CULTURE

CULTURE

A

PRESENTATION

BY

CULTURE

MS. NAMRATA NIRJHARINI

2ND SEMESTERELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGG.

ROLL NO:

VVEER SURENDRA SAI UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING,BURLAOOF ENGINEERING,BURLA

CULTUREDEFINITIONS

Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.

Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people.

Culture is communication, communication is culture. Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the

totality of a person's learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning.

A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.

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Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.

Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning influences upon further action.

Culture is the sum of total of the learned behavior of a group of people that are generally considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to generation.

Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.

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THEORY OF CULTURAL DETERMINISM The position that the ideas, meanings, beliefs and values people

learn as members of society determines human nature. People are what they learn. Optimistic version of cultural determinism place no limits on the abilities of human beings to do or to be whatever they want. Some anthropologists suggest that there is no universal "right way" of being human. "Right way" is almost always "our way"; that "our way" in one society almost never corresponds to "our way" in any other society. Proper attitude of an informed human being could only be that of tolerance.

The optimistic version of this theory postulates that human nature being infinitely malleable, human being can choose the ways of life they prefer.

The pessimistic version maintains that people are what they are conditioned to be; this is something over which they have no control. Human beings are passive creatures and do whatever their culture tells them to do. This explanation leads to behaviorism that locates the causes of human behavior in a realm that is totally beyond human control.

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CULTURAL RELATIVISM

Different cultural groups think, feel, and act differently. There is no scientific standards for considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to another. Studying differences in culture among groups and societies presupposes a position of cultural relativism. It does not imply normalcy for oneself, nor for one's society. It, however, calls for judgment when dealing with groups or societies different from one's own. Information about the nature of cultural differences between societies, their roots, and their consequences should precede judgment and action. Negotiation is more likely to succeed when the parties concerned understand the reasons for the differences in viewpoints.

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CULTURAL ETHNOCENTRISM Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to

that of other cultures. It is a form of reductionism that reduces the "other way" of life to a distorted version of one's own. This is particularly important in case of global dealings when a company or an individual is imbued with the idea that methods, materials, or ideas that worked in the home country will also work abroad. Environmental differences are, therefore, ignored. Ethnocentrism, in relation to global dealings, can be categorized as follows: Important factors in business are overlooked because of the

obsession with certain cause-effect relationships in one's own country. It is always a good idea to refer to checklists of human variables in order to be assured that all major factors have been at least considered while working abroad.

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Even though one may recognize the environmental differences and problems associated with change, but may focus only on achieving objectives related to the home-country. This may result in the loss of effectiveness of a company or an individual in terms of international competitiveness. The objectives set for global operations should also be global.

The differences are recognized, but it is assumed that associated changes are so basic that they can be achieved effortlessly. It is always a good idea to perform a cost-benefit analysis of the changes proposed.  Sometimes a change may upset important values and thereby may face resistance from being implemented. The cost of some changes may exceed the benefits derived from the implementation of such changes.

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Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to that of other cultures. It is a form of reductionism that reduces the "other way" of life to a distorted version of one's own. This is particularly important in case of global dealings when a company or an individual is imbued with the idea that methods, materials, or ideas that worked in the home country will also work abroad. Environmental differences are, therefore, ignored. Ethnocentrism, in relation to global dealings, can be categorized as follows: Important factors in business are overlooked because of the

obsession with certain cause-effect relationships in one's own country. It is always a good idea to refer to checklists of human variables in order to be assured that all major factors have been at least considered while working abroad.

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MANIFESTATION OF CULTURE

Fig: Manifestation of Culture at Different Layer of Depth

Cultural differences manifest themselves in different ways and differing levels of depth. Symbols represent the most superficial and values the deepest manifestations of culture, with heroes and rituals in between.

Symbols are words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning which is only recognized by those who share a particular culture. New symbols easily develop, old ones disappear. Symbols from one particular group are regularly copied by others. This is why symbols represent the outermost layer of a culture.

Heroes are persons, past or present, real or fictitious, who possess characteristics that are highly prized in a culture. They also serve as models for behavior.

Rituals are collective activities, sometimes superfluous in reaching desired objectives, but are considered as socially essential. They are therefore carried out most of the times for their own sake (ways of greetings, paying respect to others, religious and social ceremonies, etc.).

