intro to intercultural management_pp01

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015

Slide 1.1

Part 1 Culture and management


Slide 1.2

Introduces• A theoretical issue in each chapter

Outlines• Research in the field of culture in management

Provides• Some understanding of business culture in

international environmentHelps to develop• Desirable behaviours in a specific cross-cultural

context

Introduction


Slide 1.3

Chapter 1Determinants of culture


Slide 1.4

• Preface: Organisational culture and ethnography

– Role of ethnography in organisational research

• Concept 1.1: Facets of culture– Concept of culture

– Norms and values

– Cultural assumptions in management

• Concept 1.2: Levels of cultures – From national culture to culture and management.


Slide 1.5

Culture as organisational methaphor

Table 1.1 Common metaphors for organisationsSource: adapted from Tietze et al., 2003: 39.


Slide 1.6

The concept of culture

What culture is?/is not?• Culture is a code of attitudes, norms and values,

the way of thinking... • Culture determines:

– How we see ourselves

– How we see the world

• Culture is not right or wrong, inherited, about individual behaviour...


Slide 1.7

Three layers

The concept of culture has three layers:

1) Artefacts and attitudes– Behavioural or explicit level

2) Norms (rules) and values – Every culture has its own system

3) Basic assumptions – Difficult to describe or explain.


Slide 1.8

Comparison of value systems of societies

Four categories (Ruano-Borbalan, 2002)

• Traditional society (Arab countries)– Religion plays an important role

• Rational society (Germany) – Interests of the individual come first

• Society where materialism is predominant

(ex-communist countries)• Post-modern society (Scandinavia)

– Tolerant and democratic


Slide 1.9

European culture

What is important in the forming process of a European culture?•Meeting of diversity•Complementarity of ideas•Interaction and interference within opposite values:

– Religion/rationality

– Mythical thought/critical thought

– Humanism/science

(Morin, 1987)


Slide 1.10

Levels of cultures in a business context

Cultures can develop at different levels:• Culture and nation• National culture• Organisational culture• Corporate culture• Professional culture• Culture and management.


Slide 1.11

Culture and nation

Influence of culture/nation on organisations: • Macro level

– Laws and economic institutions

– The nation must be considered by organisations going about their business.

• Micro level – The organisation is influenced through a number

of cultural elements relating to: • employer–employee relationships • behaviour among employees.


Slide 1.12

National culture

• Elements that contribute to the creation of a national culture:– Physical environment– History of the nation

• Institutions that contribute to the establishment of a national culture– Family/Religion/Education– Mass communication media– The multinational company as culture-building

institution.

(Tabey, 2003)


Slide 1.13

Organisational culture

• In organisations, culture affects the way:– Strategy is determined

– Goals are established

– How the organisation operates.

• The personnel of the organisation: – are influenced by their cultural backgrounds;

– share their own values and perceptions.

(Schein, 1999)


Slide 1.14

Cultural assumptions in management

Edgar Schein defines culture as:

‘a set of basic assumptions – shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (how to survive) and internal integration (how to stay together) – which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next’.

(Schein, 2004, p.14)


Slide 1.15

Corporate culture

• Corporate culture is a combination of: – Organisational culture

– National/regional culture

• Two differing views about the influence of corporate culture on a (multi-) national company:– Success depends on it having either

1. A clearly defined corporate culture, or

2. A flexible culture

• Internal factors play an important role, in particular the extent of cultural control.


Slide 1.16

Professional culture

Three professional cultures in management:• Operators

– involved in production (goods/services)• Engineers

– design and monitor the technology• Executives

– senior managers

(Schein, 1996)

The question remains: how do these professional cultures co-exist?


Slide 1.17

Culture and management

Cross-cultural management • Explains the behaviour of people in organisations

around the world• Describes and compares organisational

behaviour across countries and cultures• Seeks to understand and improve the interaction

of : co-workers, managers, executives, clients, suppliers and alliance partners.

(Adler, 2002)


Slide 1.18

Conclusion

• Chapter 1 shows how difficult it is to give a definition of the word ‘culture’.

• Chapter 1 also shows that the individuals in a group form a culture that can be national, organisational or professional.

intro to intercultural management_pp01

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