National Culture in Organization Development

National Culture In Organization Development: A Conceptual & Empirical Analysis

Keith R. Johnson & Robert Golembiewski

Abimanyu N NGayathri G

Harsha KarriSanjay Krishna

INTRODUCTION• OD – Collection of Intervention Techniques• Western practices need adaptation• Lack of empirical work

National

Cultures

OD Values

OBJECTIVE

OD Values

National

Cultures

OD Success Rates

MEASUREMENT OF OD & CULTURAL VALUESHOFSTEDE’S METHODOLOGY• Power Distance• Uncertainty Avoidance• Masculinity – Femininity• Individualism - Collectivism

53 countries and regions

MEASUREMENT OF OD & CULTURAL VALUESJAEGER’S ANALYSIS OF HOFSTEDE’S DIMNESIONS• Conforms only in Scandinavian countries• Coherence & Homogeneity to OD• Provisional AgreementDimensio

nDegree

What OD Values Stress on

Power Distance

Low Status equality & Minimization of social differences

Uncertainty Avoidance

Low Tolerance of ambiguity & Minimizing elaborate structuring of relationships

Masculinity

Low Feelings and relationships

Individualism

Medium

Tolerance of individual differences & facilitation of collaboration and teamwork

MEASUREMENT OF OD & CULTURAL VALUES

JOHNSON’S METHOD• Hofstede’s dimensions into a single measure of

cultural differenceAll countries vs. DenmarkAll countries vs. ‘OD Country’All countries vs. USAAll countries vs. Culture of Economic Development

OD MODELS & SUCCESS RATE• Close fit between OD values & Values of host

country – OD Success• Greater differences between OD and national

values – Lower success rates• 100 OD projects in third world countries• Contrary hypothesis – OD projects unlikely to

induce change in values when they are highly congruent with national culture

METHOD• Three basic variablesMean project ageMean project successTotal number of OD projects per country• Three hypothesisGreater the difference Between Target’s values & OD values – Less

frequent OD interventionsLess successful are the applicationsBetween nation’s culture and target – More

difficult the transfer of OD project

RESULTS• 87 cases overlapped with the 53 countries in

Hofstede population• Seven coefficients out of eight for age and

number in the expected direction• Relationship between national culture and OD

project age, frequency and success have been tested for the first time

• Outcome variable – Project Success

SUMMARY & DISCUSSION1. Reporting of outcomes is uneven – High PD & Low

UA2. Funding agent is external to the nations – Positive

association b/w OD values & robustness of evaluation

3. Rural Areas – Measurement problem4. Present population – Too small5. No consistent reporting for cross cultural OD case

studies6. Possibility of close fit hypothesis being wrong7. Inappropriate basic conceptual distinctions –

Distortion of cultural variance due to geography

Organization Development and National Culture : Where’s the Fit?

Alfred M. JaegerMcGill University

Definitions of OD• French and bell : A long range effort to improve an organisation’s

problem solving and renewal processes, particularly through a more effective and collaborative management of organisational culture-with special emphasis on the culture of formal work teams-with the assistance of a change agent, or catalyst, and the use of the theory and technology of applied behavioural science, including action research

Culture according to Schein

Three levels• Basic assumptions and premises• Values and ideology• Artefacts and creations

An Empirical Model of Culture• Power distance• Uncertainty avoidance• Individualism• Masculinity expresses

“Everybody looks at the world from behind the windows of a cultural home and everybody prefers to act as if people from other countries have something special about them”

Personality

Culture

Human Nature

Inherited & Learned

Learned

Inherited

Specific to individual

Specific to group or category

Universal

Hofstede (1994) Three Levels of Uniqueness on human mental programming

Critiques of the model• Representative – The data is focused around the

respondents in one organisation – IBM

• Validity of the dimensions – Blodgett et al (2008) after examining Hofstede’s model

OD Values and National Cultures• Tannenbaun and Davis’ OD Values • Moving away from and Moving toward –

