Cross Cultural Management Final Exam

Tightness and Complexity

An aspect of individualism-collectivism that is closely related to the kinds of individual responses to nation culture is the idea of cultural tightness and looseness. Society's individualism is closely related to its looseness and complexity, whereas collectivism implies tightness and simplicity. Tightness refers to the extent to which members of a culture agree about what is correct behavior, believe they must behave exactly according to cultural norms, and believe that they will receive or should give severe criticism for even small deviations from cultural norms.

Work centrality and motivation

An aspect of work motivation is to what extent work is central in one's life. This is related to the work ethic, which in turn is related to commitment to work. Commitment to an organization consists of three components: emotional bonds, interest in continuing a relationship, and having a sense of obligation. The idea of commitment originated in individualistic parts of the world, so we have to see commitment in relation to commitment to a particular community or geographic area.

Influence of Culture in Different Business Contexts

Country-Specific Influences: -Economic system -Political system -Technological level -Important historic events and Customs and Traditions of the Country - Religion - Langauge - Education ---> Country specific orientations and value patterns --->Attitudes Toward - Work - Authority - Money - Change - Time - Risk - Family - Equality ----> International Management functions - Organising and controlling - Managing technological change - Motivating - Communicating - Decision making - Negotiating - Ethical and social responsibility

Nationality Factors of Organizational Success

The cultural background of the expatriates themselves, as well as the characteristics of the foreign culture, can influence some aspects of their overseas experience. Differences have been found in the cultural skill and knowledge and in job satisfaction reported by U.S. and German expatriates living in Japan. Expatriates form different countries establish different kinds of social networks, which in turn influence their adjustment.

Three layers of management

institutional framework (legal conditions, and cultural norms and values), firm (corporate strategy and corporate culture), individual (skills and abilities as well as personality and experience)

Management

is having formal authority over the organizational unit. The status of managers divides their activities into interpersonal, informational, and decisional role categories. Managerial work is characterized by brevity, variety, and fragmentation, with a high degree of interpersonal interaction. Managers rely on their own judgement, but also on other people, their role set, and norms in order to understand how to carry out their job.

Globalization

process whereby worldwide interconnections in virtually every sphere of activity are growing. Some of these interconnections lead to integration and unity worldwide; others do not. The increase in interconnections is the result of shifts that have taken place in technological, political, and economic spheres.

Cultures as a Source of Guidance

sources are: • Organization rules and procedures • Their superiors • Their colleagues • Their subordinates • Staff experts • Their organization's norms • Their society's norms • Their own experience and training. These sources provide managers with guidance on how to do their work.

How do Managers Carry Out Their Role? Sources of Guidance

they rely on their own judgement shaped by experience and training. They also rely on other people, their role set, and norms. Role Set members include their colleagues, superiors, subordinates, and even family and friends. Explicit norms include explicit organizational rules and procedures as well as gov laws. Implicit norms are well known and typically followed in an organization or society

Features of Culture

- Culture is Shared: most members intuitively understand the basic values, norms, or logics that underlie what is acceptable in a society. Culture occurs at a level between biological reactions and personality characteristics. - Culture is Learned: transmitted through the process of learning and interacting with the social environment - Culture is Systematic and Organized: a third important element is that cultures are integrated coherent systems. Culture is more than a random assortment of customs-it is an organized system of values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral meanings related to each other, to a cultural group's physical environment, and to other cultural groups.

Types of Communication

- Explicit vs. Implicit Communication: Explicit versus implicit communication is the degree to which language itself is used to communicate a message. In high-contexts, communication is more implicit, while in low-contexts communication is more explicit. In relation to Hofstede, low-context communication is related to individualism, and high-context communication is related to collectivism. Direct vs. Indirect Communication: Individualists use more direct communication, while collectivists use more indirect communication. Directness therefore depends on the social context. In collectivist cultures, politeness and desire to avoid embarrassment often take precedence over truth. Silence and Verbal Overkill: There are also cultural differences in the use of silence. Often, collectivist cultures value silence as a way of controlling the communication interaction, whereas individualist cultures value talking in the same way. However, even among individualist cultures, the use of silence and talking can vary. Use of Phrase: One additional stylistic element that has a systematic relationship to culture is the use of praise and the response to praise. Cultural differences exist in how frequently praise is used, what is praised, and how people respond.

Background Contraints or "Rules of the Game of Cross-Cultural Management

- Institutional environment - Formal, explicit rules - Informal, implicit rules

Causes of More Interconnectedness

- The establishment of free trade areas. The three largest trade groups are the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. - The World Trade Organization established with the goal of reducing tariffs and liberalizing trade across the board. Therefore, local economic conditions are no longer the result of purely domestic influence. - The gap between regional GDP growth rates of the fastest-growing and least dynamic regions of the world has begun to narrow. - The level of FDI also has a globalizing effect. FDI, as a percentage of the world GDP, doubled between 1985 and 1994. The result of these changes in trade and FDI flows is a shift in the economic center of the world away from North America and Western Europe.

Consensus

1. Consensus cultures focus on relationships rather than deals, the parties will often want to take substantial amounts of time to learn and form a deeper relationship. 2. Since consensus processes go hand in hand with near inexhaustible demands for information, you should be prepared to provide it. 3. To the extent that you can pinpoint the source of delay - you can and should sign your approach to help your proponents on the bother side convert the doubters, giving them the data they need as well as arguments. 4. You may need to shift focus away from bargaining table and instead interact intensively with the other side.

Four Categories that Illustrate the Process of Globalization

1. Growing Economic Interconnectedness: rise of free-trade areas like the EU, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The WTO was created in 1995 as a result of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) with the goal of reducing tariffs and liberalizing. FDI in developing countries has increased. 2. More Complex and Dynamic Work Environment: related to the increased interconnectedness of economies and organizations are changes that affect the stability o the work environment within organizations. These include downsizing, privatization (which enables formerly government-controlled enterprises to be available for purchase by foreign firms), and movement toward team-based management. There are increased rates of mergers and acquisitions, because of efforts to remain competitive in a more difficult environment, which often results in workforce reductions. The number of permanent migrants is changing the composition of the workforce in many countries. There is rising diversity. These changes resulting from downsizing, privatization, international migration, and team-based management contribute to create a more complex and dynamic work environment for firms around the world. 3. Increased Use and Sophistication of IT: the most significant force toward globalization might be the advances in info technology. Access to info, resources, products and markets is improved by info tech. There are less barriers with an internet business. 4. More and Different Players on the Global Stage: used to just be the firm and its foreign constituency, but now they are join by home and host country governments and more recently by special interest groups, international agencies, and economic alliances. Improvements in transport, telecommunications, and international finance have promoted the activities of crime and terrorist groups. Global managers must recognize that the increased permeability of boundaries associated with globalization also applies to illegal and terrorist activities. One key result of globalization is that global managers face an external environment far more complex, more dynamic, more uncertain, and more competitive than ever before.

Dimensions of Organizational Cultures

1. Process-oriented versus results-oriented Process-oriented cultures are dominated by technical and bureaucratic routines, results oriented by a common concern for outcomes. This dimension was associated with the culture's degree of homogeneity: in results-oriented units, everybody perceived their practices in about the same way; in process-oriented units, there were vast differences in perception among different levels and parts of the unit. The degree of homogeneity of a culture is a measure of its 'strength': the study confirmed that strong cultures are more results- oriented than weak ones, and vice versa (Peters & Waterman, 1982). 2. Job-oriented versus employee-oriented The former assume responsibility for the employees' job performance only, and nothing more; employee-oriented cultures assume a broad responsibility for their members' wellbeing. At the level of individual managers, the distinction between job orientation and employee orientation has been popularized by Blake and Mouton's Managerial Grid (1964). The Hofstede et al. study (1990) shows that job versus employee orientation is part of a culture and not (only) a choice for an individual manager. A unit's position on this dimension seems to be largely the result of historical factors, like the philosophy of its founder(s) and the presence or absence in its recent history of economic crises with collective layoffs. 3. Professional versus parochial In the former, the (usually highly educated) members identify primarily with their profession; in the latter, the members derive their identity from the organization for which they work. Sociology has long known this dimension as 'local' versus 'cosmopolitan', the contrast between an internal and an external frame of reference (Merton, 1949). 4. Open systems versus closed systems This dimension refers to the common style of internal and external communication, and to the ease with which outsiders and newcomers are admitted. This is the only one of the six dimensions for which a systematic difference was found between Danish and Dutch units. It seems that organizational openness is a societal characteristic of Denmark more than of the Netherlands. This shows that organization cultures also contain elements from national culture differences. 5. Tight versus loose control This dimension deals with the degree of formality and punctuality within the organization; it is partly a function of the unit's technology: banks and pharmaceutical companies can be expected to show tight control, research laboratories and advertising agencies loose control; but even with the same technology some units may still be tighter or looser than others. 6. Pragmatic versus normative The last dimension describes the prevailing way (flexible or rigid) of dealing with the environment, in particular with customers. Units selling services are likely to be found towards the pragmatic (flexible) side, units involved in the application of laws and rules towards the normative (rigid) side. This dimension measures the degree of 'customer orientation', which is a highly popular topic in the marketing literature.

