Cultural Values In South Africa

The sunset in Africa is like a sunset you've never seen before, a lot of artists move to Africa just to catch a glimpse of the blend of colors in the sky on to paper. Africa has the natural splendors of the countryside, just outside the window, and it just reminds you of how exceptional and helpful Africa is; making smiles appear every day. Throughout the history of Africa, Africans have had their own architectural traditions. For example, broader styles can be identified, such as the Sahelian architecture of an area of West Africa. One common theme in much traditional African architecture is the use of fractal scaling: small parts of the structure tend to look similar to larger parts, such as a circular village made of circular houses. African architecture uses a wide range of materials; thatch, stick/wood, mud, mud brick, rammed earth, and stone. Life in Africa is lived to your own liking; it's never rushed. You are rarely forced to complete this and that. However, Africa still shows the old divides in terms of education and income, for example. Black people are, statistically speaking, still the most underprivileged group within South African society. Nonetheless, change does come step by step, and South Africa has already successfully begun to lose the aftertaste of decades of governmental inequality and segregation through a series of countermeasures. Today, around 80% of South Africans classify themselves as black Africans. White people, who are an equally diverse group, constitute about 8% of the population. Since 1994, the number of white people in the country has been on a slow, but steady decline. The causes lie with the low birth rate and the high number of white people unable or unwilling to continue living in South Africa for various

The more you explore the world the more you learn about new and exotic things, but can you use “eccentric” articles of clothing for Halloween or just for fun? Well, in reality, NO! You’re probably thinking "Why would anybody be offended? I'm appreciating the culture! ” Actually, you're doing more harm than good by implying that you're with the oppression of the minority you're "borrowing" from.

4. Describe the impact that your culture has had on the values that you hold.

second largest country in Africa in terms of area (2381741 square KM) and has the

Within the groups formed, all members have some sort of agreement, or understanding, on the behaviors and expectations of others. Values and a culture provide a standard for everyone to follow. As time periods change values tend to evolve and cultures along with them. (Wren, 2009, p. 7)

Social norms and values are perform differently in human social behavior. The writer will differentiate the differences between norms and value and why these are the central to the sociological understanding of culture.

Power distance is the way cultures create levels due to power, authority, prestige, status, wealth, and material assets.

Power Distance is one of Hofstede’s dimensions which is used to measure how the difference in power between the people is seen in a country. A country that has a high power distance is one where people are considered superior according to their gender, status, education, race, or family background. A good example of this dimension is India, mainly because of their caste system and females being looked down upon. Indian population is split into 5 groups, and each group has a separate power status and one you are born in the lowest caste, you cannot marry or associate with the highest class other than being servants of the higher class. Cultures with low power distance include Canada, Austria and Israel. People in these countries see each other more as equals.

To show how culture influences the values that exist in the workplace, Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist and international management professor at

d.     What are the important values in this culture; is there understanding of these values

The third Hofstede cultural dimension considered is “Masculinity vs. Femininity” which is the extent to which certain values, materialism, quality of life, concern of others and work attitudes, are emphasized (Payne). A high masculinity score indicates a greater concern with the acquisition of money and things, less concern with others and the attitude that one should live to work. Conversely, a high femininity

Power distance is a value that is essential to differentiate individuals, groups and organisations based on the distance between the leader of a group or head of the organisation, to those present on the lowest rung of the organisational hierarchy. Power distance also relates to the degree to which inequalities are acceptable within the organisational hierarchy. Hofstede (1984) defines power distance as “the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally”. In organisations where power distance is large, hierarchies are accepted and create social orders where each member has a very specific role. Conversely, in societies where power distance is low, people tend to strive to distribute power equally and question any kind of inequalities.

distance is the extent to which people expect and are willing to accept that power is distributed unequally. Inequality of power is a basic fact of life. It cannot be 100% eliminated. It is impossible to have no power distance, because this means that everyone is exactly equal (skills, actions, genetics etc) unless you are on about a bunch of identical lumps of rocks. Inequality can take many forms – the differences of physical and mental characteristics, social status and prestige, wealth, political power, rights, privileges etc. All of these are somewhat independent of

South African landscapes provide us with the lush greens of the jungle, the dry grass of the savanna, the majesty of the mountains, the eroded clay of the desert and the high-rise mortar of the city. A filmmaker can find there any background desired as the scenery for his motion picture, but variety is not the only true value of the African landscape. Here we find the lush, well tended greens that represent the wealth and control of the Europeans who have invaded the country; the dry savannas where the animals roam freely, but the native peoples are restricted; the eroded clay that somehow manages to sustain life and reminds us of the outlying township slums that somehow sustain oppressed lives; and the stifling city

Moving on from the previous notion that legal systems impact our perceptions as a collective, Elisa Longinett’s study of those living with HIV in South Africa examines the risk of volatile reactions found after sexual disclosure to their partners. What was found that the biggest indicator whether one would face volatile reactions were based upon their sex and their level of income: males with money were less at risk than males without, and males without high income were less likely than females without high income, there were little to no females to report in the study who had high income. Longinett continues to state that this is due to the cultural atmosphere of South Africa was overtly focussed upon one’s sex and their economic status. It is not to say that these are not important modes of judgement within Canada, but that individual people’s reactions were more visible through their vocal dislike of someone or facial expressions based on these two factors. It is also important to note that she and her colleagues found this was evident of the mixed legal system in place inherited from British and Dutch origins. What this means for us in Canada is that, while we may not be as overtly homophobic as other cultures are, our legal system also has a part to play in how we interact with others.