HR Development

Department

Semester 2 / 2019 -20

Course : (SHMR 2113) Cross-Cultural Management

Week 1
Prepared by: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhani Bakri
Lectured by: Mr. Sadiq Al-Manmi
CROSS CULTURAL
MANAGEMENT
(SHMR 2113)

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norhani Bakri

 INTRODUCTION TO
CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
 CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT

 In today’s global village, companies increasingly hire

employees who are located in different countries.
And immigration has made it more common for
employees to work side by side with people from
other parts of the world.

 As a result, many workplaces are comprised of a

multitude of cultures, which also means they are
filled with different traditions, languages and
mannerisms. In order for a multicultural workplace
to succeed, it requires management that
understands how to effectively guide and relate to
people from around the globe.
 According to Nancy Adler (2008), “Cross-cultural
management explains the behavior of people in
organizations around the world and shows people how to
work in organizations with employees and client
populations from many different cultures.”

 Cross-culture management happens when a manager

oversees employees from a culture other than her own or
when employees on a team are from different countries,
as well.
Ways of setting up a multicultural team

 Organizations have offices in different countries which

are managed by people in the head office.

 At other times, remote employees around the world are

managed by someone in yet another country.

 Another scenario is when people have immigrated from

different countries and work alongside others who have
also traveled from elsewhere.
Effective Cross-culture management

 must identify and acknowledge the differences in

cultures, practices and preferences of the team
members.

 needs to be able to modify or adapt certain business

processes or systems, such as the way information is
communicated or how decisions are made, in order to
improve the efficacy of the workforce.
DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE

 Culture is something that human beings learn and as a result,

learning requires communication and communication is a way of
coding and decoding language as well as symbols used in that
language.

 For example, humans communicate through many means other

than language such as facial expressions, gestures, body language,
posture etc. In other words, culture and communication can be
considered inseparable, if one is to be exposed to a certain
culture, then communication becomes a must.
 Cont.
 According to Bates and Plog, “Culture is a system of
shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and
artifacts that the members of a society use to cope
with their world and with one another, and that are
transmitted from generation to generation through
learning”.

 Culture includes the patterns of thought (shared

meanings that the members of a society attach to
various phenomena, natural and intellectual, including
religion and ideologies), patterns of behavior, artifacts
(tools, pottery, houses, machines, works of art), and
the culturally transmitted skills and techniques used to
make the artifacts.
 Cont.

 Because of different history, geography, ideology,

economics, politics, culture, language, life style, social
customs, etc., people in different parts of the world,
especially those in the East and those in the West do
differ profoundly in their cultural patterns or
orientations.
 Cont.

 In the end, it is only by

understanding others that we
might be able to gain insight into
ourselves and our own culture.

 And as the Hall put it, “An

understanding of different
cultures may well be our own
most important asset in meeting
the challenges of our times, both
abroad and at home.”
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

 Culture is learned
 Culture is unconscious
 Culture is shared
 Culture is integrated
 Culture is Symbolic
 Culture is a way of life
 Culture is Dynamic
 Culture is Relative
 Culture is universal
FACETS OF CULTURE
LEVELS OF CULTURE
 Artefacts and Attitudes
 Norms and Values
 Basic Assumptions
Schein’s Level of Culture
NATIONAL CULTURE

 National differences refer to the cultural influences of

a nation that result in its national characteristics.
Although nation-states have regional and political
differences, national culture can be viewed as the
values held by a majority of the population within
the nation.

 These values are largely unconscious and developed

throughout one’s childhood. The values are pushed to a
level of consciousness when in contrast to another
nation’s cultural values.
Cont.

 Within national cultures, values are generally seen as

stable over time. National values, because they reflect
the traditions of the nation-state over time, will change
slightly from generation to generation, but the overall
values will remain the same.

 For example, a German who comes from a culture of

punctuality and travels for business in Italy will notice a
national cultural difference in how Italians view time
(more leisurely and relaxed) as compared to their own
national culture.
Clusters of cultures
 The countries composing each cluster
Anglo  Latin Europe  Nordic Europe  Germanic Europe

Australia
France
Canada Austria
Israel
England Germany (Former East)
Italy Denmark
Ireland Germany (Former West)
Portugal Finland
The countries
Table 2.10
New Zealand
South Africa
Spain Sweden
Netherlands
Switzerland
Switzerland
composing each cluster (White sample)
United States
(French-speaking)
(German speaking)

Source: Chhokar, J.S. et al. (2008):13

 Eastern Europe  Latin America  Sub-Saharan Africa  Middle East

Argentina
Albania Bolivia
Georgia Brazil Namibia
Egypt
Greece Colombia Nigeria
Kuwait
Hungary Costa Rica South Africa
Morocco
Kazakhstan Ecuador (Black sample)
Qatar
Poland El Salvador Zambia
Turkey
Russia Guatemala Zimbabwe
Slovenia Mexico
Venezuela

Southern Asia Confucian Asia    

India China
Indonesia Hong Kong
Iran Japan
   
Malaysia Singapore
Philippines South Korea
Thailand Taiwan
Regional Culture

 All national cultures consist of regional subcultures that

influence the characteristics of one group from another in a
nation state.

 In the United States, the word “pop” refers to a soft drink in

the Midwest, but if you go to the East Coast, it is referred to
as “soda.” In other regions of the United States, a soft drink
is referred to as “Coke.” The following is an example of
regional cultural differences and one way the difference is
expressed:
Organizational Culture

 Organizational
culture speaks to the
culture that is specific
to an organization—the
culture that makes it
distinctive from
competitors and non-
competitors.
Cont.

 Organizational cultures are often referred to as

“corporate cultures” and reflect the beliefs, values,
and assumptions of an organization.

 For example, the culture of one school in a school

district can be different than the culture of another
school located in the same district simply because of
what the people in one school culture adhere and react
to.
Team Culture
 The values, beliefs, and norms
of culture are present in team
environments, dictating the
team’s operations and
efficiency.

 Cultural norms in teams guide

members in their dress and
appearance, their language,
how they relate to one another,
and how they get along.
Cont.

 Some teams are very serious, while others use humor in

their work life. Departments, teams, or workgroups
can, and will, act very differently from each other even
though they are located in the same building and in the
same organization.

 Although you might not think about personality or

temperament as cultural elements, they can and do
shape a team’s culture.
Individual Culture

 Individual cultural differences relate to your preferences for things

through your personal experiences that include the influence of your
family, your peers, school, media, co-workers, and so on.

 You may share a national culture, such as being an American, with

another person and live in the same regional culture, the Midwest.

 You may even work with the person in the same organization and
department, thus sharing an organizational and team culture, and even
though you share similar interests, you will likely have differences
in individual culture based on who you are and your social upbringing