McGregor’s theory X and Y

OD values in Hofstede’s dimensions• Power distance: Low• Uncertainty avoidance: Low• Masculinity: Low• Individualism: medium

OD Values and National ratings• U.SPower distance: MediumUncertainty avoidance: LowMasculinity: HighIndividualism: High• 3 DimensionsHardly DifferentSomewhat DifferentVery Different

High Power DistanceFrance, Greece

ItalyPortugal

Spain, Turkey

Low Power DistanceDenmarkIrelandNorwaySweden

High UAFrance

Greece, ItalyPortugal

Spain, Turkey

Low UADenmarkIrelandSweden

UK

MasculineGreeceIreland

ItalyUK

FeminineDenmarkFinland Norway

Portugal, Sweden

High Individualis

mDenmark,

FinlandFrance, Ireland

Italy, NorwaySweden, Italy

UK

High Collectivism

PortugalGreeceTurkey

Hofstede (1994) Cultures & Organizations – The Four Cultural Dimensions

FinlandUK

FinlandNorway

SpainFranceSpainTurkey

1 – Power Distance 2 – Uncertainty Avoidance

3 – Individualism/Collectivism 4 – Masculinity/Femininity

EXAMPLES OF CULTURAL BARRIERS TO ODUnited Kingdom – Steele (1977)• Norms – Avoidance of unsuitable topics, favoring

security and stability vs. unknown• Sense of fatalism and Deeply rooted class structureSwitzerland – Bennis (1977)• OD Program cancelled• Conflict with president’s valuesJapan• Absence of assertive training due to results that are

deviant• Conflict with Japanese cultureUSA – Steele & Crockett (1977)• Accepted in Southern California than New England

SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS & CULTUTRAL DIMENSIONS• OD’s espoused values Birthplace• MBO & OD – Hofstede – Planned Organizational

Change• Independence for negotiation (Less power

distance), Willingness for risks (Weak Uncertainty Avoidance) & Importance to performance (High masculinity)

• Germany – High UA – Mgmt. by joint goal setting• France – MBO unsuccessful• Humanization of work – Job enrichment –

Masculinity dimension• T-groups replaced by Development groups• Confrontation meeting – One day meeting –

Beckhard (1967)

SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS & CULTUTRAL DIMENSIONS• Confrontation Meeting – Six Steps• Climate setting, information collecting,

information sharing, priority setting & group action planning, immediate follow-up by top team and progress review – Inappropriate in countries with High UA

• Survey feedback – Questionnaire about employee attitudes and percepetions

• Task orientation - Depends on degree of masculinity

INTERVENTIONS FOR PROBLEM SITUATIONS• Divergence of dimensions from OD values –

Failure• High UA – Reluctance as a result of

unpredicatability• Depth intervention• Target of change – Formal to informal system –

Harrison (1970)• Target of change – job enrichment, MBO, T-groups

and group psychotherapy

Sample Interventions

Intervention targets

Job enrichment Formal System

MBO Formal & Informal system (role expectations)

Managerial Grid Formal & Informal System (intra & intergroup interactions)

Survey feedback Formal & Informal system (attitudes & feelings)

Team building Informal & Formal system

T-groups Informal system & self

Group psychotherapy

Self and informal system

INTERVENTIONS FOR PROBLEM SITUATIONS• High PD – No confrontation• High masculinity – Lack of relationships and

feelings• Two types of interventions – Survey feedback &

Third party peace making – in case of High UA• Third party – carrier of information

SUCCESSFUL ADAPTATIONS OF OD

Use of Transactional analysis

• Latin America• Japan• India• Pakistan• Nigeria

GUIDELINES FOR ADAPTING OD• Success of intervention – Skill of OD practitioner• Knowledge of host culture• Steps for OD intervention1. Evaluate rankings of dimension of culture in

situation2. Judgements about deeply held values unlikely to

change3. Evaluate problem appropriate interventions

rankings on culture dimensions4. Choice of intervention with low risk for values5. Incorporate process modifications for cultural fit• National culture – rooted in individual