Bulgarian culture and agile

2013 Rexintegra Ltd.

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Bulgarian Culture And

AgileDimitar Bakardzhiev




Agile Manifesto

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

• Working software over comprehensive documentation

• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

• Responding to change over following a plan




Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

• Welcome changing requirements, even late in development.

• The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

• At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.




Culture and Agile

• Agile principles promote low power distance

• Agile teams promote low individualism• Agile team approach promotes low

masculinity• Agile’s focus on change and uncertainty

promotes low uncertainty avoidance• By it’s focus on sustainability, Agile

promotes high long-term orientation




Some concerns about Bulgaria

• Collectivism (low IDV) - Positive• High power distance (PDI) - Negative• Strong uncertainty avoidence (UAI) -

Negative• Femininity (Low MAS) - Positive• Short term orientation - Negative




Actions?

• Follow a rigorous process (UAI)• Enhanced change management (UAI)• Kind of a team hierarchy (PDI)• Keep the Client in Power (PDI)• Social, Team-Building Events (PDI)• Emphasize the long-term benefits (LTO)




Survey




Universalism vs. Particularism 1

• Dilemma 1: A meeting is held where the decision about firing an employee should be taken. He has worked in the organization for 15 years and has fulfilled his obligations well. Due to different reasons his job performance is unsatisfactory during the last year. There are no any reasons improvement to be expected. Meeting participants are divided into two groups supporting two different opinions.




Which of the ways of thinking is more appropriate?

1. Job performance should be the only criteria for firing. Despite the age and the past accomplishments of the employee, he should be fired.

2. It is wrong to neglect the 15 years experience of the employee within the organization. The responsibility of the organization for the employee’s life should be considered.




Results

• Which of the two view points you consider typical for our society?

• 1. The employee must be fired (universalism);

• 2. The employee must not be fired (particularism).




Universalism vs. Particularism 2

• Dilemma 2: You are chairing a department in a branch of a organization. One of your subordinates for whose family problems you are aware is too often late for work. What are the rights of the employee to expect that you would defend him in front of the other colleagues in the department?





1. My colleagues has the full right to expect to be defended

2. My colleague does not have any right to expect that he would be defended.




Results

What do you think you should do as a leader and as a colleague?

1. I would defend my subordinate (particularism);

2. I would nor defend him (universalism).




Individualism vs. communitarism 1

• Dilemma 3: A huge profit is realized in one organization. The way of distribution of bonuses to the employees is discussed. There is an argument where two different opinions are in place.





1. The bonuses must be given to those employees that are productive as per the management team observations.

2. The bonuses must be given to the whole group, but there is a danger that “low achievers” will be awarded too.




Results

What do you think should be done - personal or group achievements to be awarded?

1. The bonus must be given to the outstanding and productive employees (individualism);

2. The bonus must be given to the whole group (communitarism);




Individualism vs. communitarism 2

• Dilemma 4: A defect is discovered in one of the releases. It is caused by negligence of one of the members of a team. Responsibility for this mistake can be carried in various ways.





1. The person causing the defect by negligence is the one responsible.

2. Because he or she happens to work in a team the responsibility should be carried by the group.




Results

• Which one of two ways of thinking responsibility do you think is usually the case in our company?

1.From person causing the defect (individualism);

2.From a whole team (communitarism);




Specific vs. Defuse

• Dilemma 5: A boss asks a subordinate to help him paint his house. The subordinate, who does not feel like doing it, discusses the situation with a colleague. Two people support different opinions.




Which of the following statement you preferred?

1. The colleague argues: “You don’t have to paint if you don’t feel like it. He is your boss at work. Outside he has little authority”.

2. The subordinate argues: “Despite the fact that I don’t feel like it, I will paint it. He is my boss and you can’t ignore that outside work either”




Results

Which one of two ways of thinking do

you think is usually the case in our society?

1. He is my boss at work. Outside he has little authority (specific);

2. He is my boss and I can’t ignore that outside work he has authority(defuse);




Achievement vs. ascription status

• Dilemma 6: In our organization are discussed the ways through which one can be successful in his life and can achieve higher status and respect. There is an argument of two different opinions.




Status statement 1

Status must be determined by the stable characteristics of people: their origin, their education and age, position within the society and perceived trust from others. Status must not change as a result of the certain case or recent success. It reflects the inner value of a person, not his/her last achievements.




Status statement 2

The only legal source of status are the achievements or the success one has. The more recent the achievements and success

are, the more respect and recognition one deserves. Achievements are significant when one meets the challenges of his/her life.




Results

Which one of two ways of thinking do you think is usually the case in our society?

1. The status in our society is determined mainly by the stable characteristics of people (ascription);

2. The only legal source of status in our society are the achievements and the successes one has(achievement);

Business

Bulgarian culture and agile