Managing Across Cultures • Cultural differences making a difference – 6 Basic cultural variations •People’s Nature •Relationship to nature •Relationship to other people •Modality of human activity •Temporal focus on human activity •Conception of space
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Managing Across Cultures Cultural differences making a difference –6 Basic cultural variations People’s Nature Relationship to nature Relationship to other.
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Managing Across Cultures
• Cultural differences making a difference– 6 Basic cultural variations
• People’s Nature• Relationship to nature• Relationship to other people• Modality of human activity• Temporal focus on human activity• Conception of space
Managing Across Cultures
• Cultural differences making a difference– How they view time– The collectivist / individualistic dimension– Power Distance (also shows in language)– Attitude towards affection– Nature of business conversations– Negotiating styles– Protocol for meetings (whether business or
personal)– Eating behaviors– Dress / appearance
Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture
Power Distance (Large or Small)– The extent to which less powerful members of
institutions accept that power is distributed unequally
• Large (Mexico, South Korea, India)
– blindly obey order of superiors– hierarchical organizational structure
Uncertainty Avoidance (High or Low)– The extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous
situations
• High( Germany, Japan, Spain)
– high need for security– strong beliefs in experts
• Low (Denmark, UK)
– willing to accept risks– less structuring of activities
Individualism (vs. Collectivism)– The tendency of people to look after themselves and
their immediate family only strong work ethic promotions based on merit
• U.S., Canada, Australia
Collectivism– The tendency of people to belong to groups and to look
after each other in exchange for loyalty weaker work ethic promotions based on seniority
• China, South American cultures
Masculinity (Vs. Femininity)– the dominant values in society are success,
money and thingsemphasis on earning and recognitionhigh stress workplace
• Japan
Femininity– the dominant values in society are caring for
others and the quality of lifeemployment securityemployee freedom
• Scandinavian cultures
Cultural Dimensions by Trompenaars
Universalism vs. ParticularismUniversalism: the belief that ideas and practices
can be applied everywhere without modification– U. S., Germany, and Sweden
Particularism: the belief that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should be applied.
– Spain and Japan
Individualism Vs. Collectivism
Individualism: refers to people regarding themselves as individuals
–U.S., UK, and Sweden
Collectivism: refers to people regarding themselves as part of a group
– Japan and France
Neutral Vs. AffectiveNeutral: emotions are held in check
– Japan and the U.S. Affective: emotions are openly and naturally expressed
– Mexico, Netherlands, and Switzerland
Specific Vs. DiffuseSpecific: individuals have a large public space and a
small private space – UK, U. S., and Switzerland
Diffuse: both public and private space are similar in size
– Venezuela, China, and Spain
Achievement Vs. AscriptionAchievement: people are accorded status based
on how well they perform their functions– U.S., Switzerland, and UK
Ascription: status is attributed based on who or what a person is
– Venezuela and China
Time
Past or Present-Oriented Vs. Future-Oriented– Past or present-oriented : emphasize the history and
tradition of the culture• Venezuela, Indonesia, and Spain
– Future-oriented: emphasize the opportunities and limitless scope
that any agreement can have• U. S., Italy, and Germany
Sequential Vs. Synchronous Time Sequential: time is prevalent, people tend to do only one activity at a time, keep appointments strictly, and prefer to follow plans
– U.S.
Synchronous: time is prevalent, people tend to do more than one activity at a time, appointments are approximate, and schedules are not important
– Mexico and France
IssueTime
orientationPast Present Future
GeneralPlanning Extension of past
behaviorShort-term Long-term
Emphasis in decision criteria
Precedence Current impact
Desired effects
Reward systems
Historically determined
Currently contracted
Contingent on performance
Variations
Managerial ImpactSpecific by Variation
Variations in Time Orientation
Environment
Inner DirectedBelieve in controlling outcomes
– U.S.
Outer DirectedBelieve in letting things take their own