Lecture No 11

Cultural Influences on
International Business

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Learning Outcomes
 Key Components of Corporate Culture.
 Types of Organizational Culture.
 Elements of a Great Company Culture

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Key Components of Corporate Culture
 Corporate culture is often defined as a set of shared
beliefs and values that influence the behaviors and
actions of employees.

 It can also be helpful to think of culture as the

personality of the organization.

 In a survey of 1,800 global CEOs and CFOs conducted

by Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, 78 percent named
culture as one of the top five factors impacting overall
company value.

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1.Vision and Values
 The backbone of an organization’s culture is the
organization’s vision and purpose and how these things
will help it survive and compete in the market.

 Values describe the employee behaviors and mindset

required to achieve the company vision.

 Together, the vision and values serve as guidelines for

how employees are expected to lead, behave, and
communicate.

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1.Vision and Values
 Some of your company values may be aspirational, while
others may already be a part of your culture. For
example, a technology company may have core values of
zero-defect product delivery (aspirational) and
innovation (a value they already possess).

 At all times, however, employees need to understand

the vision and values, as well as the associated behaviors
that are expected of them.

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2. Practices and People
 Perhaps the most important component of corporate
culture is the people.

 Customers, prospective hires, and other stakeholders

will understand your company culture from their
interactions with and observations of employees.

 Because employee behaviors impact corporate culture,

targeted skills training can be used to teach employees
the behaviors that support the culture you want to
build.

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2. Practices and People Cont’d
 Employee behaviors, both innate and learned, define
corporate culture. Some examples include:

▪ Traits and skills of leaders: the degree to which

individuals lead by example and cultivate desired
behaviors in others.

▪ Communication: how employees share information

and deliver feedback.

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2. Practices and People Cont’d

 Teamwork/collaboration: the degree to which

individual input and perspective is respected and
considered in group problem-solving and decision-
making.

 Camaraderie: how employees have fun and build a

sense of community within the organization how
employees have fun and build a sense of community
within the organization

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3. Narrative
 Every organization has a unique story that undeniably
shapes its culture.

 When elements of the company’s narrative are shared

and retold over time, they become a significant part of
the culture.

 Examples of narrative/storytelling activities that help

shape corporate culture include:

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3. Narrative Cont’d
 Celebrations that remind employees of important
company milestones and successes.

 Rituals and routines, such as annual meetings, that

recognize newly promoted employees, or a program
that brings a special guest to speak to employees at the
same time each year.

 Company folklore and legends.

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4. Environment/Place
 The environment in which people do their work,
collaborate, and make decisions is a critical component
of corporate culture.

 For example, geographic regions tend to attract

different kinds of companies and employees, as in the
case of Silicon Valley for tech firms.

 Within companies, location can help shape culture as

well.

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4. Environment/Place
 Trading floors in brokerage firms engender a culture of
loud conversation and a lightning-fast pace of work.

 In many office environments, flexible-use gathering

places and conference-type rooms support a
collaborative culture among employees.

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Types of Organizational Culture

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Types of Organizational Culture
 Clan oriented cultures are family-like, with a focus on
mentoring, nurturing, and “doing things together.”
 Adhocracy oriented cultures are dynamic and
entrepreneurial, with a focus on risk-taking, innovation,
and “doing things first.”
 Market oriented cultures are results oriented, with a
focus on competition, achievement, and “getting the job
done.”
 Hierarchy oriented cultures are structured and
controlled, with a focus on efficiency, stability and “doing
things right.”

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Elements of a Great Company Culture
1. If you want to be trusted, you must trust.
 A culture of trust is imperative. If you behave like a
helicopter parent, overseeing, or worse, taking over
every project, it will directly conflict with the building of
trust.
 Give your employees clear guidelines and let them
spread their wings.
2. Give employees the opportunity to get to know
one another.
 How can people know, like, and trust one another if
they don't have the opportunity to play together?

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Elements of a Great Company Culture
 An occasional party or outing is not enough to build
and maintain these relationships.

 Create little rituals at employee meetings, have themes

for certain days of the week and holidays, and engage
in community projects together.

 Find ways to celebrate success, no matter how small,

and certainly create friendly competition; both work-
related and personal.

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Elements of a Great Company Culture
3. Create a cool space.
• Our external environment has a significant impact on our
internal thought process.

• Design a creative corner with bean bag chairs, chalk boards, and
a lighthearted theme throughout.

• Allow employees to bring fun decorations to add to their work

area.

• A creative environment sets the bar for innovation.

• Creating a "culture of cool" attracts the kind of people who

value the kind of culture you're trying to build.

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Elements of a Great Company Culture
 4. Give them free stuff.
 Everyone loves free stuff! If you can't afford to
supply personal computers or tablets, stock
options, and grand parties--no worries, those things
will come.
 In the meantime Friday morning breakfasts,
afternoon smoothies, fun work tools, and
inexpensive merchandise will go a long way.
 This will contribute to a work-hard, play-hard
environment, making for happy, productive, and
creative employees.

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Elements of a Great Company
Culture
5. No jerks allowed.
 Hiring for skill alone will doom you to misery.
 Hire nice people who fit in with the intention design of
your culture.
 Hire people who have a proven work ethic and are
team players.
 Hire for creativity and personality. Sure, experience and
skill are important, but not nearly enough to take you to
the top of your industry.

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Elements of a Great Company Culture
 6. Encourage growth and ownership.
 A strong company culture isn't just about fun: it's about
encouraging your employees to see their job as more than
just a job--to own their job and their ideas.
 Once you've build this collaborative, trusting environment,
your employees will bring ideas to the table.
 If it's their idea, put them in charge of it! If an employee
wants to learn something new, provide the support for them
to do it.
 Today, innovative companies don't hire employees to remain
in one job for an eternity; they hire innovators who will
contribute to the future of the company in a powerful way.

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Elements of a Great Company Culture
 7. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
 Communication about processes and workflow
aren't enough.
 Drill your values into your employees with ideas
like those above and by demonstrating them in
your own behavior.
 Be authentic and, at times, vulnerable.
 If an employee isn't performing up to par, don't let
your frustration and disappointment grow; engage
in thoughtful conversations about it and create a
plan for improvement. If an employee has a win,
celebrate!
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Assignment
 Compare and contrast Elements of culture of two
different MNES. (Multinationals)

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Thanks a lot

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