How can lapses in etiquette trip up negotiations

1. The visible manifestations of protocol and deportment: its good to research the dos and fonts that generalize specifics of surface behaviors. Sensitivity to these basics allows you to avoid giving offense and demonstrates respect. 2. Deep cultural characteristics that influence how people interact in subtle and yet powerful ways: it is more difficult to see the underlying cultural tendencies affecting how people interact. Think of Hall's silent language (relationships, communication, time, space) or hofstede's dimensions.

How does the need for consensus affect negotiations

1. Underlying View of the Process: people may view it as cooperative or competitive. Some seek mutual advantage while others don't. 2. Approach to Building Agreement: US negotiators start with specifics and then build up toward overall deal while in china they focus on very general historical and national frame for discussion. French do the opposite of Americans. 3. Form of agreement: what level of detail is required? In east Asia they are ok with broad agreements while in Eire and North America they insist on detail. 4. Implementation of Agreement: is adherence expected or contingent? Your objective is to get your interests, point of view and plans incorporated into their consensus process. You will need to adjust your own expectations of how long the deal will take.

Types of International Management Research

6 Categories that differ in terms of assumptions they make about culture: 1. Domestic: ◦ Description: Defined here as those management studies designed and conducted within a single country without regard for the boundary conditions set by the cultural orientation of the country. They assume universal applicability of the things they test. ◦ Cultural Assumptions: culture is ignored, or universality of theory is assumed ◦ Questions: How can we explain and predict the behavior of people in organizations? 2. Replication: ◦ Description: studies attempt to replicate research results first found in one country, typically US, by repeating the research in other countries and anticipating that the concepts being measured wil have the same meaning to the participants in the new culture as they did I the culture in which the study was conceived. ◦ Cultural Assumptions: universality is questioned; there is no theory available to predict the effect of culture ◦ Questions: does this theory that applied in culture A also apply in culture B? 3. Indigenous: ◦ Description: individual management studies conceived and executed in one or many cultures... this research focuses on the different and varied ways in which managers behave and organizations are run. In a specific cultural setting in a way that highlights something that is expected to be unique. They are conducted in a single country however they differ from domestic research in that they assume cultural differences and require locally generated theory to explain and predict behavior within a culture. ◦ Cultural Assumptions: cultural differences are assumed to exist; indigenous theory is needed to explain behavior ◦ Questions: how can we explain and predict the behavior of people in organizations in country X 4. Comparative: ◦ Description: management study conducted in two or more countries... studies seek to find both similarities and differences that exist across cultures regarding a particular management issue. This research accepts the challenge to incorporate multiple cultural standpoints by obtaining substantial guidance fro colleagues in multiple countries while the research is being designed. Predictive comparative studies test relationships suggested by theory, including a theory predicting the expected cross-cultural differences. ◦ Cultural assumptions: similarities and differences exist; there may or may not be a theory available to predict the effect of culture ◦ Questions: what similarities and differences exist in behavior of people in organizations? Is this theory universal? 5. International: ◦ Description: studies of multinational organizations...captures those studies that focus attention on the MNE. Although these studies recognize similarities and differences exist across cultures, the cultural context does not figure prominently in the conceptualization or execution of the study. These studies aren't concerned with comparing cultural context in each countries, except as it applies to the OG as a whole. ◦ Cultural Assumptions: similarities and differences exist, or culture is ignored ◦ Questions: how do organizations that operate in multiple countries function? 6. Intercultural: ◦ Description: studies of intercultural interactions in organizations...seeks to understand the interactions between culturally different individuals in organizational settings. This research considers the culture of both parties in the interaction as well as contextual explanations for observed similarities and differences. ◦ Cultural: specific aspects of culture are part of the theoretical framework underlying the study ◦ Questions: how is this theory influenced by cultural differences, and how is it universal?

Is Culture Stable?

According to Hoftstede and Trompenaar, culture is seen as a relatively stable, homogeneous, internally consistent system of assumptions, values, and norms transmitted by socialization to the next generation. It does not seem to resonate with firms' and managers' experiences of cultural complexity in the business environment that is becoming globalized: globalized not only through the emergence of a consumer culture with converging taste and demands, but through worldwide collaboration and competition supported by the borderless communication technologies. In globalizing business, differences are not coalescing into a unitary business culture and instead they are manifesting themselves in new ways.

Group Processes Over Time

An additional element of group processes is the changes that groups go through over time. Tuckman argues that all groups go through five stages: - Forming. In this stage, group members begin to think of themselves as part of a group. They might still be uncertain how they fit into the group. - Storming. The characteristics, attitudes, and expectations of individuals come into conflict with the structure of the group. - Norming. The group agrees on the expectations that specify the acceptable behavior of the group. - Performing. The efforts of the group shift to accomplishing the task at hand. - Adjourning. The task is completed.

Limitations of Country Culture Research

Analyzing the cultures of many countries based on a finite number of dimensions was a major advance over earlier research about culture. But there are very many criticisms that are based on the challenges to doing cross-cultural research. The results have the potential to be influenced by the nature of the samples used and the questions asked. It is also criticized on the grounds that countries have major geographic subcultures as well as cultural groups that are unrelated to country boundaries. This research suggests that the kinds of differences in individual responses to a nation's culture can be due to within-nation cultural subgroups as well as more uniquely individual experiences. Also even in those using the largest number of countries, the number of countries studied is quire small for sophisticated data analysis techniques. Also it is difficult to tell if the dimensions are clearly distinct. One of the most important limitations of the Mels is that they generally are not appropriate for understanding the personal values of individuals. Managers should avoid losing sight of the unique personal values that each individual in society adopts.

Why Do Cultures Differ and Persist?

Assumptions about a society's interactions with environment: 1. Limited number of common human problems for which all peoples at all times must find solutions 2. There are a limited number of alternatives for dealing with these problems 3. All alternatives are present in a society at all times, but some are more preferred. 4. Each society has a dominant profile or value orientation but also has numerous variations or alternative profiles. 5. In both the dominant produce and the variations, there is a rank order preference for alternatives. 6. In societies undergoing change, the ordering of preferences may be unclear Based on these assumptions, elements of culture evolve to provide different solutions to common environmental problems. This is not to say that a particular ecological or environmental context will always result in similar cultural characteristics. It is just good to know how cultural aspects emerged.

Differential Attributions

Attributions help us understand and react to our environment by linking the observation of an event to its causes. The search for the causes of the observation or event is a mental process that is similar in many different cultures. The causes can be divided in two categories: internal causes and external causes... Inconclusive Information: The situational cues that we rely on to make attributions are often inconclusive. Therefore, we might rely on our stereotypic expectations or on our own behavior. Culture has a lot of influence on attribution. Attribution Error: Attribution is also influenced by if the person who exhibits the behavior is a member of the cultural group. The attribution error means that if a person from your own cultural group exhibits positive behavior, you will find the causes of the behavior in their ability or effort. However, if a person from a different cultural group exhibits positive behavior, you will find the causes of the behavior in luck or favorable circumstances. Cultural Differences in Attribution Bias: The attribution error or bias is more difficult to find in for example Asia compared to North American or European populations. Although it was first stated that this is a universal bias, you can also find some variation across cultures.

