Chapter 2: Literature review Introduction: Management across cultures have been an endless debate for the past years.

While some authors advocate the universality of management, other argues that management models should always be specific to a group that share the same beliefs. In this case they prescribe that for an organisation to succeed in a foreign culture, they need to first understand the culture they will be operating within, otherwise the failure is almost guaranteed. In order to clarify and / or reconcile different views regarding the cross cultural management, we need to review the literature around, and after analysis, we may have few hypothesis that can be verify through our survey in the next session. Also it may be premature to start without presenting the basic management principles as all management style derive from the same root. 2-1 General theory of management According to T Bravis et Al (1997), management can be defined as the process of planning, organising, leading and controlling the resources of the organisation to achieve stated organisational goals as efficiently as possible. The figure below illustrates the general management process framework
Planning and decision making

Controlling

Organising and Staffing

Leading

Fig

1:

Management

process.

Source:

Adapted

from

Stoner,JAF

&

Freeman,RE.Management.1995. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall,P13. In the figure above, the solid lines indicate how, in theory, the functions of management are performed while the dot lines represent the reality.

1-1 Planning According to Robbins & Coulter, (1998), Planning is about defining organization goals, establishing an overall strategy for achieving these goals, and developing a comprehensive hierarchy of plans to integrate and coordinate activities. Weihrich & Koontz (2005) in the same line of thought added that its involved in selecting mission and objectives as well as the actions to achieve them, which requires decision making, that is, choosing a course of action from among alternatives. 1-2 Organising and staffing According to T Bravis et Al (1997, p11), the organisations function can be defined as the allocation of companys human and physical resources to the relevant departments or individuals in order to achieve the goals and plans. In order to do that, duties have to be defines and procedures established. In this section, policies come into place and serve as guidelines. The success depends of the allocation of key resources to achieve the desire objectives. Staffing is according to Weihrich and Koontz (2005) the managerial functions that consist of filling, and keeping filled, positions in the organization structure. It involves in choosing qualified and right persons from among the prospective candidates, orienting newly appointed staff, regularly analyzing employees developmental needs, and providing training to staff to cope with the job.

1-3 Leading

Robbins and Coulter (1998) define leading function of management as Every organization that includes people and management's job is to direct and coordinate these people. This is the function of leading. According to Weihrich and Koontz (2005), leading is The process of influencing people so that they will contribute to organizational and group goals.

1-4 Controlling

According to T Bravis et Al (1997, p12), managers should constantly make sure that the organisation is on the right course to attain its goal. The aim of control is therefore to check that performance and action conform to plans to attain the predetermined goals and enables management to identify and rectify any deviations from the plans, and to take into account factors which oblige them to revise their goals and plans.

The management theory has evolved from the early age to become a well sophisticated discipline. In order to better understand the current management theory and how it can be adapted to nationals cultures it is understand to examine the evolution through the ages.

1-5 The evolution on management theory

Fig 2: The evolution of management theory Sources:

1-5-1 Scientific Management Theory Frederick W. Taylor (18561915) is best known for defining the techniques of scientific management, the systematic study of relationships between people and tasks for the purpose of redesigning the work process to increase efficiency. Taylor believed that if the amount of time and effort that each worker expended to produce a unit of output (a finished good or service) could be reduced by increasing specialization and the division of labour, then the production process would become more efficient. Taylor believed that the way to create the most efficient division of labour could best be determined by means of scientific management techniques, rather than intuitive or informal rule-of-thumb knowledge. 1-5-2 The administrative theory The administrative theory focus on how to create an organizational structure that leads to high efficiency and effectiveness. Max Weber and Henri Fayol outlined principles of bureaucracy and administration that are as relevant to managers today as when they were written at the turn of the twentieth century. Much of modern management research refines these principles to suit contemporary conditions. For example, the increasing interest in the use of cross departmental teams and the empowerment of workers are issues that managers also faced a century ago.

