3.1. Cultural values in business.pptx

3. Management of intercultural communication 3.1. Cultural values in business 3.2. Linguistic and non-verbal issues 3.3. Intercultural communication skills 3.1. Cultural values in business Hofstede’s (1980s) survey of national cultures found that they differ on 4 main value dimensions – individual...

3. Management of intercultural communication 3.1. Cultural values in business 3.2. Linguistic and non-verbal issues 3.3. Intercultural communication skills 3.1. Cultural values in business Hofstede’s (1980s) survey of national cultures found that they differ on 4 main value dimensions – individualism/collectivism, power/distance, uncertainty/avoidance, and masculinity/femininity. A society’s institutions carry the culture’s values in their ideologies. Once learned, a culture’s values are generally resistant to change. ???????? Globalization? Identity & Modernity? Interculturalism? Hybridity? Cultural determinism/essentialism x Circumstances/Context Culture = Always complex, evolving, multiple, mutable Comparative studies of national management styles are often based on the perfect translation assumption – the assumption that all concept and roles generated in one culture can be fully rendered into another culture. Ilhan Omar. USA congresswoman, representative of Minneapolis American culture places great value on individual rights. But many American Muslims point out that Muslim values are linked to the social thinking embodied in the Koran, placing more value on the group than on the individual. Chinese managers spend up to 4 times as much time communicating up the line as American managers…. The great emphasis that is placed on hierarchy in Chinese society means, in a managerial context, that higher levels in the organisation must approve a manager’s actions. It has yet to be demonstrated that transporting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as practised by many Western companies to Chinese companies will produce a good cultural fit. The tradition of virtue, as prescribed by Confucianism, could become a more culturally appropriate basis for Chinese business practice, instead of CSR. People’s moral character, not rules and regulations, would be the main driver British managers tend to see an organisation as a network of relationships between individuals who get things done by influencing each other through informal communication and meetings. The British rely on communication and procedures, while French managers rely more on clear managerial decision. British stress the importance of interaction with colleagues and of achievement of good face-to-face communication throughout the organisation. British managers see good relationships with their bosses as very important., as well as being consulted about decisions made by superiors. British managers have frequent coordination meetings, but German managers rely on structure, rules, and routines to resolve work-related issues. British managers are keen to distance themselves from technical involvement, but German managers see technical duties and managerial responsibilities as inseparable. The Channel Tunnel Winch et al. (2000) studied the behaviour of British and French managers who constructed the Channel Tunnel between 1987 and 1993. The managers, mostly engineers, worked for Transmanche-Link, a Consortium of British and French construction organisations who built the tunnel on behalf of the tunnel concessionaire, Eurotunnel. The 2 groups were similar in terms of specialization of tasks and hierarchy since Transmanche-Link had a relatively flat common organisation structure. Nevertheless, there were notable differences. French managers, for instance, were more competitive, individualistic, and more highly stressed. The French competed with each other, tried to get ahead of each other, and had relatively low unit cohesion. The British managers, by contrast, were collegial in approach, relying on their colleagues for motivation and ideas, and were always ready to communicate and cooperate with each other. Both French and British managers handled conflict by avoiding the issue or “working it out”, but the French often handed the dispute to higher level management for a resolution. The problem that was most frequently mentioned by the managers Companies operate in many different ways but the most successful companies use a similar organisational strategy of encouraging and rewarding innovation and competitive, entrepreneurial managerial values. Ethical leadership = Communication, Responsibility, Sustainability         Clear standards Fair rewards Trusting relationships Role models Honest communication, information, etc Environmental impact Poverty alleviation Sustainability of resources advertising, ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY = ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE PREVAILING VALUES OF THE ORGANISATION Three-dimensional model of organisational culture: 1. Artefacts – premises, dress code, forms of addressing, key documents (mission, reports, regulations, emails, etc). 2. Values – shared attitudes and behaviours. 3. Assumptions – taken-for-granted beliefs, operating at the unconscious level. !!! - Assumptions started out as values. When a company operates in a different country, there might be a clash of organisational values. Within a single multinational, there are wide variations of corporate culture depending on the national location. Large organisations contain many subcultures: in different levels of the organisation, in different departments, and in different geographical locations. Cultural values of the engineering division: risktaking, good project management, keeping abreast of current technology. Cultural values of the marketing division: maximizing revenue and minimizing costs. KEY = Knowledge & Communication KEY ≠ List of Rules “How To”