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National Culture

National Culture. Australia’s trading partners. Cross-cultural competencies. Switzerland Singapore Netherlands Hong Kong Malaysia Belgium/Luxembourg Denmark Sweden Chile Canada Based on a survey of 3292 executives on how well “intercultural

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National Culture

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  1. National Culture Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  2. Australia’s trading partners Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  3. Cross-cultural competencies • Switzerland • Singapore • Netherlands • Hong Kong • Malaysia • Belgium/Luxembourg • Denmark • Sweden • Chile • Canada Based on a survey of 3292 executives on how well “intercultural understanding” is prevalent in their business communities Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  4. A look at culture • “Knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” – Sir Edward Taylor, English anthropologist, 1832-1917 • “A set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group” & includes art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs – UNESCO 2002 • Collective programming of the minds – Geert Hofstede Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  5. Focusing on culture • Values, beliefs, way of life and customs • National vs Organizational • National vs Sub-Cultures • Cultural change through: • Diffusion • Acculturation • Independent invention • Convergent cultural revolution/Transculturation • E.g. gender equality and same-sex couples Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  6. Geert Hofstede and Michael Bond • Individualism vs Collectivism • Power distance • Masculinity (Quantity of Life) vs Femininity (Quality of Life) • Uncertainty avoidance • Confucian dynamism Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  7. Fons Trompenaars & Charles Hampden-Turner • Universalism vs Particularism (What is important? Rules or relationships?) • Neutral vs Affective Relationships (How do we show our emotions?) • Individualism vs Communitarianism (Do we prefer to work individually or in a group?) • Specific vs Diffuse Relationships (How far do we get involved?) • Achieved status vs Ascribed status (Do we work to get where we are or is prestige/status given?) • Time orientation • Internal vs External orientation (Do we control the environment or leave it to fate/destiny?) Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  8. Richard Gesteland • Deal focus vs Relationship focus cultures • Informal vs Formal cultures • Rigid-time (monochronic) vs Fluid-time (polychronic) cultures • Expressive vs Reserved cultures Gesteland, R. R. 1999. Cross-Cultural Business Behavior: Marketing, Negotiating and Managing across Cultures. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press. Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  9. Where do different countries fit into Gesteland’s model? • Deal focused e.g. US, UK, Australia • Relationship focused e.g. Asia, Middle East • Informal e.g. Canada • Formal e.g. Asia, Middle East and Europe Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  10. Where do different countries fit into Gesteland’s model? • Rigid-time e.g. US, South Korea, • Fluid-time e.g. Indonesia, Eastern Europe • Expressive e.g. Brazil, • Reserved e.g. Malaysia, Thailand & other Asian countries, Germany, Netherlands, Czech Rep. Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  11. Culture and Knowledge Sharing • Cultural attributes: Confucian dynamism, face and ingroup/outgroup • Do you think that Chinese employees are more willing to bring up cost-estimation errors than their American counterparts? • ANSWER: YES! (effects of collectivism and Confucian dynamism) • Which group (Chinese or Americans) are less willing to share information to people not in the ingroup? • ANSWER: Chinese (group dynamics, uncertainty avoidance) Chow, C. W., F. J. Deng and J. L. Ho. (2000). The openness of knowledge sharing within organizations: A comparative study of the United States and The People's Republic of China. Journal of Management Accounting Research,12, 65-95. Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  12. How national culture affect organizations • Individualistic  meet less frequently; No need for explicit mission statement on customer orientation – HK execs (Cheryl Nakata, University of Illinois, Chicago) • A Japanese sees mentoring (senpai kohai) as relationship building, an American sees mentoring as a strategy; informal, mutually beneficial, feeling of obligation to mentor and be mentored (Bright, M. I. 2005, Can Japanese mentoring enhance understanding of Western mentoring, Employee Relations, 27, 325-339) Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  13. National culture: Making a difference between success/failure in mentoring strategy implementation • Continuity/long-term focus • Obligation and duty • Respect for elders/authority • Paternalistic behavior • Personal bond over contractual agreement • Racial and gender congruence (Bright, M. I. 2005, Can Japanese mentoring enhance understanding of Western mentoring, Employee Relations, 27, 325-339) Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  14. Caveat • Over generalization or over stereotype • Sub-cultures • Personality-Cultural debate Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

  15. Summary • Why is it important to understand culture and the relevance of culture to IHRM? • Appreciate the different models of understanding cultures • How does national culture affect HR practices? Copyright 2003-2006, Chris Chan

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