Topic 1 – Culture and International Business

Objectives
• To understand why we study ‘Managing
across culture?
• To differentiate the different layers of the
culture concept.
• To elaborate on the different types of culture
such as professional culture, national culture,
organisation culture etc.

Slide 1.1 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Topic 1: Culture and Intl. Business

The concept of culture.

What culture is?/is not?
• Culture is a code of attitudes, norms and
values, the way of thinking...
• The culture determines:
– How we see ourselves
– How we see the world
• Culture is not right or wrong, inherited, about
individual behaviour ...
Slide 1.2 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Three layers

The concept of culture has three layers:

• Artifacts and attitudes
– Behavioural or explicit level, what can be seen;
i.e. Dress codes, language, eating etc.
• Norms (rules) and values
– Every culture has its own system of how things
should be; i.e. principles, beliefs etc.
• Basic assumptions
– Difficult to describe or explain, have to make
assumptions based on previous layers.
Slide 1.3 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 How can we explore culture?

Figure 1.1 Navigating the seas of international business

Source: Adapted from Schneider and Barsoux (2003: 21)

Slide 1.4 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Cultural assumptions in management

Edgar Schein defines culture as:

‘a set of basic assumptions – shared solutions to
universal problems of external adaptation (how to
survive) and internal integration (how to stay
together) - which have evolved over time and are
handed down from one generation to the next’
(Schein, 2004: 14)

Slide 1.5 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Comparison value systems of societies

Four categories (Ruano-Borbalan, 2002: 339)

• Traditional society (Arab countries)
– religion plays an important role
• Rational society (Germany)
– interests of the individual come first
• Society where materialism is predominant
(ex-communist countries)
• Post-modern society (Scandinavia)
– tolerant and democratic
Slide 1.6 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Levels of cultures in a business context

Cultures can develop at different levels:

• Culture and nation
• National culture
• Organizational culture
• Corporate culture
• Professional culture
• Culture and management

Slide 1.7 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Culture and nation

Influence of culture on organizations

• Macro level
– laws and economic institutions
– the nation must be considered by organizations
going about their business.
• Micro level
– the organization is influenced through a number
of cultural elements relating to:
– employer-employee relationships
– behaviour among employees

Slide 1.8 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 National culture

• Elements that contribute to the creation of a

national culture:
- Physical environment eg. The weather.
- History of the nation eg. ‘The Japanese
invasion’
• Institutions that contribute to the
establishment of a national culture
- Family/Religion/Education
- Mass communication media
- The multinational company
(Tayeb, 2003: 13)
Slide 1.9 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Organizational culture

• In organization, culture affects the way:

- strategy is determined
- goals are established
- how the organization operates

• The personnel of the organization:

- influenced by their cultural backgrounds
- shared their own values and perceptions

(Schein, 1999)

Slide 1.10 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Corporate culture

• Corporate culture is a combination of:

- Organizational culture
- National/regional culture
• Two meanings on the influence of corporate
culture:
Key to success if:
1) Clearly defined corporate culture
2) Flexible culture
• Role of the company culture
- internal cultural factors
Slide 1.11 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Professional culture

• Three professional cultures in management:

• Operators
- involved in production (goods/services)
• Engineers
- design and monitor the technology
• Executives
- senior managers
(Schein, 1996)
• The question remains: how these professional
cultures co-exist?
• Or, the culture of professionals such as
lawyers, doctors etc.
Slide 1.12 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Culture and management

Cross-cultural management
• explains the behaviour of people in
organizations around the world
• describes and compares organizational
behaviour across countries and cultures
• seeks to understand and improve the
interaction of :
– co-workers, managers, executives, clients,
suppliers, and alliance partners
(Adler, 2002: 11)

Slide 1.13 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Conclusion Topic 1

• Shows how difficult it is to give a definition of

the word ‘culture’.

• Chapter also shows that the individuals in a

group form a culture that can be national,
organizational or professional.

Slide 1.14 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
 Class Exercise

• In groups, pick a member of the group, decide

and present:
1) What are the artefacts/attitudes than can be
observed?
2) What are the norms and values?
3) What are the cultural assumptions?

Slide 1.15 Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009