Cross-Cultural Communication Processes

Communication is transmitting messages, including information about the nature of the relationship, to another person who interprets these messages and gives them meaning. For the understanding of the message, the sender and receiver must share a vast amount of common information, called grounding. This information is updated during each communication practice. Cross-cultural communication is more difficult and demanding than communication within a single culture, because there is less grounding information. The term cultural field means in this context that there is a field of culturally based elements of a person's background that influence communication. How effective the cross-cultural communication is, depends on the lack of distortion. There are several reasons for distortion to happen: - The encoded message can be affected by the communication skills and knowledge of the sender and by the associated cultural field. The ability to encode accurately is determined by our skill in the chosen channel. - The symbols a person uses to express an idea vary with the cultural field. Convenience and skill are important determinants in the choice of medium. - All of the factors that affect the sender also influence the receiver. Therefore, the receiver must also be skilled in the medium in use and have sufficient knowledge to interpret the message correctly.

Cultural Diversity (Influence on Work Groups)

Cultural diversity is about the number of different cultures that are represented in the group. Cultural diversity can have both positive and negative effects on work group effectiveness. Culturally diverse groups are likely to suffer from increased process losses and have lower group performance than homogeneous groups. Also, subgroups can emerge in a work group with many different cultures. Then, the influence on the effectiveness comes from the extent to which the task group is divided along faultlines. However, if time passes, the problems caused by cultural diversity can decrease because the members learn to cope with them. The positive effect of cultural diversity is that it has the potential to increase group performance through a greater variety of ideas and perspectives, and a greater focus on the processes within the group.

Cultural Influence on Work Groups

Culture's influence on work groups is mainly present in the cultural composition of the work group. The cultural composition of work groups affects the way they function through three general types of mechanisms: - Cultural norms, which are the orientations of the specific cultures represented in the group toward the functioning of groups. - Cultural diversity, which is the number of different cultures represented in the group. - Relative cultural distance, which is the extent to which group members are culturally different from each other.

What is Culture?

Culture: set of knowledge structures consisting of systems of values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral meanings that are shared by members of a social group (society) and embedded in its institutions and that are learned from previous generations. - Values: Abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable - Norms: Social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations - Society: A group of people who share a common set of values and norms - Socialization:The process of learning the rules and behavioral patterns appropriate to one's given society, i.e. cultural learning

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck Framework

Societies place different emphases on three alternate ways of handling each of these problems: Problems: - Time (past present or future) - Humanity and natural environment (mastery, harmonious, submissive) - Relating to other people (hierarchical, as equals, individualistic) - Motive for behavior (being, being in becoming, achieving)

Group Structure

Each of the structures (task forces, crews, or teams) shape the behavior of the group members by prescribing the norms, role expectations, and status relationships shared by group members. Although all groups share the same types of norms, the norms for a particular group are unique. Group norms can come from explicit statements made by group members, critical incidents in the group's history, or early behavior that emerges and persists. The ability of work groups to adjust their role structure to changes in the context of their task influences their performance. Group member roles are affected by the conflict created in the process of role assignment. Cultural difference in preferences for different roles in multicultural groups exists. The effect of status systems in groups can be summarized in three categories: - The effect of a person's status on his or her relationship with other group members. - The effect of group member's status on this or her evaluation by others. - The effect of status on a group member's self-esteem. In general, group members with higher status have more influence in the group, are evaluated more positively, and have higher self-esteem.

Environmental Factors Influence on Organizational Success

Even broader than job and organizational factors, are environmental factors external to the expatriate. The expatriate has little control over these factors. - Cultural novelty The extent to which the host country culture is different from the expatriate's home culture is typically theorized to make the adjustment process more difficult. Research found that cultural novelty is negatively related to interaction adjustment, general adjustment, and willingness to accept an assignment and positively related to social difficulty. However, the research support for these negative effects of cultural novelty on outcomes is not universal. This suggest the possibility that cultural novelty can exert its influence differently depending on the characteristics of the individual and the situation. - Social support Being able to draw on social relationships provides a mechanism for dealing with the stress associated with an overseas assignment. Research supports the direct positive effect of social support from both host and home country nationals on the adjustment of expatriates. However, there are differences in the nature of the social support from the host and home country nationals.

Managing Multicultural Work Groups

Even if it were possible to determine the optimal cultural mix in a particular work group situation, it is unrealistic for managers to control the cultural composition of work groups. Therefore, they must try to maximize the positive consequences of both homogeneity and diversity. Several ideas come up to deal with this multicultural management challenge. - Work group task and structure Work groups with high degrees of interpersonal interaction will be more susceptible to both the process losses and process gains produced by cultural differences between group members. Moreover, less structured tasks are more open to the influence of cultural differences than are highly structured and regulated production tasks. Lastly, the task and work group structure must match with the other characteristics of the situation. - Broad evaluation criteria Multicultural work groups should probably be evaluated in terms of group processes and individual outcomes as well as task accomplishment. Assessing how a work group is doing according to broader criteria than just accomplishment of the immediate task can give managers insight into the longer-term potential of the group. It also means encouraging exploration activities, which involve experimentation, innovation, and divergent thinking. It is the opposite of exploitation, which focuses on production, efficiency, and convergent thinking. - Composition and task requirements The guiding principle for work group organization should be to ensure that the work group has the task-related knowledge, skills, and abilities required to complete the group tasks. These task-related requirements can also include culture, in the sense that characteristics of specific culturally based knowledge and skills might be appropriate to certain tasks. - Common purpose Creating a shared sense of purpose among the work group members can be even more important in multicultural work groups. To achieve a common purpose, managers must understand the sensitivity of the values, attitudes, and beliefs of culturally different work group members. However, this can be a way to overcome the cultural differences when focusing on commonalities and creating a group identity.

Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory states that motivation is the result of the combination of the expectation that effort (E) will lead to performance, that his performance will be instrumental (I) in reaching certain outcomes, and the value (V) placed on these outcomes by individuals. Thus, effort = V * I * E. Research found significant differences in both expectancies and valences across cultures. The problem with this theory is that it assumes that individuals can determine their own performance and outcomes, and that the employer has the ability to identify and provide valued rewards. However, this is not the case in every culture, which makes this theory hard to apply in different cultures.

Contingency Theories (Leadership)

Fiedler's contingency model presents the basic idea that the situation moderates the relationship between the leader's style and effectiveness. A leader's style is an assessment of personality characteristics determined by responses on the least preferred coworker scale. Although there is a lot of criticism on this theory, it is also suggested that by appropriately including cultural differences, it could prove to be universally applicable. Another contingency theory is path-goal theory, which identifies four leader behaviors and specifies a number of situational and follower characteristic moderators of the relationship between leader style and follower satisfaction and performance. An idea related to this theory is that the attributes of situations and the characteristics of subordinates could enhance, neutralize, or substitute for some leadership behaviors. This so-called leadership substitutes theory suggests that characteristics of subordinates can act as substitutes for such leader behavior as being directive while actually enhancing the effect of other types of leader behavior, such as being supportive.

Success of Expats

Firms and expatriate employees are concerned with the success of an overseas assignment. However, the definitions of success vary widely. Three outcomes are very important in the research in the area of expatriate experience: turnover, adjustment, and task performance. - Turnover Turnover means the premature return of expatriates to their home country. It is often measured with the assumption that the expatriate will remain on assignment for the time originally agreed upon. - Adjustment Adjustment is the ability of the expatriate to overcome culture shock and adjust to the new environment. The overall adjustment was refined in later research to include three dimensions of adjustment, namely general living adjustment, work adjustment, and interaction adjustment. Important is that job characteristics are related primarily to work adjustment and individual characteristics are related to all types of adjustment. The cycle of adjustment, a U-shaped pattern, shows four stages: Honeymoon stage. In this stage, everything is new, exciting, and interesting. The new environment intrigues the expatriate in the same way as if the expatriate were a tourist. - Culture shock stage. In this stage, the expatriate becomes frustrated and confused because the environment is not providing familiar cues. - Adjustment stage. In this stage, the expatriate begins to understand cultural differences, learns the ways to get things done, and begins to settle into the rhythm of daily living in the foreign country. - Mastery stage. In this stage, the expatriate becomes able to function in the new culture almost as well as at home. Not all expatriates achieve mastery in their new environment. - Task performance Task performance is the requirement that expatriates meet the often conflicting performance expectations of home office superiors and host nationals.

punctuated equilibrium model

For groups that have a deadline for the accomplishment of their task, the punctuated equilibrium model might be helpful. Here the group sets its direction at the first meeting, and this pattern of behavior and approach to the task become firmly adhered to for the first one-half of the group's existence. A transition seems to occur at about the midway point. The group drops the previous patterns of behavior and perspectives in favor of a new direction. At the final meeting of the group, lots of activity occurs as the group members press each other to make their contribution to accomplish the task. Next to these models, virtual global teams seem to engage in specific patterns of temporal rhythms that involve face-to-face interactions.

