Navigating Cultural Differences in Global Environments

1. Chapter 2Culture and OrganizationalBehavior

2. Case 1: A cultural clash in the entertainment industry • Can any nation protect its cultural characteristics and uniqueness? • In a world of instant communications via the Internet? • World wide distribution of movies? • World wide transmission of television? • World wide travel? • What is the potential of subsidies, trade restrictions, quotas, and governmental control of sustaining a unique national culture?

3. Case 6—A & BEllen Moore-Living/working in Bahrain • Culture in Bahrain & Saudi Arabia • Role of professional women • Adjustments to stereotypes • When to adjust & when to challenge?

4. Cases • Case 6: “Ellen Moore: • Did Ellen compromise her values (too much) in accepting the Customer Service position? • How useful are her tips for women in becoming successful in management? • Meeting fellow employees or others? • Obtaining recognition? • Adjusting to stereotype female roles (when required)? • Finding and using a mentor? • Adjusting to the culture? • Negotiating with her husband on relative roles?

5. Defining Culture: An unbounded definition • A way of life of a group of people • That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society • Everything that people have, think, and do as members of society

6. Narrowing the definition: Sathe’s Levels of Culture Manifest culture Manifest culture Expressedvalues Expressed values Basic assumptions Water line Basic assumptions Iceberg Onion

7. How is Culture Learned? • Enculturation • Non-intentional process that includes all of the learning available as the result of what is in an environment to be learned • Primary Socialization • more intentional learning process that occurs in the family and local community • Subcultures • Develop because a group has an ethnic background, language, or religion that is different from the majority population • Secondary Socialization • Occurs after primary socialization and usually equips people with the knowledge, skills, and behavior to enact adult roles successfully

8. Classifications of culture • Broad classifications: Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Cultural Framework • Detailed classifications: • Tonnies and Loomis’s amplification • Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Variations in Values Orientations • Hofstede’s definition of culture & Bond’s addition • Schwartz's classification • Trompenaars’ 7 Dimensions of Culture

9. Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Cultural Framework High-ContextLow-Context China Austria Egypt Canada France Denmark Italy England Japan Finland Lebanon Germany Saudi Arabia Norway Spain Switzerland Syria United States

10. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Variations in Values Orientations • Framework to describe how different societies cope with various issues or problems • Includes 6 Values Orientations • A culture is defined by one or more variations of a values orientation

11. Kluckhohn & Strodbeck definition of national culture

12. Relation to Nature • Subjugation Accept nature; don’t try to change it • Harmony Coexist with nature (feng shui) • Mastery Change nature through technology when necessary or desirable

13. Time Orientation • Past Emphasizes tradition • Present Focuses on short-term • Future Emphasizes long-term

14. Basic Human Nature • Good People trust each other • Mixed-Neutral Generally trusting but need to be cautious and protect self • Evil Lack of trust

15. Activity Orientation • Doing Emphasis on action, achievement, learning • Containing/Controlling Emphasis on rationality and logic • Being Emphasis on enjoying life and working for the moment

16. Relationships among People • Individualistic People define themselves through personal characteristics and achievement • Group-oriented People relate to and take responsibility for members of the family, network, or community • Hierarchical People value group relationships but also within the society emphasize relative ranking of groups

17. Space Orientation • Public Space belongs to all • Mixed There is a combination of public and private space • Private People consider it important to have their own space

18. Hofstede’s Dimensions of Cultural Values • Focuses specifically on work-related values • Developed in 1980 with data over 116,000 employees in 72 countries • Average scores for each country used to develop national profiles to explain differences in work behaviors

19. Hofstede’s definition of culture & Bond’s addition • individualism-collectivism • uncertainty avoidance • power distance • masculinity/femininity • Confucian work dynamism (time orientation)

20. Hofstede’s definition of culture & Bond’s addition

21. Individualism/Collectivism • Collectivistic People value the overall good of the group • Individualistic People have concern for themselves and their immediate families

22. Power Distance • The extent to which less powerful members of organizations accept that power is unequally distributed • Large • Differences among people with different ranks are acceptable • Small • Less comfortable with power differences

23. Uncertainty Avoidance • Indicates preferred amount of structure • Weak • People prefer unstructured situations • Strong • People prefer more structure

24. Masculinity/Femininity • Extent to which people prefer traditional male or female values • Feminine • “Tender” values dominant - personal relationships, care for others, quality of life, service • Masculine • “Tough” values dominant - success, money, status, competition

