Chapter 2 Culture and Organizational Behavior Copyright 1998

Learning Objectives Understand what culture is and levels of culture l Explain how culture develops l Describe the major frameworks for explaining the cultures of different societies l Discuss the relation of culture to the study of OB l Debate the issue of cultural convergence Vs. divergence l Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 2

What is Culture? A way of life of a group of people l That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society l Everything that people have, think, and do as members of society l Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 3

Sathe’s Levels of Culture Manifest culture Expressed values Water line Basic assumptions Iceberg Onion

How is Culture Learned? l Primary Socialization (learn appropriate age, gender, ethnic and social class behavior) l Cultures (of different nations) and Subcultures (groups with certain ethnic background, language, age or religion different from the majority) l Secondary Socialization (knowledge, skills, behavior to achieve adult roles) Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 5

Hofstede’s Dimensions of Cultural Values Individualism Collectivism Low Power Distance High Power Distance Masculinity/ Achievement Oriented Feminine/ Nurturing Oriented Low Uncertainty Avoidance High Uncertainty Avoidance Short Term Orientation Long Term Orientation Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 7

Individualism vs Collectivism l Individualism: world view that values individual freedom and self-expression. – l Collectivism: world view that values the group over the individual. – – l Usually has a strong belief in personal rights and need to be judged by achievements. Widespread in Communism. Prevalent in Japan as well. Managers must understand how their workers relate to this issue. Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 8

Power Distance A society’s acceptance of differences in the well being of citizens due to differences in heritage, and physical and intellectual capabilities. – – In high power distance societies, the gap between rich and poor gets very wide. In low power distance societies, any gap between rich and poor is reduced by taxation and welfare programs. Most western cultures: relatively low power distance and high individualism. (U. S. , Germany, United Kingdom) l Many economically poor countries: high power distance and low individualism. (Panama, Malaysia) l Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 9

Masculinity vs Femininity/ Achievement vs Nurture l Achievement oriented societies value assertiveness, performance, success. – The society is results-oriented. Nurturing-oriented societies value quality of life, personal relationships, service. l The U. S. and Japan are achievementoriented while Sweden, Denmark are more nurturing-oriented. l Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 10

Uncertainty Avoidance Societies and people differ on their willingness to take on risk. l Low uncertainty avoidance (U. S. , Hong Kong), value diversity, and tolerate differences. – l Tolerate a wide range of opinions and beliefs. High uncertainty avoidance (Japan and France) are more rigid and do not tolerate people acting differently. – High conformity to norms is expected. Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 11

Long Term/ Short Term Orientation l Long-term outlook is based on values of saving, and persistence. – l Taiwan and Hong Kong are cultures that are long -term in outlook. Short-term outlook seeks the maintenance of personal stability or happiness right now. – France and the U. S. are examples of this approach. Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 12

Hall’s High-Context and Low. Context Cultural Framework Context is the information that surrounds an event; it is inextricably bound up with the meaning of that event l l High context communication: most of the information is internalized, little is coded or explicit( e. g. communication of twins) Low Context communication: mass of information is conveyed in explicit code (e. g. programming a computer program, lawyers in a courtroom) Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 13

Hall’s High-Context and Low. Context Cultural Framework High-Context Low-Context China Egypt France Italy Japan Lebanon Saudi Arabia Spain Syria Austria Canada Denmark England Finland Germany Norway Switzerland United States Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 14

Do the Frameworks Explain Differences? Represent average behavior within a culture l Countries classified similarly may still be very different l Reliability may vary l Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 15

Convergence or Divergence? l l Closer communication and trade links Worldwide markets and products l l Different cultural interpretations Need to maintain cultural identity Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 17

Implications for Managers Understanding culture important even in home country l Organization’s stakeholders could be from another culture l Need to look for underlying cultural meanings l Copyright 1998 Prentice-Hall Inc. adapted by Prof. Dr. vom Kolke 18