Chapter 14

1. Chapter 14 Cultural Influences

2. Cultural Influences • Every organization exists in an external culture and perpetuates its own internal culture

3. Organizational Culture • The shared values and norms that exist in an organization that are taught to incoming employees • Involves common beliefs and feelings, regularities in behavior, historical process for transmitting values and norms • “The way we do things around here”

4. Organizational Culture (cont.) • Rituals and stories play key roles in maintaining organizational cultures • Stories or myths may convey beliefs of company’s founder, or other major values

5. Measurement and Change of Organizational Culture • Discuss it with a motivated insider • Observe it as an employee • Survey employees

6. Creation and Maintenance of Organizational Culture • There are at least four influences • Beliefs and values of the organization’s founder • Societal norms of firm’s native/host country

7. Creation and Maintenance of Org. Culture (cont.) • Problems of external adaptation and survival • Problems of internal integration

8. Creation and Maintenance of Org. Culture (cont.) • Reinforcement of culture can be best understood by knowing: • What managers consider important; what they measure and control • The manner in which top management reacts to crises and critical events • Deliberate role modeling provided by managers

9. Creation and Maintenance of Org. Culture (cont.) • Criteria for distributing rewards and status • Criteria for hiring, firing, promotion

10. A Framework for Understanding Organizational Culture • According to Smith and Vecchio, origin, maintenance, and modification of culture can be understood in terms of the six central concepts: • Critical decisions of the entrepreneur or founding members • Guiding ideas and mission • Social structure

11. A Framework for Understanding Organizational Culture (cont.) • Norms and values • Remembered history and symbolism • Institutionalized arrangements

12. Studies of Organizational Culture • Indicate that applicants with greater “fit” to the organization’s value system may experience greater commitment and job satisfaction and less turnover • Dominant culture • Subcultures • Strong culture

13. Cross-Cultural Research • Explores the differences and similarities among members of different societal cultures • Cultural Differences • Dimensions of cultural differences • Japanese management

14. Cultural Differences • Research on pace of life in various countries suggest that Westerners have fairly precise measures of time and a stronger concern for punctuality than most other people • Monochronic style individuals focus on one thing at a time; characteristic of USA

15. Cultural Differences (cont.) • Polychronic style individuals focus on several things at one time; characteristics of Latin American countries • Research has shown that countries differ significantly in terms of interpersonal trust

16. Cultural Differences (cont.) • Managers often have many common views on business-related activities regardless of national affiliation • Clusters of similarities are found in some groupings of countries, e.g., United States, Canada, Australia, Britain hold fairly similar attitudes

17. Cultural Differences (cont.) • Clusters of countries often differ on attitudes toward sharing information and belief that individuals have capacity for leadership and initiative • Americans object to elitist conduct and class distinction, while in many other countries social rank is readily invoked

18. Dimensions of Cultural Differences • Power-distance • Avoidance of uncertainty • Individualism v. Collectivism • Masculinity v. Femininity

19. Japanese Management • Characterized by consensus in decision making, commitment of workers to the organizations that employs them, and rewards based on seniority, rather than on merit • Focus on productivity and quality • Reliance on informal approach to controlling behavior of employees

20. Japanese Management (cont.) • Japan’s industrial strength lies in only a few areas, e.g, machine tools, steel, and automobiles • Many students of Japanese management feel it’s not reasonable to think in terms of transplanting many features of Japanese management into the US

21. Components of Japanese Management • Informal control of employees • Consensus seeking • Emphasis on quality and production • Commitment to the worker • Intensive socialization • Slow evaluation and promotion

22. Doing Business Overseas • Integration of the world economy is increasing and has produced a large demand for internationally skilled managers • First step in learning to relate with people from other cultures, it is useful to consider how we are seen by others

23. Doing Business Overseas (cont.) • Functioning as a manger in another country requires an understanding of the traditions, customs, and business practices of the host country

24. Tips on doing business in: • Latin America • East Asia (Japan, Korea, China) • Russia • Middle East

25. Latin America • Few people rush into business • Men and women still congregate into separate groups at social functions • Latin Americans stand more closely to each other than North Americans when in conversation • Men may embrace

26. Latin America (cont.) • Guests are expected to arrive late, with exception of American guests • Little concern about deadlines • Machismo - expectation that businessmen will display forcefulness, self-confidence, leadership with flourish • Fatalism

27. East Asia • Japan, Korea, China • Meetings devoted to pleasantries; serving tea, engaging in chitchat • Seniors and elders command respect • Consciously use slow down techniques as bargaining ploys • Business cards should be bilingual

28. Russia • Protocol-conscious • Do business only with highest ranking executives • Appear stiff and dull • More expressive in private than in public • Hard to draw up contracts due to language barriers

29. Russia (cont.) • Have no advertising experience

30. Middle East • Prefer to act through trusted third parties • Personal honor given high premium • Avoid shame • Fatalism • Emotionally expressive • Intense eye contact

31. Middle East (cont.) • Guests should avoid discussing politics, religion, host’s family and personal professions

32. Methods of Cross-Cultural Training • Created to teach members of one culture ways of interacting effectively with another • Programs vary from lectures and readings to role-playing exercises, simulations, and practice in functioning within the host country itself

33. Methods of Cross-Cultural Training (cont.) • Two techniques of cross-cultural training • Culture Assimilator • Simulation

34. Culture Assimilator • Designed by social scientists at the University of Illinois under the direction of Harry Triandis • Culture-specific • Provides the learner with immediate feedback on his/her response to a hypothetical situation

35. Culture Assimilator (cont.) • Not only tells whether response is correct or not, but also gives an explanation regarding why it is correct or is not correct • Has been studied extensively, possibly more than any other cross-cultural training method • Data suggests that it reduces interpersonal and adjustment problems between trainees and members of the host country

36. Simulation • A situation is created through which individuals experience certain elements of behavior they may encounter in another country • Learning is primarily inductive • Role-play to learn (example is the game Bafa, Bafa)

37. Simulation (cont.) • Post-role-playing debriefing helps learners understand their own and others’ behavior • Participants are led to realize that fully understanding the subtleties of another culture requires experience

38. Simulation (cont.) • Participants learn that: • what is accepted as sensible and reasonable in one country may seem irrational or unimportant to an outsider • Differences among people are often seen as potentially threatening • Stereotyping is a fairly natural process