TU-53.1309 Cross-cultural management : TU-53.1309 Cross-cultural management Dimensions of culture Implications of culture on work-related behavior 09.11.2006 Prof. Eila Järvenpää


Content 9.11.2006: Content 9.11.2006 Dimensions of culture Hofstede Trompenaars Hall Effects of culture on work-related behavior: management, leadership, work related values


Definitions of culture : Definitions of culture A set of core values, behavioral norms, artifacts and behavioral patterns, which govern the way people in an organization interact with each other and invest energy in their job and in the organization at large (Schein, 1985, organizational culture) A collective programming of the mind (Hofstede, 1997)


Slide4: 78 participants, 13 national cultures Finland 52, Germany 7, France 4, China 3, South-Korea 3, Hungary 2, Sweden 1, Russia 1, Venezuela 1, UK 1, Finland&Vietnam 1, Finland&Serbia 1, Finland&Italy 1 Participants of the first lecture


Slide5: Participants’ cultural experiences


Slide6: Universal Human Needs Symbolic Meanings Cultural Norms Cultural Values Cultural Beliefs Cultural Traditions Language and Verbal Symbols Nonverbal Symbols Cultural artefacts (eg. fashion, popular culture) CULTURE: An iceberg metaphor We can see and hear We cannot see; these are hidden Ting-Toomey, 1999


Slide7: Two icebergs meet: collision happens below “sea level”


Dimensions of culture: Dimensions of culture


DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE: DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE Hofstede’s model (1980, 1997) 4 dimensions of culture: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-feminity Hofstede and Bond (1988): long-term/short-term orientation Trompenaar’s model (1997): National cultures from 3 perspectives: Relationships with other people Rhe relationship to the environment The meaning of time Hall (1976, 1981): Monocronic and polycronic time orientation High and low context communication Space: personal/physical


Dimensions of culture: Hofstede’s studies: Dimensions of culture: Hofstede’s studies IBM employees in 50 countries and 3 multicountry regions The same survey questions Employees in same kind of positions Hofstede (1980): Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values Hofstede (1980, Hofstede and Bond, 1988)


Hofstede’s model: dimensions of national culture: Hofstede’s model: dimensions of national culture Power distance Individualism-collectivism Masculinity-feminity Uncertainty avoidance Long-term vs. short-term orientation (Hofstede and Bond, 1988) RELATIVE POSITIONS OF COUNTRIES (SCALE 1-100)


POWER DISTANCE: POWER DISTANCE The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations (like the family) expect and accept that power is distributed unequally The extent to which a society accepts the unequal distribution of power in institutions and organizations ”All societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others” Questions for Power Distance Index: Employees are afraid Boss is autocratic or paternalistic Preferences about work environment


POWER DISTANCE: POWER DISTANCE Dependence relationships in a country Small power distance Limited dependency of subordinates on bosses Consultative style of decision making High Power Distance countries: Latin countries (France, Spain, Latin America), Asian and African countries Low Power Distance countries: USA, UK, Netherlands, Scandinavian countries


POWER DISTANCE in organizations: POWER DISTANCE in organizations LOW Decentralized organizations Narrow salary range Consultative decision making HIGH Hierarchical organizations Centralization Wide salary range Subordinates expect rules


INDIVIDUALISM - COLLECTIVISIM: INDIVIDUALISM - COLLECTIVISIM The degree to which individual are integrated into groups Individualistic societies The ties between individuals are loose Everyone is expected to look after her/himself and her/his immediate family Collectivist societies People from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, e.g. extended families, which protect them


INDIVIDUALISM - COLLECTIVISM: INDIVIDUALISM - COLLECTIVISM Collectivistic countries Peru, Costa Rica, Pakistan, Indonesia, Colombia, Equador, Guatemala Individualistic countries USA, Australia, UK, Canada, Netherlands, Italy, France, Sweden....


