SSKKII seminar: Yin Yang - A New Perspective on Culture

Seminar

I propose a Yin Yang perspective to understand culture. Based
on the indigenous Chinese philosophy of Yin Yang, I conceptualize culture as possessing inherently paradoxical value orientations, thereby enabling it to embrace opposite traits of any given cultural dimension.

I posit that potential paradoxical values coexist in any culture; they give rise to, exist within, reinforce, and complement each other to shape the holistic, dynamic, and dialectical nature of culture. Seen from the Yin Yang perspective, all cultures share the same potential in value orientations, but at the same time they are also different from each other because each culture is a unique dynamic portfolio of self-selected globally available value orientations as a consequence of that culture¿s all-dimensional learning over time.

Tony Fang, PhD, is Professor of Business Administration at Stockholm University School of Business, Sweden. Tony Fang specializes in culture in globalization, cross-cultural management, intercultural leadership, intercultural communication, Chinese business studies, Chinese political science, etc. Tony Fang is the author of the books "Chinese Business Negotiating Style" (Thousand Oaks: SAGE) and "Att göra affärer i dagens Kina" (Stockholm: SNS).