Lesson 2: Managing Behaviour and

Interpersonal Relations

The Sony way

Sony Corporation is perhaps the best-known Japanese firm in the world. It seems that

virtually everybody has a Walkman, and the Sony Trinitron is among the best-selling

televisions in Australia, the United States, Europe and Asia. However, relatively few people

know much about the firm itself and even fewer understand how its approach in dealing with

its employees has contributed so much to its success. Indeed, Sony's creation of an internal

culture unique within its surrounding social culture has been a major ingredient in its ability

to grow and prosper.

While many international firms have aggressively expanded their operations abroad, Sony

has taken a more cautious approach. The firm's managers believe that it is vitally important

tor them to understand and appreciate the behaviour of the firm's employees and that this

can best be accomplished by maintaining the most critical operations within Japan

Therefore, they don't have to worry about integrating people from diverse cultural

backgrounds. However, they are also reluctant to hire people who have experience at other

Japanese firms. They worry that these people will not easily adapt to the Sony way of doing

things and will not adopt the firm's basic philosophies.

Sony was founded in 1946 by three young Japanese engineers. From the very beginning,

one of the firm's fundamental goals was innovation. For example, Sony introduced the first

tape recorder in Japan in 1950. It licensed transistor technology from the US firm Western

Electric in 1953 and used it to launch one of the world's first transistor radios. Other early

innovations included the first transistor television in 1959 and the first solid-state video

tape recorder in 1961. Today the firm remains a world leader in consumer electronics and

earns more than 70 per cent of its revenues outside Japan (around 30 per cent come from

the United States and another 25 per cent from Europe). Sony engineers develop about 1000

new products every year-an average of four each business day! Approximately 800 of

these are extensions and refinements of existing products, but the other 200 or so are

totally new products.

One key to Sony's success at innovation is the kind of people it hires. Like other
Japanese electronics firms, Sony recruits most of its new employees from the
engineering schoolsat major Japanese universities. However, while many of those
firms seek out the top graduates (a common practice not only in Japan but in many
other countries as well), Sony looks for innovators, people who are neyaka-
optimistic, open-minded, and wide-ranging in their interests. The firm believes the
people most likely to thrive in its culture are those who want to move around in
different product groups and who are interested in working in areas they didn't study
in school. Another ingredient in Sony's success is how it treats its employees Most
other firms-including European, US, Asian, and other Japanese frms-are very rigid in
their approach to allowing employees to transfer to different jobs. Employees who
want to transfer must first convince their boss to find a new position for them and
then work with the head of that department to expedite the transfers. However, at
Sony employees are encouraged to seek out new projects and convince the head of
that department to accept him or her as transfers. Only after the details have been
worked out does the employee's present boss learn of the impending move. Sony
believes that this practice allows employees to gravitate to projects they will be most
motivated by, and encourages managers to maintain stimulating, challenging and
enjoyable projects to attract new people.
Sony also believes that employees can make greater contributions to the firm if they
are kept fully informed about what it is doing, why it is doing it, and how it expects to
succeed. As a result, Sony goes to great lengths to provide information to everyone
in the organisation. While most firms provide information to those managers and
employees who clearly need it, Sony goes far beyond that minimal level and broadly
disseminates information to everyone, whether or not they have a clear and
immediate need to know. insight into how people contribute to Sony's success
comes from the organisation's recruitment strategies, where people are hired and
promoted on the basis of their talents and skills. No one advances because of their
personal contacts or university pedigree (again, this practice is unlike organisational
practices in many other firms). Everyone is expected to work for the benefit of the
firm, yet still maintain individuality. Encouraging people to be entrepreneurial while
remaining under the organisational umbrella creates a big challenge for the firm, but
also helps maintain enthusiasm, motivation and drive. Although the firm's employees
may not know about the abstract concept of a 'corporate culture', most do know
exactly what is meant by the firm's internal slogan, 'Sony's Way' In addition, to
building its own corporate culture, Sony is conscious of the broader dimensions of
culture (discussed in Chapter 9) and uses this knowledge when entering new
markets. Take, for example, Sony Australia, which has just recently targeted the
music industry in Asia for further growth. Today Asia is one of the fastest growing
markets for contemporary pop music, while the more traditional markets such as the
US and Europe have become saturated. Spearheading Sony Australia's expansion
into Asia is Rick Price, the 34-year-old Australian who has topped charts all over the
world with his hit album, 'Heaven Knows'. Price's tremendous success in Asia can be
attributed to Sony's marketing strategies, which have been tailored to meet the
cultural expectations of target countries. Sony realised that Asia cannot be treated as
one whole market, as each country has different needs. These differences present
Sony with strategic implications. Understanding local customs and regulations is
vital. For example, government restrictions on performers with long hair in Singapore
and Malaysia meant that Price had to wear a hat during his visits and portray a
slightly different image to his fans. In Indonesia, the importance of regional towns
meant that Price had to perform concerts in small isolated towns with very basic
facilities, rather than limit performances to a few large cities.
Price's success in Asia is by no means an 'accident'. Sony used its appreciation of
culture to successfully achieve its desired result-building awareness of both Price and
sales of "Heaven Knows' throughout Asia-with great success. 1 Virtually all
definitions of an organisation include some reference to the people who make up
the organisation./Managers in firms like Sony recognise that an organisation's people
are the most significant contributors to its effectiveness and that each person in the
organisation has the potential to help carry it closer to its goals. Motivating each
employee to work in the best interests of the organisation is a critical task for all
organisations. Consider the hypothetical case of a Pacific BBA manager who
supervises a group of plastics engineers at the firm's factory in Melbourne, Australia.
Most of the engineers were born and educated in Australia. One engineer is
fascinated by technology and loves nothing more than to tinker One needs to make
as much money as possible to support his passion for motor racing, One wants to
advance into the ranks of management and is highly motivated to succeed. One has
worked at the firm for thirty years, is burned out, and resents having a young woman
for a boss. One does a great job but often calls in sick. Yet another does just enough
to get by without being fired. The manager of this group clearly has to understand
human nature and behaviour if she is to get the most out of her people. Now
suppose she gets transferred to a Pacific BBA subsidiary in New Zealand. Many of the
individual characteristics of people she must deal with there will be different, but
many will be fundamentally the same. She should be able to adjust to her new
setting relatively easily. Now let us suppose she gets transferred again, this time to a
Pacific BBA subsidiary in China. The behavioural complexity she must deal with
increases dramatically. This additional complexity stems from her unfamiliarity with
the cultural context in which she and the employeces she supervises function. No
two people are exactly the same. On the surface each individual has her or his
unique appearance. Aside from physical appearance, people also differ in terms of
their personalities, goals and motives, and in how they perceive and interpret their
environments. They differ in terms of their values, emotions and priorities, and in
what they want from their work. They differ in terms of how they respond to various
types of supervision, rewards, feedback and work settings. They also exhibit different
levels of job satisfaction, commitment, absen- teeism, turnover and stress. People
also behave differentdy when they are put into groups. Take a group of five people
with a well-developed and understood set of behavioural profiles. Remove one
member, add another and the behaviour of each member alters, if only a little.
Managers who operate in a domestic firm must understand and contend with a
complex set of behavioural and interpersonal processes. Managers in a multicultural
firm have the additional complexity of managingg people with even more diverse
frames of reference and per spectives on work and organisations. International
managers who develop insights into deal- ing with people from different cultural
backgrounds will be far ahead of those who do not. In Chapter 9 we discussed
national culture and its implications for firms with international operations. Here we
look more closely at the actual behaviours of managers and employees in different
cultures and how those behavioural differences affect the conduct of international
business. We start by discussing the nature of individual differences in different
cultures. Then we introduce and discuss four aspects of behaviour that are vitally
important to international businesses-motivation, leadership, decision making, and
groups and cross-culrural teams. Finally, we analyse how these factors are integrated
in a corporate culture, which helps build consensus and commitment for the firm's
international activities.

