Thinking Globally about Managing Diversity

1. Thinking Globally about Managing Diversity Part 2

2. Learning Objectives • How is Cultural Competency demonstrated in the global arena? • Why must we understand diversity in the global arena (Sowell)? • How are International Management cultures classified (types)? • How do national cultures vary (Hofstede)?

3. Culture shapes our perceptions and responses and influences the quality of our interpersonal interactions. consists of the values, beliefs, customs, morals, and laws shared by people in a particular society. Rao, p.150,1. The Culture Pit & Religion Behavioral Symbols (language, clothing, appearance) Layer 1 Attitudes, Rituals, Structures (attitudes toward women @ work) Layer 2 Core Values, (Stable) Beliefs (work ethic, centrality of work ) Layer 3

4. Management Skills & Techniques that matter in international arena • Perceptual skills – awareness, recognition of differences • Cognitive skills – knowledge about differences and related tensions • Behavioral skills – ability to select the appropriate response; especially communication

5. A World View of Cultural Diversity (Sowell, p.41) Cultures exist to serve the vital, practical requirements of human life --- To structure a society so as to perpetuate a species, To pass on hard-earned knowledge and experience in order to spare the next generation the costly and dangerous process of learning everything all over again from scratch through trial and error, including fatal errors.

6. A World View of Cultural Diversity (Sowell)Why must we understand diversity in the global arena? Cultural diversity, viewed internationally and historically, is not a static picture of differentness but a dynamic picture of competition in which what serves human purposes effectively survives while what does not tends to decline or disappear. (p. 34)

7. Cultural leadership in various fields . . . • Exists when particular groups - often a minority – dominate particular occupations or industries. • Has changed hands many times from nation to nation, culture to culture.

8. Edward Hall classified National Cultures based on Communication Patterns The extent to which effective communication depends upon a sensitivity to non-verbal and situational cues. Low Context Cultures High Context Cultures

9. Ruhly’s Cultural Iceberg • Technical: Visible • Formal: Partly Visible • Informal: Not Visible Little emotional content Straightforward communication High emotional content General social rules Intense emotional content Automatic learned behavior

10. Hofstede identified 5 dimensions of societal norms that reflect work behavior • Hofstede studied 72,000 managers from more than 40 countries to define “5 Dimensions of Cultural Diversity”. • Dimensions are “continuums” with opposing values at each end. • Foreign cultures are not arbitrary or randomly different from one another. There are patterns • Cultures can be “mirror images” of one another.

11. Hofstede’s Cultural Continuum Time Orientation Long-Term -------------------------------------Short Term Self-importance Individualism -------------------------------- Collectivism Tradition - Flexibility Masculinity------------------------------------- Femininity Uncertainty Risk Avoidance ------------------------------ Risk Taking Power Relations Equal Distance ------------------------------- Unequal

12. Hofstede’s Cultural Continuum Long-Term -------------------------------------Short Term West Africa China Individualism -------------------------------- Collectivism US, Britain, Canada, Aus. Columbia, Peru, Pakistan Masculinity------------------------------------- Femininity Denmark, Sweden, Norway Japan, Austria, Venezuela, Italy Risk Avoidance ------------------------------ Risk Taking Netherlands, Greece, Japan Sweden, Denmark, Singapore Equal Distance ------------------------------- Unequal NZ, Denmark, Israel, Austria Philippines, Mexico, India

13. MOW: Meaning of Work • A culture’s view of work is reflected in worker behavior and expectation for the job. • Understanding how a foreign workforce regards work is critical to international mgt. Work is VERY CENTRAL Work is NOT VERY CENTRAL Japan, Yugoslavia Israel U.S., Belgium Netherlands Germany Great Britain

14. Ethno-centric Home-country centered Key employees from home country Global Mgt. Orientations Poly-centric • “Host”-country centered • Key employees from host country Regio-centric • Interdependent units within a region • Headquarters selects regional mgt / corp. culture Geo-centric • World oriented, w/ local objectives • Integrated system worldwide.

15. Modes of Acculturation • Assimilation • Dominant Culture becomes the standard of behavior for other cultures. • Everyone conforms to Dominant norms/values. • Separation • Minority Culture unwilling/ unable to adapt to Dominant; • Seeks cultural & physical autonomy. • De-culturation • Dominant & Minority Culture not highly valued by members • Neither is influential in framing minority behavior. • Pluralism • Integration: a two-way process. • Both Cultures change to some degree and reflect the norms and values of the other. Cox, Taylor, & Beale, R.L. Developing Competency to Manage Diversity. San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler, 1997, pp. 204-207.