Work Groups

Four distinctive characteristics of work groups in organizations have been identified. Work groups are social systems that have boundaries with members who have different roles and are dependent on each other. Both people within the group and those on the outside will recognize the group's existence. The groups have a task to perform and work groups function in an organizational context. There are three types of work groups: - Task forces. These are work groups in organizations. They focus on the completion of a specific project, within a limited time frame. Members are selected based on the task-related skills required by the group. - Crews. Crews focus on the tools required in the performance of the task. The interaction between group members is based on the use of tools. Tools are defined as task-related implements or devices. - Organizational teams. This type of work group focusses on the interrelationship between the group members. These teams are sets of people with specific skills and abilities who are provided with tools and procedures to address certain sets of tasks over a long period of time.

GLOBE Study

GLOBE research resulted in the construction of nine dimensions of cultural variation. The first four are direct extensions of Hofstede's work, but the GLOBE proposes two dimensions of collectivism, with in-group collectivism being the most highly correlated with the hofstede individualism-collectivism dimension. • Institutional Collectivism: the degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action • In-group collectivism: the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness to their organizations or families. • Power distance: the degree to which members of a collective expect power to be distributed equally • Uncertainty Avoidance: the extent to which a society, organization, or group relies on social norms, rules, and procedures to alleviate unpredictability of future events. The next two dimensions can be seen as reconceptualization of Hofstede's masculinity-femininity dimension: • Gender egalitarianism: the degree to which a collective minimized gender inequality • Assertiveness: the degree to which individuals are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their relationships with other The next two dimensions have their origins in the work of Kluckhohn and Strodbeck on the nature of people and time orientation presented previously and are as follows: • Human orientation: the degree to which a collective encourages and rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others • Future orientation: the extent to which individuals engage in future-oriented behaviors, such as delayed gratification, planning, and investing in the future. There is one final dimension derived from McClelland's work on achievement motivation • Performance orientation: the degree to which a collective encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement excellence.

Goal Setting

Goal setting theory involves the responses of individuals to the existence of goals and the manner in which the goals were set. The basic principles of goal setting are that specific difficult goals consistently lead to better performance than specific easy goals, general goals, or no goals; and that goal setting is most effective when there is feedback showing progress toward the goal. Research with regard to cultural variation in goal setting has focused on the way in which commitment to goals is achieved, particularly the effect of participation in setting the goal. It found that prevailing work norms may influence the extent to which participation in goal setting may be effective in a particular culture.

Group Composition

Group composition can be classified as homogeneous on a particular dimension, heterogeneous on that dimension, or minority-majority. Minority-majority groups are those in which one or a few members are different on the dimension of interest. Research on minority-majority groups has tended to focus on the influence of minority members on the majority. It is shown that minority members are slower to express their opinions, but this speed increases as the size of the minority grows. Recently, research on homo/heterogeneous focuses on differentiating between surface-level diversity and deep-level diversity. The findings are that heterogeneity can have a negative effect on affective outcomes, that group heterogeneity has a direct relationship to the level of process losses, and that group heterogeneity can be positively related to group performance on the tasks that are typical for an organization.

Group Processes

Group processes show how groups achieve their outcomes. Because groups form their own social systems, the outcomes of work groups are not the same as the sum of their individual members' efforts. Examples of process losses include groupthink and social loafing. Groupthink means that the norm for group consensus overrides the motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action. Social loafing means that individuals reduce their effort on group tasks if they think that other members will do the work for them.

Language Pragmatics

Language Accomodation: Language accommodation has to do with the question: who will accommodate whom in an intercultural communication? Speech accommodation involves shifting one's speech patterns to achieve greater language similarity. Sometimes, because of a history, one language group refuses to speak another group's language. The language that has higher prestige and is widely used in the relevant institutions or settings is more likely to be adopted. Stylistic Accommodation: Stylistic accommodation is adapting one's communication style to the style of the other culture in an intercultural communication. Language Fluency: The degree of language fluency creates several problems for the second-language user that extend beyond the user's ability. Higher degrees of language fluency can lead to the second-language user being perceive as having a higher competency in other areas.

Gender of Expats Factor of Organizational Success

In the past, it was very uncommon to be a woman in international management. Nowadays, about 25% of the expatriates were female. The shortage of qualified men, legal and social pressure for equal opportunity, the increasing familiarity with women in management positions, and the increasing ability of women to self-select for an overseas assignment because of changing company attitudes have resulted in a greater presence of women in the expatriate community. A persistent barrier for women has been the reluctance of companies to send them overseas. Personnel managers listed the following reasons why not to hire women: foreigners' prejudice against women, dual careers, selection bias, women not interested, women unqualified, and women not effective. Compared to men, women are exposed to additional work and non-work challenges, including the attitudes of local nationals toward working women, but also family issues such as child care and dual career conflicts. However, it might also be an advantage. Because of their small number, their visibility increases. In addition, they are afforded higher status because of their uniqueness, or they have better interpersonal skills than men.

Levels of Culture

Its a circle and i will start with the outside ring: - Global Culture - National Culture - Organizational Culture - Individual Culture

Training (Influence on culturally diverse work groups)

Managers often seem to assume that employees automatically have the skills to be effective work group members. The need for training in the specific electronic tools required for interaction in global virtual teams is obvious. However, training in interaction skills is also important when there are different opinions within the work group.

McClelland's Theory

McClelland's theory focusses on three needs, namely - achievement - affiliation - power. Research indicates that individuals who value achievement strive for personal success, whereas successful managerial performance requires individuals who value power high and affiliation low. McClelland suggested that there is a need for achievement motivation training in developed countries. The majority of cross-cultural research on content theories focused on higher-order needs, while ignoring lower-order needs.

Self-Schemas and Motivation

Motivation consists of the reasons people take or persist in a particular action. People with independent self-schemas will be more motivated to express internal needs. People with interdependent self-schemas will be more receptive to others and adjust to their needs. Cultural differences are therefore expected in motivation based on an individual's internal representation of self.

Individuals Factors of Organizational Success

Much of the early research on individual differences focused on the personality characteristics of people who were effective in overseas assignments. However, there are more determinants. Therefore, the emphasis shifted to the behavior of successful individuals or their social skills. The behaviors or personal abilities that are considered important for success are: - The ability to manage psychological stress. - The ability to communicate effectively. - The ability to establish interpersonal relationships. Besides that, five characteristics of individuals related to success are identified, in order of importance: - Family situation. - Adaptability. - Job knowledge. - Relational ability. - Openness to other cultures. Some evidence suggests that the importance of these factors might be cross-culturally consistent. Because of the difficulty involved in defining the prototypical expatriate, the classification of these individual differences into broad skill or behavior dimensions may be a more useful way to include individual characteristics in the evaluation of antecedents to success in an overseas assignment.

Adjustment-Performance Relationship

The adjustment-performance relationship might be more complicated than has often been assumed. Research support for a positive relationship between adjustment and performance is somewhat equivocal. Some studies have found performance negatively related to expatriates' perceptions of the intensity of their adjustment to the new culture. Several different effects of this relationship have been found, depending on the facet of adjustment and the measure of performance used. In general, an overseas assignment is considered successful if: - The individual meets the performance expectations of quality and quantity of both home country and host country superiors. - The individual develops and maintains satisfactory relationships with local nationals. - The individual acquires skills related to managing people of different cultures. The individual remains on assignment the agreed-upon length of time.