Basic perspectives on individual differences

The term individual differences refers to specific dimensions or characteristics of a person

that influence that person's perceptions, attitudes, values, or behaviours Psychologists

who study individual differences focus primarily on personality traits and need structures

However, these factors are influenced by the culture in which a person grew up.

International business people, who tace the challenge of managing and motivating

employees with different cultural backgrounds, need to understand what these personality

traits and need structures are, and how they differ across cultures. Fortunately, an increasing

number of studies by industrial psychologists and organisational behaviour specialists are

identifying these cultural differences, thereby helping international business managers

manage their people more effectively.

One of the most influential of these studies was that performed by Geert Hofstede,
Dutch researcher who studied 116 000 people working in dozens of diferent
countries. Hofstede's initial work identified four important dimensions along which
people seem to differ across cultures. More recently, he added a fifth dimension
time. These dimensions, which are shown in Figure 14.1, are as follows:

Note that these dimensions do not represent absolutes, but instead retlect
tendencies within cultures. Within any given culture, there are likely to be people at
every point on each dimension. Hofstede's research has been criticised for
methodological weaknesses and his own cultural biases. Such criticism is based upon
the limited focus of Hofstede's research which excluded some of the less
industrialised or developed countries from the survey-in particular the region of
South-East Asia and the communist states of the former USSR. One possible
explanation for such weakness is contained in the data collection methods used. The
majority of questionnaires were distributed to the global subsidiaries and operations
of one of the largest multi-nationals at the time, IBM, restricting the scope of the
research. Hofstede himself has even written of the distorting effects of
ethnocentrism on the rigour of research results. Despite such limitations the study
still remains the largest and most comprehensive work of its kind, and is used as the
basis for this section. Social orientation The first dimension identificd by Hofstede is
social orientation. (We have altered Hofstede's terminology slightly for the sake of
clarity) Social orientation is a person's beliefs about the relative importance of the
individual and the groups to which that person belongs. The two extremes of social
orientation, summarised in Table 14.1, are individualism and collectivism.
Individualism is the cultural belief that the person comes first. People who hold this
belief tend to put their own interests and those of their immediate families ahead of
those of others. Key values of individualistic people include a high degree of self-
respect and independence but a corresponding lack of tolerance for opposing
viewpoints. These people often put their own success through competition over the
good of the group, and they tend to assess decisions in terms of how those decisions
affect them as individuals. Hofstede's research suggested that people in Australia,
New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and the Netherlands
tend to be relatively individualistic.
Collectivism, the opposite of individualism, is the belief that the group comes first.
Societies that tend to be collectivistic are usually characterised by well-defined social
networks, including extended families, tribes and co-workers. People are expected to
put the good of the group ahead of their own personal freedom, interests or success.
Individual behaviour in such cultures is strongly influenced by the emotion of shame
when a group fails-its members take that failure very personally and experience
shame. In addition, group members try to fit into their group harmoniously, with a
minimum of conflict or tension. Hofstede found that people from Mexico, Greece,
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Peru, Singapore, Colombia and Pakistan tend to be relatively
collectivistic in their values. International firms must be aware of differences in the
cultural orientations of countries along the social orientation dimension. In countries
such as Australia and New Zealand, where individualism is a cultural norm, many
workers prefer reward systems which link pay with individual performance. In a
more collectivist culture, such as China prior to the implementation of its economic
reforms, such a reward system may in fact be counter- productive. For example,
Beijing Jeep once promoted a productive and promising young employee, granting
hima raise of $2.70 a month (a 5 per cent increase) for his efforts.
However, the employee found this 5 per cent raise was a mixed blessing after his co-
workers began to shun him. The pay increase violated China's collectivistic norms.
This example serves to illustrate the imporrance of group-oriented culture in China
and the belief that an individual exists or becomes someone only when they are a
group member.
A similar pattern characterises the career progression of employees. In individualistic
societies a person's career path often involves switching employers in a search for
higher pay and more challenging jobs, so that the person can prove his or her
capabilities in new and changing circumstances. However, in collectivistic cultures,
even those that are only moderately so, such as Japan, a person's job changing
reflects disloyalty to the collective good (the firm) and may brand the person as
unworthy of trust.0 Similarly, nepotism (which is the giving of a job to a relative or
friend rather than a person with better qualifications) is often frowned on in
individualistic cultures but may be a normal hiring practice in collectivistic ones.
Power orientation The second dimension proposed by Hofstede is power orientation.
Power orientation refers to the beliefs that people in a culture hold about the
appropriateness of power and authority differences in hierarchies such as business
organisations. The extremes of the dimension of power orientation are summarised
in Table 14.2.