Behavioral management theory Researchers have described many different approaches to managerial behaviour, including Theories X and Y. Often, the managerial behaviour that researchers suggest reflects the context of their own historical era and culture. Mary Parker Follett advocated managerial behaviours that did not reflect accepted modes of managerial behaviour at the time, but her work was largely ignored until conditions changed.

Management science Theory

The various branches of management science theory provide rigorous quantitative techniques that give managers more control over their organizations use of resources to produce goods and services. Organasational The importance of studying the organizations external environment became clear after the development of open-systems theory and contingency theory during the 1960s. A main focus of contemporary management research is to find methods to help managers improve the way they utilize organizational resources and compete successfully in the global environment. Strategic management and total quality management are two important approaches intended to help managers make better use of organizational resources.

1-5-3 the theory of bureaucracy

Max Weber (1864-19200) developed the theory of bureaucracy in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness in management based on 5 principles:

Principle 1: In a bureaucracy, a managers formal authority derives from the position he or she holds in the organization. Authority is the power to hold people accountable for their actions and to make decisions concerning the use of organizational resources. Authority gives managers the right to direct and control their subordinates behaviour to achieve organizational goals. In a bureaucratic system of administration, obedience is owed to a manager, not because of any personal qualities that he or she might possess such as personality, wealth, or social statusbut because the manager occupies a position that is associated with a certain level of authority and responsibility.23 Principle 2: In a bureaucracy, people should occupy positions because of their performance, not because of their social standing or personal contacts. This principle was not always followed in Webers time and is often ignored today. Some organizations and industries are still affected by social networks in which

personal contacts and relations, not job-related skills, influence hiring and promotional decisions.

Principle 3: The extent of each positions formal authority and task responsibilities, and its relationship to other positions in an organization, should be clearly specified. When the tasks and authority associated with various positions in the organization are clearly specified, managers and workers know what is expected of them

Principle 4: So that authority can be exercised effectively in an organization, positions should be arranged hierarchically, so employees know whom to report to and who reports to them. Managers must create an organizational hierarchy of authority that makes it clear who reports to whom and to whom managers and workers should go if conflicts or problems arise. This principle is especially important in the armed forces, CSIS, RCMP, and other organizations that deal with sensitive issues involving possible major repercussions. It is vital that managers at high levels of the hierarchy be able to hold subordinates accountable for their actions. Principle 5: Managers must create a well-defined system of rules, standard operating procedures, and norms so that they can effectively control behaviour within an organization. From the above literature, the management principles have evolved to tackle different challenges over the years. These evolutions has happened more or less in the western world and yet Africa, the virgin continent still need to be considered as none of these countries where theories initiated from has similar patterns as Africa. The new challenge organisations are facing is how to tackle problems initiated by the fact that peoples from different background have to work together. This can be done by reviewing views about the management across cultures.

2.2 cross cultural management literature review.

Africa is a continent where in the same country many cultures coexist. In South Africa for a population of around 45 millions there are 11 different cultures and languages. These people do not necessary share the same value and norm hence business wise they should not be considered as a homogenous. Shonhiwa,S (2008) argue that the effective manager in Africa today, irrespective of race, colour or creed, must have cross cultural skills to function effectively. The Author further emphasize that these skills include the ability to realign the strategies of an organisation to insure that it remains relevant, the capacity to show leadership in difficult circumstances, and staying power to make a positive economic contribution to the environment in which the organisation operates. The research conducted by Lynette Louw and Terence Jackson (2008) demonstrate that to be successful in the African context, leadership should Consciously manage the dynamics of multiculturalism in order to develop strengths and synergies from them, including the management of equal opportunities of individuals from different cultural groups to influence the direction of the organisation. Additionally, Lynette Louw and Terence Jackson (2008) emphasized on developing real and effective internal means for incorporating the perceptions, expectations, strengths and interests of stakeholders and different cultural and gender groups into the decision-making process and the management of change through active participation.