Debates Surrounding the Concept of Culture

National Culture: to what extent does a nation have a distinctive culture? The dynamic between cultural fragmentation and national unity raises the question of the appropriateness of the concept of a national culture. We all derive our self-identity from our nationality. From an international business perspective, national culture is probably the most logical level of analysis from which to begin to understand the cultural environment. Concept of national cultures brings about two problems: first, by comparing national cultures, the large number of subcultures that exist is at risk of being ignored. Second, we risk ignoring the variation, conflict, and dissent that exist within national cultures. Individuals also have unique life experiences with various local and global cultural groups that contribute to diversity within a national culture. Convergence, Divergence, or Equilibrium: an additional consideration is the extent to which cultures around the world are becoming or similar or more different. Many believe that the rapid tech and economic development around the world will have a homogenizing effect. Other believe diversity will persist or even expand as societies with different cultural traditions respond to rapid tech development. Stability is fosters by the large number of complex links between the various elements having a long history that make up a culture. Proponents of convergence perspective suggest that this modernization results from a common economic orientation and eventually leads to a common society where differences in ideology will cease to exist. Sociologists suggest that to participate effectively in a modern society, people must possess a core set of psychological characteristics. Postindustrial life becomes a game between person where most people spend their productive time interacting with people and symbols, with a growing emphasis on self-expression and autonomous decision-making. Organizational vs. National Culture: Organizations have culture-like quality mainly to the extent that they can (a) attract and select a subset of a society's members who have already adopted and organization's values and (b) socialize members into the organization's wy of doing things. OG culture has been defined as stable attitudes, beliefs, and values held in common by OG members; shared normative beliefs and behavioral expectations; or a set of goal-directed values, beliefs, and behaviors. The convergence argument on the organizational level centers on convergence toward common organizational practices in different countries, because of technological determinism. BUT similar general technology can be operated differently by different social systems. Ralston attempted to accommodate the middle ground by coining the term crossvergence to refer to the incorporation by individuals of influences from both national culture and economic ideologies. The transmission of organizational culture can occur in different ways and at different times from national culture. Individuals are only partially immersed in organizational culture. Acculturation and Biculturalism: acculturation concerns the psychological and behavioral changes that occur in people because of contact with different cultures. It is often used to describe the changes in people who relocate from one culture to another. Some individuals with experience living in multiple culture acculturate to the extent that they demonstrate the ability to function very effectively in more than one culture. These are called biculturals.

Stereotypes

National Stereotypes: Even people who have never met someone of the concerning country have stereotypes about other national cultures. These stereotypes are therefore based on very limited information about others. Resistance to New Information: Once a stereotype is formed, we adapt new information to be consistent with the stereotype. This happens when the information is not noticed, but also when the information is discounted as not representative. Stereotype Complexity and Evaluation: Stereotypes are learned, so we have more complex stereotypes about groups we are familiar with. Therefore, the perception of our own culture consists of the most complex mental schemas. This explains why we see people from a different group as more similar. New information about a different group is therefore more extremely evaluated than new information about a group we are familiar with. Social Dominance: Social dominance theory says that in every complex society, some groups are dominant over others and have a bigger amount of privilege. The higher or lower status of a group influences the attachment and attitude towards this group. The usefulness of stereotypic expectations about members of another culture is thus limited by the following: - The extent to which these mental pictures contain accurate information. - Our recognition that either positive or negative feelings about the cultural group are invariably attached to the stereotype. - Our ability to adjust our expectations based on new information about the group.

Job and Organizational Factors of Organizational Success

Next to characteristics of the individuals, aspects of the job and the way jobs are organized, are also important to the expatriate experience. - Expatriate job characteristics Work role characteristics have an influence on the work adjustment of expatriates. The amounts of ambiguity, novelty, and conflict in the expatriate's role all have a negative effect on adjustment to a new work role and on job satisfaction. Work adjustment is positively related to the intent to remain on assignment. - Job level The organizational level of job changers influences the types of strategies available to them to deal with the effects of moving to a new role and hence probability of favorable outcomes. Additionally, the organizational level of expatriates might also come with other factors, such as more challenging assignments, which may need to be considered in predicting the effect of organizational level on the expatriate experience. Key organizational factors that influence success include the amount of organizational support provided to expatriates and their families, the extent to which the expatriate was provided with realistic information about the country and the assignment, and the amount of cross-cultural training provided. - Expatriate training The conventional wisdom regarding cross-cultural training of expatriates is that although the positive effect of training is well documented, firms often fail to provide training because they believe it is not effective or that there is insufficient time before departure. Research found that cross-cultural training is positively related to self-development, adjustment, relationships with host nationals, and performance. However, there are doubts about what type of training is most effective and when to start with the training. It is suggested that the selection of training methods for a particular situation can be determined by referring to the degree of cultural novelty in the situation, the requirements for intercultural interaction with host nationals, and the degree of novelty in the job. The model shows that if the requirements of the situation become more demanding, the cross-cultural training required should move from more passive to more participative modes. The idea that expatriate training might be delivered more effectively after the expatriates arrive in country is based on the notion that for training to be effective, it should be delivered when trainees are most motivated to learn. Related to the issue of cross-cultural training is the expatriate's accurate or realistic conception of the situation to which the expatriate is moving. Research found that realistic expectations of new jobs would be related to positive outcomes. It provides the opportunity for expatriates to make adjustments in anticipation of environmental differences. Another organizational factor, which is related to elements of expatriate success, is the extent of organizational support received by expatriates. However, the effect of the level and nature of organizational support is complicated. Furthermore, the level of the expatriate's commitment to the organization determines the effectiveness of support programs.

Role of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communications convey important messages and are produced more automatically than words. Tone of Voice: Along with the words we speak, the way we say them communicates feelings and attitudes. Tone of voice includes pitch, volume, speed, tension and variation. The different meanings for tone of voice can be categorized along the dimensions of dominance, positivity, and arousal. Proxemics:Proxemics is the way in which people use personal space in their interactions with others. People seem to follow patterns when establishing distance between themselves and others; patterns that are consistent with cultural norms. Cultures can therefore be classified as high-touch versus low-touch. Touching behavior in any culture is likely to depend on a number of factors, including age, gender, and social status. Body Position and Gestures: People from high-power distance cultures might show more bodily tension as a way of indicating submissiveness or deference. Emblems are hand gestures that are used as a substitute for words. The same hand gesture can have different meanings in different parts of the world. Facial Expression: Facial expression is a key source of information, particularly about emotional states. Underlying emotional states seem to be closely linked to facial expression. facial expressions are influenced by a person's culturally learned display rules. Eye Contact: Both maintaining eye contact and avoiding eye contact communicate important messages. However, the interpretation of eye contact differs among cultures, and the rules seem to be fixed fairly early in life and persist regardless of subsequent cross-cultural experience. The appropriate level of eye contact in conversation can also vary according to the relative status of the individuals involved. The discussion of nonverbal communication must be treated with caution.

External Influence on Work Group Effectiveness

Part of the group behavior is determined by the larger organization to which the group belongs. Research indicates that contextual factors influence both the productivity of work groups and employee satisfaction with the group. Furthermore, organizational factors such as firm strategy and human resource practices influence the impact of diversity in work groups. In addition, the geographic dispersion of the organization influences the manner in which work groups must interact.

Process Theories

Process theories explain the choices that people make about their behavior. Examples of process theories are equity theory, goal setting theory, and expectancy theory.

Relative Cultural Distance

Relative cultural distance concerns the extent to which each individual in the group is culturally different from the other group members. Culturally different work groups are aware that they are different, and this awareness causes them to compare themselves to the other members of the group. Based on this comparison, they evaluate the appropriateness of their behavior and their status in the work group. If group members perceive their status in the group favorably, they are likely to participate more fully and to perceive the group more positively. The relative difference of individuals from other group members also influences the extent to which they identify with the task group versus their cultural group. Furthermore, group members' willingness to participate depends on the salience of the task group identity versus that of their cultural group. Other research found that the extent to which group members differed from others affected their assessment of the level of conflict in the group and their willingness to express their ideas. All these differences can result in a lower expectation of a successful interaction with the other group members and a higher estimate of the effort needed to achieve success.

Demographic Factors of Organizational Success

Research findings concerning this subject are that the age of the expatriate is positively related to organizational commitment, work adjustment, and job satisfaction but negatively correlated with willingness to relocate, intent to leave, and general satisfaction. Second, tenure of expatriates is positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to intent to leave. Third, the educational level of expatriates is negatively related to job satisfaction and commitment, but has positive effects on general adjustment and interaction adjustment. Fourth, married expatriates perform better and are more satisfied. Last, the adjustment of the partner of family is positively related to expatriate adjustment and negatively related to intent to leave. These findings must be seen with the note that demographic characteristics also indicate underlying values, attitudes and beliefs. They have also effect on these outcomes.