Some cultures are characterised by power respect. Power respect means that people
in a culture tend to accept the power and authority of their superiors simply on the
basis of the Superiors positions in the hierarchy and to respect the superiors' right to
that power. People at all levels in a firm accept the decisions and mandates of those
above them because of their implicit belief that those higher-level positions carry
with them the right to make those decisions and issue those mandates. Hofstede
found people in France, Spain, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia and Singapore to be
relatively power respecting

In contrast. people in cultures characterised by power tolerance attach much less

signif ICance to a person s position in the hierarchy. These people are more willing to
question a deci- sion or direction from someone at a higher level or perhaps even
refuse to accept it. They are willing to follow a leader when that leader is perceived
to be right or when it seems to be in their own self-interest to do so, but not because
of the leader's intangible right to issue orders. Hofstede's work suggested that
people in Australia, the United States, Israel, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Norway,
Germany and New Zealand tend to be more power tolerant. Differing cultural
attitudes toward power orientation can lead to misunderstandings in business. For
example, when firms are negotiating with each other, a firm from a power tolerant
country will often send a team composed of experts on the subject, without concern
for rank or seniority. A team composed of junior employees, no matter how
knowledgeable about the problem at hand, will be taken as an insult by managers
from a pOwer-respecting culture, who expect to deal with persons of rank equal to
their own. Also, the quick adoption of intormalities by Australian managers-for
example calling a counterpart by that person's first namemay be misinterpreted by
managers from power-respecting cultures as an insulting attempt to diminish
another's authority. Similarly, the willingness of an Australian include more Asian
countries such as Taiwan, China and Thailand in this dimension. In particular the level
of innovation shown by the Chinese throughout history is astounding, exhibiting
many more scientific breakthroughs and inventions than most other ethnic groups.
This approach can also be seen in their business dealings which often demonstrate a
high degree of innovation and entrepreneurial flair.'a The Asian attitude towards
uncertainty is obvious, with gambling and games of chance playing a major part in
their daily life. In fact, betting on horse racing in countries such as Hong Kong and
Thailand i often considered a national addiction.5 In contrast, people in cultures
characterised by uncertainty avoidance dislike and will avoid ambiguity whenever
possible. Ambiguity and change are seen as undesirable. 1These people tend to
prefer a structured and routine, even bureaucratic, way of doing things Hofstede
found that many people in Israel, Austria, Japan, Italy, Columbia, France, Peru, and
Germany tend to avoid uncertainty whenever possible. Uncertainty orientation
affects many aspects of managing international firms. Those operating in
uncertainty-avoiding countries tend to adopt more rigid hierarchies and more
elaborate rules and procedures for doing business. Uncertainty-accepting cultures,
on the other hand, are more tolerant of flexible hierarchies, rules and procedures.
Risk taking Cnothing ventured, nothing gained) is highly valued in uncertainty-
accepting countries such as Canada and Hong Kong, whereas preserving the status
and prestige of the firm through conservative, low-risk strategies is more important
in uncertainty-avoiding countries such as Spain, Belgium, and Argentina.

It is interesting to consider uncertainty orientation along with the social orientation

dimension. For example, job mobility is likely to be higher in uncertainty-accepting
countries than in those characterised by uncertainty avoidance. Some Japanese firms
have traditionally used lifetime employment practices partly in response to the
uncertainty-avoiding and collectivist tendencies of Japanese culture. Yet lifetime
employment as well as seniority- based pay and promotion policies used by Japanese
firms-may not be an ettective policy when transplanted to individualistic and
uncertainty-accepting countries. For example, Japanese firms operating in
uncertainty-accepting Australia and New Zealand have been forced to modify their
pay and promoion policies, because these workers are more oriented toward an
individualistic pay me what I'm worth' attitude and are less worried about job
security than are their counterparts in Japan. Goal orientation The fourth dimension
of cultural values Hofstede measured is goal orientation. In this context, goal
orientation is the manner in which people are motivated to work toward different
kinds of goals. One extreme on the goal orientation continuum is aggressive goal
behaviour (see Table 14.4). People who exhibit aggressive goal behaviour tend to
place a high premium on material possessions, money and assertiveness. At the
other extreme, people who adopt passive goal behaviour place a higher value on
social relationships, quality of life and concern for others According to Hofstede,
cultures that value aggressive goal behaviour also tend to define gender-based roles
somewhat rigidly, whereas culrures that emphasise passive goal behaviour do not.
For example, in cultures characterised by extremely aggressive goal behaviour, men
are expected to work and to focus their careers in traditionally male occupations;
women are generally expected not to work outside the home and to focus more on
their families. If they do work outside the home, they are usually expected to pursue
work in areas traditionally dominated by women. According to Hofstede's research,
many people in Japan tend to exhibit relatively aggressive goal behaviour, whereas
many people in Germany, Mexico, Italy, Canada and Australia exhibit moderately
aggressive goal behaviour. Men and women in passive goal behaviour cultures are
more likely to pursue both diverse careers and to be well represented within any
given occupation. People from the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and
Finland tend to exhibit relatively passive goal behaviour.
These cultural attitudes affect international business practices in many ways. One
study showed that decisions made by Danish managers (a passive goal behaviour
culture) incorporate societal concerns to a greater extent than those made by more
profit-oriented Australian, British and German executives (from more aggressive goal
behaviour cultures). Similarly, studies of the Swedish workforce indicate that
country's egalitarian traditions, as well as workers desires to maintain a comfortable
work schedule, often make promotions less desirable than in other countries. The
Swedish tax code, which until recently taxed higher-income workers with marginal
tax rates of 97 per cent, reinforced this cultural norm by diminishing the value of any
pay raise that accompanied a promotion. Many Swedish workers prefer fringe
benefits to higher salaries. Consider also the impact of the role of women in
business. In Sweden, the high proportion of dual-career families makes it difficult for
many workers to accept a promotion if it entails moving. Not surprisingly, Swedish
firms are among the world's leaders in providing fringe benefits such as maternity
and paternity leave, and company-sponsored child care.
Differences in goal orientation may also affect production techniques. For example,
Volvo sought to maintain its product quality and competitiveness by pionering the
use of flexible work groups to produce cars. This technique is a means of promoting
job satisfaction and reflects Sweden's passive goal behaviour, as well as its
uncertainty acceptance. Japanese manufacturers, on the other hand, developed
quality circles. This practice, adopted to promote quality, mirrors the more
aggressive goal behaviour and the collectivistic aspects of Japanese culture,18 Within
the Chinese culture there exists a paradox. Research suggests that the Chinese
attitude is directed at functional activities aimed at achieving something. such as
material goods, which could be seen to be supportive of aggressive goal behaviour.
On the other hand, Taoism, one of the primary religions in China, rejects forms of
self-assertiveness and competition and seeks a union with nature and a simplicity of
life rather than the collection of materialistic possessions. This type of behaviour
would be associated with passive goal orientation. Time orientation Hofstede
recently introduced a fifth dimension into his framework.20 This dimension, called
time orientation, is the extent to which members of a culture adopt a long-term
versus a short-term outlook on work, life and other aspects of society. Some
cultures, such as those of Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, have a long-
term orientation that values dedication, hard work, perseverance and the
importance of self-image. This long-term outlook or Confucian dynamism, is based
on recent research undertaken in the four tigers. The dimension resembles principles
similar to the Protestant ethic (discussed in Chapter 9) in that defered gratification of
individual needs is acceptable for the purpose of long-term success that helps the
family.

