Culture

A Definition of Culture

“Culture is everything that people have, think, and do as members of their society.”

Culture is composed of . . .

• Material objects
• Ideas, values, and attitudes
• Expected patterns of behavior

 Some Principles of Culture

• All culture is learned.
• Culture is universal to human society.
• Culture is not  value-neutral.
• All cultures are constantly undergoing change.
• Some cultures change more quickly than others.
• Not all cultures are equally complex.
• Virtually all cultures permit the development of sub-cultures.
• Culture can influence biology & biology can influence culture. 

Functions of Culture

• Cultures universally respond to human problems & challenges by developing systems to deal with them.
• Economic systems
• Marriage & family systems
• Educational systems
• Supernatural belief systems

 Issues Affecting Cultural Change

• Advantage: Is it superior to what already exists?
• Compatibility:  Is it consistent with existing cultural patterns?
• Complexity:  Is it easily understood?

 Ethnocentrism

• All cultures, to one degree or another, display ethnocentrism, or the tendency to evaluate a foreigner or outsider’s behavior by the standards of one’s own culture.
• All cultures also display the tendency to believe that they are somehow superior to all others.
• We take our own culture for granted.
• We see our behavior as “correct” and others’ as somehow “wrong.”
• Ethnocentrism can enhance group solidarity within a society.
• Ethnocentrism can also foster prejudice, contempt, inaccurate stereotypes, & conflict. 

Domestic Cultural Variables

• Gender
•  Ethnicity
•  Age
•  Ability
•  Preference

Hofstede’s Dimensions Defined

• Power Distance is a measure of the interpersonal power or influence between a superior & subordinate

• Uncertainty Avoidance is the extent to which members of a culture will seek to reduce uncertainty or tolerate uncertainty by means of technology, law, or religion.

• Individualism is a measure of a culture’s behavioral focus, determining whether decisions and behaviors are made by individuals acting alone or collectively by social convention.

• Gender is a measure of the extent to which social and cultural roles are defined by sex and gender boundaries.

Dimensions of Culture

• Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Masculinity vs. Femininity
• High vs. Low Power Distance
• High vs. Low Uncertainty Avoidance
• Short-Term vs. Long-Term Orientation
• High vs. Low Context
• Immediacy & Expression 

Cross-Cultural Communication Skills

• The capacity to accept the relativity of one’s own knowledge & perceptions
• The capacity to be non-judgmental
• A tolerance for ambiguity
• The capacity to communicate respect for other people’s ways, their country, & their values
• The capacity to display empathy
• The capacity to be flexible
• The capacity for turn-taking
• The humility to acknowledge what you do not know or understand

The Effective Global Executive Should Be Able to:

• Develop & use global strategic skills.
•  Manage change & transition.
•  Manage cultural diversity.
•  Design & function in flexible organizational structures.
•  Work with others & in teams.
•  Learn & transfer organizational knowledge.

Legal Climate in Cambodia

•       In compliance with WTO requirements, Cambodia conducted its first review of trade policies and practices in November 2011.

•       The next review will be conducted in 2017. Cambodia’s full trade policy review report can be found at: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp353_e.htm. (Investment Climate Statement, 2015).

Law on Investment

•       Cambodia’s 1994 Law on Investment established an open and liberal foreign investment regime.

•       All sectors of the economy are open to foreign investment and the government permits 100% foreign ownership of companies in most sectors (Investment Climate Statement, 2015).

•       Under Cambodian law, most foreign investments and foreign investors will be affected by the following taxes: corporate profits tax (20%), tax on individual salaries (0 to 20%), withholding taxes (4 to 15%), value-added taxes (0 to 10%), and import duties (0 to 35%) (Investment Climate Statement, 2015).

•       The Law on Investment permits investors to hire foreign nationals for employment as managers, technicians, or skilled workers if the qualifications and/or expertise are not available in Cambodia.

Ownership Rights

•       In 2010, Cambodia adopted a law allowing limited foreign ownership in multi-story buildings from the second floor up, such that ownership may not exceed 70% of the area of all private units of the co-owned building.

•       Foreigners are not authorized to acquire ownership rights in buildings located within 30 kilometers of the land borders of Cambodia, except in Special Economic Zones or other areas, as determined by the government (Investment Climate Statement, 2015).

Business Registration

•       The launching ceremony of online business registration in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Dec. 7, 2015. It reduces the time to register a company from 7 days to 1 hour.

•       They can register their companies at www.businessregistration.moc.gov.kh and pay the fee of 1,720,000 riels (about 430 U.S. dollars) via e-payment service (Minister of Commerce, 2015).

•       Meanwhile, all existing companies shall re-register their companies using the online registration system from now until March 31, 2016.

