BADM 633 - Wk 3 International Business Culture Terry Ryan

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BADM 633 - Wk 3

International Business Culture

Terry Ryan

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Religious And Ethical Systems

Religion is a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacredEthical systems are a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behaviorReligion and ethics are often closely intertwinedFour religions dominate society -Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and BuddhismConfucianism is also important in influencing behavior and culture in many parts of Asia

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Language

Language refers to the spoken and unspoken means of communicationLanguage is one of the defining characteristics of culture

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Spoken Language

Countries with more than one language often have more than one cultureThe most widely spoken language in the world is English, but Chinese is the mother tongue of the largest number of peopleEnglish is also becoming the language of international business, but knowledge of the local language is beneficial, and in some cases, critical for business success

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Unspoken Language

Unspoken language refers to nonverbal communication such as facial expressions, personal space, and hand gestures Failing to understand the nonverbal cues of another culture can lead to communication failure

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Education

Formal education is the medium through which individuals learn many of the language, conceptual, and mathematical skills that are indispensable in a modern society Education is important in determining a nation’s competitive advantageGeneral education levels can also be a good index for the kinds of products that might sell in a country

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Culture And The Workplace

It is important for companies to understand how a society’s culture affects workplace valuesManagement processes and practices must be adapted to culturally-determined work-related valuesGeert Hofstede identified four dimensions of culture: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity

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Culture And The Workplace

Power distance focuses on how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities Individualism versus collectivism focuses on the relationship between the individual and his or her fellows Uncertainty avoidance measures the extent to which different cultures socialize their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating ambiguityMasculinity versus femininity looks at the relationship between gender and work roles

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PDI

Power Distance Index (PDI) that is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.

This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders.

Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that 'all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others'.

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Implications For Managers

Societies differ because their cultures varyCultures vary because of profound differences in social structure, religion, language, education, economic philosophy, and political philosophy

There are three important implications that flow from these differences:1. There is a need to develop cross-cultural literacy2. There is a connection between culture and national competitive advantage3. There is a connection between culture and ethics in decision making

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Next Week – Sept. 15th

1. Read Mitchell, pp. 37-662. Africa – Dr. Alice Burmeister3. SG1 – Presentation (Iceland)

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: AMERICAN

STEREOTYPE: Brash, materialistic. A cowboy culture where individuals are obsessed with time and deadlines. A society plagued by crime and violence.

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: American culture is task-driven and places great value on individual achievement and thinking. Monochronic*, with a very low risk-avoidance, which allows Americans to speak without thinking—and often act without thinking, sometimes in a violent manner. It is a very masculine culture, which means that society appreciates assertiveness while respecting the goal of material acquisition.

* more concerned with time, deadlines and schedules, tends to grow impatient and want to rush to “close the deal.” (USA, Canada, Northern Europe)

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: BRITISH (English?)

STEREOTYPE: Stuffy, prim and proper. Business is done through an "old boys’ network."

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: Low-context, low risk-avoidance, monochronic, mixture of relationship-driven and task-driven cultures.

* The Irish, Scots and Welsh share some of these same traits, but are more “laid back” and anti-establishment; less class conscious and more socially-conscious.

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STEREOTYPES

Americans (i.e., USA) British1. Italian2. German3. Japanese4. Israeli5. Nigerian6. Indian7. Saudi8. Australian

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: ITALIAN

STEREOTYPE: Excitable and seem to relish chaos. Not very detail-oriented it comes to business, which seems to take forever to conclude. They are romantic and seem to shake hands with and kiss visitors forever. Very demonstrative and physical.

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: Italians are polychronic* which means they \ to do several tasks at one time in no particular order. Their concept of time is non-linear. It is also a high-context, relationship-driven culture.

* time is continuous, with no particular structure. Polychrons see time as a never-ending river, flowing from the infinite past, through the present, into the infinite future. (Latin America, the Arab part of the Middle East, or sub- Sahara Africa)

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: GERMAN

STEREOTYPE: The Germans are usually seen as rigid, somewhat humorless and obsessed with order and formality. A smile does not come easily and business is taken seriously. They are particularly focused on detail.

NATIONAL CULTURAL 'TRAITS: Low-context culture that values precise communication. Focuses on what is being said rather than who is saying it. Monochrome, that is, they have a very linear concept of time and prefer to do one thing at a time. The German culture is one of very high risk-avoidance.

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: JAPANESE

STEREOTYPE: Very group-oriented. Quiet, shy, reserved and highly respectful of status and position. Negotiates in groups or teams and avoids criticism of partners or proposals. Japanese will work their whole career at a single company.

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: The Japanese culture is collectivist by nature, that is, group achievement and harmony comes before that of individual fulfillment. It is a high power-distance culture where workers do not seek personal decision-making powers. It is high risk-avoidance.

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: ISRAELI

STEREOTYPE: The Israelis are brash and rude wheeler-dealers who always to have something to say about just about everything.

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: Polychronic, high-context, individualist culture that features low power-distance—i.e., society members insist on having decision-making power.

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: NIGERIAN

STEREOTYPE: Gregarious, outgoing and eager to please. Seem never to say' and enjoy physical contact but are never on time for anything. Great schemers.

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: A polychronic, high-context, relationship-driven society.

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: INDIAN

STEREOTYPE: Reserved, philosophical, lacking confidence, self-effacing, but very bright.

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: Feminine qualities, high-context, polychronic society that places high value on group harmony. It is a relationship-driven society with high risk-avoidance. Religious philosophies play a key role in everyday life as does the value that society places on education.

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: SAUDI

STEREOTYPE: Quiet, thoughtful, almost meek, with great respect for power money and hierarchy.

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: Islamic religion influences business values, high power-distance, collectivist society that features many masculine traits, including a touch of materialism. A relationship-driven culture that does not bother to separate the individual from the business he is conducting.

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STEREOTYPES

NATIONALITY: AUSTRALIAN

STEREOTYPE: Loud, boisterous and materialistic. Ill-mannered and ill-bred.

NATIONAL CULTURAL TRAITS: Individualistic society with low power-distance, and very low uncertainty-avoidance that allows them to not worry about embarrassing themselves in public.

http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php

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MAD MEN

PETE CAMPBELL, IVY LEAGUE GRAD AND ACCOUNT MANGER AT STERLING-COOPER ADVERTISING AGENCY has just taken on all overseas accounts. Having worked hard to gain this global responsibility, Pete want to make a great first impression with his new European counterparts. Consequently, when he received an urgent request from his Dutch counterpart in Amsterdam on September 5th requesting information by close of business on 10/09, Pete whipped together the requested info and emailed the data on September 11th, four full weeks ahead of schedule. Pete was shocked annd surprised when he heard back that the company had lost the account because his information was late. Further, the Dutch asked that he be removed as their liason.

WHAT HAPPENED???

Many other countries, including those in Europe, use a DD/MM/YY date convention rather than our DD/MM/YYYY.Poor Pete was a day late (and many dollars short) . . . .

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Implications For Managers

DON’T BUY IN TO THE STEREOTYPES!DO:

–Show Empathy–Be Flexible–Manage Your Responses–Avoid Going Native–Respect Local Customs–Be Aware of Non-verbal Communications–Develop Trust–Become Involved

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