OB chapter 4 cultures test 2

elements of culture

1. language 2. religion 3. values and attitudes 4.customs and manners 5. aesthetics (artistic taste of a culture)

Religion and work related values

- Catholic: consideration -Protestant: employer effectiveness -Buddhist: social responsibility -Muslim: continuity -no religious preference: professional challenge p.108 *NO agreement across religions about primary work value

Project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness)

-Robert J House -attempt to develop an empirically based theory to describe, understand, and predict the impact of specific cultural variables on leadership and organizational processes and their effectiveness -dimensions of GLOBE: 1. power distance 2. uncertainty avoidance 3. institutional collectivism 4. in-group collectivism 5. gender egalitarianism 6. assertiveness 7. future orientation 8. performance orientation 9. humane orientation

Geert Hofstede

-cross cultural comparison of IBM employees --> 4 cultural dimensions: 1. Power distance 2. Individualism-collectivism 3. Masculinity-femininity 4. Uncertainty avoidance

culture 2

-taken for granted assumptions about how one should perceive think act and feel

OB trouble spots in foreign assignments

1. Avoiding Unrealistic Expectations with Cross-cultural training: RJP (realistic job previews) 2. Avoiding Culture Shock 3. Support during the Foreign Assignment (host-country sponsors recommended) 4. Avoiding Reentry Shock (work, social activities, general environment)

characteristics of culture

1. Learned (aquired by experience) 2. Shared (people as members of a group, organization or society share a culture) 3. Transgenerational (culture is passed from one generation to another) 4. Symbolic (culture is based on the human capacity to symbolize or to use one thing to represent another)

conclusions to Hofstede's theory:

1. Management theories and practices need to be adapted to local cultures *there is no one best way to manage across cultures 2. Cultural arrogance is a luxury individuals, companies, and nations cannot afford in a global economy

masculinity

Hofstede: situation in which the dominant values in society are success, money and things *refers to distribution of roles between sexes femininity: dominant values are caring for others and quality of life

Universally liked/disliked leadership attributes from GLOBE

Liked: visionary and inspirational charismatic leaders who are good team builders Disliked: Self-centered leaders seen as loners

cross-cultural training

Structured experiences to help people adjust to a new culture/country

culture shock

anxiety and doubt caused by an overload of new expectations and cues

expatriate

anyone living or working outside their home country ("repatriated" when transferred back home) *major stumbling blocks for American managers expatriated: personal and family adjustment problems and homesickness

polychronic time

belief that time is flexible, multidimensional, and based on relationships and situations *tend to be seen in High-context cultures such as Latin America and Arab countries

monochronic time

belief that time is limited, precisely segmented, and schedule driven *tend to be seen in Low-context cultures such as the US

culture

beliefs and values about how a community of people should and do act *has elements that are both prescriptive (what ppl should do) and descriptive (what they actually do) *peel the cultural onion: be proactive and get to know ppl from different cultures

organizational culture

by-product of societal culture. affects individual's values, ethics, attitudes, assumptions, and expectations

women on foreign assignments

corporate women on foreign assignments grew *Primary barriers: self-disqualification and assumption that women are not welcome in foreign countries (NOT foreign prejudice itself)

assertiveness

how confrontational and dominant should individuals be in social relationships

gender egalitarianism

how much effort should be put into minimizing gender discrimination and role inequalities

in-group collectivism

how much pride and loyalty should individuals have for their family or organization

performance orientation

how much should individuals be rewarded for improvement and excellence

institutional collectivism

how much should leaders encourage and reward loyalty to the social unit, as opposed to the pursuit of individual goals?

future orientation

how much should people delay gratification by planning and saving for the future

uncertainty avoidance

how much should people rely on social norms and rules to avoid uncertainty and limit unpredictability *High: structuring and more written rules, do not take as many risks *Low: more tolerant of opinions, few rules as possible

humane orientation

how much should society encourage and reward people for being kind, fair, friendly, and generous

power distance

how much unequal distribution of power should there be in organizations and society *Low: Managers make decisions after consulting subordinates, close supervision is negative, managers admit need for support *High: Managers are autocratic, close supervision is positive, managers see themselves as the decision makers

collectivist cultures

personal goals less important than community goals and interests *Egypt, Nepal, Mexico, India, Japan, Brazil, China and France *it is important to determine which community/group these cultures have greatest allegiance to

individualistic cultures

primary emphasis on freedom and personal choice *Israel, Romania, Nigeria, Canada, United States

high-context cultures

primary meaning derived from nonverbal situational cues *China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Arab cultures *ex: ones status positions, family connections are more powerful than spoken words *establish social trust first *value personal relations and good will *agreement by general trust *negotiations slow and ritualistic

societal culture

shaped by environmental factors. forms custom and language *different attitudes about time, hierarchy, and communication are examples of products of different societal cultures

proxemics

study of cultural expectations about interpersonal space -Edward T Hall: 4 interpersonal distance zones 1. intimate distance (Arab, Latin Am, and Asian cultures) 2. personal distance (north american conversations) 3. social distance 4. public distance *High-context cultures seem to have less amounts of personal space

cultural intelligence

the ability to interpret ambiguous cross-cultural situations accurately *important skill 1st step is to polish emotional intelligence

ethnocentrism

the belief that one's native country, culture, language, and modes of behavior are superior -ethnocentric policies are associated with increased personnel problems

cultural paradoxes

there are always exceptions to the rule. (do not assume that the generalization or stereotype is an absolute). this is where the need for cultural intelligence arrises

cross-cultural management

understanding and teaching behavioral patterns in different cultures (Nancy Adler) *recommended to study cross cultural similarities as well as differences (Javidan and House)

low-context cultures

written and spoken words carry the burden of shared meanings *Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, North America, and Great Britain *signature, lawyer approved contract *get down to business first *value expertise and performance *agreement by specific, legalistic contract * negotiations as efficient as possible