Repatriation

Research found that repatriation adjustment was facilitated by such factors as the amount of clarity and discretion the expatriate had in the new role but negatively affected by the time spent overseas, social status, and housing conditions. These factors can also have the opposite effect; those that facilitate expatriate adjustment can in turn inhibit repatriation.

Group Level Rewards (Influence on culturally diverse work groups)

Research suggests that a mix of individual and group rewards will be most effective with work groups. However, recently others suggest that these hybrid reward systems can lead to lower individual effort and hence poor group performance. Moreover, a recent study found that the extent to which individuals derived their rewards from the team was positively related to both team performance and team member attitudes. It must be noted that these results should be treated with some caution, based on what we know about preferences for reward allocation across cultures, which is that individuals prefer equity while collectivists prefer equality. The effectiveness of a particular reward allocation system is likely to be influenced by the cultural composition of the work group and the preferences of group members.

Work Group Status (Influence on culturally diverse work groups)

Research suggests that being a member of a high-status group will increase the members' feelings of self-worth and effectiveness. The positive effect that high group status has on the individual improves both individual and work group performance. It must be noted that the extent to which individuals from different cultures derive their self-esteem from work groups can vary considerably. The status of work groups might have a greater influence to work in the group for individualistic cultures than collectivistic cultures.

Limitations in Present Management Studies

Research today only reflects the work environment in the US... there is a bias in theory development. Much of the contemporary management knowledge was defined in the US following WW2. A US orientation on management theory is important because the activity it purports to describe, management and organizing, does not appear to be universal. There are three aspects of the US perspective that limit the ability of US management theories: extreme individualism, a belief that individuals are in control of their own circumstances and can influence their environment and future events, and low-context communications, where most of the meaning of the message is contained in the explicit communication as opposed to the context surrounding the info exchange.

Self Management (Influence on culturally diverse work groups)

The benefits of group work are related to the delegation of a substantial amount of authority to the work group or team. However, if too much authority is delegated, work groups can charge off in inappropriate directions. Research found that it is the extent to which work group members feel empowered rather than the degree of self-management that might be most important to group effectiveness. Empowerment stems from more than just the degree of self-management. Also, feedback can have a substantial influence in the success of work groups.

Cultural Schemas

Schemas shape what people associate with everything from simple everyday aspects of life to social groups and even abstract ideas. Culture has effects on these schemas. A self-schema is the inner self of an individual that consists of thoughts and feelings that cannot be directly known by others. In Western cultures, people mostly have an independent self-schema, focused on thinking and acting as autonomous individuals with unique attributes. For people with an interdependent self-schema, individuality is connected to a group of other people.

Cultural Scripts and Norms

Scripts are largely unconscious mental representations that shape how we think and act in a given situation. Cultural norms are acceptable standards of behavior that are shared by members of our cultural group. Social groups will only enforce these norms if they have one of the following functions: - Protecting groups from other groups to facilitate the survival of the group. - Increasing the predictability of the group member's behavior. - Reducing embarrassment for group members. - Expressing and clarifying the group's identity.

Other Language Considerations

Slang and Jargon: Slang is an informal usage of language, typically more playful or metaphorical and associated with a particular subgroup. Jargon is a very specialized or technical language of people engaged in a similar occupation or activity. These forms can enhance communication within a group, while making it more difficult for outsiders to understand. Euphemisms: Every culture has words that by tradition or convention are not often used publicly. These prohibited words are often associated with sexual relations or bodily functions. They are often handled by substituting a less direct expression, or euphemism. Idioms: Many languages have unique ways of combining words to express a particular thought. Often, a particular phrase or construction differs from its literal meaning. Proverbs and Maxims: Proverbs and maxims are short sayings that express things that are obviously true in a particular culture and often advise people how they should behave. They can provide insight into some of a culture's central values.

Social Axioms

Social axioms are basic truths or premises or generalized expectancies that relate to a wide range of social behaviors across different contexts. They are generalized beliefs about oneself, the social and physical environment, or the spiritual world, and are in the form of an assertion about the relationship between two entities or concepts. One strong factor was leveled dynamic externality, because it represented a cluster of beliefs that focused around religiosity and a belief that effort would ultimately lead to justice. A second factor labeled social cynicism was composed almost entirely of items that effected a cynical view of people-a negative view of human nature, a biased view against some groups of people, a mistrust of social institutions, and a disregard of ethical means of achieving an end. Dynamic externality was closely related to cultural collectivism.

Methodological Issues in Cross-Cultural Research

Studies that involve two or more cultures share several common methodological issues that are not present in purely domestic research. - Equivalence: cross-cultural equivalence cannot be assumed at any stage of the study. It must be established at three key points ◦ Conceptual or Construct Equivalence: the extent to which concepts have the same meaning in different countries. Threats to this equivalence are acquiescence (tendency for some cultural groups to agree with all or most questions asked) and extremity bias (the extent to which cultural groups systematically choose the extreme points or the middle points on rating scales) ◦ Metric Equivalence: refers to the extent that questions have similar measurement properties across different groups. Nonequivalence can result from poor item translation, complex wording, and culture-specific aspects of the phrasing. Opportunity for bias because of cultural differences in values, attitudes, and normative behavior is staggering. Equivalence challenges do mean that the instrument development process and data collection strategy play a large role in research across national boundaries. - Sampling: the goal of sampling is to conduct research with a small number of participants who accurately represent a clearly identifiable population. Selecting an appropriate international research sample is closely tied to conceptual and instrument development. The ability to select matching samples from multiple nation sis very difficult. - Data Collection: the most common methods of data collection are questionnaires followed by interviews. People from diff cultures differ in how familiar they r with particular research methods and how ready they are to participate. Interviews are great except for the possible interactions between interviewer and respondent... when they are cultural different, the opportunity for error is greater.

GLOBE

The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program is a recent extension of implicit leadership theory. Six dimensions of leadership are found according to this program: - Charismatic/value based. Leaders have the ability to inspire, motivate, and expect high performance from others on the basis of firmly held core beliefs. - Team oriented. This leader emphasizes team building and implementation of a common purpose or goal among team members. - Participative. This dimension reflects the degree to which managers involve others in making and implementing decisions. - Humane oriented. This dimension reflects supportive and considerate leadership, including compassion and generosity. - Autonomous. This means that there is independent and individualistic leadership. - Self-protective. This dimension focuses on ensuring safety and security on the individual, self-centered and face saving

Leadership

The Western definition of leadership is the ability of individuals to influence organization members toward the accomplishment of goals. The meaning and importance of leadership vary across cultures.

Cross-Cultural Interaction Model

The cross-cultural interaction model uses an interaction sequence that is typical of those that occur regularly in international management contexts. The effect of cultural differences on an interpersonal interaction is highlighted. The sequence starts with some behavior of a person from another culture. Second, the person perceiving the behavior interprets the meaning of the actions. The behavior is identified and attributed to a certain cause. The attitude and behavioral response of the perceiver finally, depends on the attributions about the causes of the behavior. During this interaction process, it may be possible that the behavior doesn't fit into an existing category; the perceiver then needs to invent a new one.

What is the role of language?

The difficulty with translations is that the translators may know the meaning of words and how to use grammatical rules, but still effective communication is often not achieved. The diversity of languages means that an important issue in cross-cultural communication is finding a common language that both parties can use to work effectively. In real life, this means that at least one of the parties has to use a second language. This can cause several problematic implications: - It creates cognitive strain, which means that it takes more effort to communicate for the second language user. - The fluency of the second language users determines how the other party sees the second language users as competent in other respects. - First language users in a cross-language interaction tend to respond to lower linguistic competency of their partner by modifying aspects of their speech. This is called foreigner speak, which can be received as patronizing. - If the first language user is unable to recognize signals that indicate a lack of understanding, the second language user may pretend to understand in order to avoid embarrassment.

How are organizational context and culturally diverse work groups related?

The dominant characteristics of the organization influence the types of goals and methods that are acceptable for work groups. In addition, management controls the resources required for work groups to be effective. Key organizational factors that influence the effectiveness of work groups are level of - management support - the extent to which individual rewards come from the group, the status afforded the group - the amount of training - the extent to which the organization allows groups to be self-managed.