This view is shared by other academics who value the importance in incorporating the cultural dimension in any management strategy. By doing so, they are sending a strong signal and highlight the consequences that may result on failing to do so. In the same line of thought, Tse, Lee, Vertinsky and Wehrung (1988) advocated that Cultural understanding is a key issue in the development of cross-cultural relationships and is one of the major issues facing multi-national organisations both internally within their human resource development and externally with the numerous relationships they develop with buyers and suppliers in many different international countries. By using local managers who understand the culture, It may be easy understand the local culture and act upon it. In case top managers are non local,

they need to take first understand the local culture before they engaged in any business venture that is why Terence Jackson (2002) echoed that western managers and HR practitioners who work with affiliates in non-Western emerging countries should particularly be aware of differences in locus of human value. Policies and practices developed in the West along instrumental lines see people primarily as a means to an end. This may be directly opposed to a humanistic view of human value that sees people as having a value in themselves.

Colin Silverthorne (2009) stated that in cross-cultural settings, differences in values can be a serious issue in management, turnover, organizational commitment and conflict. The rapid expansion in the number of multinational companies has generated the need for negotiations between individuals from different cultures. Differences in negotiating and communication styles can cause serious problems and make the difference in whether a multinational company, mergers or joint ventures succeed across cultures. Colin Silverthorne (2009, P10) explain that cultural norms influence both a managers behaviour and employee reactions to this behaviour. At least five areas in organizations are considered to be particularly important and vulnerable to cultural issues. They are hierarchy and status, group vs. Individual orientation, time consciousness, communication and conflict resolution. Clearly, culture influences how we behave in meetings, how we respond to conflict and feedback and even how we speak and stand. Understanding these issues and how they affect managers enhances our ability to create open and productive relationships.

Patrick Bakengela Shamba (2008) differs from this view and stipulates that the failure of western companies in Africa cannot only be attributed to the fact that they are culturally disconnected to the African culture. To illustrate his points he made a research in DRC in 2 public companies where employees share the same cultures as their leaders and the research showed that one enterprise were performing

optimally while the other were not. He therefore concludes that the cultural element is important but is not the only reason to be blame when a western management style fails to succeed in Africa. By downplaying the importance of culture in management, Patrick Bakengela Shamba (2008) questioned the relevance of the cultural aspect of management and should be immediately challenged by the ones

that for decade have advocated for the recognition of specifics African management style. Some of the fierce defender of this theory are Kamdem (2000) who classified the management into 2 categories: y Rationalism and functionalism where he emphasised that western burocratic models are important for any organisation to succeed as there is where policies and procedures are defined. This should be applied ad the cornerstone of any organisation regardless the culture. And this correlate with Patrick view. y Culturalism and humanism where he insists on the adaptations of procedures and policy to the African context and this is very important to him and he insist that it should even be the main priority. In one of his conference, he demonstrated his point with a real case where in Cameroon, a serious misconduct that must lead to immediate dismissal were committed by an employee that happened to be the village Kings son. By dismissing him without consulting the king, he may order villagers not to buy from that specific company. The King is neither in the HR decision making process nor in the company organogram but must be consulted in this case. Over just management, leadership and leadership style may play a role on successful management model. Even in this case, the ehnocity still play a role and according to Westwood (1997), too often in literature, non-Western leadership values and norms are either left unelaborated, are presented as one point on a continuum still encompassed by the US view, or, more perniciously, are depicted as backward stages in the development towards enlightened leadership styles through which the west has already passed. He further described these contributions as at best, ethnocentric and at worst colonialist and imperialist (Westwood, 1997, p. 451).

The style of organizational leadership is also important in how subordinate managers manage. The norms established by the leader and organizational culture allow employees to make sense of their organizational world. If we feel comfortable at work and understand and accept the social norms established in the workplace, then our work environment makes sense and we are likely to be more productive and satisfied with our jobs.

