Organization Development and Change Thomas G. Cummings Christopher G. Worley Organization Development in Global Settings
Organization Development and Change
Thomas G. CummingsChristopher G. Worley
Organization Development inGlobal Settings
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Learning Objectivesfor Chapter Twenty One
• To explore the differences in OD applications in a cross-cultural context.
• To understand the cultural values that might impact OD applications in other cultures
• To examine how OD can best be applied in worldwide firms and global social change organizations
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Growth of OD in Global Settings
• The rapid development of foreign economies
• The increasing worldwide availability of technical and financial resources
• The emergence of a global economy
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Cultural Values
• Context• Power Distance• Uncertainty Avoidance• Achievement Orientation• Individualism
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Context
• The extent to which meaning in communication is carried in the words
• Organizations in high context cultures tend to value ceremony and ritual, the structure is less formal, there are fewer written policies, and people are often late for appointments
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Power Distance
• Extent to which members of a society accept that status and power are distributed unequally in an organization
• Organizations in these cultures tend to be autocratic, possess clear status differences, and have little employee participation
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Uncertainty Avoidance
• The extent to which members of a society tolerate the unfamiliar and unpredictable
• Organizations in these cultures tend to value experts, prefer clear roles, avoid conflict, and resist change
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Achievement Orientation• The extent to which people in a society
value assertiveness and the acquisition of material goods
• Organizations in these cultures tend to associate achievement with wealth and recognition, value decisiveness, and support clear sex roles
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Individualism• The extent to which people in a society
believe they should be responsible for themselves and their immediate family
• Organizations in these cultures tend to encourage personal initiative, value time and autonomy, and accept competition
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Cultural and Economic Contexts of International OD Practice
Cultural Fit with OD PracticeHighLow
Moderate
High
Lev
el o
f Eco
nom
ic
Dev
elop
men
t
IndiaSouth Africa
United Kingdom Scandinavia
USA
Central America Eastern EuropeAsia
South Pacific South America Middle East
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Worldwide Organizations• Offer products or services worldwide• Balance product and functional concerns with
geographic issues• Coordination must address complex personnel
and cross-cultural issues• Its competitive position in one national market
is affected by its global integration and local responsiveness
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The Integrative-Responsiveness Framework
Global Orientation
Transnational Orientation
International Orientation
Multinational Orientation
High
Need for GlobalIntegration
Low
Low Need for Local ResponsivenessHigh
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Worldwide Strategic Orientations
• Offer products/services in more than one country
• Balance product and functional concerns with geographic issues of distance, time, and culture
• Carry out coordinated activities across cultural boundaries using a wide variety of personnel
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Worldwide Strategic Orientations
• The International• The Global Orientation• The Multinational Orientation• The Transnational Orientation
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International Strategic Orientation
• Characteristics of the International Design– Sell existing products/services to nondomestic
markets– Goals of increased foreign revenues
• Implementing the International Orientation– OD facilitates extending the existing strategy
into the new market– Cross-cultural training and strategic planning
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The Global Strategic Orientation• Characteristics of the Global Design
– Centralized with a global product structure– Goals of efficiency through volume
• Implementing the Global Orientation– OD supports career planning, role clarification,
employee involvement, conflict management and senior management team building to help achieve improved operational efficiency
– OD helps the organization transition to global integration from local responsiveness
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The Multinational Strategic Orientation
• Characteristics of the Multinational Design– Operate a decentralized organization– Goals of local responsiveness through
specialization• Implementing the Multinational Orientation
– OD helps with intergroup relations, local management selection and team building
– OD facilitates management development, reward systems, and strategic alliances
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Transnational Strategic Orientation
• Characteristics of the Transnational Design– Tailored products– Goals of learning and responsiveness through
integrations• Implementing the Transnational Orientation
– Extensive selection and rotation– Acquire cultural knowledge and develop intergroup
relations– Build corporate vision
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Global Social Change Organizations Their primary task is a commitment to serve as an agent of
change in the creation of environmentally and socially sustainable world futures
They have discovered and mobilized innovative social-organizational architectures
They hold values of empowerment in the accomplishment of their global change mission
They are globally-locally linked in structure, membership, or partnership and thereby exist as entities beyond the nation-state
They are multi-organizational and often cross-sectoral
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Application Stages of Global Social Change Organizations
• Build the local organization– Using values to create the vision– Recognizing that internal conflict is often a function of
external conditions– Understanding the problems of success
• Create horizontal linkages– Build a network of local organizations with similar views
and objectives• Develop vertical linkages
– Create channels of communication and influence upward to governmental and policy-level, decision-making processes
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Global Social Change Organizations OD Roles and Skills
• Bridging Role• Stewardship Role• Communication Skills• Negotiation Skills• Networking Skills