Such a perspective, which is so prevalent in many Asian societies, has also enabled
certain Asian countries to prosper in recent times. Other cultures, including Pakistan
and West Af- rica, are more likely to have a short-term orientation. These cultures
put considerably less em- phasis on work, perseverance and similar values.
Hofstede's work suggests that the Australia, New Zealand, United States and
Germany tend to have an intermediate time orientation.
Motivation in international business
All international businesses face the challenge of motivating their workforces to
reduce
costs, develop new products, enhance product quality, and improve customer
service. Yet,
as just discussed, the factors that influence an individual's behaviour at work differ
across
cultures. An appreciation of these individual differences is an important first step in
understanding how managers can better assess and address behavioural and
interpersonal
processes in different cultures.
Motivation is the overall set of forces that cause people to choose certain behaviours
from a set of available behaviours. Most modern theoretical approaches to
motivation fall
into one of three categories:
1 Need-based models of motivation, which attempt to identify the specific needs or
set of
needs that result in motivated behaviour.
2 Process-based models of motivation, which focus more on the conscious thought
processes people
use to select one behaviour from several.
3 The reinforcement model of motivation, which deals with how people assess the
conse-
quences of their behavioural choices and how that assessment affects the future
choice
of behaviours and incorporates the roles of rewards and punishment in maintaining
or
altering existing behavioural patterns.
Given the different orientations of national cultures explored by Hofstede and
others, an international manager could very well believe that the factors motivating
Japanese, Mexican or Chinese workers differ fundamentally from those found to be
important in Australia, Canada or the United States.23 While seeming similar, these
countries show marked differences in values and attirudes. For example, while
Australians may be generally suspicious of the work ethic and view ambition
sceptically, they believe everyone is entitled to 'a fair go.As a result, many
researchers characterise this attitude as a laid back approach to work, producing less
than optimal results. In comparison, American workers are Iikely to prove personal
worth through achievement, believing they can accomplish anything if they work
hard enough. It is their preoccupation with profit maximising and capitalism that
motivates their managers, whereas the Australian manager is more likely to put the
human factor before profit.24 While managers from both countries place emphasis
on intrinsic and extrinsic job values, rescarch in the 1980s by Dowling and Nagel
suggests Australians value extrinsic factors, such as job security and income, more
than American managers do.

