Chapter 3 Understanding the Role of Culture

1. Chapter 3Understanding the Role of Culture PowerPoint by Kristopher Blanchard North Central University Dr Asma Abdullah (Malaysia) Hodgetts & Luthans

2. Overview • Culture and its effects on organizations • Cultural variables • Cultural value dimensions • The Internet and culture • Developing cultural profiles • Culture and management styles around the world

3. Key Terms • Culture Savvy A working knowledge of the cultural variables affecting management decisions • Cultural Sensitivity or Cultural Empathy An awareness and an honest caring about another individual’s culture.

4. Culture • The acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate social behavior • Cultural knowledge forms values, creates attitudes, and influences behavior • Characteristics of culture include: • Learned • Shared • Transgenerational • Symbolic • Patterned • Adaptive

5. Key Terms • Culture of a society Comprises the shared values, understandings, assumptions, and goals that are learned from earlier generations, imposed by present members of a society, and passed on to succeeding generations. What would the occasion in Canada? Victoria Day? Your culture. Your own family?

6. Key Terms • Self reference criterion The unconscious reference point of one’s own cultural values

7. Key Terms • Parochialism Occurs when a Frenchman, for example, expects those of French origins in another country to automatically fall into patterns of behavior common in France Ethnocentrism Describes the attitude of those who operate from the assumption that their ways of doing things are best – no matter where or under what conditions they are applied

8. Culture and Its Effects on Organizations

9. Culture and Its Effects on Organizations • Once upon a time there was a great flood, and involved in this flood were two creatures, a monkey and a fish. The monkey, being agile and experienced, was lucky enough to scramble up a tree and escape the raging waters. As he looked down from his safe perch, he saw the poor fish struggling against the swift current. With the best of intentions, he reached down and lifted the fish from the water. The result was inevitable.

10. Cultural Variables • Never assume that a manager can transplant American, or Japanese, or any other country’s styles, practices, expectations, and processes • Managers need to develop a cultural profile that identifies the specific differences found in each country

11. Subcultures • Residents of the country only conform to the national character to a certain degree • Could be from ethnic, geographic, or other variables • Good managers treat people as individuals and they avoid any form of stereotyping

12. Influences on National Culture • Kinship – guides family relationships • Education – formal or informal education of workers affects workplace expectations • Economy – means of production and distribution in a society influences all aspects of the resource allocation • Politics – system of government imposes varying constraints on an organization

13. Influences on National Culture • Religion – spiritual beliefs of a society are so powerful that they overpower all other cultural aspects • Associations – the formal and informal groups that make up a society • Health – system of health care affects employee productivity • Recreation – the use, attitude, and choice of how to use leisure time

14. Cultural Value Dimensions • Values are a society’s ideas about what is good or bad, right or wrong

15. Project GLOBE (Global Leadership & Org Beh. Effectiveness CulturalDimensions- 170 researchers, 7 years data collection on 18,00 mgrs in 62 countries. • Assertiveness • Future Orientation • Performance Orientation • Humane Orientation

16. Cultural Clusters Gupta et al (2002 – GLOBE res team) 9 cultural dimensions to assess cluster similarity geographically Result in 10 culture clusters: South Asia, Anglo, Arab, Germanic Europe, Latin Europe, Eastern Europe, Confucian Asia, Latin America, Sub-Sahara Africa & Nordic Europe. Exb. 3-4. -Germanic cluster: masculine, assertive, individualistic & result-oriented. -Latin America: high power distance, low performance orientation, uncertainty avoidance & collective.

17. Hofstede’s Value Dimensions: 116,000 people in 50 countries • Power Distance. The level of acceptance by a society of power inequality in institution • Uncertainty Avoidance. Extent to which people in society feel threatened by ambiguous situations. Strict laws & procedures • Individualism. People tend to look after themselves & their immediate families. Independence & achievement oriented. • Collectivism. Group comes first. Strong sense of belongingness. Saving face culture. • Which cultures dominate each of the dimensions?

18. Masculinity - culture in which the dominant values are success, money, and things • Femininity - dominant values are caring for others and quality of life

19. Trompenaar’ Value Dimensions • Research produced five cultural dimensions that are based on relationship orientations and attitudes toward both time and the environment • Universalism vs. Particularism • Universalism - belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere in the world without modification • Focus on formal rules and rely on business contacts • Particularism - belief that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should be applied and something cannot be done the same everywhere • Focus on relationships, working things out to suit the parties

20. Individualism vs. Communitarianism • Individualism - people regard themselves as individuals • Rely on individuals to make decisions • Communitarianism - people regard themselves as part of a group • Seek consultation and mutual consent before making decisions • Neutral vs. Emotional • Neutral - culture in which emotions are held in check • People try not to show their feelings • Emotional - culture in which emotions are expressed openly and naturally • People smile, talk loudly, greet each other with enthusiasm