Commercial Arbitration Law

•       Cambodia adopted a Commercial Arbitration Law in 2006. In 2010, the government provided for the establishment of the National Commercial Arbitration Center (NCAC), Cambodia’s first alternative dispute resolution mechanism, to enable companies to resolve commercial disputes  more quickly and inexpensively than through the court system (Investment Climate Statement, 2015).

•       The NCAC was officially launched in March 2013 and is now ready to accept cases (Investment Climate Statement, 2015).

Environmental Climate

•       The rate of deforestation in Cambodia has accelerated at an alarming rate in the last few years. Cambodia, home to some of Southeast Asia's oldest and most diverse forests, has been losing these precious areas as a result of corporations using permits illegally to clear out land.

•       The country is losing around 2,000 km2 of its ancient forests every year ( Forest Trends Report Series, 2015).

Forests in Cambodia

•       Between 2004 and 2014, the amount of land leased to corporations had almost quadrupled.

•       With 80% of land granted to commercial agricultural companies located within the boundaries of protected forests, trees are being harvested in some of Cambodia's most prized areas.

•       By the end of 2013, 14% of the country had been allocated to corporations ( Forest Trends Report Series, 2015).

•       According to the report, the Cambodian government is giving corporations Economic Land Concessions (ELC), which is a controversial scheme that gives corporations a long-term lease to clear land for agricultural development (Forest Trends Report Series, 2015).

Technological Climate in Cambodia

•       The number of internet subscribers in Cambodia topped 5 million in 2014, up 29.5% from 3.86 million in 2013.

•       Mobile phone operators had sold out 20.45 million SIM cards in 2014, 39% more than the country's population, the third highest mobile-cellular penetration country in ASEAN countries after Singapore and Malaysia (Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, 2015).

Mobile Phone

•       Mobile phone network penetration rate was about 96 per 100 people, with mobile phone network affordability estimated at about US$8 per month (World Bank, 2013, p. 49).

•       There are currently eight mobile phone operators in Cambodia, and their combined network coverage is readily accessible to about 99% of the total population (GSMA 2013; World Bank 2013, p. 49)

Social Climate in Cambodia

•       The population of Cambodia is estimated at approximately 15.5 million in 2014, ranking 69th in the world (Vu, 2015).

•       The country enjoys a relatively young population structure with roughly 64.5% of the population belonging to the working age group, which creates the abundance of labor force for manufacturing industry.

•       People below 15-year-old level account for 31.6%, providing huge human resource in the future.

Health Situation

•       In 2010, the mortality rate was 4.1 deaths for men and 2.5 deaths for female per 1000. Life expectancy at birth is 60.5 years for men and 64.3 years in 2008 for women (WHO, 2014).

•       Cambodia is considered a high-burdened country for tuberculosis, diarrhoea, diabetes, and hypertension. Smoking and alcohol consumption is affecting almost half the male population (WPRO, 2011).

Education

•       Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in 2014: 105 (CDRI, 2015)

–       66 private universities

–       39 public university

•       After over a decade of expansion of higher education, especially during the 2000s, the issues of quality and relevance emerged because there was increasing market demand for professionals and skilled workers to serve the growing industries and enterprises (Madhur, 2014).

School Life Expectancy

•       Cambodian children and youth spend fewer years in school than their peers in other ASEAN countries at a  similar stage of economic development.

•       School life expectancy in Cambodia is 10.5 compared to Laos 10.1, Indonesia 12.9, Thailand 12.3, Vietnam 11.9, and the Philippines 11.7 (UNESCO, 2012).

Literacy Rate

•       The literacy rate of young Cambodian people aged from 15 to 24 years old during the period 2009-2013 is estimated at averagely 87% (UNICEF, 2015).

•       About 18% of the labor force (aged 15-64) are either illiterate or have only basic literacy skills while 35% have not completed primary education (Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2010).

•       About 59% of the labor force have no or only some years of primary education.

•       Of the current workforce,

•        only 10% finished basic education

•        4% completed upper secondary education

•        2% hold tertiary qualifications

•       There is no doubt that workforce productivity is an issue in Cambodia (CDRI, 2015).

Skilled Labor

•       Cambodia is encountering a severe problem of shortage of skilled labor.

•       According to the survey by Bruni et al. (2013), three-quarters of surveyed companies state that it is difficult to find qualified workers to fill vacancies.

•       More than half of interviewees report that the employees’ performance does not meet the required level.

•       Generally, the level of skills of employees is relatively low as more than half of workers are associated with elementary occupations.

•       The share of employees at the managerial level and technical-skills requirement level is modestly less than 3%.