Need-based models across cultures Hofstede's work provides some useful insights
into how need-based models of motivation are likely to vary across cultures.0
Common needs incorporated in most models of motivation include the needs for
security, for being part of a social network and for personal competencies and to
receive recognition and rewards as a result may be particularly attractive to such
people. In contrast, people from collectivist cultures may be more strongly motivated
by group-based needs and rewards. Indeed, they may be uncomfortable in situations
in which they are singled out for rewards apart from the group with which they
work, as in the case of the young worker at Beijing Jeep, discussed earlier Conflicts
can easily arise when an international firm's mechanisms for motivating workers
clash with cultural attitudes. For example, many Australian, New Zealand and US
managers working for Japanese MNCs have difficulty with the seniority-based,
group-performance- oriented compensation systems of their employers. In fact, the
Japanese high-tech conglomerate NEC, realised that to exploit the core
competencies held by Australian workers the company would need a different
approach to that of their traditional team-oriented approach common in Japanese
organisations. Rather than trying to motivate employees through increased pay or
benefits, NEC Japan has given the Australian management more autonomy in
designing and developing communication products for the rest of the world. This has
not only satisfied the employees' need for achievement, but has resulted in the
production of world class communication products which the parent company has
been unable to match. Such competencies are also being discovered and exploited
by Fujitsu and Sony's Australian operations to benefit these organisations on a global
basis. Tom Selleck's 1992 movie Mr. Baseball depicted still other aspects of the
culeural clashes arising from these motivational differences berween the
individually-oriented US culture and the group-oriented Japanese culture. In
particular, US baseball players, accustomed to the 'star system' that accords them
status. prestige and special privileges, are often shocked by the team-based
approach in Japan, which discourages attention to individuals.
Power-respecting individuals are those who accept their boss s right to direct their
ettorts purely on the basis of organisational legitimacy. As a consequence of this
power respect, they may be motivated by the possibility of gaining their boss's
approval and acceptance. They may willingly and unquestioningly accept and
attempt to carry out directives. In contrast, power-tolerant people attach less
legitimacy to hierarchical rank. Therefore, they may be less motivated to gain their
boss's approval than by opportunities for pay raises and promotions. The use of
management by objectives also reflects the importance of cultural differences.
Management by objectives (MBO) is a motivational technique where subordinates
and managers agree on the subordinates' goals over some period of evaluation.
Developed in the United States, a power-tolerant country, it appeals to the US and
Australian cultural value of individualism in that the employee is made responsible
for achieving goals agreed to by the employee and the employee's manager.
Exported to Japan, MBO shifted from a focus on individual goals to an evaluation of
group goals. However, the MB0 concept was a failure in France because it was not
compatible with the strong hierarchical nature of the French bureaucracy where
superiors dictate orders to their subordinates.28
Managers and employees in uncertainty-avoiding cultures may be highly motivated
by opportunities to maintain or increase their perceived levels of job security and job
stability. Any effort to reduce or eliminate that security or stability may be met with
resistance. In contrast, people in uncertainty-accepting cultures may be less
motivated by security needs and less inclined to seek job security or stability as a
condition of employment. They may also be more motivated by change and by new
challenges and opportunities for personal growth and development. For example,
recent studies comparing US and German workers reveal substantial differences in
their preferences regarding job values. Job security and shorter work hours were
valued more highly by German workers than by US workers. Higher incomes,
opportunities for promotion, and the importance of one's work, were much more
highly valued by the US workers than by their German counterparts. Finally, people
from more aggressive goal behaviour cultures are more likely to be motivated by
money and other material rewards. They may pursue behavioural choices that they
perceive as having the highest probability of financial payoff. They may also be
disinclined to work toward rewards whose primary attraction is mere comfort or
petsonal satisfaction. In contrast, workers in passive goal behaviour cultures may be
more motivated by needs and rewards that can potentially enhance the quality of
their lives. They may be less interested in behavioural choices where the primary
appeal is a higher financial payoff. For example, Swedish firms provide generous
vacations and fringe benefits, while firms operating in China, where wage rates are
low by world standards, normally provide workers with housing, medical care and
other support services.
Various studies have tested specific motivation theories in different cultural settings.
We will examine three: Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of five basic needs; David
McClelland's learned needs framework; Frederick Herzberg's two-factor theory. The
theory receiving the most attention has been Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of five
basic needs physiological, security, social, self-esteem, and self-actualisation.0
International research on Maslow's hierarchy provides two different insights. First,
managers in many different countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the United
States, Mexico and Japan, usually agree that the needs included in Maslow's
hierarchy are all important to them. Second, the relative importance and preference
ordering of the needs vary considerably by country.31 For example, managers in less
developed countries such as Liberia and India place a higher priority on satisfying
self-esteem and security needs than do managers fromn more developed
countries.32 Results from research based on another motivation theory, David
McClelland's leaned needs framework, have been slightly more consistent.
McClelland proposes there are three needs -the need for achievement, the need for
power and the need for affiliation. In particular, the need for achievement (to grow,
learn and accomplish important things) has been shown to exist in many difterent
countries. McClelland has also demonstrated that the need for achievement can be
taught to people in different cultures.33 However, given the role of Hofstede's
cultural differences, it follows that McClelland's needs are not likely to be constant
across cultures. In particular, individualistic, uncertainty-accepting. power- tolerant,
and aggressive goal behaviour cultures seem most likely to foster and promote the
needs for achievement and power (to control resources), but not the need for
affiliation (to be part of a social network). In contrast, collectivistic, uncertainty-
avoiding. power- respecting, and passive goal behaviour cultures may promote the
need for aftiliation more than the needs for achievement and power.4
Frederick Herzberg s two-factor theory is another popular need-based theory of
motivation. This theory suggests that one set of factors affects dissatistaction and
another set affects satisfaction. It, too, has been tested cross-culturally with varied
results. For example, research has tound different patterns of tactors when
comparing US managers with managers from New Zealand and Panama.30 Results
from US employees suggested that supervision contributed to dissatistaction but not
to satistaction, whereas in New Zealand supervision contributed to employee
satisfaction. Unfortunately, Herzberg's theory often fails to yield consistent results
even within a single culture. Therefore, even though the theory is well known and
popular, managers should be particularly cautious in attempting to apply it in
different cultural contexts. Process-based models across cultures In contrast to need-
based theories, expectancy theory takes a process view of motivation.35 The theory
suggests that people are motivated to behave in certain ways to the extent that they
perceive that such behaviours will lead to outcomes they find personally attractive.
The theory acknowledges that difterent people have different needs one person may
need money, another recognition, another social satisfaction and still another
prestige. However, each will be willing to improve his or her pertormance if he or she
believes the result will be fulfilment of the needs he or she most prefers. There has
been relatively little research that explicitly tests expectancy theory in countries
other than the United States. Nevertheless, it does seem logical that the basic
framework of the theory should have wide applicability. Regardless of where people
work, they are likely to work toward goals they think are important. However,
cultural factors will partially determine both the nature of those work goals and
people's perceptions of how they should most fruitully pursue them. One particularly
complex factor that is likely to affect the expectancy process is the cultural
dimension of social orientation. The expectancy theory is essentially a model of
individual decisions regarding individual behavioural choices targeted at individual
outcomes. While it may be less able to explain behaviour in collectivistic cultures, it
may be one of the most likely candidates for a culturally unbiased explanation of
motivated behaviour. For example, the expectancy theory helps explain the success
Sony has enjoyed. People who go to work for Sony know they will be able to pursue
different projects and will be kept intormed about what is happening in the firm.
People who see these conditions as important will be strongly motivated to work for
Sony.

The reinforcement model across cultures Like the expectancy theory, the
reinforcement model has undergone relatively few tests in different cultures.
Basically, this model says that behaviour which results in a positive outcome
(reinforcement) will be likely to be repeated under the same circumstances in the
future. Behavioural choice which results in negative consequences (punishment) will
result in a different choice under the same circumstances in the future. As this model
makes no attempt to specify what people will find reinforcing or punishing, it may
also be generalisable to diterent cultures. Like the expectancy theory, the
reinforcement model has exceptions. In Muslim cultures, for example, people tend
to believe that the consequences they experience are the will of God rather than a
funcion of their own behaviour. As a result, neither reinforcement nor punishment
will have much effect on their future behavioural decisions. Aside from relatively
narrow exceptions such as this, the reinforcement model, ike the expectancy theory,
warrants careful attention trom international managers, provided they understand
that what constitutes rewards and punishment will vary across cultures.

