4 Chapter International OB Managing Across Cultures

4 Chapter International OB: Managing Across Cultures

4 -2 Culture n Culture is “a set of beliefs and values about what is desirable and undesirable in a community of people and a set of formal or informal practices to support the values. ” Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Influences on Organizational Behavior 4 -3 Figure 4 -1 Organizational culture § Economic/technological setting § Political/legal setting § Ethnic background § Religion Mc. Graw-Hill Societal Culture § Personal values/ethics § Customs § Attitudes § Language § Assumptions Organizational behavior § Expectations © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 -4 Ehtnocentrism: A Cultural Roadblock n Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s native country, culture, language, and modes of behavior are superior to all others Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 -5 High vs. Low Context Cultures Low-Context High-Context n n n Establish social trust first Value personal relations and goodwill Negotiations slow and ritualistic n n Chinese Korean Japanese Vietnamese n n Get down to business first Value expertise and performance Agreement by specific, legalistic contract Negotiations as efficient as possible n n Mc. Graw-Hill Figure 4 -3 German Swiss Scandinavian North American © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 -6 Cultural Dimensions from the GLOBE Project n n n n n Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Societal Collectivism In-group Collectivism Gender Egalitarianism Assertiveness Future Orientation Performance Orientation Humane Orientation Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 -7 Rankings on the GLOBE Cultural Dimensions Highest Lowest Power Distance Morocco, Argentina, Thailand, Spain, Russia Denmark, Netherlands, South Africa-Black sample, Israel, Costa Rica Uncertainty Avoidance Switzerland, Sweden, Germanformer West, Denmark, Austria Russia Hungary, Bolivia, Greece, Venezuela Societal Collectivism Sweden, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Denmark Table 4 -1 Greece, Hungary, Germany-former East, Argentina, Italy Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rankings on the GLOBE Cultural Dimensions Highest 4 -8 Table 4 -1 cont. Lowest In-group Collectivism Iran, India, Morocco, Denmark, Sweden, China, Egypt New Zealand, Netherlands, Finland Gender Egalitarianism Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Denmark, Sweden Assertiveness Germany-former Sweden, New East, Austria, Greece, Zealand, U. S. , Spain Switzerland, Japan, Kuwait Mc. Graw-Hill South Korea, Egypt, Morocco, India, China © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 -9 Rankings on the GLOBE Cultural Dimensions Highest Table 4 -1 cont. Lowest Future Orientation Singapore, Russia, Argentina, Poland, Italy, Kuwait Performance Orientation Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan, U. S. Russia, Argentina, Greece, Venezuela, Italy Humane Orientation Philippines, Ireland, Malaysia, Egypt, Indonesia Germany-former West, Spain, France, Singapore, Brazil Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada -English speaking, Denmark Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 -10 Individualism vs. Collectivism Collectivist Individualistic n n “I” and “Me” cultures Priority given to individual freedom and choice n n n Israel Romania Nigeria Canada United States n n n “We” and “Us” cultures Rank shared goals higher than individual desires and goals Subordinate their own wishes and goals to those of the relevant social unit n n n Mc. Graw-Hill Egypt Nepal Mexico India Japan © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

(distance in feet) US Interpersonal Zones Interpersonal Distance Zones for Business Conversations Figure 4 -4 Proxemics – study of cultural expectations about personal space Public 12. 0 Social 4. 0 Personal 1. 5 Intimate 0 Arab Mc. Graw-Hill 4 -11 Asian + Latin American Cultures North American + Northern European © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Dimensions: Hofstede-Bond Studies Power Distance How loose or tight is the bond between individuals and societal groups? Masculinity-Femininity Table 4 -2 How much do people expect inequality in social institutions? Individualism. Collectivism 4 -12 To what extent do people embrace competitive masculine traits, or nurturing feminine traits? Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Dimensions: Hofstede-Bond Studies 4 -13 Table 4 -2 cont. Uncertainty Avoidance To what extent do people prefer structured vs. unstructured situations? Long-Term vs. Short. Term Orientation To what extent are people oriented toward the future by saving and being persistent vs. being oriented toward the present and past by respecting tradition and meeting social obligations? Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 -14 Highest Scoring Countries: Hofstede-Bond Studies Table 4 -3 High Power Distance High Individualism High Masculinity High Uncertainty Avoidance High Long. Term Orientation Philippines United States Japan Hong-Kong India Australia Korea Taiwan Singapore Great Britain Brazil Japan Brazil Netherlands Pakistan Korea Hong-Kong Canada New Zealand Sweden Germany Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4 -15 Table 4 -4 Leadership Attributes Across 60 Countries Leader Attributes Universally Liked Leader Attributes Universally disliked Most Disputed Leader Attributes § Trustworthy § Noncooperative § Subdued § Dynamic § Irritable § Intra-group conflict avoider § Motive arouser § Egocentric § Cunning § Decisive § Ruthless § Sensitive § Intelligent § Dictatorial § Provocateur § Dependent § Loner/Self-centered § Self-effacing § Plans ahead § Willful § Excellence oriented § Team builder § Encouraging Mc. Graw-Hill © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Why U. S. Expatriates Fail on Foreign Assignments 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Mc. Graw-Hill 4 -16 The manager’s spouse cannot adjust to new physical or cultural surroundings The manager cannot adapt to new physical or cultural surroundings Family problems The manager is emotionally immature The manager cannot cope with foreign duties The manager is not technically competent The manager lacks the proper motivation foreign assignments © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

North American Women on Foreign Assignments n n Mc. Graw-Hill 4 -17 The proportion of corporate women from North America on foreign assignments grew from 3% to between 11 and 15% Self-disqualification and management’s assumption that women would not be welcomed are primary barriers to potential female expatriates Expatriate N. A. women are viewed first as being foreigners and only secondly as being women by their hosts N. A. women have a very high success rate on foreign assignments © 2004 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.