Political Climate in Cambodia

Industrial Development Policy (IDP)(Geographic Priorities)

•       Cambodia has step by step developed its economy and social structure from the bottom after three decades of devastation and societal fragmentation from civil conflicts, colonization, genocidal Khmer Rouge and foreign sanctions, with the help of United Nations and foreign countries (Vu, 2015).

•        Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy. After 2013 election, there are two main political parties: CPP and CNRP.

•        

Corruption

•       Transparency International (TI) ranks Cambodia in the 156th place in the corruption perception index in 2014. Cambodia’s government makes efforts to reduce corruption nationwide (Vu, 2015).

•       In March 2010, the Cambodia’s government passed the draft of the Anti-corruption Law.

•       The RGC has requested the private sector to help support efforts to reduce informal payments. In response, 17 large companies have recently signed an MOU with the Anti-Corruption Unit, 9 of which are located in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) (World Bank, 2015)

A New Wave of Reforms

•       To address this, the RGC has initiated a new wave of reforms since early 2014. Three key reforms in the area of trade facilitation are:

1. Company registration is being simplified and automated. It is intended to allow applicants to register a new company online in significantly less time, ultimately diminishing face-to-face contact.
2. Automation of the Certificate of Country of Origin (COO). In a first phase, MOC launched an Interim System, which can be used from the Ministry's premises. Work is under way for the system to be fully automated so that companies can apply for the certificate electronically. The new COO system is intended to become an electronic payment platform and offer the first e-payment facility (with e-signature) for government services (World Bank, 2015).
3. Transition of CAMCONTROL to a modern Food Safety and Consumer Protection Agency. This is intended to improve the overall level of food safety in Cambodia and reduce duplications with the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).

Entrepreneurship Idea exercise

1. What are you the best at?
2. What do you do better than almost anyone you know?
3. What about your personality is unique?
4. What are your real hobbies?
5. If you didn’t have to work (ever), what would you do?
6. What is your “natural” work?
7. What would you like to dedicate yourself to?
8. If you could change something at your last job (or at the university) what would it be?
9. Think of an electronic device you use. How could it be better?
10. What do they have at home (where you’re from) that they don’t have here?
11. What do they have in the U.S. that they don’t have in your country? (if you’re aninternational student)
12. What do they have in another country that they don’t have in the U.S.?

Beauty Tips And Tricks To Try At Home

Beauty can be an important part of your life. You need to do all of your research so that you don't end up improperly applying something or so you don't use products that will not work on your own body. There are some tips listed below to help you begin.

Do you want clear, clean, healthy skin? Exfoliation is essential! Exfoliate your skin regularly to remove all the junk, chemicals, and dirt you expose yourself to every day. The internet has lots of great recipes for exfoliaters that clean your skin naturally and without costing you an arm and a leg, check it out!

Use a face mask at least once a week. Depending on which one you choose, this will help remove impurities from your face. A mud or clay mask is best for removing impurities. You will see results immediately. Once you find a mask you like, you should stick with it.

You should avoid wearing blush that is too dark for your skin. It can make you look washed out and ghostly. Look for a blush that is a shade or two darker than your natural skin tone. If you feel it is not dark enough then simply apply more of it.

If you only have the time and money for a single beauty product, consider spending it on a flattering cheek color. A cream-based blush is easily applied using only the fingertips and can be thrown in your purse and applied quickly and with little to no effort at all. This is one item that you shouldn't be shy about spending a little extra on.

Gorgeous, brightly colored hair can be very challenging to maintain. Instead of redyeing it over and over again to enhance the color, invest in a good color-enhancing or color-depositing shampoo product. Use it every other time you wash your hair, alternating with your regular shampoo. Note though that using it every day may weigh down your hair unnecessarily.

For calming skin inflammation rose and lavender are excellent ways to calm these areas. It can either be a lotion or a cream and can be used on any area of the body. There are a variety of products available in an organic form and many that have not been tested on animals.

Do not be shy of dairy when you are looking for beauty solutions. Dairy is beneficial to your health. It is also beneficial to your skin. Add some milk to your bath water in order to make your skin soft and smooth to the touch. It will help your skin retain moisture all day.

You can save a lot of money by trimming your own bangs at home. First, make sure you have the proper scissors. Spend the money for a small pair of good haircutting scissors. Trim your bangs dry. How to trim them will depend on your hair type, but most people do best by dividing the bangs into three sections, holding the hair up in a twist, and taking small diagonal snips so that the cuts aren't straight. Drop the twist, see how you look, and repeat until it's short enough for your liking.

Beauty can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a lot of work. Regardless, if you know what to do and how to create your own regimen, you can get the results you want. So, do yourself a favor by doing your research and applying the above tips to your beauty regimen.