Adler
Chapter 1 – Culture and Management
1.1 Introduction
more than 2/3 of the world’s CEOs view foreign competition + effectively managing
human resources as a key factor to global success
Immense increase of international trade + competition
Expectation: China will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy
Developing countries are playing a greater role in the global market
– jobs are shifting from workers in rich countries to cheaper, educated
labor in economically developing countries
pessimistic: are seen as destroying wealth of developed economies
optimistic: increased demand from those countries, everybody benefits
benefitting trans-border business: European Union + Euro and North American
Free Trade Agreement
1.2 Global Strategy and Culture
new time- and quality-sensitive approaches to managing R&D, production,
marketing, and finance have evolve rapidly
the understanding of international organizational behavior and management of
global human resource systems has developed
1.3 Going Global: Phases of Development
national cultures are indeed important, but their relative impact depends on the
stage of development of the firm, industry, and world economy
firms frequently skip phases in order to more rapidly position themselves to
maximize their global competitive advantage
1. Domestic Phase
– firms produced unique products + services that they offered almost exclusively
to the domestic market
– if they exported, they did so without altering them for foreign consumption (e.g.
British product with English labels is exported to Belgium)
firms regarded cross-cultural management + global human resource systems
as largely irrelevant
– “one best way”
2. Multidomestic Phase
– needed to market + produce abroad, addressing each foreign market
separately and differently
– sensitivity to cultural differences became critical to implementing effective
corporate strategy
– “many good ways”
3. Multinational Phase
, – Many companies producing indifferentiable products price-/cost-sensitive
– High global competition
– “one least-cost way”
4. Global Phase
– Top quality, least possible-cost products become the baseline, the minimally
acceptable standard
– Competitive advantage comes from strategic thinking, mass customization,
and outlearning one’s competitors
– Need to be able to quickly translate worldwide client needs into products and
services
1.4 Cross-Cultural Management
C-CM = explains the behavior of people in organizations around the world and shows
people how to work in organizations with employee + client populations from many
different cultures
– Describes organizational behavior within countries + cultures
– Compares OB across countries + culture
– Seeks to understand + improve the interaction of co-workers, managers,
executives, clients, suppliers, and alliance partners from countries + cultures
around the world
Parochialism
Parochialism = viewing the world solely through one’s own eyes and perspective
– Example: Americans speak fewer languages, less interested in other
cultures, more naïve in global business situations
need for a change; economy no longer revolves around the U.S.
Global vs. Domestic Organizations
2 fundamental differences between global and domestic organizations:
1. Geographic dispersion = spread of global organizations’ operations over vast
distances world wide
2. Multiculturalism = people from many countries and/or cultures interact
regularly
1.5 What is culture?
Culture = “Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior
acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of
human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture
consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their
attached values; culture systems may, on the other hand, be considered as products
of action, on the other, as conditioning elements of future action”
(Kroeber + Kluckhohn)
Something
– Shared by all or almost all members of a given social group
– Older members of a group pass on to younger members
, – (as in the case of morals, laws, and customs) that shapes behavior, or
structures one’s perception of the world
Onion model:
Values
what is explicitly or implicitly desirable to an individual/group and which
influences the selection from available modes, means, and ends of action
– Can be both consciously and unconsciously held
– Reflect relatively general beliefs that either define what is right/wrong or
specify general preferences
Attitudes
expresses values and disposes a person to act or react in a certain way
toward something. They are present in the relationship between a person and
some kind of object
Behavior
is any form of human action
Cultural diversity
Norm = most common and most generally accepted pattern of values, attitudes, and
behavior
– Some are more and some are less important
Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s six assumptions
1. There are a limited number of common human problems for which all peoples
at all times must find some solution. (e.g. every society must decide on certain
systems)
2. There are limited number of alternatives which exist for dealing with these
problems. (e.g. people can choose housing, but cannot survive without any)
3. All alternatives are present in all societies at all times, but some are preferred
over others.
4. Each society has a dominant profile or values orientation and, in addition, has
numerous variations or alternative profiles. (e.g. different ways of healing)
5. In both the dominant profile and the variations, there is a rank ordering of
preference for alternatives
6. In societies undergoing change, the ordering of preferences will not be
clearcut.
