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The word “culture” is a concept, which we deal with unconsciously every single day, and it can be described or interpreted in many different ways. The media is filled with articles and books including the word “culture”, but what does it mean exactly and how can it be defined? The authors Robert Grosse and Duane Kujawa give the following definition in their book “International Business”. “Culture can signify various patterns of behavior, values or beliefs, which are the characteristics of a specific community. A community can be a town, a city, a region, a country or even a company.”

In comparison, Terpstra and David propose this definition: “Culture is a learned, shared, compelling and interrelated set of symbols, whose meaning provides a set of orientations for members of a society. These orientations taken together provide solutions to problems that all societies must solve if they are to remain viable.”

There are several elements that are especially important in order to understand the relationship of cultural matters and global management.

Culture is learned: It is not innate—people are born into cultures and during childhood, adapt and learn the rules and values of their culture. This also means that it is possible to adapt to a new and different culture.

Culture is shared: Members of a particular group share various similarities, which are typical for their culture.

Culture is compelling: The individuals belonging to a certain group are often not aware of their specific behavior resulting from the influence of their culture.

Culture is interrelated: This means that it is important to study a culture as a whole entity. Specific elements should not be isolated, because they have to be understood in the complete context.

Culture provides orientation: A particular group often acts in a similar way to an upcoming problem or situation. Examining a culture can help predict the manner in which group members might react.