe society. One

maintains self-respect,not by choosing what is

good rather than what isevil, but by choosing what

is expected of one.Personal desires are sunk

in the collectiveexpectation. Those whofail will often turn their

aggression againstthemselves instead ofusing violence againstothers." (Paul Hiebert)


"MASCULINE"cultures (*) in the Confucian-

Asia cluster are mostly definedby low scores on Gender

Egalitarianism. Gender rolestend to be clearly defined, thefamily structure is "traditional":fathers deal with facts, mothers

deal with feelings (*).(*) Gender Egalitarianismis the belief that people

should receive equaltreatment regardless of their

gender.Note the similaritybetween Globe’s Gender

Egalitarianism andHofstede’s Masculinity/

Femininity cultural dimension.



Designed by iconicbestiary / Freepik

Japan - South Korea - Taiwan

Societies that score high in termsof Uncertainty Avoidance tend torely on formal regulations, rules

and laws to deal with uncertainty.Social interactions are formaland conservative, planning is

important.

China - Singapore - Hong Kong

Societies that score low in termsof Uncertainty Avoidance have ahigh tolerance to ambiguity andunpredictability, unstructuredsituations are not a source ofanxiety, people tend to rely on

informal rules and norms.


UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE



Hierarchical structures are thenorm: authority figures are

expected to provide protection,guidance and stability, employees

are expected to be loyal andcompliant (relationships are basedon dependence). Special treatmentis usually granted to insiders, whoare expected to bring honour to

the group they belong to.


POWERDISTANCE:

cultures in the Confucian-Asia cluster tend to score

high on the Power Distance Index: highly hierarchical and

male dominated, these societiesaccept unequal power

distribution. Authority is aconcept often linked to

both seniority and social status.

(Designed by Freepik)

Hall, E. T. (1959). “The Silent Language”. New York: DoubledayHall, E.T. (1966). "The Hidden Dimension", New York, NY: Doubleday Hall, E. T. (1976). "Beyond culture". New York, NY: DoubledayThe Globe Project, Online: https://globeproject.com/Chong, Calipe (2017). "Understanding China: An Insight into the History, Civilization,and On-going Transformation" (Independently published)Hofstede, Geert H. (1997). "Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (seconded.)". New York: McGraw-HillHerbert R. (1946). “The chrysanthemum and the sword : patterns of Japanese culture”.Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co.Kluckhohn, F. and Strodtbeck, F. (1961). "Variations in value orientation". New York:Harper CollinsGudykunst, W. B., & Kim, Y. Y. (1984). "Communicating with strangers: An approach tointercultural communication". New York: Random HouseHiebert, Paul G. (1985). ”Anthropological Insights for Missionaries”. Grand Rapids: BakerBook House

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Confucius - Mudita Consultancy · 2020. 3. 4. · POLYCHRONIC cultures are past-oriented, they see time as a cyclical concept, a repetition of natural cycles and patterns. Punctuality