INDIVIDUALISM - COLLECTIVISM: INDIVIDUALISM - COLLECTIVISM Work goal items in Individualism Personal time Freedom Challenge Work goal items in Collectivism Training opportunities Physical conditions Use of skills


INDIVIDUALISM – COLLECTIVISM in organizations: INDIVIDUALISM – COLLECTIVISM in organizations Collectivist Diplomas provide higher status Employer-employee relationship is perceived in moral terms Management of groups Relationship prevail over task Individualist Diplomas increase economic worth and/or self-respect Employer-employee relationship is a contract based on mutual advantage Management of individuals Task prevails over relationship


MASCULINITY-FEMINITY: MASCULINITY-FEMINITY Refers to the distribution of roles between genders Masculinity pertains to societies in which social gender roles are clearly distinct Feminity pertains to societies in which social gender roles overlap Masculinity/femininity dimension reveals the bias towards ”masculine” values of assertiveness, competitiveness, and materialism, or ”femininine” values of caring, nurturing, and the quality of life and relationships


MASCULINITY-FEMINITY: MASCULINITY-FEMINITY Women’s values differ less among societies than men’s values Men’s values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive ”masculine” values to modest and caring ”feminine” values


MASCULINITY-FEMINITY: MASCULINITY-FEMINITY ”Masculine” pole (survey questions) Earnings Recognition Advancement Challenge National cultures: Japan, Austria, Venezuela, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, Ireland, etc ”Feminine” pole Manager: a good relationship with him/her Cooperation Living area: desirable area to you and your family Employment security National cultures: Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, etc


MASCULINITY-FEMINITY in organizations: MASCULINITY-FEMINITY in organizations Feminity Work in order to live Managers use intuition and strive for consensus Equality, solidarity, quality of life Resolution of conflicts by compromise and negotiation Masculinity Live in order to work Managers are expected to be decisive and assertive Equity, competition, performance Resolution of conflicts by fighting them out


UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE: UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE Deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity To what extent the members of a culture feel comfortable or uncomfortable in unstructured situations Novel, unknown, suprising, unusual situations A society’s discomfort with uncertainty, preferring predictability and stability (James G. March) Nervous stress Need for predictibility: need for written and unwritten rules


UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE: UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE High scores in uncertainty avoidance: Latin American, Latin European, Mediterranean countries and Japan and South Korea (Greece, Portugal, France, Belgium, Guatemala, Uruguay, etc) Medium to low scores uncertainty avoidance: Asian countries (expect Japan and Korea), African countries, Anglo and Northern countries


UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE in organizations: UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE in organizations Low uncertainty avoidance Rules only when strictly necessary Time is a framework for orientation Comfortable when lazy; hard working only when needed Deviant ideas and innovations Motivation by achievement and esteem or belongingness High uncertainty avoidance Emotional need for rules Time is money Emotional need to be busy Inner urge to hard working Resistance to innovations Motivation by security and esteem or belongingness


LONG-TERM vs. SHORT-TERM ORIENTATION: LONG-TERM vs. SHORT-TERM ORIENTATION Long-term orientation Values oriented towards the future, like saving and persistence Short-term orientation Values oriented towards the past and present, like respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations Protecting one’s face High scores in long-term orientation index Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea


CONFUCIAN DYNAMISM/LONG-TERM ORIENTATION: CONFUCIAN DYNAMISM/ LONG-TERM ORIENTATION Personal steadiness and stability Protecting one’s ”face” Respect for tradition Reciprocation of greetings, favors, and gifts (Confucian values, Confucius, China, around 500 BC) (Bond, 1991)


Slide28: Cultural dimensions: USA and Finland high


Trompernaars’ model: Trompernaars’ model Every culture distinguishes itself from others by the specific solutions it chooses to certain problems National cultures from 3 perspectives Relationships with other people Meaning of time Relationship with the environment and nature ”Culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems”


Relationships with other people (1): Relationships with other people (1) 1. Universalism versus particularism In universalistic society, the rules apply equally to the whole ”universe” of members General rules, codes, values and standards ”What is good and right can be defined and always applied” Particularist cultures pay attention to the obligations of relationships and unique circumstances Human friendship, extraordinary achievement and situations, the ”spirit of law” more important than the ”letter of law” Universalist countries: USA, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavian countries


Relationships with other people (2): Relationships with other people (2) 2. Individualism versus communitarianism an individual or a part of a group Hofstede: individualism - collectivism 3. Neutral or emotional/affective cultures Neutral culture Incorrect to show one’s feelings overtly, control of feelings Affective culture Display of emotions, not necessary to hide emotions Affective cultures may interpret the less explicit signals of a neutral culture as less important


Relationships with other people (3): Relationships with other people (3) 4. Specific vs. diffuce relationships Specific areas of life, single levels of personality vs. diffusely multiple areas of life and several levels of personality Specific cultures People start with the elements, the specific The whole is the sum of its parts Individuals concentrate on hard facts, standards, contracts Diffuce cultures The various roles in life are not separated


Relationships with other people (4): Relationships with other people (4) 5. Achievement versus ascription What you have achieved vs. your status attributed to you Achievement oriented cultures Individuals derive their status from what they have accomplished Ascribed status What a person is and how others relate to his/her position Age, gender, wealth


