IBIF International Business & Culture

Transcription

1 IBIF International Business & Culture

2 What Is Cross-Cultural Literacy? Cross-cultural literacy is an understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way in which business is practiced A relationship may exist between culture and the costs of doing business in a country or region Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-2

3 What Is Culture? Culture is a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living where values are abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable norms are the social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations Society refers to a group of people who share a common set of values and norms (see pictures at foot of web page). Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-3

4 What Are Values And Norms? Values provide the context within which a society s norms are established and justified and form the bedrock of a culture Norms include folkways - the routine conventions of everyday life mores - norms that are seen as central to the functioning of a society and to its social life Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-4

5 How Are Culture, Society, And The Nation-State Related? The relationship between a society and a nation state is not strictly one-to-one Nation-states are political creations can contain one or more cultures A culture can embrace several nations Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-5

6 What Are The Determinants Of Culture? The values and norms of a culture evolve over time Determinants include religion political and economic philosophies education language social structure Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-6

7 What Is A Social Structure? Social structure refers to a society s basic social organization Consider the degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the individual, as opposed to the group the degree to which a society is stratified into classes or castes 0oVrmXM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=116&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dindia%2Bcaste%2Bsystem%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=ind ia+caste+system&usg= IzTemJBjoT4EYWdeE58zzjcK6SA=&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fYilUImmNsTI0QWa44HYBQ&ved=0CCUQ9QEwAQ Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-7

8 How Are Individuals And Groups Different? A group is an association of two or more people who have a shared sense of identity and who interact with each other in structured ways on the basis of a common set of expectations about each other s behavior In Western societies, there is a focus on the individual individual achievement is common dynamism of the U.S. economy high level of entrepreneurship But, creates a lack of company loyalty and failure to gain company specific knowledge competition between individuals in a company instead of than team building less ability to develop a strong network of contacts within a firm Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-8

9 How Are Individuals And Groups Different? In many Asian societies, the group is the primary unit of social organization discourages job switching between firms encourages lifetime employment systems leads to cooperation in solving business problems But, might also suppress individual creativity and initiative Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-9

10 What Is Social Stratification? All societies are stratified on a hierarchical basis into social categories, or social strata Must consider 1. The degree of social mobility - the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born caste system - closed system of stratification in which social position is determined by the family into which a person is born change is usually not possible during an individual's lifetime class system - form of open social stratification position a person has by birth can be changed through achievement or luck 2. The significance attached to social strata in business contacts Class consciousness is a condition where people tend to perceive themselves in terms of their class background, and this shapes their relationships with others Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-10

11 How Do Religious And Ethical Systems Differ? Religion is a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred Religion and ethics are often closely intertwined Four religions dominate society 1. Christianity 2. Islam 3. Hinduism 4. Buddhism Ethical systems are a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-11

12 How Do Religious And Ethical Systems Differ? World Religions Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-12

13 What Is The Role Of Language In Culture? Language - the spoken and unspoken (nonverbal communication such as facial expressions, personal space, and hand gestures ) means of communication One of the defining characteristics of culture countries with more than one language often have more than one culture English is the most widely spoken language in the world Chinese is the mother tongue of the largest number of people English is also becoming the language of international business knowledge of the local language is still beneficial, and in some cases, critical for business success failing to understand the nonverbal cues of another culture can lead to communication failure Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-13

14 What Is The Role Of Education In Culture? Formal education is the medium through which individuals learn many of the language, conceptual, and mathematical skills that are indispensable in a modern society important in determining a nation s competitive advantage general education levels can be a good index for the kinds of products that might sell in a country Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-14

15 How Does Culture Impact The Workplace? Management processes and practices must be adapted to culturally-determined work-related values Geert Hofstede identified four dimensions of culture 1. Power distance - how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities 2. Individualism versus collectivism - the relationship between the individual and his fellows 3. Uncertainty avoidance - the extent to which different cultures socialize their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating ambiguity 4. Masculinity versus femininity -the relationship between gender and work roles Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-15

16 Hofstede s site Videos GB&gbv=2&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=w1&gl=GB Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-16

17 How Does Culture Impact The Workplace? Work-Related Values for 20 Countries Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-17

18 Was Hofstede Right? Hofstede later expanded added a fifth dimension called Confucian dynamism captures attitudes toward time, persistence, ordering by status, protection of face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of gifts and favors Hofstede s work has been criticized because made the assumption there is a one-to-one relationship between culture and the nation-state study may have been culturally bound used IBM as sole source of information culture is not static it evolves But, it is a starting point for understanding how cultures differ, and the implications of those differences for managers Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-18

19 Does Culture Change? Culture evolves over time changes in value systems can be slow and painful for a society Social turmoil - an inevitable outcome of cultural change as countries become economically stronger, cultural change is particularly common Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-19

20 What Do Cultural Differences Mean For Managers? 1. It is important to develop cross-cultural literacy companies that are ill informed about the practices of another culture are unlikely to succeed in that culture managers must beware of ethnocentric behavior, or a belief in the superiority of one's own culture 2. There is a connection between culture and national competitive advantage suggests which countries are likely to produce the most viable competitors has implications for the choice of countries in which to locate production facilities and do business Copyright 2011 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 3-20

21 Hofstede s dimensions (1980) Was one of the first researchers to analyse the influence of national culture on management practices Case study of IBM Geert Hofstede 66 national subsidiaries 116, 000 questionnaires

22 Hofstede s 4 dimensions +1 Dimension Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism Collectivism Masculinity / Femininity Description The extent to which a society accepts the unequal distribution of power in institutions and organizations Refers to a society s discomfort with uncertainty preferring predictability and stability Reflects the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families, remaining emotionally independent from groups, organizations and other collectivities. Reveals the bias toward either masculine values of assertiveness, competitiveness and materialism, or toward feminine values of nurturing and the quality of relationships Schneider and Barsoux, p. 87

23 Low / High Power Distance Dimension

24 Power Distance High Power distance Low Power distance

25 Individualism / Collectivism Dimension

26 What is rewarded? Loyalty to the group Individual initiative

27 Masculinity / Femininity

28 Masculinity / Femininity Competition Cooperation

29 Uncertainty Avoidance

30 Uncertainty Avoidance

31 Effects on Management and Business

32 The Fifth Dimension: Long Term Orientation Found in a study using a questionnaire designed by Chinese Scholars Said to deal with virtue regardless of truth Values associated with LTO are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short term orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one s face.