MANAGING ACROSS CULTURES

DEFINITION

“Culture is a set of beliefs and values about what is desirable and undesirable in a community of people, and a set of formal or informal practices to support the values”

Culture is a subtle but pervasive force.

Source: “International Management – Culture, Strategy, and Beliefs” – Hodgetts and Luthans: 2003, pg. 109.

Redrawing the world map along cultural lines

Cultural Differences

Importance of cultural sensitivity for global business

• To communicate effecively with customers, suppliers, foreign employees, business partners etc.

• Conduct negotiations• Predict trends in social behaviour likely to

affect foreign operations• Predict Impact of cultural differences on

advertisements and promotion

Importance of cultural sensitivity for global business

• Understand ethical standards and social responsibility

• Conduct efficient meetings • Understand how people interpret market

research and other information

Hofstede Studies

• Studied impact of national culture on organisational culture

• Covered 70 countries and 3 regions, East Africa, West Africa and Saudi Arabia

DIMENSIONS OF STUDY

Power DistanceExtent to which less powerful members of organization accept that power is distributed unequally.

High power distance – Mexico, S.Korea, India

Low Power Distance-Israel, Austria

Uncertainty AvoidanceThe extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these.High Uncertainty Avoidance Nations (Germany, Spain, Japan)Low Uncertainty Avoidance Culture (Sweden, US, UK):

Individualism (Sweden, US, UK):Tendency of people to look for themselves and their immediate families only.High Individualism (USA, Canada, Denmark, Sweden)Low Individualism (Pakistan, Latin American countries)

MasculinityA situation in which the dominant values in society are success, money and things.High masculinity index (Japan, Germany, Spain)

FemininityA situation in which the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life.Low masculinity index (Norway)

HALL’S THEORY OF CULTURAL CONTEXT

High context culture (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and other Asian countries)

• Long lasting relationships, personal involvement

• Loyalty of subordinates• Agreements are spoken• Distinction between outsiders and insiders• Cultural patterns too slow to change

AFGHANI HOSPITALITY

Low context culture (US, Sweden, Britain)• Relationships of short duration• Messages explicit• Personal responsibility difficult to be pinned

down• Agreements written• Insiders and outsiders distinguished• Cultural patterns faster to change

Contrasting High and Low-Context Cultures

Interpersonal distance zones for business conversations

• How we accord status

• How we manage time:Sequential vs Synchronic

• How we relate to nature: inner-directed vs outer directed

EXPATRIATE

Anyone living and/or working outside their home country.

The foreign assignment cycleHome country Foreign country

experience experience

1.Selecting and training “unrealistic expectation

2. Arrival and adjustment “culture shock”

3. Settling in and acculturating

4. Returning home and adjusting “recovery shock”

Culture shockAnxiety and doubt caused by an overload of new expectations and social cues

Work related problems were found to be major problems for repatriated Finnish, Japanese, and American employees

Avoiding culture shockCross-cultural trainingSupport during foreign assignment

Avoiding re-entry shock

Expatriate Success FactorsWillingness and motivation to go abroadTechnical abilityAdaptabilityGood interpersonal skillsGood communication abilitySupportive family

BON VOYAGE!