Culture: Acquired knowledge people use to interpret experience and action
that influence values, attitudes and behaviors
- Connected to knowledge, beliefs, customs and habits acquired by society
Culture can affect aspects of a firm including:
- Strategy
- Structure
- Process
- People
- Rewards
Monochronic/Polychronic (Edward Hall):
Monochronic:
- Do things in a linear way (punctuality, strict schedules)
o Northern Cultures (Germany and the US)
Polychronic:
- Schedules are more fluid, people do multitask
o Latin America and the Middle East
Low Context: Information is very straightforward, context has less impact on how
such information is like to be spoken
- Primary interest is the information and the listeners want a lot of it
- Lack of clarity is regarded as negative
- “The answer is no”
- US, UK, Europe
High Context: The context in which what is spoken plays a major role in the
communication and behavior of individuals (Social status matters)
- Speech is drawn out
- Emphasis on nonverbal cues
- Face is very IMPORTANT
- “This will be difficult to achieve” instead of just no
- East Asia, India, Africa
Parochialism:
- Belief that there is no other way of doing things expect for what is done in
one’s culture and are unaware of other ways
Ethnocentrism:
- An individual will believe that their own way of doing something is superior
and will not seek to adapt to local cultures
Polycentric:
- Treats each international subsidiary largely as a separate unity
- “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”
The Sociology Framework (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck):
The Six Dimensions:
- Time Orientation
o Different Emphasis on History and tradition
o US - Trying out new things and Saudi Arabia - Historical seat of Islam
- Space Orientation
o How space is viewed as a public vs private good
o Seen though the space in-between people and how office space is set
up
- Activity Orientation
o How proactive individuals are in society
- Relationships among people
o Group (Japan)
o Hierarchy (China)
o Individualistic (US)
- Relations to Nature
o Nordic countries and Singapore: high priority of cleanliness
o China and Brazil: struggling with pollution
- Basic Human Nature
o Cultural View on workers
o Brazil: “They smoke to kill work time”
Phycological Framework (Hofstede):
Power Distance: Extent in which less powerful members accept the unequal
distribution of power and submit to authority
- Low Power Distance:
o Managers believe that employees want more responsibility and will
take it if given
o Flatter organization structures
- High Power Distance:
o Prefer obeying orders and avoid being empowered
o Seen as weak if not knowing what to do
Individualism/Collectivism:
- Individualistic
o Loosely linked individuals who view themselves as largely
independent of groups that make their own choices
o Australia, Canada, US
- Collectivist
o People associate with groups where they look after each other in
exchange for group loyalty
o “Hello im Mr …. From Toyota”
- Uncertainty Avoidance:
The Expansive Framework:
1. Individualism vs collectivism
2. Time orientation (Schedule rule the business)
3. Universalism x Particularism
a. Universalism: people believe that the absolute values are applied to
all situations
b. Particularism: each situation must be judged separately
4. Neutral x Affection in public
5. Specific x Diffuse
a. Specific: Large public spaces and small private spaces
b. Diffuse: No clear distinction between public and private
6. Achievement x Ascription
7. Relationship to Nature
Globe Study:
- Examined the interrelationships between societal culture, organization
culture and organizational leadership
- Hofstede Framework plus a couple new elements
Motivation: An internal state or condition that activates a person’s behavior
and determines and gives it direction toward accomplishing a task
- Motivation = Ability * Values * Life Interests
Context (Needs) Theories:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
1. Physiological Needs – Food and Shelter (Basic Salary)
2. Safety – Stable Environment (Working Conditions/ Job Security)
3. Belongingness – Social Interaction (Job Includes Teamwork/Social)
4. Self Esteem – Recognition (Recognition from Others)
5. Self-Actualization – Self Fulfillment (Key Goal has been Accomplished)
- Satisfaction Progression Process
- Fails to explain the specifics of employee need an neglecting job interest
while only being able to be in one stage at a time
