National Culture

11 Key excerpts on "National Culture"

• 

  eBook - PDF

  Strategic Marketing Decision-Making within Japanese and South Korean Companies

  • Yang-Im Lee, Peter Trim(Authors)
  • 2008(Publication Date)
  • Chandos Publishing

    (Publisher)

  5 The link between organizational and National Culture Whitener et al. (1998: 520) made a useful observation when they suggested that organizational culture may encourage or discourage managerial trustworthy types of behaviour. For example, values refer to a group’s shared behaviour and this includes how the members of the group understand certain events (Whitener et al., 1998: 524) and how these events result in specific management policies being formulated and implemented. Organizational culture is about shared values and beliefs (Dawson, 1992: 136) which manifest through a collective process during long periods and which differentiate one organization from another (Deal and Kennedy, and Peters and Waterman, in Young, 1989: 188–90; Hofstede, 1996: 3822, 1997: 5; Morgan, 1997: 141; Rosenfeld and Wilson, 1999: 274). Therefore a positive culture is important because it can help managers to formulate and implement successful international marketing strategies that can be achieved by bringing all the staff together (Hofstede, 1996: 3835), and achieve results through a form of consensus management decision-making based on establishing realistic targets that are considered acceptable and necessary. 1.3 The importance of organizational culture Although there are many arguments regarding how a manager should manage organizational culture and how important organizational culture is, various management writers agree that organizational culture affects the way an organization is managed and how it performs (Rosenfeld and Wilson, 1999: 281). Organizational culture which is based on a set of shared values and meanings and is strongly adhered to by all the members of the organization allows the organization to be flexible, adaptable and non-bureaucratic, by providing alternatives to management so that controls can be implemented to initiate external procedures and rules.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  International Business

  • Shad Morris, James Oldroyd(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  135 CHAPTER 8 Introduction The social side of international business is about communication between two or more people seeking to maximize gains in the presence of scarce resources. Working across cultures can sometimes increase the difficulty of getting what we want. For example, an uncomfortable initial greeting can color the whole interaction and reduce the chances of achieving a mutually beneficial agreement. The reality is that we don’t always know whether to shake hands, kiss, or bow. We hope our attempts to be understanding and sensitive will bring success, but in fact most international business deals don’t work out perfectly. This chapter provides you with the tools you need to start overcoming cross-cultural barriers and make effective international business deals. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After you explore this chapter you will be able to: 1. Define culture and describe its characteristics 2. Describe the business implications of culture 3. Identify ways to manage cultural differences in the workplace 4. Discuss how to adapt to different cultures 8.1 What Is Culture? LEARNING OBJECTIVE Define culture and describe its characteristics. Culture has important implications for international business. Understanding and responding to cultural differences can make or break business deals, keep employees happy, and be the difference between satisfied or frustrated customers. ImagesBazaar/Getty Images Culture 136 CHAPTER 8 Culture What Is Culture? Culture is a society’s unique set of values and norms that govern how people live and interact. Culture manifests itself at many levels—the nation-state level, the professional level (norms for educators, lawyers, businesspeople, students), the functional level (how norms differ between professors and administrators, or between managers and employees), and even at the level of gender, where different norms exist for men and women. Any type of unifying attribute can form the basis for a level of culture.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  International Management

  • Richard Mead, Tim G. Andrews(Authors)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • Wiley-Blackwell

    (Publisher)

  An example of the second point occurs when, say, an American bank operating in Indonesia recruits Indonesian graduates of American universities. However, in other circumstances (and depending on the values being transferred) staff may need to be trained in the new systems and indirectly in the values they express, perhaps over considerable time. As a first stage in assessing the relationship, we ask how far Hofstede’s definition of National Culture (see 1.3.3) can be applied to organizational culture: the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another. . . . Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture. These inferences were drawn for a National Culture: (a) a culture is particular to one group and not others; (b) it influences the behavior of group members in uniform and predictable ways; (c) it is learned, and is not innate; (d) it is passed down from one generation to the next; (e) it includes systems of values. These inferences apply to organizational culture in that every organization has its own culture, and no two are quite the same; management hopes that by building and analyzing the organizational culture it can predict the attitudes and behavior of the workforce in routine situations; members of the organization have to learn its culture. 5.3.2 Differences between organizational culture and National Culture But the applications of points (d) and (e) are less straightforward. The values of the na-tional culture are taught by family, friends, school, media, and others. In the organization, perceptions of who is responsible for essential teaching differ according to the definition Organizational Culture 87 made of organizational culture. Management hopes to act as the primary “teacher” by building and sustaining a positive culture.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Corporate Assessment (Routledge Revivals)