Outcome of Overseas Careers

The effect of an overseas assignment on the longer-term career of managers depends in part on how a person views his or her career. Although an international assignment might facilitate an individual's movement to a higher career stage, in general expatriates have reported that their overseas assignment did not have a positive long-term effect on their career, that their firms do not take advantage of the skills they learned overseas, and that their assignments were better for their personal development than for their professional careers. Until recently the study of global careers focused on the assignment of expatriates by multinational organizations. However, the nature of how people view their careers has been changing from an upward progression of job experiences to a more subjective sense of where one is going in one's work life. This change in careers' perception is called boundary-less.

Work Group Effectiveness

The effectiveness of a work group depends on how well the group uses its resources to accomplish its task. However, to assess the long-term effectiveness of a work group, we need a broader definition: - The output of the group must meet the quantity, quality, and timeliness standards of the organization. - The processes employed by the group should enhance the ability of the group members to work together. - The group experience should contribute to the growth and personal well-being of the group members. To understand the complex group dynamics, we have to look at different variables that influence the process and performance of work groups. These variables are the external or contextual conditions, the resources of group members, the structure of the group, the group task, the group process and the composition of the group.

Jobs can be defined by 5 characteristics

The job characteristics model states that any job can be defined in terms of five characteristics: -Skill variety. The different activities require different abilities. -Task identity. This requires the completion of a whole and identifiable peace of work. -Task significance. The task has a substantial effect on others. -Autonomy. There is freedom, independence and discretion. -Feedback. There is direct and clear information on performance.

Cultural Norms (Influence on Work Groups)

The mix of cultural norms represented in the work group is an important influence on the group effectiveness. Different cultures have very different orientations toward what is appropriate in terms of work group function and structure. A lot of research has been done about this subject. One important finding is that individuals use their mental representations to interpret everything in the group. The base for the norms of the particular work group are often based on the previous group experience of the members. Therefore, it is even harder to form universal norms in the work group if there are many members from different cultures.

Management Support (Influence on culturally diverse work groups)

The most effective work groups exist in organizations that provide high levels of organizational support. In addition, research suggests that management must either design work around groups or around individuals. Mixing the two designs in so-called hybrid groups is not effective. Furthermore, an organizational culture that supports diversity leads to more effective work groups. With regard to global virtual teams, management support may be even more important to provide the information and reinforcement necessary to achieve their goals.

Group Task

The nature of the tasks in which the group is engaged influences both the processes and outcomes of the group. Tasks not only relate to the end result of group activity but also specify such aspects of group processes as the degree and nature of interdependence of group members. Jackson classifies group tasks into three types: - Clearly defined production tasks. - Cognitive or intellective tasks: problem-solving tasks. - Creative idea generation and decision-making tasks: reaching consensus.

Foreign language ability and previous international experience factors of Organizational Success

The particular elements of success to which these factors apply, and the mechanisms through which they operate have not been clearly defined. The ability to speak the foreign language is positively related to the expatriate's performance. However, this might not be due to the language skills, but due to the willingness to communicate. It might be that the quality of international experience is as important as the amount in facilitating adjustment to another culture. The effects of these two factors are likely to be influenced by the amount of intercultural interaction required by the assignment, the degree of cultural novelty in the situation, or the level of the expatriate in the organization.

Selective Perception

The process by which individuals interpret the message that they receive from their senses and give meaning to their environment, is called perception. Understanding perception is important for international management, because it is interesting to understand why there are differences in the ways people from different cultures perceive events and each other. A key element of perception is whether a person is categorized as a member of our in-group or out-group. Different factors are of importance by this process: - Universal category indicators like gender and race. - Distinctiveness of the category indicator against the social field. - Extent to which a person is prototypical for a particular group. - Deviation from normal speech like accent or grammar. - History of interactions with other groups. Because of these categorizations, there is selective perception. This means that you perceive the members of an out-group as more similar than the members of the in-group. Selective avoidance means that when confronted with information contrary to our existing views, we tune it out by diverting our attention elsewhere. Cultural differences influence perception because cultural schemas influence perception, and we filter out information that is not compatible with our views.

Role of Expats

The role that expatriates must take on is affected by the staffing strategy that the MNO has for its foreign operations. The fundamental preferences of MNOs for a particular staffing strategy have been: - Polycentric, which means local foreign managers only. - Ethnocentric, which means home country managers predominate. - Geocentric, which means a mix of nationalities at home and abroad. The staffing strategy of an MNO is affected by its stage of internationalization, its country of origin, the size and the task complexity of its foreign affiliates, and the cultural distance of the affiliate form headquarters.

Trait Theories (Leadership)

The search for the personality characteristics possessed by great leaders failed. Trait Theories: The search for the personality characteristics possessed by great leaders failed. This led researcher in other directions in search of explanations of leadership.

Trompenaars' Dimensions

There are five dimensions concerned with relationships among people • Universalism-particularism: universalism is the belief that what is true and good can be discovered and applied universally, whereas particularism is a belief that unique circumstances determine what is right or good • Individualism-Collectivism: concerns the extent to which people plan their actions with reference to individual benefits vs. those of the group • Neutral-Affective: in neutral cultures, emotion should be held in check, and maintaining an appearance of self-control is important. In affective cultures it is natural to express emotions • Specific-Diffuse: this dimension refers to the extent to which individuals are willing to allow access to their inner selves to others. In specific cultures, people separate their private and public lives, whereas in diffuse cultures, these aspects of the individual overlap. • Achievement-ascription: is about how status and power are determined in a society. In an ascription society, status is based on who a person is, whereas in an achievement society, status is based on what a person does. The five concepts reflect to main dimensions of cultural variation: • Loyal involvement-Utalitarian Involvement: representing varying orientations towards group members • Conservatism-Egalitarian Commitment: representing orientations towards obligations of social relationships. The final two dimensions are about orientations toward time and the environment: • Time: this dimension is about past versus future orientations, but also with the extent to which time is viewed as linear versus holistic and integrative with past and present together with future possibilities. • Environment: this dimension refers to the extent to which individuals feel that they themselves are the primary influence on their lives. Alternatively, the environment is seen as more powerful than they, and people should strive to achieve harmony with it

The Extent to Which the Global Context of International Management Affects Manager's Role

There are more similarities than differences in managerial roles, but contextual factors such as environmental and technological complexity, the size of the firm, the amount of environmental uncertainty, and the OG structure plays a role as well. Managers can have jobs with similar demands and constraints and still differ in what roles they choose to emphasize. One important difference involves the choices that managers from different cultures make about their roles. The roles and work behaviors fo managers are the result of both the national and organization context, which establishes demands and constraints on the choices they make. Culture has an indirect influence by shaping the context in which managers must perform.

Job Motivation

There are three approaches to job design: the job characteristics model, sociotechnical systems, and quality control circles. To be motivating, a job must be perceived as meaningful, the worker must feel responsible for outcomes, and the worker must know the actual results of work activities. The motivating potential of the job depends on the extent to which individuals have a strong need for personal growth. In addition to the model, it is developed in an individualistic culture, and the application in a more collectivistic culture requires modification. A more collectivistic approach to job design a combination of the social and technical aspects of the work system. Sociotechnical job designs almost always involve autonomous work groups, which have almost complete responsibility for a significant task. Thus, the team becomes the focus of job design instead of the individual. A final example of job design is the design of quality circles, based on the belief that workers understand their own work better than anyone else and therefore contribute to its improvement. Quality circles are small groups that voluntarily and continuously conduct quality control activities. To conclude the job characteristics model, the choice of job design might be best informed by cultural dimensions that relate to the way in which the characteristics of the job fulfill culturally based expectations of what work is about.

Behavioral Theories (leadership)

There are two dimensions of leader behavior. The first dimension is initiating structure, in which the leader is production or task oriented. The second dimension is consideration, in which the leader is employee or relationship oriented. Studies across cultures found that relationship-oriented leaders increase subordinates' satisfaction.

Implicit Theories (leadership)

These theories define leadership as the process of being perceived as a leader. Followers develop mental representations or prototypes of leaders through exposure to social situations and interactions with others. After the formation of this leader prototype, individuals are perceived as leaders by the extent to which their behavior matches the behavior expected of a prototypical leader. Important for this theory is if you show the appropriate leader behavior, it doesn't mean that the followers perceive the behavior as appropriate. This idea shows that individuals from different cultures can have different leader prototypes. Furthermore, meeting followers' expectations of leader behavior can result in higher perceptions of trust and leader effectiveness. Besides that, it is also possible that there are some universally endorsed attributes and behaviors that comprise implicit leadership. Charismatic or transformational leaders are those who are able to inspire their followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization. This leadership prototype tends to be universal.

