Understanding Cultural Foundations: Influences and Implications for Business

2. 3 Chapter Cultural Foundations

3. The Meaning of Culture • Culture • Defined as • the underlying value framework that guides an individual’s behavior • Reflected in an individual’s perceptions • of observed events, in personal interactions, and in the selection of appropriate responses in social situations • Manifests itself • in learned behavior as individuals grow up and gradually come to understand what their culture demands of them • The modern conception of culture • focuses directly on observable behavior • Consequently, culture creates a repertoire of behavioral skills

4. Cultures Across Countries • High versus Low Context Cultures • High Context Cultures • The meaning of individual behavior and speech changes • depending on the situation or context • Nonverbal messages • are full of important and intended meanings • When words are spoken • “reading between the lines” is important • High context cultures can be found • in most of the European countries, some of Latin American countries, and in Japan and many of the newly industrializing Asian countries

5. Cultures Across Countries • Low Context Cultures • Intentions are expressed verbally • A person’s meaning should be explicit • not taken for granted • Propositions have to be justified • and opinions defended openly • Low context cultures can be found • in the U.S., India, China, Russia, Australia and New Zealand

6. Cultures Across Countries • Five different “Silent Languages” • Space • Relates to matters such as the distance between two people conversing • Material Possessions • Usually describes a person’s station in life • Friendship Patterns • Reflective of a person’s cultural upbringing • Agreements Across Cultures • Interpreted differently across cultures • Time • Studies have documented the cultural problems with time perceptions

7. Cultures Across Countries • Avoid Self-Referencing • Self-referencing • A process by which individuals form judgments about others • Involves judging others’ behavior • against a person’s own past experiences • and that person’s own conception of self • Can lead to misperceptions of people from abroad

8. Cultures Across Countries • Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions • Individualism versus Collectivism • In a collective society the identity and worth of the individual is rooted in the social system • Less in individual achievement • High versus Low Power Distance • High power distance societies tend to be less egalitarian • While democratic countries exhibit low power distance • Masculine versus Feminine • Captures the degree to which culture is dominated by assertive males • Rather than nurturing females and the corresponding values

9. Cultures Across Countries • Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (cont’d) • Uncertainty Avoidance • Rates nations based on the level • of risk tolerance or aversion among the people • Confucianist Dynamics • Distinguishes the long-term orientation of Asian people • From the more short-term outlook of Western people

10. Cultures Across Countries • Gannon’s Metaphors • Gannon suggested the use of descriptive metaphors for different cultures • Suggestive analogues which characterize cultures in such as way as to help managers anticipate what people’s reactions might be in different situations • Gannon’s Metaphors offer a mental anchor for the manager • Who has to deal with a new culture and cannot foresee all contingencies

11. Culture and “How to do Business” • Culture and Managerial Skills • Descriptions of the sequence that connects the context of national culture to the development of managerial skills • General culture defines • A set of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors • Individuals learn to act out these behavioral norms • Over time, individuals become skilled at displaying acceptable behaviors • And skilled at avoiding unacceptable behaviors • Acceptable behavior in the business firm is usually a reflection of acceptable behavior in society • Especially if the company is large

12. Culture and “How to do Business” • Culture and Managerial Skills • Descriptions of the sequence (cont’d) • Successful managers tend to be good at • Acceptable behaviors and at avoiding unacceptable behaviors • Successes and failures in the past • Generate managerial “experience” and successful behavior will be repeated elsewhere

13. Culture and “How to do Business” • Managerial Styles • Through the skill development process • Cultures tend to generate different managerial styles • Managing Subordinates • Cultural differences suggest • Different types of leadership skills will be needed in managing marketing overseas as opposed to in the home market • To help managers cope with or avoid cultural clashes • Most companies offer new expatriate managers (and their families) predeparture workshops and briefings • About the new culture they are to encounter

14. Culture and Negotiations • Know Whom You Are Dealing With • In most negotiations • Knowing something about the cultural background of the opposite partner is considered a must • Know What They Hear • The second caution from experts • Is the possibility of discrepancies between what the manager thinks he or she is communicating and what is actually received by the other party • Nonverbal communication is always a mysterious ingredient in negotiations • Know When to Say What • Spend some time to understand the other culture • And build a relationships if necessary

15. Culture and Negotiations • Four sequential stages that characterize information exchange • Nontask Sounding • An initial period when the conversation consists mainly of small talk • Designed to get the partners to know each other better • Task-Related Exchange of Information • An extended period when the main issues are brought out, facts are presented, and positions clarified • Persuasion • The stage when the parties attempt to make each see the issues their way • Concessions and Agreements • Toward the end of most negotiations is a period when mutual concessions might be made

16. Culture and Negotiations • Negotiators from different cultures may be classified as • Proactive “A” types or reactive “B” types • Type “A” Negotiator • Starts with the easily agreed-upon small details and works up • More dynamic, energetic, and risk-taking entrepreneur • Closer to the American manager • Type “B” Negotiator • First wants to agree on the overall framework of the agreement • Slow, seasoned, mature individual who avoids risk • Closer to the Japanese manager

17. The Limits to Cultural Sensitivity • Nonadaptation • It is important to recognize that when a country is ready for change • A different culture can be attractive • There are limits to the effectiveness of cultural sensitivity • As an accommodation strategy • Attempts at cultural adaptation is prone to misinterpretation • And may even create distrust • Keeping One’s Center • Cultural adaptation • Runs the risk of the manager losing his or her bearings

18. Culture and Industrial Buyers • The Business Marketing Task • The local marketer should help the buying organization succeed • Cultural Conditioning • Depending on personality and underlying cultural conditioning • Buyers tend to develop styles of dealing with vendors • A basic consideration is how the buyer treats the seller • A culture’s openness to change influences the buyer’s attitude toward risk • Organizational Culture • The group decision making involved in many industrial purchases • Means that cultural influences will be strong • Both from the organizational culture and the culture at large

19. Culture and Industrial Buyers • Relationship Marketing • The term applied to a marketing effort involving • Various personalized services • Creation of new and additional services • Customizing a company’s offering to the needs of a special buyer • Takes a long-term view • Since without it, the effort required to build a relationship is not worth it

20. Culture and Industrial Buyers • Key steps a marketer can take to create a workable relationship • Adopt the buyer’s viewpoint • The global marketer’s aim is to be useful to the local buying organization • Accept and demand transparency • Not based on any legally binding contract • The relationship has to be based on mutual trust especially across cultures • Grow with the relationship • The long-term view implies that unavoidable changes caused by unforseen circumstances must be acceptable to both parties • Be proactive • Make the company useful and irreplaceable to the buyer