ch02_cross-cultural management dimensions

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Chapter 2 Understanding

Cross-Cultural

Management Dimensions

Managing Organizations in a GlobalEconomy: An Intercultural Perspective

First Edition

John Saee

Copyright by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.


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Global Strategy and Culture

y To succeed, corporations must developglobal strategies. Recent decades sawthe growing importance of global

strategies, at least among leading firmsand management scholars; however, thenew millenium made it imperative(Adler 1997).


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CrossCultural Management

CrossCultural Management

yThe growing importance of worldbusiness has created a demand formanagers sophisticated in globalmanagement skills and working withpeople from other countries.


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Crosscultural management describes

organizational behavior within countriesand cultures; compares organizationalbehavior across countries and cultures;

and seeks to understand how to improvethe interaction of coworkers, managers,executives, clients, suppliers, andalliance partners from around the world.


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Global versus Domestic Organizations

yTwo fundamental differences betweenglobal and domestic organization aregeographic dispersion andmulticulturalism.


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Multiculturalism means that people from

many cultures interact regularly.

What Is Culture?To understand the differences between

domestic and global management, it is

necessary to understand the primary ways

in which cultures around the world vary.


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Culture is:

ySomething that is shared by all or almostall members of some social group.

ySomething that the older members of thegroup try to pass on to the youngermembers.

ySomething that shapes behavior orstructures ones perceptions of the world.


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Cultural Orientations

yThe cultural orientation of thesociety reflects the complexinteraction of values, attitudes, and

behaviors displayed by its members.yIndividuals express culture and its

normative qualities through the

values that they hold about life andthe world around them (Adler 1997)


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How Do Cultures Vary

As shown in Table 1, six basic dimensions

describe the cultural orientation of

societies: peoples qualities as individuals,

their relationship to nature and the world,

their relationship to other people, their

primary type of activity, and theirorientation in space and time.


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Individual Dimensions

The following dimensions answer the

questions

y Who am I?y How do I see the world?

y How do I relate to other people?

yWhat do I do?

y How do I use space and time?


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How People See Themselves

Peoples Relationship to the WorldyWhat is a persons relationship to the

world? Are people dominant over their

environment, in harmony with it, orsubjugated by it?


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Personal Relationships: Individualism

or Collectivism

Activity: Doing or Being


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yNorth Americans generally seethemselves as dominant over nature.

yOther societies, such as Chinese andJapanese, attempt to live in harmonywith nature. They see no realseparation between people and theirnatural environment.


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Table 3: Comparative Work Goals: German,

Japanese, and American Respondents Rankings

Work goals Germany Japan USAInteresting work 3 2 1

Good pay 1 5 2

Good interpersonal

relations 4 6 7

Good job security 2 4 3

A good match between you

and your job 5 1 4

A lot of autonomy 8 3 8

Opportunity to learn 9 7 5

A lot variety 6 9 6

Convenient work hours 6 8 9

Good physical working

conditions 11 10 11

Promotion 10 11 10Source: England (1986, P. 181)


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In another international study of

managementperformance appraisalsin the U.S.A., Saudi Arabia, and Japan

conducted by Harris and Moran

(1991), it was found that performanceappraisal differed significantly across

cultures.


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A seminal research by Hofstede (1980)

went further in showing how theunderlying values of the cultures

across the world permeate through to

affect relationships, work, and socialvalues.


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Hofstede (1980) undertook acomprehensive study on worldwidesociocultural factors influencingmanagement. Hofstedes research

compared workrelated attitudesacross a range of cultures. From hissurvey of 116,000 employees in 40countries, Hofstede isolated 4 major

dimensions which were congruent withdifferent cultural values of specificcountries. These sociocultural factorswere:


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1.Collectivism vs. Individualism

2.Small vs. Large Power Distance

3.Weak vs. Strong Uncertainty Avoidance

4.Femininity vs. Masculinity


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Fifth Cultural Dimension

Hofstede, in collaboration with Bond

(1984), identified an additional culturaldimension by which nations can beclassified: Confucian Dynamism.Confucian Dynamism is also referred

to as Long Term Orientation vs. ShortTerm Orientation.


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Confucianism is not a religion, but asystem of practical ethics prevalent inChina.

The five basic relationships are:yRulersubject

yFatherson

yOlder brotheryounger brother

yHusbandwife

yOlder friendyounger friend.


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Harmony in the family must be

preserved, and harmony is the

maintenance of ones face, that is, onesdignity, self respect, and prestige.

Treating others as one would like to be

treated oneself is virtuous behavior.


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Skills for Effective Cross-Cultural Management

Respect. Tolerating ambiguity.

Relating to people

Being nonjudgmental

Personalizing ones observations.

Empathythe ability to put yourself in

anothers shoes.

Persistence.

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