Transcript Individual Competencies for Managing Diversity in the

Thinking Globally about
Managing Diversity
Part 2
Learning Objectives
• How is Cultural Competency demonstrated
in the global arena?
• Why must we understand diversity in the
global arena (Sowell)?
• How are International Management
cultures classified (types)?
• How do national cultures vary (Hofstede)?
Culture
consists of the values,
beliefs, customs, morals, and
laws shared by people in a
particular society.
shapes our perceptions and
responses and influences the
quality of our interpersonal
interactions.
Behavioral Symbols
Layer 1
(language, clothing, appearance)
Layer 2
Attitudes, Rituals, Structures
(attitudes toward women @ work)
Layer 3
Core Values, (Stable) Beliefs
(work ethic, centrality of work )
Rao, p.150,1.
The Culture Pit
& Religion
Management Skills & Techniques
that matter in international arena
a) Perceptual skills – awareness,
recognition of differences
b) Cognitive skills – knowledge about
differences and related tensions
c) Behavioral skills – ability to select the
appropriate response; especially
communication
A World View of Cultural Diversity (Sowell, p.41)
Cultures exist to serve the vital, practical
requirements of human life --To structure a society so as to perpetuate a
species,
To pass on hard-earned knowledge and
experience in order to spare the next
generation the costly and dangerous process
of learning everything all over again from
scratch through trial and error, including fatal
errors.
A World View of Cultural Diversity (Sowell)
Why must we understand diversity in the global arena?
Cultural diversity, viewed internationally and
historically, is not a static picture of
differentness but a dynamic picture of
competition in which what serves human
purposes effectively survives while what
does not tends to decline or disappear.
(p. 34)
Cultural leadership in
various fields . . .
• Exists when particular
groups - often a minority –
dominate particular
occupations or industries.
• Has changed hands many
times from nation to nation,
culture to culture.
Edward Hall classified National Cultures
based on Communication Patterns
The extent to which effective communication
depends upon a sensitivity to non-verbal and
situational cues.
Low Context
Cultures
High Context
Cultures
Ruhly’s Cultural Iceberg
• Technical: Visible
Little emotional content
Straightforward communication
• Formal: Partly Visible
High emotional content
General social rules
• Informal: Not Visible
Intense emotional content
Automatic learned behavior
Hofstede identified 5 dimensions of societal
norms that reflect work behavior
• Hofstede studied 72,000 managers from
more than 40 countries to define “5
Dimensions of Cultural Diversity”.
• Dimensions are “continuums” with opposing
values at each end.
• Foreign cultures are not arbitrary or
randomly different from one another. There
are patterns
• Cultures can be “mirror images” of one
another.
Hofstede’s Cultural Continuum
Time Orientation
Long-Term -------------------------------------Short Term
Self-importance
Individualism -------------------------------- Collectivism
Tradition - Flexibility
Masculinity------------------------------------- Femininity
Uncertainty
Risk Avoidance ------------------------------ Risk Taking
Power Relations
Equal Distance ------------------------------- Unequal
Hofstede’s Cultural Continuum
Long-Term -------------------------------------Short Term
China
West Africa
Individualism -------------------------------- Collectivism
US, Britain, Canada, Aus.
Columbia, Peru, Pakistan
Masculinity------------------------------------- Femininity
Japan, Austria, Venezuela, Italy
Denmark, Sweden, Norway
Risk Avoidance ------------------------------ Risk Taking
Netherlands, Greece, Japan
Sweden, Denmark, Singapore
Equal Distance ------------------------------- Unequal
NZ, Denmark, Israel, Austria
Philippines, Mexico, India
MOW: Meaning of Work
• A culture’s view of work is reflected in worker
behavior and expectation for the job.
• Understanding how a foreign workforce
regards work is critical to international mgt.
Work is VERY
CENTRAL
Japan, Yugoslavia
Israel
Work is NOT
VERY CENTRAL
U.S., Belgium
Netherlands
Germany
Great Britain
Global Mgt. Orientations
Ethno-centric
Poly-centric
• Home-country centered
• Key employees from
home country
• “Host”-country centered
• Key employees from
host country
Regio-centric
Geo-centric
• Interdependent units
within a region
• Headquarters selects
regional mgt / corp.
culture
• World oriented, w/
local objectives
• Integrated system
worldwide.
Modes of Acculturation
Assimilation
•Dominant Culture becomes the
standard of behavior for other
cultures.
•Everyone conforms to
Dominant norms/values.
Separation
•Minority Culture unwilling/
unable to adapt to Dominant;
•Seeks cultural & physical
autonomy.
De-culturation
•Dominant & Minority Culture
not highly valued by members
•Neither is influential in framing
minority behavior.
Pluralism
•Integration: a two-way process.
•Both Cultures change to some
degree and reflect the norms and
values of the other.
Cox, Taylor, & Beale, R.L. Developing Competency to Manage Diversity. San
Francisco, Berrett-Koehler, 1997, pp. 204-207.