ELEMENTS
OF
CULTURE




Elements of Culture

Artifacts

Stories, histories, myths, legends, jokes

Rituals, rites, ceremonies, celebrations

Heroes

Symbols and symbolic action

Beliefs, assumptions and mental models

Attitudes

Rules, norms, ethical codes, values



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SECTION 1



Elements
of
Culture




What are the visible attributes of culture? What are the elements that you
can point to and say 'that is there to show and sustain this culture'?.




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SECTION 2



Artifacts




Artifacts are the physical things that are found that have particular symbolism
for a culture. They may even be endowed with mystical properties. The first
products of a company. Prizes won in grueling challenges and so on are all
artifacts.

Artifacts can also be more everyday objects, such as the bunch of flowers in reception.
They main thing is that they have special meaning, at the very least for the people in
the culture. There may well be stories told about them.

The purpose of artifacts are as reminders and triggers. When people in the culture see
them, they think about their meaning and hence are reminded of their identity as a member
of the culture, and, by association, of the rules of the culture.

Artifacts may also be used in specific rituals. Churches do this, of course. But so also
do organizations.




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SECTION 3



Stories, histories,
myths, legends, jokes




Culture is often embedded and transmitted through stories, whether they are
deep and obviously intended as learning devices, or whether they appear more
subtly, for example in humor and jokes.

A typical story includes a bad guy (often shady and unnamed) and a good guy
(often the founder or a prototypical cultural member). There may also be an
innocent. The story evolves in a classic format, with the bad guy being
spotted and vanquished by the good guy, with the innocent being rescued and
learning the greatness of the culture into the bargain.

Sometimes there stories are true. Sometimes nobody knows. Sometimes they are
elaborations on a relatively simple truth. The power of the stories are in
when and how they are told, and the effect they have on their recipients.




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SECTION 4



Rituals, rites,
ceremonies, celebrations




Rituals are processes or sets of actions which are repeated in specific
circumstances and with specific meaning.

They may be used in such as rites of passage, such as when someone is
promoted or retires. They may be associated with company events such
as the release of a new event. They may also be associated with
everyday events such as Christmas.

Whatever the circumstance, the predictability of the rituals and the
seriousness of the meaning all combine to sustain the culture.




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SECTION 5



Heroes




Heroes in a culture are named people who act as prototypes, or idealized
examples, by which cultural members learn of the correct or 'perfect'
behavior.

The classic heroes are the founders of the organization, who are often
portrayed as much whiter and perfect than they actually are or were.
Heroes may also be such as the janitor who tackled a burglar or a
customer-service agent who went out of their way to delight a customer.
In such stories they symbolize and teach people the ideal behaviors and
norms of the culture.




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SECTION 6



Symbols and
symbolic action




Symbols, like artifacts, are things which act as triggers to remind people
in the culture of its rules, beliefs, etc. They act as a shorthand way to
keep people aligned.

Symbols can also be used to indicate status within a culture. This includes
clothing, office decor and so on. Status symbols signal to others to help
them use the correct behavior with others in the hierarchy. They also lock
in the users of the symbols into prescribed behaviors that are appropriate
for their status and position.

There may be many symbols around an organization, from pictures of products
on the walls to the words and handshakes used in greeting cultural members
from around the world.




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SECTION 7



Beliefs, Assumptions
and mental models




An organization and culture will often share beliefs and ways of understanding
the world. This helps smooth communications and agreement, but can also become
fatal blinkers that blind everyone to impending dangers.




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SECTION 8



Attitudes




Attitudes are the external displays of underlying beliefs that people use to
signal to other people of their membership. This includes internal members
(look: I'm conforming to the rules. Please don't exclude me).

Attitudes also can be used to give warning, such as when a street gang member
eyes up a member of the public. By using a long hard stare, they are using
national cultural symbolism to indicate their threat.




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SECTION 9



Rules, norms,
ethical codes, values




The norms and values of a culture are effectively the rules by which its
members must abide, or risk rejection from the culture (which is one of
the most feared sanctions known). They are embedded in the artifacts,
symbols, stories, attitudes, and so on.



So what?


So notice these things, and how people react around them. Beware of
transgressing cultural norms unless you deliberately want do to this
to symbolize something (such as 'I do not agree with this').

Cultural rules are also very powerful levers. If you question whether
people are conforming, they will assert that they are (and likely be
concerned by your questioning their loyalty). They can also be used
as safety bolt-holes where people will head for when threatened.



Elements of Culture
http://changingminds.org/explanations/culture/elements_of_culture.htm



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Cultural Bridges
To Justice
(CBTJ)

https://culturalbridgestojustice.org/




Racial Equity
Resource Guide

http://www.racialequityresourceguide.org/organizations/organizations/sectionFilter/Racial%20Healing




BIG
THINK

https://bigthink.com/




Countries & Cultures
Crafts and Activities
for Kids

https://www.dltk-kids.com/world/




Subcultures
List

http://subcultureslist.com/




Slur Words
For Races

http://rsdb.org/races




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American
Antiquarian
Society

http://www.americanantiquarian.org/




Country Based
Search Engines

http://www.philb.com/countryse.htm




Minority
Treaties

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_Treaties




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