Global Virtual Teams

These work groups are possible because of recent technological development. The distance between the members can also cause challenges. These challenges can be categorized in terms of communication, relationship building and conflict management, and task management. - Communication Electronic communication is not het same as face-to-face interaction. There is a big space between one message being sent and another received. This can hinder the openness of the information that is being shared. - Relationship building and conflict management The ability to form relationships in virtual groups can be affected by electronic intermediation and cultural diversity. It can be harder to develop a team identity and take into consideration the culture of all the different members. - Task management The amount of interaction needed in a global virtual team depends on the complexity and size of the task. In virtual teams it is extra important to have clear defined roles, a clear task strategy and explicit interaction. It takes more time to complete a task in global virtual teams, than in face-to-face teams.

Negotiations

They involve two or more parties who have conflicting interests but a common need to reach an agreement. The efforts to understand cross-cultural negotiation fall into one of three types, namely descriptive approaches, cultural dimension approaches, and holistic approaches: Descriptions: Negotiating Process and Behavior: the Graham four-stage model suggests that all business negotiations proceed through four stages 1. the stage of non-task sounding or relationship building 2. the stage of task-related exchange of information 3. the stage of persuasion 4. the stage of making concessions and reaching an agreement Graham says that the content, duration, and importance of each of these stages can differ across cultures. Thus, the internalized cultural values and norms of the negotiator influence which aspects of the process are emphasized. Cultural Dimensions and Negotiations: Cultural dimension approaches look at the cultural effects in negotiation. These effects are attributed to the cultural values and norms of the participants. Cultural dimensions have been related to differences in cognitive processes. A difficulty with this approach is that negotiators may change the behavior of the participants when negotiating with someone from another culture. The speed of changing negotiation patterns differs across cultures. However, contrary findings about the extent to which negotiations change behavior in intercultural interactions exist. These findings suggest that contextual differences can influence the extent to which culturally based preferences for negotiation behavior are altered in cross-cultural interactions. Holistic Approaches to Negotiation: Holistic approaches to negotiation consider both the knowledge structures of the participants and the social context in which the negotiation takes place. For example, if the negotiator believes that he is accountable for the outcomes, he will be more competitive. However, there are other studies that show that the extent of accountability determines how close the negotiator will stick to his own cultural norms. This makes clear that it is very hard to study the influence of culture and context on negotiation.

Schartz Value Survey

This is a series of studies about the content and structure of human values. The content of values refers to the criteria that people use to evaluate events and select courses of action. Structure refers to the organization of these values based on their similarities and differences. Initially they identified three universal human requirements similar to the kind of societal problems that Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck proposed. • Nature of the relationship between the individual and the group • The preservation of society itself • The relationship of people to the natural world. The experiment yielded seven value orientations: • Egalitarianism: recognition of people as moral equals • Harmony: fitting in harmoniously with the environment • Embeddedness: people as embedded in the collective • Hierarchy: unequal distribution of power is legitimate • Mastery: exploitation of the natural or social environment • Affective autonomy: pursuit of positive experiences • Intellectual autonomy: independent pursuit of own ideas

Equity Theory

This theory recognizes that we are aware of our outcomes, and that we compare these with the outcomes of other people. Motivational consequences result from the imbalance that can exist when individuals perceive that the ratio of their inputs to outcomes is unequal. As a result, individuals will behave in a way to restore balance. Studies of reward allocation norms have generally found differences across cultures on the preference for equity. An important remark for this theory is that some individuals are more equity sensitive than others. Individuals can be classified as equity sensitives, benevolents, and entitleds. Equity sensitives prefer a balance between inputs and outcomes. Benevolents are more tolerant when they are under rewarded. Entitleds experience less dissonance when over rewarded than when under rewarded.

Factors Affecting Organizational Success

To assess expatriate success, very many factors have an important influence on outcomes of an overseas assignment. These factors can be categorized as individual, organizational, and environmental variables.

Vertical Vs. Horizontal Collectivism

Vertical collectivism and horizontal individualism might be the dominant cultural profiles around the world. Vertically collective societies view their members as parts of an in-group, but members of the in-group differ in terms of status, and different in-groups are also likely to have varying status (like India). These cultures are characterized by patterns of social relationships that emphasize communal sharing according to need and authority ranking or the distribution of resources according to rank. In horizontal individualist societies, the self is autonomous and people are generally equal. They show patterns of social behavior that emphasize equity in resource sharing according to contribution and distribution of resources equal among members. They have social systems that emphasize the equality and individual freedom of members.

Levels of Culture (Schein and Hofstede)

We have hofstede's onion (photo) and we have Schein's Iceberg Model in which basic underlying assumptions and then espoused values come underneath the water of the iceberg and artifacts are above water. - Artifacts: Visible structures and processes... The most external level is the tangible aspect of culture, i.e., visible and audible behavior and the constructed physical and social environment - Espoused Values: Strategies, philosophies (espoused justification)... A deeper level is that of values that reflect convictions about the nature of reality and what should be done to successfully cope with reality. Examples include Ideals and goals, means - Underlying Basic Assumptions: Unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings (ultimate source of values and action)...The deepest - and invisible - layer of culture consists of the basic assumptions and beliefs about human nature and relationships to the environment.

Culture: A Working Definition

a working definition that is useful in considering the effects of culture on global management practice is as follows: culture is a set of knowledge structures consisting of systems of values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral meanings that are shared by members of a social group and embedded in its institutions and that are learned from previous generations. Culture is most directly about behavioral meanings and societal Normas and only indirectly about patterns of behavior or personally held values. There are three levels of culture: • Artifacts and Creations: all the visible features of a culture • Values: consciously held in the sense that they are explanations for the observable features of culture • Basic Assumptions: ultimate sources of values and action. They are the basic ways of structuring reactions to the world shape beliefs, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings at an unconscious level and are taken for granted.

Adlers Definition of Cross-Cultural Managment

cross cultural management studies the behavior of people in organizations around the world and trains people to work in organizations with employee and client populations. It describes organizational behavior within countries and cultures; compares organizational behavior across cultures and countries: and perhaps, most importantly, seeks to understand and improve the interaction of co-workers, clients, suppliers, and alliance partners from different countries and cultures. Cross-cultrual management thus expands the scope of domestic management to encompass the international and multicultural spheres. Adler and Hoftstede have a strong influence on human resource management in particular.

4 Categories of a Global Manager's Environment

economic, legal, political, and cultural. The first three categories provide the backdrop against which global managers must function...economic, legal and political characteristics are a manifestation of a nation's culture. Culture is largely invisible. Finally, the practice of management largely focuses on interpersonal interactions, which take place with individuals who are culturally different.

Critiques of International and Cross-Cultural Research

• Questionable Theoretical Base: cross-cultural studies often rely to heavily on a very small set of dimensions about a society's cultural values that do not capture a broad enough view. • Parochialism: culture is often ignored in management research, and what are really domestic conclusions are assumed to be universal. • Samples that assume country homogeneity: samples need to be interpretable such that variables, including organization type, hierarchical level, and demographic characteristics, and so on need to be taken into account by matching or by using statistical controls • Lack of relevance: • Reliance on a single method: most cross-cultural research relied on questionnaires gathered at a single point in time. Both the temporal and richness aspects of cultural influence are absent. • Bias toward studying large companies • Reliance on a single organizational level: rely on responses from a single level (managers or skilled-production and service workers) to draw conclusions. • Limited to a small number of location: most studies were done in a small number of Western European countries, Japan, and more recently china.

Profile of a Modern Person

◦ Sence of personal efficacy ◦ Low social integration with relatives ◦ Egalitarian attitudes toward others ◦ Openness to innovation and change ◦ A brief in sex equality ◦ High achievement motivation ◦ Independence or self-reliance ◦ Active participation in social organizations ◦ tolerance of and respect for others ◦ Cognitive and behavioral flexibility ◦ Strong future orientation ◦ Empathetic capacity ◦ A high need for info ◦ The propensity to take risks in life ◦ Secularization in religious belief ◦ A preference for urban life ◦ An individualistic orientation toward others ◦ Psychological differentiation ◦ A nonlocal orientation