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may be trying to understand the strange ways of
the foreign tourists.
See also: anthropology; entrepreneurship;
ethnography
References
Cohen, E. �1985) `Tourist guides: pathfinders,
mediators, and animators', Annals of Tourism
Research 12�1).
EDWARD M. BRUNER, USA
culture change see sociocultural change
culture shock
Culture shock is defined as a special kind of anxiety
and stress experienced by people who enter a
culture different from their own. Culture shock
includes two kinds of problems: being confused,
anxious and puzzled by the way others behave, and
doing the same to others by behaving in one's own
way. The perspective one uses for understanding
events, for judging another's behaviour or for
deciding one's own behaviour is largely defined by
one's cultural background. This is learned from the
earliest days of life, with lessons reinforced by
similar patterns of behaviour observed daily at
home. When one enters a new society, however,
these old ways of perceiving may not work as well.
As a result, some conflicts and confusion lead to
culture shock.
A review of literature in tourism indicates that
culture shock may derive from several causes, such
as the loss of familiar cues in one's ability to
interact with people of different cultural backgrounds,
the language differences, the salience of
the cultural differences and non-verbal communication
difficulties with the local communities.
Not only tourists experience the shock; the host
population can also be stressed by contacts with the
tourist culture �see culture, tourism). Culture
exchange is a more acceptable model for resource
maintenance, resource wealth and intergenerational
equity.
See also: cross-cultural study; cultural survival;
cultural tourism
Further reading
Furnham, A. �1984) `Tourism and culture shock',
Annals of Tourism Research 11�1): 41±57.
Pearce, P.L. �1993) `From culture shock to culture
exchange: the agenda for human resource
development in cross-cultural interaction', paper
presented at Global Action to Global Change: A
PATA/WTO human resources for tourism
conference, October, Bali, Indonesia.
Oberg, K. �1979) `Culture shock and the problem
of adjustment in new cultural environments', in
Smith ll. Luce's Toward Internationalism, New
Bury: House Publishers, 43±5.
culture, corporate
culture, corporate 127
Y.J. EDWARD KIM, AUSTRALIA
Culture is defined in varying terms by different
theorists. A popular definition is the one provided
by Schein �1985: 9):
A pattern of basic assumptions ± invented,
discovered, or developed by a given group as it
learns to cope with the problems of external
adaptation and integral integration ± that has
worked well enough to be considered valid and,
therefore, to be taught to new members as the
correct way to perceive, think, and feel in
relation to those problems.
The terms organisational culture and corporate
culture are used interchangeably in the literature to
refer to the culture pervading an organisation, be it
a for-profit or a non-profit entity. Corporate culture
is invariably influenced by natural or regional
cultures, or macro-cultures �Hampden-Turner
1994: 12). The emphasis on individualism in US
corporations, the emphasis on collective decision
making in Japanese firms, and the age old burra
sahib culture of British companies in colonial days
are all reflections of the influence of macro-cultures
on corporate culture.
Corporate culture is not entirely monolithic or
uniform throughout the organisation. Within the