Global Business Today 7e

1. Global Business Today7e by Charles W.L. Hill

2. Chapter 3 Differences in Culture

3. Introduction • Cross-cultural literacy - an understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way in which business is practiced • important to success in international business • There may be a relationship between culture and the costs of doing business in a country or region • Culture is not static • the actions of MNEs can contribute to cultural change

4. What is Culture? Question: What is culture? • Culture is a system of values (abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable) and norms (the social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations) that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living • A society is a group of people who share a common set of values and norms

5. What is Culture? • There is not a strict one-to-one correspondence between a society and a nation-state • nation- states are political creations that can contain a single culture or several cultures • some cultures embrace several nations • Culture arises from • prevailing political and economic philosophies • a society’s social structure • the dominant religion, language, and education

6. Social Structure Question: What is social structure? • A society's social structure is its basic social organization Two dimensions to consider: • the degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the individual, as opposed to the group • the degree to which a society is stratified into classes or castes

7. Social Structure • In societies where the individual is emphasized • individual achievement and entrepreneurship are promoted • but, this can encourage job switching, competition between individuals in a company rather than team building, and a lack of loyalty to the firm • In societies where the group is emphasized • cooperation and team work are encouraged and life time employment is common • but, individual initiative and creativity may be suppressed

8. Social Structure • All societies are stratified on a hierarchical basis into social categories, or social strata • Social mobility refers to the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born • the most rigid system is the caste system • a less rigid system is the class system

9. Religious and Ethical Systems Question: What is religion? • Religion is a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred • Christianity - the most widely practiced religion • Islam - an all-embracing way of life that governs one's being • Hinduism - focuses on the importance of achieving spiritual growth and development • Buddhism - stresses spiritual growth and the afterlife rather than achievement while in this world • Confucianism - teaches the importance of attaining personal salvation through right action

10. Religious and Ethical Systems Question: What is an ethical system? • Ethical systems - a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior • the ethical practices of individuals within a culture are often closely intertwined with their religion

11. Language • Countries differ in terms of language or means of communication • There are two forms language • spoken • unspoken • Language is one of the defining characteristics of culture

12. Education • Formal education is the medium through which individuals learn many of the language, conceptual, and mathematical skills that are indispensable in a modern society • The knowledge base, training, and educational opportunities available to a country's citizens can also give it a competitive advantage in the market and make it a more or less attractive place for expanding business • The general education level of a country is a good indicator of the types of products that might sell in that location or the type of promotional materials that might be successful

13. Culture and the Workplace Question: How does a society's culture impact on the values found in the workplace? • Geert Hofstede isolated four dimensions that summarized different cultures • Power distance • Individualism versus collectivism • Uncertainty avoidance • Masculinity versus femininity

14. Culture and the Workplace • Power distance - how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities • Individualism versus collectivism - the relationship between the individual and his or her fellows • Uncertainty avoidance - the extent to which different cultures socialize their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating ambiguity • Masculinity versus femininity - the relationship between gender and work roles • Hofstede later added a fifth dimension, Confucian dynamism - captures attitudes towards time, persistence, ordering by status, protection of face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of gifts and favors

15. Cultural Change • Culture evolves over time, although changes in value systems can be slow and painful for a society • social turmoil is an inevitable outcome of cultural change • cultural change is particularly common as countries become economically stronger

16. Implications for Managers Differences in culture imply that • there is a need for managers to develop cross-cultural literacy • there is a connection between culture and national competitive advantage • there is a connection between culture and ethics in decision making