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The core of a culture is formed by values. They are broad tendencies for preferences of certain state of affairs to others (good-evil, right-wrong, natural-unnatural). Many values remain unconscious to those who hold them. Therefore they often cannot be discussed, nor they can be directly observed by others. Values can only be inferred from the way people act under different circumstances.

Symbols, heroes, and rituals are the tangible or visual aspects of the practices of a culture. The true cultural meaning of the practices is intangible; this is revealed only when the practices are interpreted by the insiders.

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LAYERS OF CULTURE People even within the same culture carry several layers of

mental programming within themselves. Different layers of culture exist at the following levels:

The national level: Associated with the nation as a whole. The regional level: Associated with ethnic, linguistic, or religious

differences that exist within a nation. The gender level: Associated with gender differences (female vs.

male) The generation level: Associated with the differences between

grandparents and parents, parents and children. The social class level: Associated with educational opportunities

and differences in occupation. The corporate level: Associated with the particular culture of an

organization. Applicable to those who are employed.

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MEASURING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

A variable can be operationalized either by single- or composite-measure techniques. A single-measure technique means the use of one indicator to measure the domain of a concept; the composite-measure technique means the use of several indicators to construct an index for the concept after the domain of the concept has been empirically sampled. Hofstede (1997) has devised a composite-measure technique to measure cultural differences among different societies:

Power distance index:  The index measures the degree of inequality that exists in a society.

Uncertainty avoidance index: The index measures the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain or ambiguous situations.

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Individualism index: The index measure the extent to which a society is individualistic. Individualism refers to a loosely knit social framework in a society in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and their immediate families only. The other end of the spectrum would be collectivism that occurs when there is a tight social framework in which people distinguish between in-groups and out-groups; they expect their in-groups (relatives, clans, organizations) to look after them in exchange for absolute loyalty.

Masculinity index (Achievement vs. Relationship): The index measures the extent to which the dominant values are assertiveness, money and things (achievement), not caring for others or for quality of life. The other end of the spectrum would be femininity (relationship).

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RECONCILIATION OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCESCultural awareness:

Before venturing on a global assignment, it is probably necessary to identify the cultural differences that may exist between one's home country and the country of business operation. Where the differences exist, one must decide whether and to what extent the home-country practices may be adapted to the foreign environment. Most of the times the differences are not very apparent or tangible. Certain aspects of a culture may be learned consciously (e.g. methods of greeting people), some other differences are learned subconsciously (e.g. methods of problem solving). The building of cultural awareness may not be an easy task, but once accomplished, it definitely helps a job done efficiently in a foreign environment.

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Clustering cultures: o Discussions and reading about other cultures definitely helps

build cultural awareness, but opinions presented must be carefully measured. Sometimes they may represent unwarranted stereotypes, an assessment of only a subgroup of a particular group of people, or a situation that has since undergone drastic changes. It is always a good idea to get varied viewpoints about the same culture.

Some countries may share many attributes that help mold their cultures (the modifiers may be language, religion, geographical location, etc.). Based on this data obtained from past cross-cultural studies, countries may be grouped by similarities in values and attitudes. Fewer differences may be expected when moving within a cluster than when moving from one cluster to another.

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Determining the extent of global involvement:

All enterprises operating globally need not have the same degree of cultural awareness. Figure 2 illustrates extent to which a company needs to understand global cultures at different levels of involvement. The further a company moves out from the sole role of doing domestic business, the more it needs to understand cultural differences. Moving outward on more than one axis simultaneously makes the need for building cultural awareness even more essential.

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Fig: Cultural Awareness & Extent of Global involvement

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INDIAN CULTURE Indian culture is rich and diverse and as a result unique in

its very own way. Our manners, way of communicating with one another, etc are one of the important components of our culture. Even though we have accepted modern means of living, improved our lifestyle, our values and beliefs still remain unchanged. A person can change his way of clothing, way of eating and living but the rich values in a person always remains unchanged because they are deeply rooted within our hearts, mind, body and soul which we receive from our culture.

Indian culture treats guests as god and serves them and takes care of them as if they are a part and parcel of the family itself. Even though we don’t have anything to eat, the guests are never left hungry and are always looked after by the members of the family.