21. Specific vs. Diffuse • Specific - culture in which individuals have a large public space they readily share with others and a small private space they guard closely and share with only close friends and associates • People often are open and extroverted • Work and private life are separate • Diffuse - culture in which both public and private space are similar in size and individuals guard their public space carefully, because entry into public space affords entry into private space as well • People often appear indirect and introverted, and work and private life often are closely linked

22. Achievement vs. Ascription • Achievement - culture in which people are accorded status based on how well they perform their functions • Ascription - culture in which status is attributed based on who or what a person is • For example, status may be accorded on the basis of age, gender, or social connections • Time • Sequential approach to time - people do one thing at a time, keep appointments strictly, follow plans to the letter • Synchronous approach - people do more than one thing at a time, appointments are approximate

23. Environment • Inner-directed • People believe in controlling environmental outcomes • Outer-directed • People believe in allowing things to take their natural course • Cultural Patterns or Clusters • Defined groups of countries that are similar to each other in terms of the five dimensions and the orientations toward time and the environment

24. Critical Operational Value Differences • Time: the concept of time. “rubber time” • Change: control: internal or external • Material factors: materialistic vs non materialistic. How one values material things. How one values nature, the aesthetic & the spiritual realism. • Individualism: I vs we culture.

25. Developing Cultural Profiles Wht wld be the 10 most valued values amongst your own racial/ethnic groups? See Next slide. Have u done the exercise on Wk 2:2 • What be the 5 top valued values amongst your own racial/ethnic groups? You will get the handout, A Survey on Values & Cultural Dimensions

26. Cultural Dimensions • Harmony (flexible, cooperative) vs Control/Mastery (firm,assertive) • Relationship (accomodating) vs Task (accomplishment) • Hierarchy (respect, seniority) vs Equality (merit, equal access) • Shame (face saving, ext locus of control) vs Guilt (personal accountability) • High Context (indirect) vs Low Contact (direct, specific) • Ploychronic (multi tasking, non-linear) vs Monochronic (time bound) • Group Orientation (we-ness) vs Individual (I, personal achievement) • Religious (holistic, spiritual) vs Secular (religion separates from work related issues)

27. Comparative management in Focus • Profiles in Culture: Japan, Germany & South Korea. Japanese entering United States. Cultural shock? See Exh. 3-8 p 104 Patience vs Action Harmony vs Freedom Hierarchy vs Equality.

28. Culture and Management Styles • Cultural Values & Managerial Behaviors in Saudi Arabia • Family loyalty • Language • Islam • Honor & shame • An idealised self (decision making!!) • Use of time-polychronic • Independence • Male dominance.

29. Negotiations across Cultures • Americans • - linear, fact driven and numbers oriented • - impatient and the contract is their central focus • Asians • - avoid conflict • - express opinions indirectly and maintain a face of surface harmony • when too direct can be seen as rude • French • - enjoy emphasising distinctions and differences • - blunt and logical approach to conflicting points of views that can seem • antagonistic to people from other cultures • Middle Easterners and Latinos • - passionate expression of differences • - save face and preserve dignity • Russians • a great deal of posturing and theatrics

30. Guidelines on Negotiation across Cultures • Check whether they think like you • Spend time on non-task sounding matters to establish personal relationships • Know the differences between your opponent’s social, political and economic systems and yours • Know how the above differences affect his thinking, authority and negotiating methods • Know your opponent’s legal, technical and financial systems • Know how the above will affect our choice of tactics • Know the effects of ethical standards (right, wrong,reasonable) • Know the importance of face saving

31. Guidelines on Negotiation across Cultures • Recognize the role of status • Understand the role of government in the affairs of your opponent • Identify the levels of approval • Ask questions, but don’t put pressure • Ensure there is a suitable communication system with Head Office • Identify the right leader for the situation • Make sure when using an interpreter he is skilled in both languages and negotiation. • Have a dummy run with him. Get him to translate gestures etc • Avoid using jargon • Confirm in writing and use words carefully to avoid ambiguity • Use team approach by using experts • Recognize differences in perceiving contractual differences and agreements • Make concessions only after issues are discussed.

32. Behaviours of Successful Negotiators • Have greater flexibility - wider range of influence styles • Recognize that an agreement can only be reached through exchange • Label their behaviors • - I want to propose..... • - I want to give three reasons why.. • Limit their reasons to two or three strongest points and repeat them if necessary • Evaluate behavior they like positively attributing it to themselves • Use incentives and find alternative currencies of value to the other party • Summarize and test understanding • Identify areas of agreement not on areas of conflict • Avoid provoking the other party • Use both verbal and nonverbal techniques to support ideas e.g. Use “ I” language to convey that the speaker accepts responsibility for what he or she is saying • Maintain eye contact with others as eye contact communicates sincerity, concern and involvement • Show a relaxed attitude towards time and do not place unnecessary pressure on themselves by creating artificial deadlines • Have persistence and see a difficult task through its completion • Value organizational goals above and over their own

33. Looking Ahead • Chapter 4 - Communicating Across Cultures • The Communication Process • The Culture – Communication Link • Information Technology