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Chapter 3
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF CULTURE
LECTURE OUTLINE
General Outline
Opening Profile: Social Media Bring Changes to Saudi Arabian Culture
Culture and Its Effects on Organizations
Societal Culture
Cultural Value Dimensions
Project GLOBE Cultural Dimensions
Cultural Clusters
Hofstede’s Value Dimensions
The Internet and Culture
Management in Action: Google’s Street View Makes Friends in Japan but
Clashes with European Culture
Developing Cultural Profiles
Comparative Management in Focus: Profiles in Culture—Japan, Germany,
Latin America
Culture and Management Styles around the World
Learning Objectives
3-1. To understand how culture affects all aspects of international management.
3-2. To be able to distinguish the major dimensions that define cultural differences
among societies or groups.
Opening Profile: Saudi Arabian Culture & Social Media Bring Changes To Saudi
Arabian Culture (see slides 3-4, 3-5, 3-6)
As of mid-2014, the social media penetration in Saudi Arabia included 88 percent on
Facebook, 81 percent on Twitter, and 78 percent on Google+. Each day, more than 90
million videos are viewed onYouTube, more than 3 million people areon Twitter, and
I. Chapter Learning Goals & Culture and Its Effects on Organizations (see slides 3-7 &
3-8)
A. A critical skill for managing people and processes in other countries is
cultural intelligence or cultural quotient (CQ); that is, a measure of how well
a person can adapt and manage effectively in culturally diverse settings.
B. Cultural sensitivity (cultural empathy) is a sense of awareness and honest
caring about another individual’s culture. Such sensitivity requires the ability to
C. This cultural awareness enables managers to develop appropriate policies and
to determine how differently to plan, organize, lead, and control in a specific
international setting.
D. Company reports and management studies make it clear that a lack of cultural
sensitivity costs businesses money and opportunities. In a synthesis of the
research on cross-cultural training, Black and Mendenhall found that up to 40
percent of expatriate managers leave their assignments early because of poor
Societal Culture
F. The culture of a society comprises the shared values, understandings,
assumptions, and goals that are learned from earlier generations, imposed by
present members of a society, and passed on to succeeding generations. Culture
results in a basis for living grounded in shared communication, standards,
is called creolization. Some countries, such as France, fiercely protect their
culture against outside influences and insist that immigrants assimilate into
their society and respect their values.
Exhibit 3-1 (see slide 3-9) depicts the variables affecting management functions. These
differences result from the societal, or sociocultural, variables of the culture, such as
religion and language, in addition to prevailing national variables, such as economic,
Culture and its Effects on Organizations & Chapter Learning Goals (see slides 3-10 &
3-11)
Compared to societal culture, which is often widely held within a region or nation,
organizational culture varies a great deal from one organization, company, institution,
or group to another. Organizational culture (see slide 3-12) represents those
expectations, norms, and goals held in common by members of that group. For a
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and to adapt that knowledge to an environment different from the one in
which it was developed.
Convergence describes the phenomenon of shifting individual management
styles to become more similar to one another. The convergence argument is
based on the belief that industrialization and worldwide coordination and
against adopting either a parochial or ethnocentric attitude. Parochialism
means that one expects those from or in another country to automatically fall
into patterns of behavior common in their own country. Ethnocentrism
describes the attitude of those who operate from the assumption that their ways
of doing things are best—no matter where or under what conditions they are
1. Managers should recognize, of course, that generalizations in cultural
profiles will produce only an approximation, or stereotype, of national
character. Many countries also comprise diverse subcultures whose
people conform only in varying degrees to the national character.
2. Good managers treat people as individuals, and they consciously avoid
any form of stereotyping.
3. Before we can understand the culture of a society, we need to recognize
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that there are subsystems in a society, which are a function of where
people live; these subsystems influence, and are influenced by, people’s
cultural values and dimensions and so affect their behaviors both off and
on the job.
M. Harris and Moran identified eight categories that form the subsystems in any
society: kinship, education, economy, politics, religion, associations, health,
and recreation (see slide 3-16).
1. A kinship system is one adopted by a given society to guide family
relationships.
4. The system of government in a society imposes varying constraints on the
organization and its freedom to do business.
5. The spiritual beliefs of a society are often so powerful that they transcend
other cultural aspects. Religion commonly underlies both moral and
economic norms.