Leadership in international business Another important behavioural and

interpersonal consideration in international business is leadership. Leadership is the
use of non-coercive influence to shape the goals of a group or organisation, to
motivate behaviour toward reaching those goals and to help determine the group or
organisational culture.9 Leadership has been widely studied by organisational
scientists for decades. Early studies attempted to identify physical traits or universal
behaviours that most clearly distinguished leaders from non-leaders. More recently.
attention has focused on matching leadership with situations.10 Although some
studies still focus on traits, most leadership models suggest that appropriate leader
behaviour depends on situational factors.4 Contemporary leadership theories
recognise that leaders cannot succeed by always using the same set of behaviours in
all circumstances. Instead, leaders must carefully assess the situation in which they
find themselves and then tailor one or more behaviours to fit that situation.
Common situational factors that affect appropriate leader behaviour include
individual differences among subordinates; characteristics of the group, the
organisation, and the leader, and the desire of subordinates to participate. Clearly,
cultural factors will affect appropriate leader behaviour and the way in which
managers spend their workday will vary between cultures,42 Indeed, several
implications for leaders in international settings can be drawn from the cultural
factors identified in Hofstede's work relating to social orientation. For example, in
individualistic cultures leaders may need to focus their behaviour on individual
employees rather than the group. The use of MBO in countries such as Australia,
New Zealand, Britain and the United States reflects this characteristic of
individualistic cultures. MBO promotes employee involvement and participation by
allowing each employee to set individual goals that he or she is best suited to
pursue. In contrast, in a collectivist culture leader behaviours will clearly need to
focus on the group rather than on individual group members. In a group-oriented
cuture, an etfective leader must guide subordinates while preserving group
harmony. At Sony, for example, managers are expected to allow their employees to
transfer at will to more interesting job settings because such transfers are believed
to be in the firm's overall best interests. The Japanese management system focuses
on consensus-building efforts to ensure that both leader and subordinates reach a
common decision. A leader would destroy group harmony if subordinates were
dictatorially commanded to implement decisions. However, one problem that may
develop is that junior managers attempt to anticipate what their boss's preterred
strategy is and then offer it as their own. A leader confronted with such a strong
tendency toward conformity must seek ways to encourage creative solutions from
subordinates to new problems as they arise. A Japanese manager may consequently
distance himself from pending decisions, thereby encouraging subordinates to
discuss a variety of options among themselves. Only then will the manager lead by
dropping subtle hints regarding what is seen as the correct solution to an issue13
Power orientation carries even more direct implications for situational leadership.
For example, in power-respecting cultures, employees may expect leaders to take
charge, to make decisions and to direct their ettorts. Leaders may neced to
concentrate on pertormance oriented behaviours, avoid employee-oriented
behaviours and make little attempt to foster participation. However, if power
tolerance is the more pervasive cultural value, a leader should spend less time on
pertormance-oriented behaviours. Instead, employee-oriented behaviours and more
employee participation may result in higher levels of effectiveness. Attempts at
blurring the distinctions between managers and workers may not be well received in
more authoritarian, hierarchical societies. For example, one Australian firm exported
the 'company barbecue concept to its Thai subsidiary, complete with company
executives serving food to the Thai employees. This informality was not well received
by the employees, who were embarrassed at being served by their 'superiors
Uncertainty orientation is also an important situational factor to consider. Where
uncertainty avoidance is the rule, employees will have a strong desire for structure
and direction. As a consequence, performance-oriented behaviours (direct,
structured, and goal oriented behaviours) are likely to be more successful, whereas
employee-oriented behaviours (caring. concern and interpersonally-oriented
behaviours), and attempts to use participation, may be less so. For example, German
managers tend to be autocratic and task oriented, making decisions with reference
to existing corporate rules and procedures. Having determined departmental
objectives, they then confidently delegate tasks to subordinates, whom they expect
to carry out the tasks necessary to achieve the objective.
In contrast, employces more inclined to uncertainty acceptance may respond more
favourably to opportunities for participation. They may even prefer participative
behaviours on the part of their leaders. Performance-oriented leadership may be
undesirable or unnecessary, while employee-oriented leadership may have little
impact. That is, employees may have such a strong desire to paricipate and be
involved in their work that they see performance-oriented or employee-oriented
behaviours, from their supervisor, as being redundant with or even negating their
own opportunities for participation. Finally, differences in goal orientation also have
implications for leadership. As a result of the differences in gender-role acceptance
along this dimension, male leaders should face relatively little ditficulty in either
cultural profile. On the other hand, female leaders in an aggressive goal behaviour
culture may encounter considerable resistance and even outright hostility if their
subordinates are predominantly male. The rewards valued in aggressive versus
passive goal behaviour cultures also affect leader behaviour. Recall that people in
aggressive goal behaviour cultures tend to value money and other material rewards.
If performance-oriented leadership or higher levels of participation are perceived by
supporters to result in higher rewards, those behaviours will be more acceptable. In
contrast, outcomes enhancing quality of life are more desirable in passive goal
behaviour cultures. To the extent that employee-oriented leader behaviours may
cause followers to feel more satisfied with their work and the organisation, such
behaviours may be more effective in these settings. The overriding lesson is that
leaders in international settings need to consider a wide array of situational factors
that may determine how effective their behaviour will be. For example, when
Bridgestone (a Japanese firm) bought Firestone (a US firm), it wanted Firestone's CEO
to stay on and run the operation. The CEO's leadership style was blunt and
straightorward, with little time wasted on subtleties. Unfortunately, his new
Japanese bosses did not react very well to these behaviours. In their country, leaders
are expected to be more polite and reserved. Even though both sides appeared to
have made an honest etfort to adjust, the CECO eventually had to leave the firm.6
Cultural factors are among the most difficult and complex to assess and understand.
They may also be among the most critical in determining leader effectiveness. It is
important that leaders attempt to match their behaviours with that of their context,
that is, the people they are leading and the organisation in which they are
functioning. For example, it is unlikely the management of the Mitsui group, and the
other Japanese investors, were prepared for the trouble they experienced in their
joint mining venture with the Australian company, Mt lsa Mines. In an attempt to
prevent mining of the McArchur River region in Australia's Northern Territory,
Aborigines have taken legal action to enforce claims of land rights in the region
under the Australian High Court's Mabo decision. In an effort to clarity land
ownership and title, the Northern Territory government, with the support of the
federal government, passed legislation that extinguished all native title to the land.
After the mining company refused the Aborigines' request to purchase part of the
McArthur River pastoral lease, the Aborigines viewed a High Court challenge as the
only way to regain part of their traditional land. Today the mine site is deserted
behind locked gates with a large No Unauthorised Entry' sign. Due to the inability of
the various parties to understand the differing cultural points of view, the McArthur
River mine may be locked up for years. This example highlights the importance of
international business adapting to national culture to ensure the company maintains
high levels of productivity from its facilities worldwide. Decision making in