  Auditing a Company's Personality

  • Adrian Furnham, Barrie Gunter(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  3  Corporate culture INTRODUCTION

  A number of research preoccupations and themes of organizational thought have come together to influence the development of the concept of corporate culture. For over a decade this original anthropological concept has been considered, debated and discussed by researchers, business gurus, newspaper and magazine writers, and line managers. Quite how or why this concept became so popular at this present time, and the need to measure corporate culture, have many different explanations.

  Attempts to explain the marked success of Pacific-rim countries and Japan in matching and exceeding American and European levels of productivity, quality, innovation and service have tended to point up the importance of values shared by Japanese management and workers as an important determinant of their success. These values, it has been argued, result in behavioural norms that demonstrate a commitment to quality, problem-solving and co-operative effort in greater degree than is generally the case in comparable organizations outside Japan.

  In more recent years, researchers in western countries who have investigated and set out to list the definable characteristics of economically successful companies both within Europe and North American countries have pointed to certain aspects of culture, such as the strength and pervasiveness of core values as an element and, it is claimed, a significant element in their success. Thus, it is assumed that the values and behavioural norms which are part of a company and which both define and drive it are a significant part of its economic success.

  Partly stimulated by this work and by increasing international competition to capture new markets and maintain old ones, the emphasis on quality (which can be defined as working to a standard above the norm) and customer service has highlighted the importance of people aspects in organizations. We will return in more detail to the subject of customers in Chapter 6

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Culture 2.0

  The Intersection of National and Organizational Culture

  • Joann Keyton(Author)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers

    (Publisher)

  In this way, the act of sharing is via one direction, unlike a bi-directional relationship seen in communication (Keyton, 2015). Finally, culture can be understood as a system of meaning-making for each member that informs “what feels fluent, what is attended to, [and] which goals or mental procedure is salient” (Oyserman, 2015, p. 2). COMPARING NATIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE | 9 D E V E L O P I N G A D E F I N I T I O N O F C U LT U R E Definitions should not be adopted quickly nor should they be ignored or con- stricted to a few words. For the purposes of the interdisciplinary conversation about culture—both national and organizational—the scholars contributing to this edited book agreed on the following definition: Culture is a mutually-constituted system people use to create, share, maintain, and challenge meanings. We did not come to this definition easily or quickly. Our initial discussions in interdisciplinary groups. Rather, we started with developing a set of big questions. These were: 1. How do different disciplines define culture? 2. How can we define culture consistently across disciplines? 3. What are the consequences of using different definitions? 4. How do we operationalize (quantitative or qualitatively) culture? 5. What are the levels of analysis of culture? Not surprisingly many other questions were developed, but one idea continually resurfaced. That is: There are always intersections of multiple cultures because people live, work, and interact with people in other communities and organiza- tions. By interacting, people perceive and feel the boundaries that constrain as well as the cultural loopholes or allowances we create. Appendix A displays the questions (and some responses) we captured. Thus, the topic we covered first was the intersection of multiple cultures. I N T E R S E C T I O N O F M U LT I P L E C U LT U R E S As organizations become increasingly multinational, one of the primary consid- erations is that of language.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Cultural Influences on IT Use

