Transcript Chap09.ppt
Part Two: Culture and organizations
Slide 9.1
CHAPTER 9 CULTURE AND STRATEGY
• Concept 9.1: Cultural view of strategy • Concept 9.2: Strategic alliances and business cultures Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Strategy and corporate culture
• The relationship between company culture and strategy: - Strategy is a product of culture - Culture is a product of strategy Slide 9.2
• Definition of culture could also be used as the definition of strategy: - solution to the problems of external adaptation and internal integration (Schneider & Barsoux, 2003) Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Cultural models of strategy
Slide 9.3
Strategic management: - Two main types according to their behaviours, values and assumptions: • Controlling model - information about its environment - quantitative and objective • Adapting model - Information from personal sources qualitative and subjective Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Slide 9.4
Culturals factors of strategy (Continued)
• • In what way is the formulation of strategy affected by cultural differences?
Relationship with the environment
• Mental framework of two types of person (Fatehi, 1996): ‘engineering- oriented’ ‘symbiotic-oriented’
Relationship among people
- Interpersonal relationships within a company - Differences among employees towards a company strategy, between US and Japan Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
National culture and strategy
Slide 9.5
• In what way can national culture affect strategy? • The choice of strategy • The way it is realized: - leadership and decision-making • Impact of national structure on strategy - sector of products and services • Multinational and its local subsidiaries - cultures differences in the foreign markets Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Multinational strategic decisions
Slide 9.6
• Implementation of the corporate strategy (Bartlett
et al.
, 2003)
:
- the country manager • Importance of this role because s/he : defends the company’s market decisions - satisfies the demands of the local subsidiary • Role of ‘cultural interpreter’ - gives information about the national situation - understands the corporate goals and values Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
International managers and strategy
Slide 9.7
•
The international manager has to gain insight into:
the attitudes of those involved in a cross-cultural situation • - modify his/her management strategy
It means:
- Not having the same strategy whatever be the circumstances - Applying skills in one context to another Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Developing strategies for the global market
Slide 9.8
• • Advantages of strategic alliances
Merger process
has three levels: • - strategic, organizational, human
There are four merger strategies:
• - assimilation, deculturalization, separation, integration
Merger between companies
cultures: from different - culture shock can be overwhelming Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Culture shock
Slide 9.9
• Culture shock refers to unpleasant experience with other cultures • International managers experience culture shock at three levels: - Emotions - Thinking - Social skills and identity • Culture shock phase is an integral part of the adaptation phase (Marx,1999) • The Marx’s model (next slide) is adapted from an anthropologist Oberg (1960): Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Culture shock pyramid
Figure 9.1
Culture shock pyramid
Source:
Marx (1999): 12 Slide 9.10
Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Slide 9.11
International company strategy
•
A merger of two companies presupposes
: • - A change of culture in the new organization
In addition, between companies from different countries
: - the complexity of the exchanges of interaction between the cultures increases - other organizational problems rise because - inevitable change of culture(s) involved Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Strategic of cultural issue?
Slide 9.12
•
What are the reasons compelling companies to seek an alliance?
- Purely economic (according to the protagonists) -
What role does the cultural element play?
• Cultural factors come to the fore when mergers and acquisitions: - do not meet strategic expectations - necessitate a change of strategy • However, culture may not be explicitly referred to (see example next slide) Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Slide 9.13
Corus (British- Dutch steel company)
• However, cultural may not be explicitly referred to: • ‘The board of directors of the British-Dutch steel company Corus has to offer, at short notice, positions to Dutch directors. This was stated by the Russian steel baron Alisher Usmavov (a shareholder in Corus, who has a 12% interest in the company) in an interview with the Dutch financial newspaper FD.’ Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Mergers and national cultures
Slide 9.14
• Cultural element in companies is to be found everywhere (Thévenet, 1999) • Cultural problems are not solely to do with differences in national culture: - Example: Sony/Philips alliance • The differences in the local cultures are often underestimated • In many cases, there are: cultural confrontations - resistance to any changes Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009
Slide 9.15
Conclusion chapter 9
• National culture influences a company’s strategy • Not only does the organizational culture change but also the company’s strategy • Difficulties with all kinds of co-operation on the cultural front Browaeys and Price,
Understanding Cross-cultural Management
, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009