Relationships with the environment and nature: Relationships with the environment and nature An attitude towards the natural environment Linked to the way we seek to have control over our lives and over our destiny or fate Internalistic people Nature a complex machine and it can be controlled with the right expertise Inner-directed people: you can live like you want if you take advantage of the opportunies Externalistic people Outer-directed, adapted to external circumstances


Attitudes to time (1): Attitudes to time (1) Every culture has its own responses to time Time orientation dimensions Approach to structuring time The relative importance to the past, present and the future Approach to structuring time Sequentialism a series of passing events, minute by minute, hour by hour, etc in a straight line Syncronism Time movers round in cycles of minutes, hours, days, years Past, present and the future interrelated


The imporance of past, present and future: The imporance of past, present and future Past Present Future France Past Present Future France USA Past Present Future Italy Past-oriented cultures: the future is seen as a repetition of past experiences Present-oriented cultures: day-to-day experiences direct people’s life Future-oriented cultures: most activities directed towards future prospects, planning a major activity


Temporal regulations: Temporal regulations The study of time: Chonemics How people in different cultures structure, interpret, and understand the time dimension Hall (1983), Hall and Hall (1987) The monocronic time schedule (M-time) The polycronic time schedule (P-time)


The meaning of time: The meaning of time Polycronic cultures Syncronic style past, present and future interrelated Various activities in parallel Monocronic cultures Time is experienced and used in a linear way One thing at a time Eg. USA, Switzerland, Germany, Scandinavia


Slide39: Monocronic time Clock time Appointment time Segmented time Task-oriented time Achievement tempos Future-focused approach Tangible outcome orientation Polycronic time Situational time Flextime Simultaneous activities Relationship-oriented perspective Experiental tempos Past/present-focused approach Historical orientation USA, Germany, Switzerland Arab, African, Latin American, Asian, Mediterranean cultures


High-context and low-context communication (Hall, 1976): High-context and low-context communication (Hall, 1976) Human interaction can be divided into low-context and high-context communication systems Low-context communication Intention or meaning is best expressed through explicit verbal messages High-context communication Intention or meaning is best conveyed through the context (e.g. social roles or positions) and the non-verbal channels (e.g. pauses, silence, tone of voice) of the verbal message


Slide41: Low-context communication High-context communication Germany Switzerland Denmark Sweden USA Canada Australia UK Saudi- Arabia Kuwait Mexico Nigeria Japan China South Korea Vietnam Low-context communication characteristics Individual values Self-face concern Linear logic Direct style Person-oriented style Self-enhancement style Speaker-oriented style Verbal-based understanding High-context communication characteristics Group-oriented values Mutual-face concern Spiral logic Indirect style Status-oriented style Self-effacement Listener-oriented style Context-based understanding


Use of personal - interpersonal space: Use of personal - interpersonal space Hall (1966) Proxemic theory: the use of interpersonal space or distance helps individuals regulate intimacy by controlling sensory exposure Intimacy distance Personal distance Social distance Public distance


Use of personal - interpersonal space: Use of personal - interpersonal space High-contact cultures: favor high sensory exposure French, Italians, Latin Americans, Russians, Arabs, and Africans Moderate-contact cultures Americans, Canadians, Northern Europeans, New Zealanders, and Australians Low-contact cultures: Chinese, Japanese, Koreans


Summary : Summary A variety of cultural dimensions has been identified: cultures are different in several aspects Power, ”hard” and ”soft values”, relationship to group, feeling of security, orientation to time, communication styles, etc. Even if working life and business are more and more global, our cultural background affects our behavior, relationships to others, and relationships to environment, and to our feelings No culture is better than the other, they only may differ


Literature: Literature Bond, M. H. (1991) Beyond the Chinese face. Insights from psychology. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. Hall, E. T. (1981) The Silent Language, New York: Doubleday Publishing. Hall, E.T. & Hall, M.R. (1991) Understanding different cultures. Yarmouth: Intercultural Press. Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture’s consequences. London: Sage Publications Ltd.  Hofstede, G. (1991) Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: HarperCollins. Schneider, S.C. & Barsoux, J.L. (1999) Managing across cultures. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall. Ting-Toomey, S. (1999) Communicating across cultures. New York: The Guildford Press. Trompenaars, F. & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997) Riding the Waves of Culture. London: Nicholas-Brealey Publishing.


Slide46: Maui 2004 Beijing 2001 Thank you!