  A UK - Japanese Comparison

  • N. Kambayashi(Author)
  • 2002(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  However, there still appears to remain the problem of what kind of attributes a National Culture specifically refers to and what the effects of National Culture really mean. National Culture has been described as an elusive concept, that is ‘a fuzzy, difficult-to-define construct’ (Triandis et al., 1986), and thus the effect of National Culture has been hard to specify and underdeveloped. Also, many cross-cultural studies treated culture as a residual factor, ‘which is presumed to account for national variations that have neither been postulated before the research nor explained after its completion’ (Child, 1981, p. 306). In this context, the studies by Hofstede (1980) are full of suggestions, as he articulates what a culture is and defines it as ‘the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another’ (p. 25), and identifies four main dimensions of National Culture to operationalise: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, and masculinity/ femininity. 5 However, Hofstede failed to discuss technology in any detail with only fleeting references such as technological modernisation is an important force towards change which lead to partly similar developments in different societies. Concepts of IT and National Culture 23 However, it does not wipe out differences among societies and may even enlarge them; as on the basis of pre-existing value systems societies cope with technological modernisation in different ways. (Hofstede, 1984, pp. 233–4) Hofstede’s work is relevant in the sense that it can disentangle the con- cept of National Culture from other possible influences on IT use and can identify the main dimensions to operationalise. However, the work itself was not an investigation on the specific influences of National Culture on IT use.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Organisational Culture for Information Managers

  • Gillian Oliver(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Chandos Publishing

    (Publisher)

  Hence despite debates about the validity of National Culture as a construct, interest in cultural differences seems to be increasing rather than diminishing. Organisations today are likely to conduct business internationally and multinational enterprises may face unexpected challenges in managing information. Different regulatory environments (for example, variations in copyright, privacy and freedom of information legislation) will pose one set of challenges, and these in turn will reflect possibly wide variation in attitudes and opinions relating to information. The regulatory environment will be discussed further in the next chapter.

  Models of National Culture

  Given increasing globalisation, significant research effort has been directed towards developing models of National Culture. We will consider the cultural dimensions associated with the Dutch anthropologist Hofstede’s model in detail. But before doing so, it is worth noting other models of National Culture that are sometimes referred to in the literature.

  Frances Fukuyama, quoted above, developed a theory based on the analysis of a single variable, trust. He associates this with the notion of shared social capital, which he explains as follows:

  Social capital consists of norms or values, instantiated in an actual relationship among two or more people, that promote cooperation between them. These norms and values can range from the relatively superficial, like friends who share a love of cooking or hiking, to highly complex, like the value systems underlying organised religion. (Fukuyama, 2001 : 480)

  Another relatively simple cultural model is that of respected American academic Edward T. Hall (Hall, 1976

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Communicating in Global Business Negotiations

  A Geocentric Approach

  • Jill E. Rudd, Diana R. Lawson(Authors)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications, Inc

    (Publisher)

  Our cultural values and norms influence how we communicate and how we react to communication from others. Without a solid cog-nitive and affective understanding of the culture with which we are negotiating, the potential for misinterpretation and misunderstanding increases. Numerous research studies have identified cultural misun-derstandings as a primary cause of failure in business transactions (Hall & Hall, 1987). Based on earlier work, Adler and Graham (1989) helped to catego-rize the types of obstacles faced by international business negotiators. Four levels of culture-related problems that affect international business negotiations were identified. Each subsequent level represents more serious challenges to effective international business negotiations. The four levels are (a) language, (b) nonverbal behaviors, (c) values, and (d) thinking and decision-making processes. The macro-oriented dis-cussion of culture in the remainder of this chapter is organized accord-ing to this typography. As we progress through these levels of cultural 86 CHAPTER 4 challenges, we will move from obvious differences to more subtle differences, helping us to see the complexity of the topic. Language Understanding of and adaptation to one’s National Culture or home culture begin at birth. There are several components of one’s culture. The most obvious component is language. Verbal language differences immediately separate two cultures, making communication difficult or impossible. In today’s global business environment, English is usually the language of business, although some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, require the host country language for business negotiation and contracts. However, English as a second language is not the same as English as a native language.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Global and Transnational Business

