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What is culture? Background What is culture? How can culture be defined? How is culture influenced? Searching in books or on the Internet, hundreds of different definitions of culture can be found. Each person has his or her own opinion of how culture should be defined. The term somebody is “cultured” is often heard. But what defines actually a culture? Before comparing parts of the Brazilian business culture with German business culture, the idea of culture itself must be defined. After that, their business relationships can be scrutinized by using the technique of critical incidents. In 1871, the anthropologist Edward B. Taylor was one of the first to define culture as “That complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.“ (Kartha, 2012) A newer interpretation is from the UN World Commission on Culture and Development Report in their essay called „Our Creative Diversity“: "Culture is the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterizes a society or a group. It includes creative expressions, community practices and material or built forms." (United Nations Population Fund, 2014) The famous researcher in the field of organizational culture, Edward H. Schein, defines culture as “a pattern of shared assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaption and internal 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.” (Schein E., p.17) By summarizing the different quotes and interpretations, ... ... middle of paper ... ...icles/what-is-culture.html > [Accessed 19 May, 2014] United Nations Population Fund (2014). Culturally Sensitive Approaches [Internet]. [Accessed 20 May, 2014] LeBaron, M. (2003). Communication Tools for Understanding Cultural Differences. [Accessed 21 May, 2014] Mindtools (2014). Hofstede Cultural’s Dimension [Internet]. [Accessed 20 May, 2014] Destatis - Statistisches Bundesamt (2013). Geburten [Internet]. [Accessed 19 May, 2014] Central Intelligence Agency (2014). The World Fact Book [Internet]. [Accessed 19 May, 2014]