Under the Lens: Religion and the Workplace (see slide 3-17)
Since the basis of a religion is the shared beliefs, values, and institutions, then it is
closely aligned with the accepted underpinnings of societal culture; thus religion and
culture are inextricably linked. As such, religion underlies both moral and economic
norms and influences everyday business transactions and on-the-job behaviors. The
connections between culture and work behavior for employees and managers in
various countries are discussed throughout this book. Here we note specifically that
managers in the home country or abroad must recognize both the legal religious
rights in the workplace and also the value of such diversity in the workplace. Days
off for religious holidays, accommodation for prayers, dietary requirements, etc., are
the more obvious considerations. In addition, foreign managers abroad must be
particularly sensitive to the local religious context and the expectations and
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II. Cultural Value Dimensions (see slide 3-18)
A. Cultural variables result from unique sets of shared values among different
groups of people. Values are a society’s ideas about what is good or bad, right
B. GLOBE Research Project Dimensions (see slide 3-19, 3-20)
1. The GLOBE Project team is comprised of 170 researchers who have
collected data over 7 years on cultural values and practices and leadership
attributes from 18,000 managers in 62 countries. The team identified nine
cultural dimensions, which distinguish one society from another:
a. Assertiveness
b. Future orientation
c. Performance orientation
2. The first four are distinctive from values identified in Hofstede’s research
and are presented here. The remaining five are discussed in conjunction
with the material on Hofstede.
a. Assertiveness refers to how much people in a society are expected to be
tough, confrontational, and competitive, versus modest and tender.
b. Future orientation refers to the level of importance a society attaches to
future-oriented behaviors such as planning and investing in the
rewards people for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind.
C. Cultural Clusters
1. Gupta, et al have developed a cultural typology that places cultures into
clusters. Exhibit 3-3 (see slide 3-21) shows the countries and their cluster.
D. Hofstede’s Value Dimensions (see slide 3-22, 3-23, 3-24, 3-25)
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on over 116,000 people in 50 countries. Hofstede proposes four value
dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and
masculinity.
a. Power distance is the level of acceptance by a society of unequal
distribution of power in institutions. The extent to which subordinates
accept unequal power is socially determined.
Long Term/Short-Term Orientation
Later research in 23 countries, using a survey developed by Bond and colleagues called
the Chinese Value Survey, led Hofstede to develop a fifth dimension—called the
Confucian work dynamism—which he labeled a long-term/short-term dimension. He
defined long-term orientation as “the extent to which a culture programs its members to
accept delayed gratification of their material, social, and emotional needs.”
E. Trompenaars’s Dimensions
1. Fons Trompenaars also researched the values dimension (see slides 3-26, 3-
27) over a ten year period with 15,000 managers from 28 countries
representing 47 national cultures.
direct. In diffuse-oriented cultures, there is spillover from the work into
the personal relationships, and vice-versa.
4. In the achievement versus ascription dimension, the question is, “What is
the source of power and status in society?” In an achievement society the
source of status and influence is based on individual achievement—how
well one performs the job and what level of education and experience one
has to offer.
Consequence or Cause?
In a study by Steel and Taras, published in 2010, they challenge the view held
by Hofstede and others of culture as the cause, and not the effect, of variations
in cultural values. Steel and Taras argue that the opposite can be true, that
work behavior can be very useful to you as a future international manager.
F. Critical Operational Value Differences (see slide 3-28)
1. Some specific culturally based variables which cause frequent problems for
Americans in international management are time, change, material factors,
and individualism.
a. Time: To Americans, time is a temporal value (as opposed to
eternal/permanent), making it something to be saved, scheduled, and
Teaching Tip: To help students understand the differences between ascription and
achievement cultures, ask how they feel about special treatment for athletes in
your university. Students are often very aware of perceptions that athletes have
unfair academic and financial aid in university systems because of the value they
provide to profitable and popular university sports teams.
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2. International managers often face conflicts in the work situation as a result of
unexpected behaviors arising from differences in values held about time,
change, materialism, and individualism. These differences in values have
important implications for organizational behavior in such areas as
communication, work organization and scheduling, incentive systems, and
attitudes toward work in general. An example of these operational
differences between Japanese and Mexican cultures is shown in Exhibit 3-
4. (page 93)
III. Chapter Learning Goals & The Internet and Culture (see slide 3-29, 3-30)
A. The pervasive use of the Internet is affecting many social variables, including
associations, education, the economy and politics – such as the Arab Spring.
