Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy.

Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster

Session 1: Part 1: Culture is it an elusive energy? Part II: Significance of Culture is strategic decision making

Talking Points
Culture: definitions and concepts Elements of Culture Role of Culture in organizations Variables of Culture Characteristics of Culture Dimensions of Culture Culture & behavior

Culture: Some Definitional Snapshots

culture is the complex whole reinforced by Tylor (1871) knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom and other capabilities and habits of man as a member of society Claude Lvi-Strauss: Culture is a force in its own right Hofstede (1997): the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group of people from another Trompenaars (1994): culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems Edgar Schein (1992): a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration

Elements of Culture
Communication Cultivated Behavior Learned and accumulated experience Explicit & Implicit patterns Values Norms Artefacts Sum total of learned behavior Collective programming of the mind

Is Culture Growing in Importance?

Role of culture in Organizations

What does it focus on? What does it facilitate? How does it happen?

Variables of Culture
Differentiators of Culture:

Variables of culture: The Differentiators

National
Economic system Legal system Political system Physical Situation Technology knowhow

Socio-cultural Religion Education Language

Organizational Structure System Policies, Norms Staff Leadership & Management Style

Individual & Group Personality Productivity Motivation Commitment Ethics

Kinship & Family Education Religion Health Recreation

Characteristics of Culture
Learned behavior Shared behavior Shared system of meanings Based on tradition and custom Adaptive Subject to change Wide in scope Related to many things and does not exist in isolation Socially constructed realities Best understood in relation to groups Relative

Dimensions of Culture
Aspects of culture that are inherited and preserved and also modified with passage of time. Rituals & customs Reflection and practices Identifies an organization or community Renders stability Ensures control

Organization Culture

Robbins (1989)
Viewed cultural dimensions from the following perspectives:  Innovation & risk taking  Attention to detail  Outcome orientation  People orientation  Team orientation  Aggressiveness  Stability

Handy (1993)

Role Culture Power Culture

Task Culture Person Culture

Organization culture

Rousseau s Ring (1990)

Fundamental Assumptions Values Behavioral norms Patterns of Behavior Artefacts

Porterian Strategy and the Matching Model of SHRM

According to Michael Porter, productivity of firms is fundamental to competitiveness Reinforcing different employee role behaviors/ culture which fit with a particular generic competitive strategy, whether low cost , differentiation , or focus is critical. This has to happen by matching the five Ps i.e.:  Philosophy  Policies Failing to match competitive strategy with HRM dynamics results in role conflict and  Programs ambiguity hampering organizational  Practices effectivenessopetitivyit HRM dynamics  Processes

Setting up Strategic Value-behavior Fitness: (Michigan Model)

Organizational Strategies
C o n s i s t e n c y

Consistency Environment
C o n s i s t e n c y

Fit

Fit

Value behavior

Fit

Fit

Organizational Characteristics Consistency

Organizational Capabilities

Mc-Kinsey 7-S Model: Harvard Model

Strategy Structure Systems Style Staff Skills Super-ordinate goals

Hard S: Factual and easy to identify. They can be found in strategy statements, corporate plans, organization charts & other documentation

The Soft S s are difficult to describe, they are continuously developing and changing. They are highly determined by people at work in the organization

Cases for thought

Leadership from the bottom: employee and customer value even in the face of all odds Taj Mumbai during and after 26/11 Jeff Dyer s review of Benchmarking study conducted by Bain & Company for Chrysler comparing cost, quality, and time to market of a Chrysler small car versus Toyota wherein Toyota had a 30% cost advantage, almost one half of the defects, and 33% faster product development cycle in four years versus six for Chrysler (Dyer & Ouichi, 1993)

Managing the Employee Life Cycle

Business Mission, Goals and Strategy HRM Goals and Strategy Human Resource Management

Appropriate work structure & culture Redevelopment & termination of employment

Attract & Select

Performance & Growth

Induct, Train & Manage

Meaningful Career Development

Appraise & Develop Motivation & Reward

National Culture Influencing Organization Culture

Assertiveness: confrontational & competitive Future Orientation: planning & investing in future Performance Orientation: importance attached to performance & excellence Humane Orientation: practice of rewarding people & nurturing values of fairness, concern and care

Critical Operational Value Differences Time: differences in temporal values Change: to what extent one can exert control over the future Material factors: consumption of resources, physical goods, status symbols Individualism ( I consciousness): Valuing individual achievement, accomplishments, promotions & wealth

Cross-National Comparisons: Culture Surveys

Hofstede s Cultural Dimensions (1969-73, 1990): 116,000 respondents from 70 different countries individuals working in local subsidiaries of IBM Ronen & Kraut: Work Value & Attitude Dimensions (SSA analysis) among Country clusters Trompenaars s Cultural dimensions (1994): Universalism versus Particularism: 15,000 managers from 28 countries

Key Questions
1)What is meant by the term culture ? What is meant by the term value? Should international firms always go for value and culture surveys before entering a new market if so why?

Nidhi & Shikha

2) Describe the four dimensions of culture proposed by Hofstede. What are the managerial implications of these dimensions?

Rajesh & Prabhakar

3) Discuss Trompenaars s Value dimensions in what ways do they correspond to/ are different from Hosfstede s dimensions?

Pushpanjali & Vivek

4) Discuss the different operational conflicts that could occur in an international context because of different attitudes toward time, change, material factors and individualism. Give examples relative to specific countries.

Sushanta & Prabhat

5) In what ways has technology enabled organisational cultures to change? What challenges or issues do these changes present to managers and leaders?

Snehashish & Neha

Experiential Exercise:
Tim Robbins, an international real estate developer from Dallas, had made a 2:30 p.m. appointment with Mr. Abdullah, a high-ranking government official in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. From the beginning things did not go well for Tim. First, he was kept waiting until 4:00 p.m. before he was ushered into Mr. Abdullah s office. When he finally did get in, he was reluctant to get too specific because he considered much of what they needed to discuss was sensitive and private. Mr. Abdullah seemed more interested in engaging in meaningless banter than in dealing with the substantive issues concerning their business.

How might you help Tim with his frustration? Milan & Tapan