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o Elders and the respect for elders is a major component in Indian culture. Elders are the driving force for any family and hence the love and respect for elders comes from within and is not artificial. An individual takes blessings from his elders by touching their feet. Elders drill and pass on the Indian culture within us as we grow.

o “Respect one another” is another lesson that is taught from the books of Indian culture. All people are alike and respecting one another is ones duty. In foreign countries the relation between the boss and the employee is like a master and slave and is purely monetary whereas in Indian culture the relation between the boss and the employee is more like homely relations unlike foreign countries.

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Helpful nature is another striking feature in our Indian culture. Right from our early days of childhood we are taught to help one another in need of help and distress. If not monetary then at least in kind or non-monetary ways. Indian culture tells us to multiply and distribute joy and happiness and share sadness and pain. It tells us that by all this we can develop co-operation and better living amongst ourselves and subsequently make this world a better place to live in.

Even though India is a country of various religions and caste our culture tells us just one thing 'phir bhi dil hai Hindustani '.  

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Festivals With India's cultural diversity, the country has more festivals than

there are days in a year. With little lamps and lot of care, Karthigai festival celebrates the bond between sisters and brothers in south India. In other parts of India, Bhaiya-Dhuj and Raakhi is celebrated. Sisters wish their brothers happiness and feed them sweets, while brothers give gifts and promise to protect their sisters.

Radha and gopikas celebrating Holi, known as the "festival of colours".

A tug of war, at Pushkar Fair in Rajasthan.

Fig: Radha & Gopis celebrating “HOLI”

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India, being a multi-cultural and multi-religious society, celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. The four national holidays in India, the Independence Day, the Republic Day, the Gandhi Jayanti, and May Day[citation needed] are celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm across India. In addition, many Indian states and regions have local festivals depending on prevalent religious and linguistic demographics. Popular religious festivals include the Hindu festivals of Navratri, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga puja, Holi, Ugadi, Rakshabandhan, and Dussehra. Several harvest festivals such as Sankranthi, Pongal, Raja sankaranti swinging festival, and Onam, "Nuakhai" are also fairly popular

Fig: Tug of War at PUSKAR.

Certain festivals in India are celebrated by multiple religions. Notable examples include Diwali, which is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, and Buddh Purnima, celebrated by Buddhists. Sikh Festivals, such as Guru Nanak Jayanti, Baisakhi are celebrated with full fanfare by Sikhs and Hindu. Adding colors to the culture of India, the Dree Festival is one of the tribal festivals of India celebrated by the Apatanis of the Ziro valley of Arunachal Pradesh, which is the easternmost state of India.

Islam in India is the second largest religion with over 135 million Muslims-(followers of Islam), The Islamic festivals which are observed and are declared public holiday in India are; Eid ul Fitr, Eid ul Adha-(Bakr Eid), Milad un Nabi, Muharram and Shab-e-Barat.[35] Some of the Indian states have declared regional holiday's for the particular regional popular festivals; such as Arba'een, Jumu'ah-tul-Wida and Shab-e-Qadar.

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Christianity is India's third largest religion. With over 23 million Christians, of which 17 million are Roman Catholics, India is home to many Christian festivals. The country celebrates Christmas and Good Friday as public holidays.[35]

Regional fairs are also common and festive in India. For example, Pushkar fair is one of the world's largest markets and Sonepur mela is the largest livestock fair in Asia.[36]

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ODISHA CULTURE Odisha has rich cultural heritage which is harmonious blending of

art,religion & philosophy interwoven around Lord Jagannath,the internationally famous vaishnavite God at Puri. The State has spelindid historical monuments depicting glamorous heroic deeds and cultural upheavals. Puri popularly known as Jagannath Dham because of the sacred shrine of Lord Jagannath which has a special place in the cultural history of the country. It is one of the four Dhams of India. Geographically ancient Odisha of the remote past was a link between Dakhnipath & Aryavat. Thus it was meeting place of Anarya,Dravida & Arya culture all of which have ultimately contributed to Hinduism.

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The richness of the culture of a region can be visualized from the sculptures & monuments of the past. The golden triangle of Puri, Konark & Bhubaneswar has many magnificent & massive temples as examples of superb artistic, sculptural and architectural skills of the people of Odisha. The temple of Lord Lingaraj at Bhubaneswar is the center of attraction of Shaivaties. The black pagoda at Konark is a charming epitome of architectural perfection and proof of superb creative genius of Odia people. The Jagannath temple at Puri is a wonderful monument. These places along with many other such places have all along provided spiritual bliss as well as reawakening and have educated the people to follow a secular way of life.Buddhism & Jainism have also flourished in the ancient Odisha. In fact Lord Jagannath is also described as a symbol of Buddhism. He was originally the god of Savaras i.e. One of the primitive tribe of the state.