1.6 How do cultures vary?
6 basic dimensions describe the cultural orientations of societies
Perception of Example
Individual Good Good + evil Evil Boss that leaves
new employee
alone with money
World Dominant Harmony Subjugation Picture of fish in
Chinese office
that faces the
wrong way
Chapter 1 – Culture and Management
1.1 Introduction
more than 2/3 of the world’s CEOs view foreign competition + effectively managing
human resources as a key factor to global success
Immense increase of international trade + competition
Expectation: China will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy
Developing countries are playing a greater role in the global market
– jobs are shifting from workers in rich countries to cheaper, educated
labor in economically developing countries
pessimistic: are seen as destroying wealth of developed economies
optimistic: increased demand from those countries, everybody benefits
benefitting trans-border business: European Union + Euro and North American
Free Trade Agreement
1.2 Global Strategy and Culture
new time- and quality-sensitive approaches to managing R&D, production,
marketing, and finance have evolve rapidly
the understanding of international organizational behavior and management of
global human resource systems has developed
1.3 Going Global: Phases of Development
national cultures are indeed important, but their relative impact depends on the
stage of development of the firm, industry, and world economy
firms frequently skip phases in order to more rapidly position themselves to
maximize their global competitive advantage
1. Domestic Phase
– firms produced unique products + services that they offered almost exclusively
to the domestic market
– if they exported, they did so without altering them for foreign consumption (e.g.
British product with English labels is exported to Belgium)
firms regarded cross-cultural management + global human resource systems
as largely irrelevant
– “one best way”
2. Multidomestic Phase
– needed to market + produce abroad, addressing each foreign market
separately and differently
– sensitivity to cultural differences became critical to implementing effective
corporate strategy
– “many good ways”
3. Multinational Phase
, – Many companies producing indifferentiable products price-/cost-sensitive
– High global competition
– “one least-cost way”
4. Global Phase
– Top quality, least possible-cost products become the baseline, the minimally
acceptable standard
– Competitive advantage comes from strategic thinking, mass customization,
and outlearning one’s competitors
– Need to be able to quickly translate worldwide client needs into products and
services
1.4 Cross-Cultural Management
C-CM = explains the behavior of people in organizations around the world and shows
people how to work in organizations with employee + client populations from many
different cultures
– Describes organizational behavior within countries + cultures
– Compares OB across countries + culture
– Seeks to understand + improve the interaction of co-workers, managers,
executives, clients, suppliers, and alliance partners from countries + cultures
around the world
Parochialism
Parochialism = viewing the world solely through one’s own eyes and perspective
– Example: Americans speak fewer languages, less interested in other
cultures, more naïve in global business situations
need for a change; economy no longer revolves around the U.S.
Global vs. Domestic Organizations
2 fundamental differences between global and domestic organizations:
1. Geographic dispersion = spread of global organizations’ operations over vast
distances world wide
2. Multiculturalism = people from many countries and/or cultures interact
regularly
1.5 What is culture?
Culture = “Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior
acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of
human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture
consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their
attached values; culture systems may, on the other hand, be considered as products
of action, on the other, as conditioning elements of future action”
(Kroeber + Kluckhohn)
Something
– Shared by all or almost all members of a given social group
– Older members of a group pass on to younger members
, – (as in the case of morals, laws, and customs) that shapes behavior, or
structures one’s perception of the world
Onion model:
Values
what is explicitly or implicitly desirable to an individual/group and which
influences the selection from available modes, means, and ends of action
– Can be both consciously and unconsciously held
– Reflect relatively general beliefs that either define what is right/wrong or
specify general preferences
Attitudes
expresses values and disposes a person to act or react in a certain way
toward something. They are present in the relationship between a person and
some kind of object
Behavior
is any form of human action
Cultural diversity
Norm = most common and most generally accepted pattern of values, attitudes, and
behavior
– Some are more and some are less important
Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s six assumptions
1. There are a limited number of common human problems for which all peoples
at all times must find some solution. (e.g. every society must decide on certain
systems)
2. There are limited number of alternatives which exist for dealing with these
problems. (e.g. people can choose housing, but cannot survive without any)
3. All alternatives are present in all societies at all times, but some are preferred
over others.
4. Each society has a dominant profile or values orientation and, in addition, has
numerous variations or alternative profiles. (e.g. different ways of healing)
5. In both the dominant profile and the variations, there is a rank ordering of
preference for alternatives
6. In societies undergoing change, the ordering of preferences will not be
clearcut.
1.6 How do cultures vary?
6 basic dimensions describe the cultural orientations of societies
Perception of Example
Individual Good Good + evil Evil Boss that leaves
new employee
alone with money
World Dominant Harmony Subjugation Picture of fish in
Chinese office
that faces the
wrong way
