Chapter 2
Universal Systems
Quesons
1. Universal cultural systems are formed out of common problems of all cultures. Systems
2. A culture develops an economic system in order to meet the physiological needs of its
3. Japan’s economy is the strongest in the world; it is a capitalisc/free market based on
4. England is ruled by a constuonal monarchy with a parliament. The House of Lords are
noblemen who are life appointees and Church of England bishops and is the highest
5. Educaonal systems may be formal, informal, or a combinaon of the two. Educaon is
free and compulsory for certain age groups in the U.S., Japan, France, England, Canada,
6. The family system in the U.S. includes the nuclear family (father, mother, and children)
7. Social reciprocity is important in Mexico, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Mexicans are good
8. Intermediaries are people who act as go betweens with other people. Cultures that use
9. Property can be viewed as private, ulitarian, or community. In the U.S. people think of
10. The term equality in the U.S. refers to equality of opportunity, not to equality in terms of
Case 1
1. The role of U.S. universies will connue to be important. Anyone can get into college in
the U. S. since some postsecondary schools have low admissions standards, in contrast
2. The fact that 25 percent of the U. S. populaon does not graduate from high school is
3. The presence of so many foreign students in U. S. colleges is probably seen primarily as
posive. The guiding ideal of the U. S. educaonal system is based on the principle
Case 2
Children of other naonalies who have been adopted by U.S. Americans o;en do
Case 3
The people will have to learn to accept risk. Formerly communist states gave everyone
Case 4
The feasibility of developing one monetary system to do away with exchange rates is
Case 5
1. If you chose to take one of the posions, what would you want to know? The answer
2. How would you prepare for the welcoming and/or the hatred you would experience?
3. What characteriscs that you possess would be a strength or a weakness? This will
4. Do you feel that everyone who is in Iraq as a foreign worker should train an Iraqi to
replace him/her? The answer to this queson will vary but should include arguments
5. What are the intercultural relaonship problems in this current situaon? Di7erent
Acvies
1. The local internaonal student organizaon may be a good contact for &nding
2. Instructors may wish to provide a list of countries from which students could
3. Providing a list of countries would again be recommended to avoid possible
4. The CultureGrams series would be an excellent source for locang this
5. Possible references to suggest include the CultureGrams
6. Instructors may wish to divide the class into teams to conduct research on