International Business Environments and Operations

Part Two Comparative Environmental Frameworks

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Chapter Two The Cultural Environments Facing Business

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Chapter Objectives
To understand methods for learning about cultural environments To analyze the major causes of cultural difference and change To discuss behavioral factors influencing countries business practices To understand cultural guidelines for companies that operate internationally

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Culture
Learned norms based on values, attitudes, and beliefs of a group of people

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Cultural Diversity

A means of gaining global competitive advantage by bringing together people of diverse backgrounds and experience

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Cultural Collision
Occurs in international business when: A company implements practices that are less effective Employees encounter distress because of difficulty in accepting or adjusting to foreign behaviors

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Cultural Factors Affecting International Business Operations

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Cultural Awareness
Problem areas that can hinder managers cultural awareness Subconscious reactions to circumstances The assumption that all societal subgroups are similar

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The Idea of a Nation Delineating Cultures

The nation is a useful definition of society because: Similarity among people is a cause and an effect of national boundaries Laws apply primarily along national lines

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The Nation as a Cultural Mediator

A national culture must be flexible enough to accommodate the diversity of various subcultures, ethnic groups, races, and classes Yet every nation boasts certain human, demographic, and behavioral characteristics that constitute its national identity

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Country-By-Country Analysis
Managers find this difficult to implement because: Subcultures exist within nations Similarities link groups from different countries

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How Cultures Form and Change

Change by Choice Reaction to social and economic situations Change by Imposition Imposed introduction into a culture of certain elements from an alien culture

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Language as Both a Diffuser and Stabilizer of Culture

A common language within a country is a unifying force

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Major Language Groups: Population and Output

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Religion As A Cultural Stabilizer

Centuries of profound religious influence continue to play a major role in shaping cultural values and behavior

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Behavioral Practices Affecting Business

Issues in Social Stratification Social ranking is determined by: Factors pertaining to you as an individual Factors pertaining to your affiliation with certain groups

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Group Affiliations Can Be:

Ascribed or Acquired Include those based on gender, family, age, caste, ethnic, racial, or national origin A reflection of class and status Include those based on religion, political affiliation, and professional and other associations

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Social Stratification and Employment Practices

Performance Orientation Open and Closed Societies Gender-Based Groups Age-Based Groups Family-Based Groups

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Work Motivation
Materialism and Motivation Expectation of Success and Reward Performance and Achievement: The MasculinityFemininity Index Hierarchies of Needs

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Hierarchy of Needs

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Relationship Preferences
Power Distance Individualism Versus Collectivism

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Risk-Taking Behavior
Uncertainty Avoidance Trust Future Orientation Fatalism

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Information and Task Processing

Perception of Cues Obtaining Information: Low Context versus High Context Cultures Information Processing Monochronic Versus Polychronic Cultures Idealism Versus Pragmatism

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Communication
Spoken and Written Language Silent Language Distance Time and Punctuality Body Language Prestige

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Body Language Is Not A Universal Language

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Degree of Cultural Differences

Cultural Distance When a company moves within a cluster of culturally similar countries, it should expect to encounter fewer cultural differences and to face fewer cultural adjustments. Cultural Friction A business interaction may be viewed negatively because of possible changes in power relationships and the sovereignty that sets countries apart.
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Company and Management Orientations

Polycentrism
belief that business units in different countries should act like local companies

Ethnocentrism
conviction that ones own culture is superior to that of other countries

Geocentrism
requires companies to balance knowledge of their own organizational cultures with both home and host country needs, capabilities, and constraints

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Strategies for Instituting Change

Value Systems Cost-Benefit Analysis of change Resistance to too much change Participation Reward Sharing Opinion Leadership Timing Learning Abroad

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Future: What will happen to national cultures?

Scenario 1.
New hybrid cultures will develop and personal horizons will broaden

Scenario 2.
Outward expressions of national culture will continue to become homogeneous while distinct values will remain stable

Scenario 3.
Nationalism will continue to reinforce cultural identity

Scenario 4.
Existing national borders will shift to accommodate ethnic differences
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

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