25. The Chinese Value Survey • Reaction to the Hofstede study • Developed in Chinese based on traditional Chinese values • Translated and administered to students in 23 countries • 4 dimensions, 3 match Hofstede (PD, I/C, and M/F) plus Confucian Work Dynamism

26. Long-term/Short-term Orientation • High Confucian work dynamism/Long-term oriented Concern with future, value thrift and persistence • Low Confucian work dynamism/Short-term oriented Oriented toward past and present, respect for tradition but here and now is most important

27. Schwartz's classification • Focuses on universal aspects of individual value content and structure • Based on issues that confront all societies • The nature of boundaries between the individual and the group. • How to support responsible behavior. • How to regulate the relation of people to the social and natural world.

28. Embeddedness Versus Autonomy • Embeddedness • People view others as inherently part of collectives. Meaning in life comes from social relationships & shared way of life & goals. • Autonomy • Individuals seen as autonomous, bounded entities who find meaning in their own uniqueness • Intellectual autonomy - people follow their own ideas and value curiosity, creativity, and open-mindedness • Affective autonomy - individuals independently pursue positive experiences that make them feel good

29. Hierarchy Versus Egalitarianism • Hierarchy The social system has clearly defined roles to identify obligations & rules of behavior • Egalitarianism Think of each other as equals sharing basic human interests that values equality, justice, honesty & responsbility

30. Mastery Versus Harmony • Harmony Emphasizes understanding and fitting in with the environment, rather than trying to change it • Mastery Encourages people to master, change, and exploit the natural and social environment for personal or group goals

31. Trompenaars’ Dimensions of Culture • Dimensions represent how societies develop approaches to managing problems and difficult situations • Over a 14 year period, data collected from over 46,000 managers representing more than 40 national cultures

32. Trompenaars’ 7 Dimensions of Culture • Particularism vs. Universalism • Collectivism vs. Individualism • Affective vs. Neutral Relationships • Diffuse vs. Specific Relationships • Ascription vs. Achievement • Relationship to Time • Relationship to Nature

33. Universalism Versus Particularism • Particularist • Circumstances and relationships influence judgments of what is good or true • Universal • Judgment of what is good or true applies to every situation

34. Individualism Versus Communitarianism • Communitarian Emphasizes group membership, social responsibility, harmonious relationships, and cooperation • Individualist Focus on self, personal freedom, and competitiveness

35. Specificity Versus Diffusion • Level of particularity or wholeness used by the culture to define different constructs • Diffuse • Focus on conceptual wholeness and relationships of all kinds are valued • Small public spaces and larger private spaces • Specific • Objective, break things down into small parts • Large public spaces and smaller private spaces

36. Achieved Status Versus Ascribed Status • Ascription Believe people are born into influence, and who you are, your potential, and your connections are all important • Achievement Emphasize attainment of position and influence through a demonstration of expertise

37. Inner Direction Versus Outer Direction • Outer-directed Believe virtue is outside the person and located in nature and relationships • Inner-directed See virtue as being inside the individual and believe that conscience and convictions are internal

38. Sequential Time Versus Synchronous Time • Synchronic Do several activities simultaneously, the time for appointments is approximate, and interpersonal relationships are more important than schedules • Sequential Do one thing at a time, make appointments and arrive on time, and generally stick to schedules.

39. The World Values Survey • Study of sociocultural and political change • Collected data from more than 65 societies • Four waves of data collection: 1981, 1990-1991, 1995-1996, and 1999-2001

40. Traditional Versus Secular-Rational Orientations Toward Authority • Traditional Values reflect preindustrial society and the centrality of the family • Secular-Rational Opposite preferences to traditional

41. Survival Versus Self-Expression Values • Survival Put priority on economic and physical security over self-expression and quality of life • Self-expression Opposite preferences to survival

42. Do the Frameworks Explain Differences? • Represent average behavior within a culture • Countries classified similarly may still be very different • Reliability may vary • Range of differences on any dimension exists within the population of a single country • Can explain differences in individualpeople’s behavior within the same country

43. Closer communication and trade links Worldwide markets and products Different cultural interpretations Need to maintain cultural identity Convergence or Divergence?

44. Implications for Managers • Understanding culture important even in home country • Organization’s stakeholders could be from another culture • Need to look for underlying cultural meanings