Some may questioned the applicability of a targeted management approach in our time where most people tend to consider the world as a global village. In this regards, Richard .M Steers et al (2010) argues that globalisation presents companies with both challenges and opportunities, however, the manner in which the respond or fail to respond to such challenges will in large measure determine who win and who loose. Those that succeed will need to have sufficient managers with economic grounding, political and legal skills and cultural awareness to decipher the complexity that characterizes the surrounding environment and trying this altogether will be the management know-how to outsmart, outperform or outlast the competition in a continuing basis. Hofstede(1993) go further by classifying the

cultural dimensions that need to be taken into consideration for a successful implementation of cross cultural management. These dimensions are: y Power distance

This distance refers to the degree to which power differentials within society and organisations are accepted. It can also be refer to the level or equality or inequality in a society. In this case, we will notice that in hierarchical cultural society, people with power will try to keep the distance high so that they can continuously remain in control Hofstede (1993, p.89) Defines this as the degree of inequality among people which the population of a country considers as normal: from relatively equal (that is, small power distance) to extremely unequal (large power distance). This power is large in a society where authority is centralised and autocratic. By observing the African culture, it is characterised by the notion of hierarchy whereby the society is segmented into small or big Kingdom under a chiefs authority his power is uncontested. y Individualism- collectivism

This measures the level in which culturally, people prefer team work or individual work. In a continent where brave warriors legends are perpetuated from generation

to generation is it not normal for employees to have the tendency of getting individual credits and reward rather than collective? This is one on the western management challenge where teamwork has been tested to be more effective than a individualistic one therefore it is important to understand this from the beginning and act accordingly.

(Hofstede, 1993, p. 89). Defines Individualism as the degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups . Maureen Hannay (.......) introduce the servant leadership model enhance teamwork in a workplace and encourage collective leadership style. She state that the servant leadership model requires that the leader and the employees work together much more closely as a team. Employees and leaders jointly address issues in the workplace and collectively determine an outcome that is in the best interest of the employees and the organization. The servant-leader identifies the success of the employee as a joint effort between the employee and the leader. The employee does not succeed in spite of the leader but rather he or she succeeds with the leader. Success requires cooperation between leaders and followers, and it requires cooperation among the leaders themselves. Factions and in-fighting do not promote achievement of organizational or employee goals. Servant-leaders empower employees to take on many of those roles traditionally performed by managers.

y y y

Masculinity Uncertainly avoidance Long term versus short term orientation

References: Lynette Louw and Terence Jackson (2008) Managing culture and change in South African organisations:The way forward for sub-Saharan Africa? Unisa Press Africanus 38 (1) 2008 ISSN: 0304-615X pp 29-42

Tse, D., Lee, K., Vertinsky, I. and Wehrung, D. (1988), Does Culture Matter? A Cross Cultural Study of Executives Choice, Decisiveness, and Rick Adjustment in International Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 52(4), 81 -95.

Terence Jackson (2002) The management of people across Cultures: valuing people differently Hofstede, G. (1993). Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), 81-94. Patrick Bakengela Shamba (2008). management en afrique ? Le Existe-t-il un modele specifique du management africain a lepreuve des evidences

empiriques (lanalyse des politiques et des pratiques de grh dans deux entreprises publiques au Congo r.d.) Doctorant REHU - Chercheur au CRECIS Universit catholique de Louvain Ruelle Saint Eloi 6/301 1348 Louvain-la-neuve, Belgique

KAMDEM, E. (2000),

Lanalyse des organisations en Afrique : un champ mergent

, Revue Africaine de sociologie, vol. 4, n2, pp. 92-132. KAMDEM, E. (2002), Management et interculturalit en Afrique : Exprience camerounaise, Paris, LHarmattan/ Presses de lUniversit LAVAL Colin Silverthorne (2009) Practicing universal management
Maureen Hanney http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/08108.pdf

T Bravis et Al (1997), Management Principles, a contemporary edition for South Africa, Robbins, S. P. & Coulter, M. (1998). Management (5th ed.). New Delhi: Prentice Hall. Weihrich, H. & Koontz, H. (2005). Management. Singapore: Mcgraw-Hill International Ed.