Alderfer’s ERG Theory:
1. Existence
o Person’s physiological and physically related safety (Physiological
Needs and Safety)
2. Relatedness
o Person’s need to interact with other people, receive public
recognition, and feel secure around people (Belongingness and Self
Esteem)
3. Growth
o (Self Esteem and Self Actualization)
- Frustration-Regression Process
- Employee behavior is motivated simultaneously by more than one need
level
Herzberg’s Hygiene:
Motivators: Positive influencers that are intrinsic to a job and that can push
employees to higher levels of performance
- Intrinsic: Achievement recognition, the work itself, responsibility, and
growth and advancement
- Extrinsic Factors (Dissatisfiers): Company Policy and administration,
supervision, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, salary, status,
and security
Herzberg states that is necessary to have both motivators and hygiene factors in
order to be successful
McClelland Learned Needs Theory:
Need for Achievement (nAch):
- Explains why some societies are able to produce more than others
- Accomplish challenging goals through their own efforts and prefer positive
feedback in return
Need for Affiliation (nAff):
- Desire for approval from others conforming to their wishes and
expectations and avoiding conflict
- Prefer working with others and are better at mediating conflicts
Need for Power (nPow):
- The desire to exercise authority over people and resources
- People have a high need for personalized power or socialized power
Process Theories:
Expectancy Theory: Work effort is directed toward behaviors that
people believe will lead to desired outcomes
- Effort-to-Performance (E-P):
o Expectancy that their effort will result in particular level of
performance
o Defined as a probability between 0.0 to 1.0
o Can be improved by providing tools and competencies, coaching, and
positive feedback
- Performance-to-Outcome (P-0):
o Perceived probability that a specific behavior will lead to a specific
outcome
o Improved by measure employee performance accurately and
distributing more valuable rewards
- Outcome Valences (V):
o One’s anticipated satisfaction or dissatisfaction with an outcome
o Ranges from -100 to +100
o Combination of (E-P) and (P-0)
o +100 = Highly Desired, -100 = Work hard to Avoid, 0 = No Motivation
at all
Equity Theory: Develop perceptions of fairness in the distribution and
exchange of resources
- Describes what employees are motivated to do when they feel inequitably
treated
- People value outcomes differently due to differing needs and interests
1. Outcome/Input Ratio
o Value of the outcomes received / Value of Inputs Provided
2. Comparison Other
o Individuals compare situations with another person or group of
people in the same job, another job, or another organization
3. Equity Evaluation
o Formed after determining one’s own outcome/input ratio and
comparing that with the comparison others ratio
4. Consequences of Inequity
o Change Inputs
o Change Outcomes
o Change Perceptions
o Get Away
o Change the referent
Distribute Justice: Inequality is acceptable if the employees have fair access to
resources and opportunities and observe the fault to be that of their own
- Entitleds are comfortable in situations which favor them while Benevolents
are tolerant of situations in which they are under rewarded
- Equity Sensitives want everything to be equal and can create emotional
tension over small issues
Goal Setting: Process of motivating employees and clarifying their role
perceptions by establishing performance objectives
- Goals are the immediate or ultimate objectives that employees are trying to
accomplish
- Goals must have a measurable outcome and a time or date to determine if
the goal has been reached
- Applied through a process known as Management by Objectives (MBO)
1. Specific Goals
o Communicate more precise performance expectations
2. Relevant Goals
o To an individual’s job and within control
3. Challenging Goals
o Fulfill a person’s self-actualization and other intrinsic needs
4. Goal Commitment
5. Participation in Goal Formation
o Ensures employees accept the goals and have the resources to
accomplish them
6. Goal Feedback
o Let’s employees know if they achieved the goals or properly direct
their efforts toward it
Limitations of Goal Setting:
- Goals tied to monetary incentives cause employees to select easy goals or
choose ones near with competition
- Cannot be applied to every performance dimension of every task
