Values, Beliefs, Norms, and Behavior in the Context of Human Culture Essay

Values, Beliefs, Norms, and Behavior in the Context of Human Culture - Essay Example Culture consists of the foods that we cook and eat, our living arrangements, communication with society, and our behavior. The author makes this point very well. He suggests that human nature and culture are different things but there is a lot of interplay between them. But culture itself can be broken down in smaller parts too. In order to get a full picture of a culture in a general sense, we should look at four important aspects: Values, beliefs, norms, and behavior. What are values? Everyone decides for themselves what they believe to be right and wrong, but they are often powerfully influenced by the people and traditions around them. Some people have been colonized by other dominant countries and therefore have a slight inferiority complex. Others belong to ethnic and linguistic minorities—facts which influence the way they see the world. Some countries have religions that encourage them to have large families. All this must be taken into account when entering another country with the intention to practice business there. Beliefs can be summed up as ideas that are held by a large number of people—perhaps not always based on empirical facts. They might be a religion held in common, for example, or an idea of history, which perhaps does not perfectly accord with the facts. These are often powerful motivating factors in a culture. Norms are very similar to values, but they are broader. Norms are what the society at large tends to believe are the correct values or morals to live by. In most societies, the idea that lying is wrong is considered a norm. Norms might change, but usually, they change very slowly. Especially in cultures that are religious and conservative.