Thinking Globally about Managing Diversity

Part 2

Learning Objectives

• How is Cultural Competency demonstrated in the global arena?

• Why must we understand diversity in the global arena (Sowell)?

• How are International Management cultures classified (types)?

• How do national cultures vary (Hofstede)?

Culture consists of the values,

beliefs, customs, morals, and laws shared by people in a particular society.

shapes our perceptions and responses and influences the quality of our interpersonal interactions.

Behavioral Symbols

(language, clothing, appearance)

Attitudes, Rituals, Structures (attitudes toward women @ work)

Core Values, (Stable) Beliefs (work ethic, centrality of work )

Rao, p.150,1.The Culture Pit & ReligionLayer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Management Skills & Techniques that matter in international arena

a) Perceptual skills – awareness, recognition of differences

b) Cognitive skills – knowledge about differences and related tensions

c) Behavioral skills – ability to select the appropriate response; especially communication

A World View of Cultural Diversity (Sowell, p.41)

To structure a society so as to perpetuate a species,

To pass on hard-earned knowledge and experience in order to spare the next generation the costly and dangerous process of learning everything all over again from scratch through trial and error, including fatal errors.

Cultures exist to serve the vital, practical requirements of human life ---

A World View of Cultural Diversity (Sowell)Why must we understand diversity in the global arena?

Cultural diversity, viewed internationally and historically, is not a static picture of differentness but a dynamic picture of competition in which what serves human purposes effectively survives while what does not tends to decline or disappear. (p. 34)

Cultural leadership in various fields . . .

• Exists when particular groups - often a minority – dominate particular occupations or industries.

• Has changed hands many times from nation to nation, culture to culture.

Edward Hall classified National Cultures based on Communication Patterns

The extent to which effective communication depends upon a sensitivity to non-verbal and situational cues.

Low ContextCultures

High ContextCultures

Ruhly’s Cultural Iceberg

• Technical: Visible

• Formal: Partly Visible

• Informal: Not Visible

Little emotional contentStraightforward communication

High emotional contentGeneral social rules

Intense emotional contentAutomatic learned behavior

Hofstede identified 5 dimensions of societal norms that reflect work behavior

• Hofstede studied 72,000 managers from more than 40 countries to define “5 Dimensions of Cultural Diversity”.

• Dimensions are “continuums” with opposing values at each end.

• Foreign cultures are not arbitrary or randomly different from one another. There are patterns

• Cultures can be “mirror images” of one another.

Hofstede’s Cultural Continuum

Long-Term -------------------------------------Short Term

Individualism -------------------------------- Collectivism

Masculinity------------------------------------- Femininity

Risk Avoidance ------------------------------ Risk Taking

Equal Distance ------------------------------- Unequal

Time Orientation

Self-importance

Tradition - Flexibility

Uncertainty

Power Relations

Hofstede’s Cultural Continuum

Long-Term -------------------------------------Short Term

Individualism -------------------------------- Collectivism

Masculinity------------------------------------- Femininity

Risk Avoidance ------------------------------ Risk Taking

Equal Distance ------------------------------- Unequal

China West Africa

US, Britain, Canada, Aus. Columbia, Peru, Pakistan

Japan, Austria, Venezuela, Italy Denmark, Sweden, Norway

Netherlands, Greece, Japan Sweden, Denmark, Singapore

Philippines, Mexico, IndiaNZ, Denmark, Israel, Austria

MOW: Meaning of Work

• A culture’s view of work is reflected in worker behavior and expectation for the job.

• Understanding how a foreign workforce regards work is critical to international mgt.

Work is VERYCENTRAL

Work is NOTVERY CENTRAL

Japan, YugoslaviaIsrael

U.S., BelgiumNetherlands

GermanyGreat Britain

Global Mgt. Orientations

Ethno-centric• Home-country centered• Key employees from

home country

Poly-centric• “Host”-country centered• Key employees from

host country

Regio-centric• Interdependent units

within a region• Headquarters selects

regional mgt / corp. culture

Geo-centric• World oriented, w/

local objectives• Integrated system

worldwide.

Modes of Acculturation

Assimilation•Dominant Culture becomes the standard of behavior for other cultures. •Everyone conforms to Dominant norms/values.

Separation•Minority Culture unwilling/ unable to adapt to Dominant; •Seeks cultural & physical autonomy.

De-culturation•Dominant & Minority Culture not highly valued by members•Neither is influential in framing minority behavior.

Pluralism •Integration: a two-way process.•Both Cultures change to some degree and reflect the norms and values of the other.

Cox, Taylor, & Beale, R.L. Developing Competency to Manage Diversity. San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler, 1997, pp. 204-207.