  Strategy and Management

  • George Stonehouse, David Campbell, Jim Hamill, Tony Purdie(Authors)
  • 2004(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  This action was perceived as culturally insensitive and confirmed many cultural stereotypes of German approaches to management in the minds of the British managers. The subsequent approach to managing the company was viewed by many as autocratic. The consequence was that British managers viewed their German counterparts with suspicion. At the same time BMW’s management held the view that the more laid-back approach to management of their British colleagues was a contributory factor to Rover’s poor performance which had to be eliminated. The perceptions of both sides of each other were hardly conducive to the development of an inclusive team spirit. It is hardly surprising that the merger was to fail and that BMW and Rover were soon to go their separate ways. Organizational culture Each organization will have its own distinctive culture or way of working. In the case of a transnational this culture will be determined by the culture of its home nation, the cultures of the nations in which it operates and factors like the nature of its industry and business, its size, its history, its leadership and its structure. Culture is therefore an aspect of transnational organizations which requires considerable management attention. Management will seek to shape the culture of an organization into a form that effectively supports its objectives, strategies and operations. The intangible nature of culture makes cultural change difficult to manage. The culture of an organization (sometimes known as its corporate culture) is made up of the distinctive values, attitudes, beliefs and norms which influence the ways in which it conducts its business. Charles Handy’s F ROM N ATIONAL C ULTURE TO G LOBAL V ISION [ 65 ] description of culture as ‘the way we do things round here’ is a helpful one. In some ways it is the ‘feel’ or the ‘smell’ of an organization.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Management across Cultures

  Challenges, Strategies, and Skills

  • Richard M. Steers, Joyce S. Osland(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  ” 2 • GLOBE Project . Much more recently, management researcher Robert J. House observed that the cultures of the world are getting more and more interconnected and that the business world is becoming increasingly global. “ As economic 32 Cultural Environments borders come down, cultural barriers will most likely go up and present new challenges and opportunities for business. When cultures come in contact, they may converge in some aspects, but their idiosyncrasies will likely amplify. ” 3 The Talmud, a Confucian scholar, and a modern-day business professor, each coming from a very different time and place in history, all understood what has too frequently eluded many contemporary managers: culture can make a difference in determining how we think and behave . This is equally true in our personal lives as it is in our work lives. Unfortunately, too many managers have ignored even the most rudimentary cross-national differences while working overseas or in multicultural or diverse settings, and, as a result, have missed signi fi cant opportunities both for themselves and their companies. With this in mind, this chapter opens Part 2 of this book and explores several dimensions of culture and cultural differences, including the following: • the nature and characteristics of cultures and subcultures • an overview of several contemporary models of National Cultures • a look at how managers can use these models to better understand organiza-tional behavior • a look at several re fi nements to the models and how they can help managers understand some of the nuances of cultural differences • the challenges and opportunities of cultural diversity and multiculturalism. Following this discussion, the remainder of Part 2 will focus on organizational and managerial environments. Overview: Beliefs, Values, and Worldviews In many ways, the cultural environment of global management incorporates much of the macro environment in which organizations operate.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management

  • Joseph J. Martocchio, Hui Laio, Joseph J. Martocchio, Hui Liao(Authors)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • Emerald Group Publishing Limited

    (Publisher)

  In the case of culture, small differences, when accumulated over time in multiple interactions, may assume a greater importance. Furthermore, national cultural differences between any two countries can be larger (or smaller) than implied by the overall effect sizes reported here. Also, particular BARRY GERHART 36 organizations or operations may more closely (or more loosely) resemble the National Culture average, meaning that National Culture differences between those in different countries might take on greater (or lesser) importance. All of these considerations are relevant in assessing the likely risks and benefits to organizations being different from the national norm. Being different, while perhaps being more risky, may offer a bigger potential payoff. For example, Gamble (2003) examined the transfer of human resource practices from one retail organization based in the United Kingdom to multiple locations of its subsidiary in China. He found that practices (e.g., a flat hierarchy) seemingly inconsistent with China’s National Culture profile were successfully transferred and seemed to be effective. Gamble observes that ‘‘HRM practices which are a source of competitive advantage in a firm’s parent country might have their uniqueness enhanced in host countries to the benefit of the company concerned’’ and that ‘‘in this instance at least, this divergence leveraged the competitive advantage of this management approach’’ (p. 385). In other words, the divergence in National Cultures seemed to provide, not a constraint for this company, but rather an enhanced opportunity to stake out a unique position, consistent with the RBV. In commenting on the Gamble findings, Quintanilla and Ferner (2003) argue that the study ‘‘supports previous evidence that, even in host countries with high cultural distance and constraining employment frame-works, MNCs are able to find room for manoeuvre’’ (p. 365).

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book