Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 1

Understanding the Role of Culture

Chapter 3
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 2
Chapter 3 - Overview
Culture and its effects on organizations
Cultural variables
Cultural value dimensions
The Internet and culture
Developing cultural profiles
Culture and management styles around the world
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 3
Environmental Variables Affecting
Management Functions
(Exhibit 3-1)
National Variables
Economic system Physical situation
Legal system Technological
Political system know-how
Sociocultural Variables
Religion
Education
Language
Cultural Variables
Values
Norms
Beliefs

Attitudes

Work
Time
Materialism

Individualism
Change
Individual and Group Employee Job Behavior
Motivation Commitment
Productivity Ethics

Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 4
Common Cultural Terms
Cultural savvy is a working knowledge of the
cultural variables affecting management
decisions.
Cultural sensitivity or cultural empathy is an
awareness and an honest caring about another
individuals culture.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 5
What is Culture?
The culture of a society comprises the shared
values, understandings, assumptions, and goals
that are learned from earlier generations, imposed
by present members of a society, and passed on
to succeeding generations.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 6
Definitions of Cultural Terms
Self-reference criterion refers to the unconscious
reference point of ones own cultural values.
Parochialism occurs when a Frenchman, for example,
expects those from or in another country to automatically
fall into patterns of behavior common in France.
Ethnocentrism describes the attitude of those who
operate from the assumption that their ways of doing
things are best no matter where or under what
conditions they are applied.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 7
Subcultures
Many countries comprise diverse subcultures
whose constituents conform only in varying
degrees to the national character.
In Canada, for example, distinct subcultures
include anglophones and francophones (English-
speaking and French-speaking people) and
indigenous Canadians.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 8
Cultural Variables
(Identified by Harris and Moran)
Kinship: A kinship system is the system adopted by a given society
to guide family relationships.
Education: The formal or informal education of workers in a foreign
firm, received from whatever source, greatly affects the expectations
placed on those workers in the workplace.
Economy: Whatever the economic system, the means of production
and distribution (and the resulting effects on individuals and groups)
has a powerful influence on such organizational processes as
sourcing, distribution, incentives, and repatriation of capital.
Politics: The system of government in a society, whether democratic,
Communist, or dictatorial, imposes varying constraints on an
organization and its freedom to do business.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 9
Cultural Variables
(contd.)
Religion: The spiritual beliefs of a society are often so powerful that
they transcend other cultural aspects.
Associations: many and various types of associations arise out of the
formal and informal groups that make up a society.
Health: The system of health care in a country affects employee
productivity, expectations, and attitudes toward physical fitness and
its role in the workplace.
Recreation: Closely related with other cultural factors, recreation
includes the way in which people use their leisure time, as well as
their attitudes toward leisure and their choice of whom to socialize
with.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 10
What are Values?
Values are a societys ideas about what is
good or bad, right or wrong such as the
widespread belief that stealing is immoral
and unfair. Values determine how
individuals will probably respond in any
given circumstance.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 11
Project GLOBE Cultural Dimensions
Assertiveness: refers to how much people in a society are
expected to be tough, confrontational and competitive
versus modest and tender.
Future Orientation: refers to the level of importance a
society attaches to future-oriented behaviors such as
planning and investing in the future.
Performance Orientation: measures how important
performance improvement and excellence is in a society.
Humane Orientation: refers to the extent to which a
society encourages and rewards people for being fair,
altruistic, generous, caring, and kind.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 12
GLOBE Research Project
Selected Findings
(Example of countries for each factor)
Factor Least Medium Most
Assertiveness Sweden Egypt Spain

Performance
Orientation Russia Sweden USA

Future
Orientation Russia Slovenia Denmark

Humane
Orientation Germany (West) Hong Kong Indonesia
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 13
Hofstedes Value Dimensions
Power distance is the level of acceptance by a society of
the unequal distribution of power in institutions.
Uncertainty avoidance refers to the extent to which
people in a society feel threatened by ambiguous
situations.
Individualism refers to the tendency of people to look
after themselves and their immediate family only and
neglect the needs of society.
Masculinity refers to the degree of traditionally
masculine values that prevail in a society.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 14
Power Distance
(Selected Countries)
High Orientation Toward Authority Low
MAL FRA JPN
US
AUT
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 15




Uncertainty Avoidance
(Selected Countries)



High Desire for Stability Low
GRE FRA
GER
US SIN
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 16
Individualism
(Selected Countries)
High Low
Individualism
Collectivism
AUL US FRA MEX SIN
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 17
Masculinity
(Selected Countries)
High
Low
Assertive/Materialistic
Relational
JPN US FRA CHC SWE
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 18
Country Clusters
Ronen and Shenkar (synthesizing Hofstedes
research and other cluster studies) developed
eight country clusters based on the following
factors:
the importance of work goals
need fulfillment and job satisfaction
managerial and organizational variables
work role and interpersonal orientation
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 19
Trompenaars Value Dimensions
The Universalistic approach applies rules and
systems objectively, without consideration for
individual circumstances; whereas the
Particularistic approach puts the obligation
toward relationships first and is more subjective.
In the Neutral versus Affective dimension, the
focus is on the emotional orientation of
relationships.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 20
Trompenaars Value Dimensions
(contd.)
Managers in Specific-oriented cultures separate
work and personal issues and relationships. In
Diffuse-oriented cultures there is spill-over from
the work into the personal relationship and vice-
versa.
In an Achievement society the source of status
and influence is based on individual achievement.
In an Ascription-oriented society, people ascribe
status on the basis of class, age, gender, etc.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 21
Critical Operational Value Differences
Time: differences in temporal values
the clock is always running vs. maana which
means tomorrow in Latin America or bukra which
means tomorrow or some time in the future in
Arabic.

Change: based largely on long-standing religious
beliefs, values regarding the acceptance of
change and the pace of change can vary
immensely among cultures.
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 22
Critical Operational Value Differences
(contd.)
Material factors: Americans attitude toward
nature that it is there to be used for their benefit
differs from the attitudes of Indians or Koreans,
for example, whose worship of nature is part of
their religious belief.
Individualism: Americans tend to value
individual achievement over group goals; for
others, conformity and cooperation takes
precedence over individual achievement.

Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 23
The American-Japanese Cultural Divide
(Exhibit 3-10)
Japanese American
Patience
Man within nature Man controlling nature
Caution Risk-taking
Incremental improvement Bold initiative
Deliberation Spontaneity
Adherence to form Improvisation
Silence Outspokenness
Memorization Critical thinking
Emotional sensitivity Logical reasoning
Indirectness Clarity and frankness
Assuaging Confronting
Avoiding Threatening
Consensus building Decisiveness
Action
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 24
The American-Japanese Cultural Divide
(contd.)
Japanese American
Harmony
Conformity Individuality
Group convention Personal principle
Trusted relationships Legal safeguards
Collective strength Individual independence
Maintain the group Protect the individual
Modest resignation Righteous indignation
Saving face Being heard
Oppressive unanimity Chaotic anarchy
Humble cooperation Proving oneself

Freedom
Prentice Hall 2003 Chapter 3 25
The American-Japanese Cultural Divide
(contd.)
Japanese American
Hierarchy
Rewarding seniority Rewarding performance
Loyalty Track record
Generalists Specialists
Obligations Opportunities
Untiring effort Fair effort
Shame Guilt
Dependency Autonomy
Dutiful relationships Level playing field
Industrial groups Industrial competition
Strict ranking Ambiguous/informal ranking
Racial differentiation Racial equality
Gender differentiation Gender equality
Equality