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When it comes to culture it can be categorized into different layers as follows.

2.4.1 The outer layer: explicit products

(Geertz, 1973), the explicit culture is the observable reality of the language, food, buildings, houses, monuments, agriculture, shrines, markets, fashions and art. They are symbols of a deeper level of culture. Discriminations mostly start on this symbolic and observable level. For EG: if we see a group of Japanese managers bowing, we are obviously observing explicit culture as the sheer act of bending. However, if we ask the Japanese “why do you bow” a question they may not welcome since it’s their traditional culture.

2.4.2 The middle layer: norms and values

The above culture reflects deeper layers of cultures, the norms and values of an individual group. Norms are the mutual sense a group has of what is “right and wrong”. Norms can develop on a formal level as written laws, and on an informal level as social control. Values on the other hand, determine the definition of good and bad and are therefore closely related to the ideals shared by a group.

A culture is relatively stable when the norms reflect the values of the group. When this is not the case, there will most likely be a weakened tension. While the norms, consciously or subconsciously, give us a feeling of this is how I normally should behave. Values give us a feeling of this is how I aspire or desire to behave. (Kluchhohn, and Strodtbeck, 1961) says a value serves as a criterion to determine a choice from existing alternatives. It is the concept an individual or group has regarding the desirable. For instance, in one culture people might agree with the value. “Hard work is essential to a prosperous society. Yet the behavioral norm sanctioned by the group may be, do not work harder than the other members of the group because then we would all be expected to do more and would end up worse off. Here the norm differs from the value.

For EG: some Japanese might say that they bow because they like to greet people, that is a value. Other might say they don’t know why except that they do it because the others do it too. Then we are talking about a norm.

2.5 Importance of culture

The cultural values of a community give it an identity of its own. A community gains a character and a personality of its own, because of the culture of its people. Culture is shared by the members of a community. It is learned and passed from the older generation to the newer ones. For an effective transfer of culture from one generation to another, it has to be translated into symbols. Language, art and religion serve as the symbolic means of transfer of cultural values between generations.

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