u r e an d

Cult
st yle s o f
ge m en t
mana
G ro u p 1 2
Member’s Name

Nesya Qudrotun Chessa Firdaus Grace Dena

Nafisa Puspitaningrum Imanuella

12010120130326 12010120130234 12010120120021

Learning Outcome
After reading this chapter you should:
• Gain a clearer appreciation of the effect cultural values have on the
way managers work.
• Understand how a number of management practices are shaped
according to the cultural preferences of the managers concerned.
• Be aware of different ideas regarding the notion of cultural values.
Preface: The Conceptualisation of Culture-A Static or Dinamyc Approach

Søderberg and Holden (2002), for example, refer to a recent dynamic

approach to the way culture is conceptualised in terms of relations
between people rather than in terms of stable sets of values. The cultural
identity of people is determined by the context:

“This relational approach to culture and to cultural complexity and

the idea of cultural complexity suggest that every individual
embodies a unique combination of personal, cultural and social
experiences, and thus that ultimately any communication and
negotiation is intercultural.”
Management Tasks and Cultural Values
The following management tasks and Tables 6.1 to 6.8 are based on
material in the participant workbook of Doing Business Internationally
(1992).
• Planning
• Organising
• Staffing
• Directing
• Controlling
The Effect of Cultural Values On Management
The eight cultural value orientations featured in the model will now be
examined in turn.
1. Time focus (Monochronic and Polychronic)
Time is related to the rhythm of nature. Different cultures have different
perceptions of time according to their environment, history, traditions and
general practices. Time, therefore, is one of the fundamentals on which
all cultures rest and around which all activities revolve.
 Characteristics of two attitudes to time
Monochronic Cultures
Planning The focus of activity is more on the
task itself and making schedules
Organising
The approach used is structured,
linear and task-focused
Staffing Concerns are focused on the
shorter term, meeting immediate
needs and requirements
Directing
The emphasis is on making and
following plans, managing the inflow
and distribution of detailed
information
Controlling Tendency to use control systems
that
depend on detailed information and
involve strict deadlines
Polychronic Cultures
The focus of activity is more on
relationships when planning
The approach is a less structured one,
more holistic in nature and people-
focused
The focus is on the longer term, with
concern for building relationships over
time
The emphasis is on being flexible,
reacting according to (changed)
circumstances, giving priority to people
over plans, relying more on the
sharing of implicit knowledge and
information
Tendency to use more flexible control
systems involving people as well as
information
2. Time orientation (past, present and future)
Cultures focused on the past value the upholding of tradition.
Changes and plans are made according to whether or not they are in
line with the history of the company and the way it usually does
things. Those cultures concerned with the present are out for quick
results and short-term gain. Those with a view towards the future are
more likely to give up shortterm gains when there is the prospect of
more substantial long-term benefits. Any changes or plans are
therefore assessed in the light of expected future benefit.
These differences in values ( Table 6.2 ) can be perceived in many
activities, particularly when it comes to negotiations. Those who are
‘past-oriented’ may be more intent on compensating for previous
losses or regaining past successes rather than aiming for a resolution
that all those involved find acceptable. Plans for the future will tend
to be based on past experiences rather than expectations whereby
employees are entrusted with responsibility for what happens in the
future.
3. Power (hierarchy and equality)
The power value orientation is to do with the extent to which the less
powerful members of a society expect and accept that power is distributed
unequally. As Mead indicates (1994: 66) it is in this area that a culture shows
the extent to which it ‘tolerates and fosters pecking orders, and how actively
members try to reduce them’.

In some cultures, inequality is a given and no attempt is made to make any

compensations on a socio-economic level for intellectual or physical
inequalities. In other cultures, inequality is regarded as undesirable,
necessitating some form of correction through legal, political and economic
means.
At work, the level of power and authority are strictly marked out by
cultures oriented to hierarchy. There, the employees do their work
according to the directives of their boss. In their eyes, the role of the
manager is to allocate tasks and to take decisions. During
negotiations, title, status and formal position have less influence in
cultures oriented towards equality. There, the hierarchy exists
essentially to facilitate the relations between the people in an
organisation. Managers see their role as more participative than
directive. They are more likely to consult employees before taking
decisions ( Table 6.3 ).
In companies oriented towards equality there will be more informal
structures based on expertise or focused on certain projects.
However, hierarchy may still be there below the surface. When risks
have to be taken or when there is a budgetary crisis, those with
formal authority may well re-assert their power. An organisation with
a formal hierarchy that adopts certain features of equality in the way
it is run will always feel the tension between control and
empowerment.
4. Competition (competitive and co-operative)
Management may well encourage competition in an organisation, particularly where
the environment is that of a ‘free market’. It encourages employees to take
responsibility for the organisation’s survival and can be crucial in stimulating
innovation and developing markets. When competitiveness is valued, the culture is
focused on acquiring wealth, performing well and achieving ambitions. The success of
a project is determined only by the profit it makes. In other cultures, however, job
satisfaction has less to do with making money and more to do with working in a
pleasant environment. Here, competition is not so highly valued and not considered to
be the main purpose of business. Instead, co-operation is preferred, with the stress on
the quality of life, relationships and consensus (Table 6.4 ).
5. Action (activity: doing and being)
Kluckholn and Strodtbeck (1961) place ‘activity’ in their value
orientation system because they consider this to be one of the
universal human problems. They see every method of human
expression as resulting in some form of activity (not in the active or
passive sense) which, in turn, shows a preference towards a ‘being’
or ‘doing’ orientation ( Table 6.5 ).
6. Space (private and public)
7. Communication (high-context and low-context)

