Strategic Human Resource

Management
Maharaja Agrasen Institute of
Technology

Topic : CULTURAL CONVERGENCE AND

DIVERGENCE
Submitted to:
Submitted by:
Sangeeta Malik
Perwez

Saima

MBA-4b
Roll no - 11014803193

CULTURE

Sir Edward Tylors definition in 1871 (first use of this

term):
that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society
Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952)
Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and
for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols,
constituting the distinctive achievement of human
groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the

essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e.

historically derived and selected) ideas and especially
their attached values; culture systems may, on the one
hand, be considered as products of action, on the other
as conditioning elements of further action.

Topical:

Culture consists of everything on a list of

topics, or categories, such as social
organization, religion, or economy

Historical:

Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that

is passed on to future generations

Behavioral:

Culture is shared, learned human

behavior, a way of life

Normative:

Culture is ideals, values, or rules for living

Functional:

Culture is the way humans solve problems

of adapting to the environment or living
together

Ment
al:

Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned

habits, that inhibit impulses and
distinguish people from animals

Structural:

Culture consists of patterned and

interrelated ideas, symbols, or behaviors

Symbolic:

Culture is based on arbitrarily assigned

meanings that are shared by a society

Elashmawi & Harris 1993

Organizational culture is the basic pattern of shared

assumptions, values and beliefs considered to be the
correct way of thinking about and acting on problems
and opportunities facing the organization.

It defines what is important and unimportant in the

company.

Cultural divergence is when a culture separates or

goes in a different direction.

 Cultural convergence where different cultures

become similar or even come together.

Cultural convergence occurs when cultures become more

alike, and cultural divergence occurs when a culture
group disassociates from other cultures.

It is important to note that there are underlying issues

that facilitate the spread of some cultural traits, which in
turn lead to cultural convergence or divergence.

DIVERGENCE
Can happen when members of a culture move away
from the core values of their culture
Usually because they have been exposed to new
ideas.
Physical barriers
Mountains might separate people living in different
parts of a cultural region. This may cause each
group to develop differently.
Roman Empire
Giant empire that used to cover most of Europe,
the Middle East, and North Africa.
Germanic tribes attacked the western part of the
empire and they introduced new cultural elements.
Western Roman empire adopted the Germanic
influence while the Eastern Roman empire fell
under the influence of the Greek culture.
It caused the Roman Empire to fall apart.
India

Aryan India was unified by a common Hindu culture

but the arrival of Islamic influences led India to
become divided into Hindu and Muslim areas.

CONVERGENCE
Columbian Exchange
Brought new ideas and customs to the Native
Americans.
Catholicism
Land holding
Spanish Language
Royal Government
Gave new ideas and traditions to the Europeans
Tobacco
Eating corn, tomatoes, chocolate, and squash.
Created a new Latin American culture.
Globalization
Is the creation of a common global culture.
This is occurring due to air travel, newspapers,
television, telecommunications, and the Internet.
Recent Examples
Democracy
In 1980 not many countries enjoyed the
democratic governmentmany were communist.
In the late 1980s and 1990s democracy was on the
rise.

 Many communist dictators fell and a democratic

government replaced them.
English language
There is a increasing trend to use English as an
international second language.
Almost half a billion people speak English as their
primary language.
The Internet has also assisted in helping the
English language spread.
International business has also assisted in the
spread.
New technology
At one time in history, different parts of the world
did not even know about each other.
Today people in most cultures are familiar with
telephones, televisions, computers, cell phones,
and the Internet.
These are helping us to build a common culture.
Global Sports
Sporting events such as the Olympics or the World
Cup in soccer.
Sports provide a universal language that can
bridge gaps, resolve conflicts, and bring about a
greater understanding of each other.

THEORY
The convergence theory holds that as national
boundaries are eroded in the political, technological
and business arenas, so too local differences in culture
will be eroded, with the end result being one global
culture.

Divergence theory maintains the opposite, namely

that cultural diversity will persist or even be reinforced
by the rejection of superficial commonality. (Morrell
2012)

There is no doubt that globalization is everywhere.

Trade, communication, technology, migration are all
areas in which we are becoming more and more
globalised. Some suggest that this globalization is
fueling convergence. Due to advances in technology
such as the Internet, which greatly contribute to
globalization, we are able to instantaneously contact
people around the world.
While this may have some truth, others suggest that
these examples of convergence are much more the
exception than the rule. Pritchett states that Looking
at the world as a whole, what convergence there has
been has been limited in geography and in time (cited
by Dowrick 2001). The rule therefore is divergence
rather than convergence.
Perhaps there is truth in both theories. It is clear that
convergence has occurred particularly in western
cultures, with advances in technology greatly aiding all
flows of globalization, while on the other hand
divergence is also evident in that globalization has
contributed to a greater gap between developed and
developing countries.