Transcript Culture & Its Impact

Culture & Its Impact
Supplement to Chapter 14
Culture
• Culture influences how we adapt and learn,
language, habits, customs, expectations and
roles—it shapes thinking, acting, and
communicating according to group expectations
• Reasons why culture influences communication:
– Culture teaches significant rules, rituals and
procedures
– Culture reinforces values
– Culture teaches relationship with others
Culture
• Manifestation of a culture may be likened to
peeling an onion. Upon removing a layer a
different aspect is revealed until the final layer of
“core cultural values” are revealed
• The differences in practices from one country to
another are rooted in differences in national
culture
• Human resources, compensation practices differ
from country to country, often significantly
Culture
• Sometimes what you see is far different from
what you get
• What is below the surface?
– Tangibles:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Art
Eating
Greetings
Dress
Manners
Rituals
Outward Behavior
Culture
• What is below the surface?
– Intangibles
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Time
Actions
Communications
Space
Power
Self-competitiveness
Structure
Thinking
Environment
Culture
• Problems Encountered Across Cultures
– Ethnocentric judgments (we think this is the
way to operate—we know best
– Culture Shock
– Difficulty of exporting “ordinary” organization
practices
– Levels and availability of technology vary
Implications for Cross-Cultural
Management
• The meaning of time, precision, punctuality
• Recognizing differences in ideas and behavior
• Competitiveness (U.S.) vs. Solidarity (Japan) in
personal organization and inter-company
behavior
• Achievement motivation vs. relationship
motivation—quality of work; live to work or work
to live
• Career expectations and gender roles
• The personal need for recognition differs little
between cultures and nations
Culture
If we could shrink the earth’s population to a
village of precisely 100 people, and all the
existing human ratios remained the same, the
citizenry would look like this:
– 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from North and South
America, and 8 Africans
– 51 would be female, 49 male
– 70 would be non-Caucasian and 30 Caucasian
– A breakdown according to religion would find 30
practicing a Christian-based faith and 70 nonChristian
Culture
• If we could shrink the earth’s population to a
village of precisely 100 people, and all the
existing human ratios remained the same, the
citizenry would look like this:
– 50 percent of the entire villages’ wealth would be in
the hands of just six people, all six would be U.S.
citizens
– 80 would live in substandard housing
– 70 would not be able to read
– 50 would be malnourished
– One would have a college education
– Few would own a computer
Remuneration
• Remuneration mix will differ by country, industry
type, job type, job level, etc. For example, a
typical remuneration mix for a midlevel manager
varies as illustrated on the board based on the
following components:
–
–
–
–
Benefits/Perks
Long-Term Incentives
Short-Term Incentives
Base
Evolution of Overseas Operations
• The number of expatriates is high when the
operation starts, grows slightly during the startup phase, and then declines as local nationals
are trained and replace expatriates. Usually a
few expatriates remain indefinitely in key jobs
• The number of locals continues to grow
• When the operation matures, skilled locals are
available for assignments outside of their home
country and they become Third Country
Nationals (employee from one country working
temporarily in a second country for an employee
with a headquarters in a third country
Evolution of Overseas Operations
• The selection of locals for transfer to other
countries and the replacement of
expatriates (particularly from
headquarters) by locals is good for local
morale and facilitates local recruiting. It
demonstrates movement away from
ethnocentricity
Influences on Reward Systems
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Legislation (taxation)
Government politics and trends
Economic history and trends
Trade union and works council influences
Religious differences
Regional impact
Culture
Remuneration Characteristics
• Driven by:
– Market demand
– Legally mandated requirements
– Tax considerations
– Culture and traditions