The Brazilianist Online Magazine - Culture, teh software of the mind, by Andre Lopes

If you think that all it takes to know about someone's culture is to learn his or her language, food, monuments and history, think again. The Dutch writer Fons Trompenaars (The Multicultural Enterprise, 1993) suggests that culture is divided into two parts: one being visible, superficial, formed by the elements cited above and another one, more entrenched and invisible, formed by fundamental values that are unconscious even to the individuals. Geert Hofstede, another well-cited author, defined culture as "the software of the mind" (Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, 1991). It is important to note that for both writers, the essence of culture is something invisible, yet decisive in the formation of people's character.

The wave of Globalization mistakenly led us to underestimate the challenges of doing business or having relationships with others of different cultures. The global reach of American fast food, Hollywood movies, fashion, and the Internet, just to mention a few, has indeed favored the standardization of the visible culture. More and more people - especially youth - are dressing up the same way, listening to the same songs, watching the same "Friends", and having the same idols. However, these same people still carry invisible values passed on by their ancestors that are unique and far from being global.

Trompenaars divided the study of culture into 7 dimensions. For the sake of space and not to abuse the reader's patience, this article will discuss only one of these dimensions, leaving the others for you to find out yourself on Trompennars's book or maybe it will be the subject of a future article for The Brazilianist.

One of the most interesting dimensions cited by Trompennars is universalism versus particularism. Universalists believe that a general rule that was successful once should be applied in all cases. They search for general solutions, no matter what the particular case is. Particularists, on their turn, place more attention on relationship obligations and the particular circumstances. Trompennars cites an example: you are in a car driven by a friend. He hurts a pedestrian. You know he was over the speed limit. You are the only witness. Do you think your friend has the right to demand from you that you testify in his favor, saying he was under the speed limit? Universalists would answer no, while particularists would protect their friend. Based on Trompennars's model, North Americans - as well as 80% of the protestant countries - are universalists. Brazilians - as well as the rest of Latin America - are considered particularists. Surprisingly, based on questionnaire answers, Russia and South Korea also tend to be particularists. Of course, these are tendencies and it is perfectly acceptable to have universalists and particularists in the same country.

Globalization is an irreversible phenomenon. As Peter Drucker has said, it started out in our minds when technology (Internet, email, etc) allowed us to share common ideas, beliefs and interests. It is essentially a social phenomenon and only peripherally an economical one. However, the challenge of integrating people with different "software" seems to be much greater than initially expected. Being aware of your own culture, learning about other cultures, and above all, respecting and accepting differences are necessary steps to a successful global community. Ironically, globalization is showing us that despite the fact that we all have been to a fast food place before or used a Visa or Mastercard, still in many aspects we are local villagers.

André Lopes has graduated in Law at the Federal University of Paraná and has an MBA from the University of Windsor, Canada. He currently works at IBM in Toronto, and can be reached at andrelopes@bol.com.br

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