international business Another area of international business in which large cultural
differences exist concerns the way in which decisions are made. Decision making is
the process of choosing one alternative from a set of alternatives to promote the
decision maker's objectives Models of decision making There are two very diferent
views on how managers go about making decisions (see Figure 14.2):
The normative model of decision making suggests that managers apply logic and
rationality in making the best decisions.5 In contrast, the descriptive model of
decision making argues that behavioural processes limit a manager's ability to be
always logical and rational. The normative model suggests that decision making
involves six steps: 1 Recognise that a problem exists and a decision has to be made.
For example, a Shell refinery manager recently noticed that turnover of staff among
a certain group of workers had increased substantially. 2 Tdentify potential
alernative solutions. The Shell manager determined that high staff turnover could be
caused by low wages, poor working conditions or poor supervision. Therefore, the
alternative solutions were raising wages, improving working conditions or changing
the group's supervisor
Figure 14.2 Models of the decision-making process 3 Evaluate each alternative in
light of the original problem. The Shell manager knew that the group's wages were
comparable to what others in the refinery were making. The manager also knew that
the group's work area had been refurbished recently, so working conditions were
probably not a problem. However, a new supervisor had recently been appointed for
the group. 4 Select the best alternative. The Shell manager felt the problem was one
of poor supervision and so looked more closely at that paricular part of the situation.
After scrutinising the new supervisors records, the manager saw that the supervIsor
had becen promoted during a very hectic period and had not gone through the
refinery's nomal supervisory training program. 5 Implement the chosen alternative.
The Shell manager arranged for the new supervisor to complete the full training
program. 6 Follow-1up and evaluate. After six months the Shell manager did a
follow-up and eval uation. Turnover in the group had dropped significantly, and the
manager was sure that the chosen course of action was the correct one. The
descriptive model acknowledges that the normative model is perhaps how managers
should make their decisions. However, the descriptive model indicates that, in
reality, managers are affected by two important behavioural processes: Bounded
rationality suggests that decision makers are constrained in their ability to be
objective and rational by limitations of the human mind. Therefore, managers often
use incomplete and imperfect information. Notice that the Shell manager did not
consult with the members of the group to find out why staff turnover had increased.
Had he done so, he might have gained additional information. Satisticing suggests
that managers sometimes adopt the first minimally acceptable alternative they
identify, although a further search might suggest an even better alternative. For
example, the Shell supervisor had gained some experience on the new job.
Therefore, the supervisor's skills may have been improved from an abbreviated or
accelerated training program, rather than completion of the full program. The
normative model across cultures A number of implications can be drawn from
applying a basic understanding of the normative and descriptive models to decision
making in other cultures.50 To explore those implications, let us examine the steps in
the normative model. Step 1: Problem recognition. People from different cultures
are likely to recognise and define problem situations in very diferent ways. In
individualistic cultures, problems are likely to be defined in terms of individual
scenarios and consequences. In collectivist cultures, the focus will be more on group-
related issues and situations this being the result of decisions being made by the
group with litle, if any, personal recognition. It is interesting to note that in Japan
outsiders must be accepted into the group before they can participate in decision
making. In an uncertainty-accepting culture, managers are more likely to take risks in
solving problems and making decisions. In uncertainty-avoiding cultures, they may
be much more cautious and strive to reduce uncertainty as much as possible before
making a decision. As a result, they may fall back on firm policies and rules to provide
a course of action ('We can't do that because it's against company policy).
Step 2: ldentifying alternatives. The processes through which alternatives are
identified will also vary berween cultures. In power-respecting cultures, managers
may be much less willing to consider an alternative that potentially threatens the
hierarchy-tor example, that a suggestion from a subordinate might be valid, or that a
problem might exist at a higher level in the organisation. However, in power-tolerant
cultures, suggestions from subordinates are more likely to be considered as possible
remedies to organisational problems. In collectivist societies, the desire for group
harmony and conflict avoidance may be so strong that decision making is
approached in unique ways. The Japanese concern for maintaining group harmony
has given rise to the ringi system for identifying alternatives and making decisions.
The ringi system provides that decisions cannot be made unilaterally-doing that
would be too individualistic and destructive to group harmony. In the 'Closing Case'
we look at the management at The Brisbane Hilton (a member of the Hilton chain in
Australia), who have adopted the ringi system to enable the staff to deliver "Wa No
Kutsorogi comfort and service the Japanese way. To encourage creative solutions a
manager may draw up a document, called the ringisho, which defines the problem
and sets out a proposed solution. The Japanese corporate belief is that those who
implement a solution should be those most affected by the problem, since they
understand the problem and are motivated to solve it. As a consequence, most
ringisho originate trom middle managers. Although the ringisho originates from an
individual, it is soon subsumed by the group. The document is circulated to all
members of the originator's work group, as well as to other groups affected by it. As
the ringisho passes through the workplace, it may be acepted, rejected, or modified.
Only a document that is approved by all its reviewers is passed to a more senior
manager for approval or disapproval. However, before the ringisho reaches this
stage, most senior managers will have already dropped hints if they had any
objections to parts of it. Appropriate changes then would have been incorporated
into the document by some subordinate before the ringisho arrived at the senior
manager's desk. Through the ringi system, creativity, innovation, and group harmony
are all promoted. In contrast, the German business structure is both strongly
hierarchical and compartmentalised. Decision making tends to be slow and drawn
out, designed to build consensus within a department of a firm. Data are
painstakingly gathered, then communicated to the appropriate employees within the
hierarchy. However, information often does not flow easily between departments,
and a decision, once reached, may be difficult to change. Also, established operating
procedures are followed carefully. These factors substantially reduce the firm's
flexibility and responsiveness to rapidly changing conditions. The resulting
inflexibility often hinders the performance of foreign subsidiaries of German MNCs,
which have difficulty in persuading the home office to acknowledge that operating
conditions in the subsidiary may differ from those in Germany.3 Step 3: Evaluating
alternatives. Evaluating alternatives can also be affected by cultural phenomena. For
example, an alternative that results in financial gain may be more attractive in an
aggressive goal behaviour culture than in a passive goal behaviour culture, where a
preference may exist for an alternative that results in improved quality of work life.
Uncertainty avoidance will also be a consideration where alternatives with other
levels of associated uncertainty may be perceived to be more or less attractive.
Evaluating alternatives is further complicated in countries such as China where
people tend to avoid taking responsibility for making decisions. As China's economic
policies have changed so quickly and drastically over the past four decades, those
supporting today's economic policies may find themselves in political difficulties
tomorrow. A Chinese proverb, 'the tall tree gets broken off in the wind, suggests a
tendency for many Chinese officials (and managers) to avoid association with any
decision that could hurt them later. Group decision making reduces the potential
blame an individual may suffer Step 4: Selecting the best alternative. Cultural factors
can affect the actual selection of an alternative. For example, in an individualistic
