Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
1. The habit of drinking horlicks 2. Span of Control in organisation 3. US, Germans feel time as money, whereas in Arab it is Flexible 4. Japanese way of giving business card
Culture
A system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living.
Hofstede, Namenwirth and Weber
Values are abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right and desirable ( shared assumptions about how things ought to be ). Values provide the context for establishing and justifying a societys norms and attitudes toward: individual freedom, democracy, truth and justice, Honesty, loyalty, social obligations, role of women, love and sex, marriage etc., Norms are social rules and guidelines
Norms are Social rules that govern peoples actions toward one and another Folkways routine conventions of everyday life actions of little moral significance dress code, eating habits, time orientation, rituals, etc. violating folkways will not be considered evil or bad
Mores norms seen as central to the functioning of a society have much greater significance than folkways violating mores can bring serious retribution theft, adultery, incest, cannibalism
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a.velsamy, sona school of management International Business Management
Elements of Culture
Knowledge and beliefs:
learning & observation sharing and transferring
Ideals:
Expected, customary, right or proper in a given situatin
Preferences :
societys definitions of those things in life which are attractive or unattractive.
Cultural Diffusion
Cultural Adaptation Culture shock Cultural Transmission Cultural conformity Cultural lag Cultural stereotype
Determinants of Culture
Fig: 3.1
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International Business
Determinants of Culture
Fig: 3.1
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International Business
Social Structure
A societys basic social organization Two Dimensions Degree to which basic social unit is the individual vs. the group Degree to which society is stratified into classes or castes
3-9 H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business
Individualism
Often prevalent in Western societies Not only reflected in the political and economic organizations How people perceive themselves and relate to each other in social and business settings Social status of an individual is not a function of where they work but their individual performance Often expressed in a high degree of entrepreneurship and managerial mobility H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business 3-10 Makes team building more difficult
The Group
Often prevalent outside Western societies Social status of an individual is determined by the standing of the group to which they belong to as much by their individual performance
Often expressed in a high degree of group affiliation and the lack of managerial mobility
3-11 H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business
Social Stratification
All societies are stratified on a hierarchical basis into social categories (social strata) Typically defined on the basis of:
family background occupation Income
degree of social mobility between social strata H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business significance attached to social strata in business
Social Mobility
The extent to which individuals can move out of the social strata into which they are born Two Major Types
Caste System Class System
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International Business
Caste System
Most rigid form of stratification Closed system in which social position is determined by the persons family Change is usually not possible for entire life Caste position carries with is a specific H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business 3-14occupation
Class System
Less rigid form of social stratification Open system where social mobility is possible
both upward or downward
Persons social position by birth can be changed through their achievements or luck Degree of social mobility varies by society
3-15 H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business
Class Consciousness
When people tend to perceive themselves in terms of their class background which shapes their relationships with members of other classes Where class consciousness is high, the way individuals from different classes work together may be very prescribed and strained
3-16 H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business
Determinants of Culture
Fig: 3.1
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International Business
Religion
System of shared beliefs and rituals concerned with the realm of the sacred Shapes attitudes toward work and entrepreneurship Relationship between religion, ethics and society is subtle and complex
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International Business
Ethical Systems
Set of moral principles or values used to guide and shape behavior
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International Business
World Religions
Map 3.1
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International Business
Islam
favors legitimate profit and market-based systems important to keep ones word or contractual obligations no payment or receipt of interest (mudarabah, murabaha)
Hinduism
ascetic, non-material principles inhibit entrepreneurship caste system plays a role
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Buddhism
International Business
Determinants of Culture
Fig: 3.1
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International Business
Education
Can be a source of national competitive advantage
provides a pool of skilled and educated workers
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International Business
Determinants of Culture
Fig: 3.1
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International Business
Language
Enables people to communicate with each other and structures the way we perceive the world Spoken
verbal cues language structures our perception of world
Unspoken
body language personal space
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International Business
Non-Spoken Language
70% of all communication Nonverbal cues:
eyebrows fingers/thumbs hand gestures feet personal space body gestures
3-28 H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business
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International Business
Power Distance
Dimension focused on how a society dealt with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities
High Power Cultures
societies that let inequalities (power and wealth) grow over time
Collectivist Societies
tight ties between individuals tend to be more relationship oriented
3-32 H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business
Uncertainty Avoidance
Dimension measured the extent to which different cultures socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty
High Uncertainty Cultures
job security, career patterns, retirement benefits are very important need for rules and regulations and clear instructions and tight control from superior are important
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International Business
Feminine Cultures
sex roles were less sharply distinguished and little differentiation was made between gender in the same job
3-34 H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business
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International Business
Survey respondents were from a single industry (computer) and a single company (IBM) Findings are becoming dated (1967-1973)
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Revised his initial research and included a fifth H. Michael Boyd, Ph.D. International Business
Cultural Change
Culture is not a constant; it evolves over time
American values toward the role of women American college students values about work and careers Japan moves toward greater individualism in the workplace and is impacted by aging society
Changing Values
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International Business
Managerial Implications
Culture and competitive advantage
Which nations might be competitors Which nations might be a resource (HR, R &D) Which nations might be a market (early adopters) Which nation might be a production site
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4/1/2013
Cow story
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk off our cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.
A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.
A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.
A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows. Both are mad.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.
A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.
AN ISRAELI CORPORATION
So, there are these two Jewish cows, right? They open a milk factory, an ice cream store, and then sell the movie rights. They send their calves to Harvard to become doctors. So, who needs people?
A HINDU CORPORATION
GOOD BYE