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Historically under the patronage of Hindu kings of the past, cultural unity through blending of Jainism, Budhhism & Hinduism has taken place in the state which is the culture inherited by modern Odisha. The culture of Odisha has been much refined subsequently under the influence of Koran of Muslims & Bible of Christians and has never lost its basic values of exercising the control over the the passions discarding materialistic ideology, showing respect to the religious belief of others etc. Many scholars & devotees including Chaitanya Dev have also contributed to the culture of Odisha but no foreign invasion has able to dwindle it down. Muslims & Christians have equally flourished in the state have also contribed to Jagannath culture

While talking about the culture of the Odisha, one must not forget the rich, artistic & eloquent Odishi dance of the state which is typical & famous for expression of the concept of “Rasa” or supreme devotion to Lord Vishnu. The music of the state also known as Odishi music is also remarkable for its lucidity and rhythm.

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Religion is another cultural characteristic of any country. Odisha being traditionally a secular state has never shown any intolerance towards any religion. Several religions have thrived in the comfortable cradle of this state.

Thus while ancient Odisha was a meeting ground of primary races & basic cultures, modern Odisha is a meeting ground of different religions and religious people. It is in true sense a beautiful abode where all people can live in harmony, love and friendship crossing all barriers and difference in faith.

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Language The official language of the state, spoken by the majority of the

people is Oriya. Oriya belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family, and is closely related to Bengali and Assamese. A few tribal languages belonging to the Dravidian and Munda language families are still spoken by the Adivasis of the state. The state has a very opulent cultural heritage, one of the richest in India. The capital city Bhubaneswar is known for the exquisite temples that dot its landscape.

Clothes Western-style dress has gained greater acceptance in cities and

towns among men, although the people prefer to wear traditional dresses like Dhoti, Kurtha and Gamucha during festivals or other religious occasions. Women normally prefer to wear the Saris (Sambalpuri Sari, Bomkai Sari, Kataki Sari) or the Shalwar kameez; western attire is becoming popular among younger women in cities and towns.

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Oriya cuisine Salepur Rasagola.Rasagola, famous throughout India originated

from Odisha Odisha has culinary tradition spanning centuries if not millennia.

The kitchen of the famous Jagannath temple in Puri is reputed to be the largest in the world, with a thousand chefs, working around 752 wood-burning clay hearths called chulas, to feed over 10,000 people each day.

Rasagolla, one of the most popular desserts in India, is in fact an Oriya invention. It had been enjoyed in Odisha for centuries before being passed on to neighboring Bengal. The well-known rice pudding, kheeri (kheer) that is relished all over India, also originated in Puri .two thousand years ago.

In fact, some well-known recipes, usually credited to Bengal, are of Odishan origin. This is because during the Bengal renaissance, Brahmin cooks from Odisha, especially from Puri, were routinely employed in richer Bengali households. They were famed for their culinary skills and commonly referred to as Ude Thakurs (Oriya Brahmin-cooks). As a result, many Oriya delicacies got incorporated into the Bengali kitchen.

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Pakhala,a dish made of rice, water, and yoghurt, that is fermented overnight, is very popular in summer, particularly in the rural areas. Oriyas are very fond of sweets and no Oriya repast is considered complete without some dessert at the end. A typical meal in Odisha consists of a main course and dessert. Typically breads are served as the main course for breakfast, whereas rice is eaten with lentils (dals) during lunch and dinner. The main course also includes one or more curries, vegetables and pickles. Given the fondness for sweet foods, the dessert course may include generous portions of more than a single item. Oriya desserts are made from a variety of ingredients, with milk, chhenna (a form of ricotta cheese), coconut, rice, and wheat flour being the most common.

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Fig: Odishi Dance Fig: Lord Jagannath,Lord Balabhadra & Devi Subhadra

Fig: Konark Temple

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Reference:

Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind. New York: McGraw Hill.

Odisha,Wikipedia Culture of India,Wikipedia.

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