culture managers may be prone to select alternatives that have the most positive
impact on them personally, whereas in a collectivist culture, the impact of the
alternative on the total group will carry more weight. Not surprisingly, a manager
trained in one culture will often use the same techniques when operating in a
different culture, even though they may be ineffective. In one recent study
comparing US managers operating in the United States with US managers operating
in Hong Kong, managerial behaviours in the two groups were found to be the same.
These behaviours included managerial supportiveness of subordinates, problem
solving, openness of communication, and disciplining of subordinates. However,
although these behaviours positively affected firm performance in the United States,
they had no effect on firm performance in Hong Kong3 Cultural differences in
problem solving and decision making may be particularly troublesome for partners in
a joint venture or other strategic alliance because they must develop mutually
acceptable decisions. Australian managers often deliberately use conflict (in the form
of being the 'devil's advocate'-testing a proposition by arguing against it or by using
dialectical inquiry techniques-posing questions and seeking answers to thrash out a
solution) as a means of improving the decision-making process. Managers from more
consen- Sus-oriented societies find this disharmonious approach very distasteful and
unproductive.6 Step 5: Implementation. In a power-respecting culture,
implementation may be ordered by a manager at the top of the organisation and
accepted without question by others. However, in a power-tolerant culture,
participation may be more crucial to ensure acceptance. In an uncertainty-avoiding
culture, managers may need to plan every stepP o the implementation carefully
betore proceeding. so that everyone knows what to expect. However, in an
uncertainty-accepting culture, managers may be more willing to start
implementation before all the final details have been arranged. Step 6: Follow-up
and evaluation. Follow-up and evaluation also have cultural implications, most
notably regarding power orientation. In a power-respecting culture, a manager may
be unwiling to find fault with an alternative suggested by a higher-level manager.
Furthermore, too much credit may be given to higher level managers purely on the
basis of their position in the hierarchy. Usually in a power-tolerant culture,
responstbility, blame, and credit are more likely to be attributed accurately.
The descriptive model across cultures the behaviourl processes of bounded
rationality and satisficing are more difficult to relate o cultural ditferences. Few
research efforts have specifically explored these phenomena in different cultures and
their very nature makes it hard to draw reasonable generalisations. While it is likely
that they do have some impact on business decisions made in difterent cultures and
need to be understood by managers, more research needs to be conducted on their
precise rticular, all managers need to understand the potential limitations of
applying different models of decision making in ditterent cultural settings. Although
the Hilton chain in Australia has implemented a variety of Japanese management
practices successtully, including decision making by consensus in their hotel
operations, other hotel operators believe that such decision making is far too slow
for the intensely competitive, fast changing hotel influence. In industry.
Groups and teams in international business Other important behavioural processes
that international managers should understand are those associated with groups and
reams. Regardless of whether a firm is a small domestic company or a large MNC,
much of its work is accomplished by people working together as a part of a team,
task force, committee, or operating group.
The nature of group dynamics Firms use groups frequently because in theory people
working together as a group can accomplish more than they can individually.
Ultimately this has led to the development o organisations in modern society.
Modern managers generally use the word team instead of group, so this discussion
also uses that term. However, remember, thata team is a specific type of group. A
mature team in a firm generally has these characteristics t develops a well-defined
role structure. Each member has a part to play on the team, accepts that part, and
makes a worthwhile contribution. lt establishes norms for its members. Norms are
standards of behaviour, related to such matters as how people should dress, when
team meetings or activities should begin, the consequences of being absent and how
much each member should produce. lt is cohesive. Team members identify
increasingly strongly with the team and each member respects, values, and works
well with the others. Informal leaders are identified. Some teams identify informal
leaders among their membersindividuals whom the team accords special status and
who can lead and direct the team without benefit of formal authority. If a team s
role structure promotes efficiency, its norms reinforce high pertormance, it is truly
cohesive and its informal leaders supPport the firms goals, then it can potentially
reach maximum effectiveness. However, if the team's role structure is inefticient, its
performance norms are low, it is not cohesive, and/or its informal leaders do not
support the team's goals, then it may become very inetfective from the firm's
viewpoint.
Managing cross-cultural teams The composition of a team plays a major role in the
dynamics that emerge from it. A relatively homogeneous team generally has less
contlict, better communication, more uniform norms, higher cohesiveness and clear
informal leadership. However, it might also be less creative. A more heterogeneous
team often has more conflict, poorer communication, less uniform norms, a lower
level of cohesiveness, more ambiguous informal leadership, and more creativity.
Managers charged with building teams in different cultures need to assess the
nature ot the task to be pertormed and, as much as possible, match the composition
of the team to the type of task. For example, it the task is relatively routine and
straighttorward, a homogencous team may be more effective. Similarities in
knowledge, background, values, and beliets can make the work go more smoothly
and etficiently. However, if the task is nonroutine, complex and/or ambiguous, a
heterogeneous team may be more effective, because of members diverse
backgrounds, experiences, knowledge and values. Ocher cultural factors may also
play a role in team dynamics. In an individualistic culture, establishing shared norms
and cohesiveness may be somewhat difficult, while in a collectivist culture, team
cohesiveness may emerge naturally. In a power-respecting culture, team members
should probably be from the same level of the organisation, since members from
lower levels may be intimidated and subservient to those from higher levels. In a
power- tolerant culture, variation in organisational level may be less of a problem.
Uncertainty avoidance and team dynamics may also interact as a function of task. If a
task is vague, ambiguous, or unstructured, an uncertainty-avoiding group may be
unable to function etfectively. In contrast, an uncertainty-accepting group may
actually thrive. Finally, teams in an aggressive goal behaviour culture may work
together more effectively if their goal has financial implications, whereas teams in a
passive goal behaviour culture may be more motivated to work toward attitudinal or
quality-of-work outcomes. The 'Going Global' in this section provides some
additional interesting insights into cross-cultural teams.
Summary Behavioural and interpersonal processes are vitally firms. The pionecring
research of Geert Hofstede has important in any organisation. Both their importance
identificd five basic culrural dimensions along which and their complexity are
magnified in international people may differ social orientation., power orienta-
the basic rules of business etiquette they follow; their preferences regarding
personal space; how the country is characterised along Hofstede's dimensions. Each
of you should pick a product or commodity that is produced in the country you
studied (such as stereos, bananas, oil, or machine parts). Attempt to negotiate a
contract for selling your product or com- modity to the other. As you negotiate, play
the role of someone from the country you studied as authentical- ly as possible. For
example, if people from that culture offended by a certain gesture and your
counterpart happens to make that gesture while negotiating, a offended!
Spend approximately fifteen minutes negotiating Then spend another fifteen
minutes discussing with your classmate how the cultural background each of you
adopted affected (or could have affected) the nego- tiation process. Follow- Up
questions 1 How easy or difficult is it to model the behaviour of someone from
another country? 2 What other forms of advance preparation might a manager need
to undertake before negotiating with someone from another country?