Intercultural Communication in International organizations

1. Intercultural Communication in International organizations COM 372 John R. Baldwin jrbaldw@ilstu.edu

2. Existence of a social collective • Organizational and individual goals • Coordinating activities • Organizational Structure • Embedded within an environment of other organizations 5 Aspects of Organizations

3. Old Contract: lifetime job security, good pension, in return for commitment to employer, hard work, good behavior • New Contract: employee allegiance to own professional development, commitment. Need for international, diverse educational and professional experiences • Knowledge workers • New Careers: boundaryless, portfolio, protean Old and New Social Contracts

4. What is Organizational Culture??? (BGM&S, Ch. 15, p. 8) Organizational Cultures (Bantz, 1993)

5. Messages • Vocabulary • Themes • Temporality • Architecture • Symbolic forms • Metaphors • Stories • Fantasy themes • Expectations • Norm • Roles • Agenda • Motives • Style • Purpose: Locating meanings, values Organizational Cultures (Bantz, 1993)

6. Understanding organizational cultures (p. 23) • Relationship between employees and organization • Hierarchical system (supervisors, subordinates) • General employee views about “destiny, mission and objectives, and their roles in all of this” (p. 21) Organizational Cultures

7. Corporate Culture Models • Family • Eiffel Tower • Guided Missile • Incubator Organizational Cultures

8. Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner Hofstede etc. Individualism-collectivism Power distance Masculinity-femininity Uncertainty avoidance Long/short-term orientation • Individualism-communitarianism • Neutral-affective • Specific-diffusive • Achievement-ascription Cultural variation in organizations

9. Time (is not on our side) Thoughtspeech Impulsive Reflective Reactive • Sequential/monochronic/ linear-active versus synchronic/polychronic/ multi-active Cultural variation in organizations

11. Mini-Case-Study: Your company is opening a new branch in Jakarta (Indonesia). Going back to different cultural orientations, brainstorm for a list of all the ways you can think of that your organization might need to change to work in the new culture. • Discussion Question: How is the current generation of young men and women characterized in your culture? Do you think, as some reports suggest, that today’s generation is made up of entitled, narcissistic, self-absorbed, and self-obsessed praise seekers worldwide? Cultural variation in organizations

12. What is Globalization? Globalization and the changing workplace

13. Types of organizations • Monolithic: Highly homogenous; work within one country • Multinational/Plural: Identify with one country, but work in others • Multicultural: Values cultural diversity, absence of prejudice, minimal intergroup conflict • International: Identify with two or more countries, with people in each culture following own cultural attributes • Global: Identify with global system; treat world as integrated whole, operate “borderless,” asset exchange • Transnational: Make selective decisions for each country, flexible; empower local subsidiaries to play key role; develops shared vision • THOGHT QUESTION: How “diverse” is your organization? Globalization and the changing workplace

14. Terms & Ideas Cultural synergy Cultural intelligence Convergenceversus divergenceperspectives • Knowledge workers • Changing social contract • Boundaryless careers • Portfolio career • Virtual work & organizations • Protean careers Globalization and the changing workplace

15. What are some ways globalization is changing organizations worldwide? • What are some strengths and limitations of such changes? • Social responsibility: One emerging value: What are some key socially responsible values you think should guide you in your own work? What are some concrete things you can do, as an entry-level worker, as you enter your new organizational life? Globalization and changing workplace