A cultural trait is anything that represents a culture's way of life including gestures, material objects, traditions, and concepts. Cultural diffusion is the process whereby cultural traits spread from one culture to another. Advances in telecommunications are increasing the cultural diffusion process. Cultural imperialism is the replacement of one culture's traditions, folk heroes, and artifacts with substitutes from another. Companies must be careful to avoid being accused of cultural imperialism when introducing new products or management techniques.
Manners are appropriate ways of behaving, speaking, and dressing in a culture.
From the Middle East to northwest Africa, one does not extend a hand to greet an older person unless the elder first offers the greeting. Customs are habits or ways of behaving in specific circumstances that are passed down through generations in a culture. A folk custom is behavior, often dating back several generations that is practiced within a homogeneous group of people. Wearing of turbans by Muslims in southern Asia and belly dancing in Turkey. A popular custom is behavior shared by a heterogeneous group or by several groups.