Chapter 4 and 5 Powerpoint
- 1. + Chapter 4 The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
- 2. + Culture Article: Emphasis on face to face interaction in Japan International managers need to keep in mind that practices around the world differ greatly Culture: acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate social behavior; forms values, creates attitudes, and influences behaviors Can be learned, shared, transgenerational, symbolic, patterned, and adaptive
- 3. + Cultural Diversity Centralized v. Decentralized Decision Making who makes the decisions? Safety v. Risk should people make risky decisions? Individual v. Group Rewards how does the culture reward success? High v. Low Organizational Loyalty do people identify with the employer or the job more? Cooperation v. Competition how should employees interact in the workplace?
- 4. + US v. Japan v. Germany Decision Making: US and Germany are more decentralized, Japan centralized Safety v. Risk: US takes most risk, Germany moderate risk, Japan focuses on safety Rewards: US and Germany focus on individual rewards, Japan focuses on group rewards Loyalty: Japan is loyal to organization, US and Germany loyal to occupational group Cooperation v. Competition: Japan likes cooperation, US and Germany prefer competition
- 5. + Components of culture The explicit artifacts and products of the society (buildings, language, food) The norms and values that guide the society The implicit , basic assumptions that guide people’s behavior
- 6. + Values Values are basic convictions that people have regarding what is right and wrong, good and bad, important and unimportant Can values change over time? Japanese values seem to be changing after a long term recession; “era of personal responsibility”
- 7. + Hofstede’s Four Dimensions Dutch researcher GeertHofstede identified four main dimensions of culture Power Distance: the extent to which less powerful members of organizations accept that power is distributed unequally Uncertainty Avoidance: the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these High uncertainty avoidance: high need for security and a strong belief in experts; Germany, Japan Low uncertainty avoidance: more willing to accept risks; Denmark, Great Britain
- 8. + Hofstede’s Four Dimensions (cont.) Individualism: the tendency of people to look after themselves and their immediate family only Opposite is collectivism, which is the tendency to belong to groups and to look after each other in exchange for loyalty. Masculinity: a cultural characteristic in which the dominant values in a society are success, money, and things. The contrary is femininity, which is a cultural characteristic in which the dominant values are caring for others and the quality of life.
- 9. + Trompenaars Cultural Dimensions Another view is that of FonsTrompenaars, with five relationship orientations that address the ways in which people deal with each other Universalism v. Particularism Universalism is the belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere without modification, so they focus on formal rules Particularism is the idea that circumstances dictate how ideas and practice should be applied, so they focus more on relationships and trust Individualism v. Communitarianism Communitarianism has the same idea as collectivism
- 10. + Neutral v. Emotional Neutral culture is one in which emotions are held in check (United Kingdom) Emotional culture is one in which emotions are expressed openly and naturally (Mexico and the Netherlands) Specific v. Diffuse Specific culture is one in which individuals have a large public space they readily let others enter and share and a small pricate space they guard closely and share with only close friends and associates. There is a strong separation of work and personal life. Diffuse culture is one in which public space and private space are similar in size and individuals guard their public space carefully b/c entry into public space affords entry into private space. Work and private life are closely linked.
- 11. + Achievement v. Ascription: Achievement cultures focus on how well people perform Ascription cultures focus on who or what the person is
- 12. + US v. Japan v. Germany US has high individualism and low power distance, weak uncertainty avoidance, moderate degree of masculinity Japan has moderate individualism and moderate power distance, strong uncertainty avoidance, and a very high degree of masculinity Germany has slightly lower individualism and low power distance, moderate uncertainty avoidance, and a high degree of masculinity
- 13. + Time Sequential time v. Synchronous time In cultures that have sequential approaches, people tend to do one thing at a time, and they follow plans strictly. (United States) In cultures with synchronous approaches, people do multiple things at a time and things like appointments are subject to change. (France and Mexico) Example: People in the US will keep an appointment, while in Mexico they might change it if something else comes up.
