Professional Documents
Culture Documents
“International Culture”
Lecture 5 – 22nd Nov 2022
Culture and Management: Google in China
• Founded in 1998, Google operates in more than 50 countries and established
operations in China in 2006.
• Google agreed to censor certain types of search results, especially those that
criticize the Chinese Government, but complied as little as possible with
orders to block content.
• Google’s Chinese employees experienced difficulties adjusting to the firm’s
freewheeling style, and Google had to block its Chinese engineers from
accessing the firm’s software code to protect private property rights.
• Chinese Government officials hacked the Gmail accounts of Chinese
dissidents and human rights activists.
• A Chinese executive hired by Google to manage the firm’s government
relations criticized Google management for not working hard enough to
understand Chinese customs.
Culture and Management: Google in China
• Eventually, Google senior management grew weary of China and decided to
stop complying with government censorship rules. In 2010, Google withdrew
from mainland China
• Google’s experience in China demonstrates the importance of culture in
international business.
• Guanxi refers to informal personal relationships that emphasize reciprocal
obligations and the exchange of favors. Skillful guanxi can open dialogue,
build trust and facilitate the exchange of favors that augment business
performance.
• In 2012, Google renewed efforts to enter China, acknowledging that it
cannot afford to miss out on the world’s biggest internet market.
• Top management has softened its position, and is seeking to introduce new
services in China, especially those not subject to censorship.
The Challenge of Crossing Cultural Boundaries
• In cross-border business we step into different cultural environments
characterized by unfamiliar languages and unique value systems, beliefs
and behaviors.
• Cross-cultural risk: A situation or event where a cultural miscommunication
puts some human value at stake.
• Culture: The learned, shared and enduring orientation patterns in a society.
People demonstrate their culture through values, ideas, attitudes, behaviors
and symbols.
• Culture influences a range of interpersonal exchange as well as value-chain
operations such as product and service design, marketing and sales.
Why Culture Matters in International Business
• Cross-cultural proficiency is paramount in many managerial tasks, including:
• developing products and services
• communicating and interacting with foreign business partners
• screening and selecting foreign distributors and other partners
• negotiating and structuring international business ventures
• interacting with current and potential customers from abroad
• preparing for overseas trade fairs and exhibitions
• preparing advertising and promotional materials
Key Dimensions of Culture
• Value is a measure of the worth or importance a person attaches to
something; our values are often reflected in the way we live.
• Attitude is the way a person expresses or applier their value or belief and is
expressed through behavior.
• There are nearly 7000 active languages, including over 2000 each in Africa
and Asia.
Silent Language:
• Silent language includes color associations, distance, concept of time and
body language
Examples:
• Color: Yellow Cabs in US while Black in the UK
• Distance: Mexico vs US
• Concept of Time
• Body Language
Interpretations of Culture (cont’d)
Hall’s high- and low-context cultures
• Low-context cultures. A culture that relies on elaborate verbal
explanations, putting great emphasis on spoken words.
• Northern Europe and North America have a long tradition of rhetoric and
give central importance to delivery of verbal messages.