Strategy for Tourism

Lecture 3
Culture and
Strategy
Professor John Tribe
Objectives © John Tribe

 After studying this chapter and related materials you

should be able to understand:
 Culture, difference and reproduction
 Organisational culture
 Cultural web
 The cultural environment
 and critically evaluate, explain and apply the above
concepts.
© John Tribe
Culture © John Tribe

 “a set of shared values, attitudes, goals, and

practices that characterise a group of people.”
Case Study 3: The Walt Disney
Company © John Tribe

 Larry Lynch of the Disney Institute, Walt Disney World,

Florida, explains the role of the WDC “university” in
inducting new staff:
 “… it all begins the day new Cast Members arrive for
orientation at Disney University, the company's internal training
operation. The timing couldn't be better to show them how our
company thinks, to offer concrete examples of how creativity
and innovation have helped us grow, and to emphasize how our
ongoing traditions have been the steady hand that guides us.
Those traditions are pointed out again when new Cast Members
are introduced to their assigned workplaces. As they learn the
culture of the company, they recognize the traditions in the
standard operating procedures and established norms of their
work areas…”
Hong Kong Disneyland © John Tribe

 Goofy welcomes Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong

(C) at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong
Disneyland in Hong Kong September 12, 2005.
Hong Kong Disneyland © John Tribe

 Chinese Vice
President Zeng
Qinghong (C), Hong
Kong Chief Executive
Donald Tsang (1st L),
Walt Disney Company
CEO Michael Eisner
(3rd L) and Walt
Disney Company
CEO-elect Bob Iger
(2nd R) take a picture
with Mickey mice at
the opening ceremony
of the Hong Kong
Disneyland in Hong
Kong September 12,
2005.
Discussion Point © John Tribe

 Why do you think culture is relevant to

understanding how organisations work?
Organisational Culture © John Tribe
 Organisational culture
refers to organisational
beliefs, values and
attitudes (Schein, 1985;
Martin and Siehl, 1983).
Culture and Strategy © John Tribe

 It describes the way things are done in an

organisation
 It forms the basis for the rules of acceptable and
unacceptable behaviour.
 Organisational culture is thus the arbiter of
organisational norms
 It therefore acts as a powerful force in
encouraging or frustrating the emergence of new
missions and strategies. This is particularly so
where culture is deeply embedded.
Mission and Culture © John Tribe

 Cultural variance between countries in which tourism organisations

operate can be understood by reference to differences in:
 attitudes to authority
 attitudes to work and leisure
 beliefs including religion and materialism
 traditions
 pursuit of individual or community goals
 definitions of good and bad, worthy and unworthy (the moral and ethical
system)
 sources of status
 Cultural norms are transmitted by and changed by
 the family
 education
 mass media
 the arts
 government
Hofstede © John Tribe

 The relationship between national cultures and

organizational cultures has been analysed by Hofstede &
Hofstede (1991) and Hofstede (2001) and these studies
uncovered national and regional cultural groupings that
affect the behaviour of societies and organizations that
work within them.
 Hofstede found five dimensions of culture in his study of
national work related values:
 Low vs. high power distance (PDI)
 Individualism vs. collectivism (IDV)
 Masculinity vs. femininity (MAS)
 Low vs. high uncertainty avoidance (UAI)
 Long vs. short term orientation (LTO)
Hofstede © John Tribe

 Power distance: willingness to accept an unequal

distribution of power by those who have less power in
organisations.
 Individualism: the pursuance of individual goals as
opposed to adherence to group goals and norms.
 Low vs. high uncertainty avoidance measures tolerance
for uncertainty and ambiguity
 Short term orientation: the importance attached to the past
and present rather than the future
Country Scores for Hofstede’s © John Tribe

Cultural Dimensions
Reproduction and Path
Dependency © John Tribe

 Cultural reproduction (Bourdieu, 1973) refers to the way

in which culture (including values, attitudes, goals, and
practices) is maintained over time and transmitted from
one generation to the next.
 Acculturation refers to the process by which new members
are inducted into the value systems of a culture.
 Path dependency occurs when certain decisions and events
create paths or routes into the future and exert long term
effects on subsequent decisions and events.
The Cultural Web © John Tribe

A cultural web (Johnson et al., 2008) is a useful

device for highlighting the different strands of an
organisation's culture. These include:
 symbols
 rituals and routines
 stories
 power structures and organisational structures
 control systems
Cultural Web © John Tribe
Cultural Types © John Tribe

Miles and Snow (1978) distinguish between defender types, and

prospector types of cultures in organisations.

 Defenders  Prospectors
 conservative  outward-looking
 seek security  responsive to environment
 cautious  daring
 avoid change  opportunistic
 Inflexible  flexible
 set in their ways  adaptive
 reactive  proactive
The Cultural Environment © John Tribe

 The broad political system within which entities

operate should also be considered as an important
aspect of the cultural environment. Competing
ideologies include:
 Communism
 Democratic Socialism
 Neoliberalism and
 Third Way politics
Discussion © John Tribe

 Why is the concept of culture important for

understanding and implementing strategy in
tourism?
Review of Key Terms © John Tribe

 Culture: a set of shared values, attitudes, goals, and practices that

characterise a group of people.
 Hofstede: studied the relationship between national cultures and
organizational cultures.
 Ideology: a system of beliefs that directs the policies and activities of
its adherents.
 Cultural reproduction: the way in which culture is maintained over
time and transmitted from one generation to the next.
 Path dependency: when certain decisions and events create paths or
routes into the future and exert long term effects on subsequent
decisions and events.
 Organisational culture: organisational beliefs, values and attitudes.
 Cultural web: the different strands of an organisation's culture
Discussion Questions © John Tribe

1. Analyse the cultural issues that relate to The Walt Disney

Company in relation to its strategy.
2. Construct a cultural web for a tourism entity of your
choice giving examples of the components.
3. Explain the uses of Hofstede’s dimensions of culture for
understanding the culture of a tourism entity.
4. What causes reproduction and path dependency? Explain
why these are problems for tourism entities that you are
familiar with.
5. Explain the interrelationship between socialism,
modernization, and traditional culture in China and its
relevance for the study of the culture of tourism entities.
Strategy for Tourism

Lecture 3
Culture and
Strategy
The End