When investigating communication between

different cultures, Hall (1976) introduced the
concept of context and described the role it plays
in the communication process ( Table 6.7 ). He
distinguishes between high-context and low-
context messages:
A high context (HC) communication or message is one
in which most of the information is already in the
person, while very little is in the coded, explicit,
transmitted part of the message. A low context
communication (LC) is just the opposite, i.e., the mass
of the information is vested in the explicit code.
Hall and Hall, 1990: 6
 Figure 6.4 reflects the qualitative insights of Hall himself as well as of other
scholars in cross-cultural communication as to where certain countries lie on the
context dimension. At one end of the dimension are a number of countries in Asia,
at the other a number of Northern European countries, as well as the US.
8. Structure (individualism and collectivism)

The term ‘structure’ refers to a

social structure or, in business terms, a
company structure, which allows
management to distinguish uncertain
situations, ambiguity, stress and risk
(Table 6.8 ).
According to Kluckholn and
Strodtbeck (1961), individualism shows
the extent to which cultures elevate the
role of the individual over the role of
the group.
Concept 6.2 Other views on cultural
values
Integrating values
This reconciliation process may, according to Trompenaars, entail
the development of a third dimension in which the values of the
parties concerned are integrated through close synergy. This is a
much more productive way of addressing the either/or nature of a
cultural dilemma than trying to resolve it through making weak
compromises. This idea of integrating values is much less clear-cut
in nature than that of trying to find a trade-off of values during
cultural collisions.
Cultural patterns
Søderberg and Holden perceive culture as a sharing of ‘patterns
of meaning and interpretation’ (2002: 112). In their view, managers
who are involved in globalisation may relate to this concept much
more readily than to the fixed dimensions of culture. They will see
their role as more to do with ensuring that the interaction within
multicultural teams is eff ective and reaping synergetic rewards.
Rather than being a matter of dealing with cultures in isolation, their
work is ‘the management of multiple cultures’ (Søderberg and
Holden, 2002: 110), thereby ensuring that ‘knowledge, values and
experience are transferred into multicultural domains of
implementation’ (idem:113).
Culture is not a set of values
Earley shows how this ties in with a definition of culture made by
Rohner (1984: 119–120):
The totality of equivalent and complementary learned meanings
maintained by a human population, or by identifiable segments of the
population, and transmitted from one generation to the next.
The development of theories and framework that ‘link culture to
action’, which can be used to understand ‘the linkage among cultures,
perceptions, actions, organizations, structures, etc.’ (Earley, 2006: 928).
Conclusion
This chapter has presented a model of culture, the development of which
is based on definitions drawn from research in the field of culture and
management.
This chapter also discusses that culture has nothing to do with shared
values, but with individuals.
 Points for reflection
1. The concept gives a range of eight cultural values that could affect five management skill areas.
2. There are those who think that when doing business internationally it is necessary to follow certain
professional codes of behaviour, such as keeping to deadlines, meeting delivery dates and obeying
terms of contract. There are others, however, who consider that business culture rather than business
convention has a greater influence on the way people work internationally or otherwise. Managers
operating internationally therefore need to take cultural differences into account.
3. You have seen how culture can affect management.
4. Earley refers to Rohner’s definition of culture: ‘The totality of equivalent and complementary learned
meanings maintained by a human population, or by identifiable segments of the population, and
transmitted from one generation to the next.’ Compare this definition of culture with that made by
Hofstede: ‘The collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human
group from another’.
5. Gullestrup sees the General dynamics culture model which he has created as being a frame for further
research. It is to be seen as a skeleton to which data and information has to be added according to the
specific nature of the study being carried out.
THANKS !