- 14. + Environment Two views of the environment Idea that managers are in control of their fate and environment Dominant in US thought Idea that they must “go with the flow” Dominant in Asian nations Example: US govt urging Japanese car companies to purchase component parts in order to balance the flow of trade (quid pro quo)
- 15. + GLOBE Project Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness: a multicountry study and evaluation of cultural attributes and leadership behaviors among more than 17,000 managers from 951 organizations and 62 countries; measures cultural differences Meta-goal was to develop an empirically based theory to describe, understand, and predict the impact of specific cultural variables on leadership and organizational processes and the effectiveness of these processes.
- 16. + Chapter 5 Managing Across Cultures
- 17. + Strategic Predispositions Ethnocentric predisposition: a nationalistic philosophy of management whereby the values and interests of the parent company guide strategic decisions Polycentric predisposition: a philosophy of management whereby strategic decisions are tailored to suit the cultures of the countries where the MNC operates Regiocentric predisposition: a philosophy of management whereby the firm tries to blend its own interests with those of its subsidiaries on a regional basis Geocentric predisposition: a philosophy of management whereby the company tries to integrate a global systems approach to decision making
- 18. + Meeting the Challenge Globalization imperative: a belief that one worldwide approach to doing business is the key to both efficiency and effectiveness A large number of companies use a large number use the same strategies abroad as they do at home (US, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, UK)
- 19. + Meeting the Challenge Factors that help facilitate the need to develop unique strategies for different cultures, including: The diversity of worldwide industry standards A continual demand by local customers for differentiated products The importance of being an insider The difficulty of managing global organizations The need to allow subsidiaries to use their own abilities and talents and not be restrained by headquarters
- 20. + Cross- Cultural Differences and Similarities Parochialism: the tendency to view the world through one’s own eyes and perspectives Simplification:process of exhibiting the same orientation toward different cultural groups
- 21. + Example of Similarities Korean firms and US firms As organizational size inc, commitment declined As structure became more employee-focused, commitment increased the more positive the perception of organizational climate, the greater the employee commitment
- 22. + Differences Across Cultures Different clusters require a different approach to forming an effective compensation strategy Pacific rim countries – incentive plans should be group-based EU nations (France, Spain, Italy, and Belgium) – similar compensation strategies Great Britain, Ireland, and the United States – managers value their individualism and are motivated by the opportunity for earnings, recognition, advancement, and challenge Study – US affiliates used a hybrid form of HRM practices, where they closely follow local practices when dealing with the rank and file but even more closely approximate parent- company when dealing with upper-level management
- 23. + Doing Business in China Technical competence – send engineers to answer questions in precise detail Punctual Nod to show that they understand Guanxi; “good connections” Guanxi represents nepotism, where individuals in authority make decisions on the basis of family ties or social connections rather than objective indices Good listening skills Collective society in which people pride themselves on being members of a group
- 24. + Doing Business in Russia Build personal relationship with partners – personal relationships are very important Use local consultants Different business ethics (giving bribes) Could take months for something to get done, so be patient Stress exclusivity Be careful about compromising or settling things too quickly, because this is often seen as a sign of weakness
- 25. + Doing Business in India Be on time for meetings Unless close, personal questions shouldn’t be asked Public displays of affection are considered inappropriate The namaste gesture can be used to greet people Bargaining for goods and services is common Pointing is done with the chin and beckoning is done with the palm turned down
- 26. + Doing Business in Brazil Physical contact is an acceptable form of communication Face-to-face is preferred as a way to communicate, so avoid simply e- mailing or calling Form a strong relationship before bringing up business issues (tend not to trust people) Appearance is very important Patience, because many processes are drawn out Still be prepared despite the slow processes and relaxed environments
Editor's Notes
- #18: Which do you think is most effective? How can companies not get stuck in the rut of staying with one predisposition
- #20: 1 - such as those in broadcasting, where television sets must be manufactured on a country-by-country basis. 2 - as in the case of consumer goods that must meet local tastes. 3 - as in the case of customers who prefer to “buy local.” 4 - as in the case of some local subsidiaries that want more decentralization and others that want less. 5 - as in the case of local units that know how to customize products for their market and generate high returns on investment with limited production output The way that a product is marketed (ex. toothpaste as a cosmetic product or as a cavity-fighter)Germans want advertising that is factual and rationalFrench avoid reasoning or logicBritish value laughter Table on page 130
- #23: Stereotypes may not be valid