International OB: Managing across Cultures

Chapter Four

McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives
LO.1 Define the term culture, and explain how societal culture and organizational culture combine to influence on-the-job behavior. LO.2 Define ethnocentrism, and explain how to develop cultural intelligence. LO.3 Distinguish between high-context and low-context cultures, and identify and describe the nine cultural dimensions from Project GLOBE. LO.4 Distinguish between individualistic and collectivist cultures, and explain the difference between monochronic and polychronic cultures.
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Learning Objectives (cont.)

LO.5 Specify the practical lesson from the Hofstede crosscultural study, and explain what Project GLOBE researchers discovered about leadership. LO.6 Discuss the results and practical significance of the recent Bloom and Van Reenen study of national management styles. LO.7 Explain why US managers have a comparatively high failure rate on foreign assignments. LO.8 Summarize the research findings about North American women on foreign assignments. LO.9 Identify four stages of the foreign assignment cycle and the OB trouble spot associated with each stage.
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The U.S. Has Diverse Cultural Roots

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Societal Culture Is Complex and Multilayered

Societal culture
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

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Cultural Influences on Organizational Behavior

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A Model of Societal and Organizational Cultures

Employees bring their societal culture to work with them in the form of customs and language Organizational culture affects an individuals values, ethics, attitudes, assumptions, and expectations

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Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism
belief that ones native country, culture, language, and behavior are superior to all others.

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Research Insight and Dealing with Ethnocentrism

A survey of companies in Europe, Japan and the U.S. found ethnocentric staffing and human resource policies to be associated with increased personnel problems. Those problems included recruiting difficulties, high turnover rates, and lawsuits over personnel policies.

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Question?
Patricia has lived in the US her entire life. She believes that the US is the greatest country in the world. Her belief is an example of _____. A.Societal norm B.Cultural paradox C.Ethnocentrism D.Collectivism

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Cultural Paradoxes Require Cultural Intelligence

Cultural intelligence
ability to interpret ambiguous cross-cultural situations correctly

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Cultural Intelligence

Knowledge

Crosscultural skills

Mindfulness
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High-context cultures and Low-context cultures

High-context cultures rely heavily on situational cues for meaning when perceiving and communicating with others Low-context cultures written and spoken words carry the burden of shared meanings

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Contrasting High-Context and Low-Context Cultures

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Avoiding Cultural Collisions

People on both sides of the context barrier must be trained to make adjustments. Background information is essential when explaining anything. Do not assume the newcomer is self-reliant. High-context workers from abroad need to learn to ask questions outside their department and function. Foreign workers must make an effort to become more self-reliant.

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Project GLOBE
GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness)
attempt to develop an empirically based theory to describe, understand, and predict the impact of specific cultural variables on leadership and organizational processes and the effectiveness of these processes

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Nine Cultural Dimensions from the GLOBE Project

Power distance
How much unequal distribution of power should there be in organizations and society?

Uncertainty-avoidance
How much should people rely on social norms and rules to avoid uncertainty and limit unpredictability?

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Nine Cultural Dimensions from the GLOBE Project

Institutional collectivism
How much should leaders encourage and reward loyalty to the social unit, as opposed to the pursuit of individual goals?

In-group collectivism
How much pride and loyalty should individuals have for their family or organization?

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Nine Cultural Dimensions from the GLOBE Project

Gender egalitarianism
How much effort should be put into minimizing gender discrimination and role inequalities?

Assertiveness
How confrontational and dominant should individuals be in social relationships?

Future orientation
How much should people delay gratification by planning and saving for the future?
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Nine Cultural Dimensions from the GLOBE Project

Performance orientation
How much should individuals be rewarded for improvement and excellence?

Humane orientation
How much should society encourage and reward people for being kind, fair, friendly, and generous?

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Question?
Rebecca has always focused on delaying gratification and saving money for the well-being and education of her children and her own retirement. According to dimensions from the GLOBE project, Rebecca's behavior reflects: A.Future orientation B.In-group collectivism C.Masculinity-femininity D.Assertiveness
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Countries Ranking Highest and Lowest on the GLOBE Cultural Dimensions

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Individualism versus Collectivism

Individualistic culture
characterized as I and me cultures, give priority to individual freedom and choice

Collectivist culture
oppositely called we and us cultures, rank shared goals higher than individual desires and goals

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Question?
Michelle is torn between her desire to go on vacation and her organization's desire to have her at work. She decides to take her vacation. Michelle is probably from a(n) _____ culture. A.Organizational B.Low-context C.High-context D.Individualistic

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Cultural Perceptions of Time

Monochronic time
revealed in the ordered, precise, scheduledriven use of public time that typifies and even caricatures efficient Northern Europeans and North Americans

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Cultural Perceptions of Time

Polychronic time
seen in the multiple and cyclical activities and concurrent involvement with different people in Mediterranean, Latin American, and especially Arab cultures.

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Interpersonal Space
Proxemics
study of cultural expectations about interpersonal space

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Interpersonal Distance Zones for Business Conversations Vary from Culture to Culture

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Practical Insights from Cross-Cultural Management Research

Cross-cultural management
Understanding and teaching behavioral patterns in different cultures

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GLOBE and the Hofstede Study

Power distance
How much inequality does someone expect in social situations?

Individualismcollectivism
How loosely or closely is the person socially bonded?

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GLOBE and the Hofstede Study

Masculinityfemininity
Does the person embrace stereotypically competitive, performanceoriented masculine traits or nurturing, relationship-oriented feminine traits?

Uncertaintyavoidance
How strongly does the person desire highly structured situations?

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Leadership Attributes Universally Liked and Disliked

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Question?
Manuel is manager of a work crew. He keeps to himself and prefers not to interact with his employees. This is an example of which negative leader attribute.

A.Asocial B.Ruthless C.Eccentric D.Loner

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Why Do US Expatriates Fail on Foreign Assignments?

Expatriate
refers to anyone living and/or working outside their home country

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Avoiding Unrealistic Expectations

Realistic job previews are a must for future expatriates. Cross-cultural training
any type of structured experience designed to help departing employees (and their families) adjust to a foreign culture

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The Foreign Assignment Cycle

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Key Cross-Cultural Competencies

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Avoiding Culture Shock

Culture shock
anxiety and doubt caused by an overload of new expectations and cues

Best defense is comprehensive crosscultural training, including intensive language study

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Support during the Foreign Assignment

Host-country sponsors
assigned to individual managers or families Serve as cultural seeing-eye dogs

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Video Case: Cirque du Soleil

Why is Cirque du Soleil successful throughout the world? Why does the product transcend culture differences between countries? How do the cultural influences influence organizational behavior at Cirque du Soleil? Why is it important for Cirque du Soleil to be a good corporate citizen? How does ethnocentrism relate to fulfilling this role?

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