For instance, in South Korea, the desire for technology is driving the economy
Management in Action: Google’s Street View Makes Friends in Japan but Clashes
with European Culture
After Google’s many blunders in Japan and privacy concerns about the company’s
services, it now seems that its technology was able to help the Japanese people and
resulted in raising its brand and social networking identity there. However, Google has
been less well received in Europe. The company has been expanding into European
markets for years. However, Google has been caught in a cultural web of privacy laws
IV. Chapter Learning Goals & Developing Cultural Profiles (see slide 3-31 & 3-32)
A. Managers can gather considerable information on cultural variables from current
research, personal observation, and discussions with people. From these
sources, managers can develop cultural profiles of various countries—
composite pictures of working environments, people’s attitudes, and norms of
behavior.
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culture. The results of one such study by Harris and Moran are shown in
Exhibit 3-5 (page 92), which provides a basis of comparison with other cultures
on ten dimensions and thus suggests the likely differences in workplace
behaviors. It is not so easy, however, to pull together descriptive cultural
profiles of people in other countries unless one has lived there and has been
intricately involved with those people. But managers can make a start by using
what research and literature is available on a comparative basis.
Comparative Management in Focus (see slide 3-33)
1. Japan
a. Much of the Japanese culture—and the basis of working relationships—
can be explained by the principle of wa, meaning peace and harmony.
This principle, embedded in the value attributed to amae (indulgent
love), probably originated in the Shinto religion.
d. Anecdotal evidence suggests some convergence taking place between
Western business cultures and Japan. Focus on the group, lifetime
employment, and pensions have given way to a more competitive
Teaching Resources: Two excellent videos are broadly available through university
libraries or through PBS Video. American Game, Japanese Rules—a descriptive look
at Japanese Society through the way baseball is played; and American Japanese
Culture Clash—examines differences in U.S. and Japanese culture. The movie Mr.
Baseball is a fun way to explore the cultural differences between the United States and
Japan.
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2. Germany
a. The reunited Germany is naturally fairly culturally diverse, because the
country borders several nations. Based on Hofstede, Germans rank
high on individualism (though less individualistic than the United
States), high on uncertainty avoidance and masculinity, and have a
relatively small need for power distance. These cultural norms
press releases and articles on current events in Germany.
3. Comparative Management in Focus (see slide 3-34)
a. Latin America comprises many diverse independent nations, where
mostly Spanish or Portuguese languages prevail.
b. Christianity—predominantly Roman Catholicism—is the religion of
Latin America, and people in general are high on power distance and
uncertainty avoidance.
V. Chapter Learning Goals (see slide 3-35)
Under the Lens: Doing Business in Brazil (see slide 3-36)
Teaching Resources: Two Websites provide great information on Germany.
Deutsche Welle—the Deutsche Welle Webserver provides international and
German news, analyses, and programming information on Deutsche Welle
international broadcasting. Useful links to other news servers are also
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Language: Portuguese; the Portuguese spoken in Brazil is as different from that spoken
in Portugal as American English is from British English.
Diversity: Unlike many other Latin American countries where there is a distinct Indian
– showing up late in Rio de Janeiro is acceptable but not in Sao Paulo. Avoid
confrontations. Dress well and conservatively. Business cards are exchanged; having
your business card printed in Portuguese on the obverse side is a good idea
As an international manager, it is useful then to apply information to develop an
understanding of the expected management styles and ways of doing business that
predominate in that region, or with that type of business setting. Two examples are
presented—that for Saudi Arabia, and that for Chinese small family businesses.
A. Developing Management Styles and Ways of Doing Business: Saudi Arabia (see
slide 3-37)
1. The Arab culture is intertwined with the pervasive influence of Islam. Even
though not all Middle Easterners are Arab, the Arab culture and
management style predominates in the Gulf region. Islam “permeates
Saudi life—Allah is always present, controls everything, and is frequently
B. Developing Management Styles and Ways of Doing Business: Chinese Family
Business (see slide 3-38)
1. According to Lee, Chinese management styles are comprised of human-
centeredness, family-centeredness, centralization of power, and small size.
2. Guanxi means connections—the network of relationships the Chinese
cultivate through friendship and affection. It entails the exchange of favors