HR discussion

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Chapter  Four  

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Learning  Objec4ves  

LO.1 Define the term culture, and explain how societal culture and organizational culture combine to influence on-the-job behavior.

LO.2 Define ethnocentrism, and explain how to develop cultural intelligence.

LO.3 Distinguish between high-context and low-context cultures, and identify and describe

the nine cultural dimensions from Project GLOBE. LO.4 Distinguish between individualistic and collectivist

cultures, and explain the difference between monochronic and polychronic cultures.

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Learning  Objec4ves  (cont.)  

LO.5 Specify the practical lesson from the Hofstede cross- cultural study, and explain what Project GLOBE researchers discovered about leadership.

LO.6 Discuss the results and practical significance of the recent Bloom and Van Reenen study of national management styles.

LO.7 Explain why US managers have a comparatively high failure rate on foreign assignments.

LO.8 Summarize the research findings about North American women on foreign assignments.

LO.9 Identify four stages of the foreign assignment cycle and the OB trouble spot associated with each stage.

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The  U.S.  Has  Diverse  Cultural  Roots  

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Societal  Culture  Is  Complex     and  Mul4layered  

!  Societal culture 9  a set of beliefs and values about what is

desirable and undesirable in a community of people, and a set of formal or informal practices to support the values

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Cultural  Influences  on  Organiza4onal   Behavior  

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A  Model  of  Societal  and  Organiza4onal   Cultures  

!  Employees bring their societal culture to work with them in the form of customs and language

!  Organizational culture affects an individual’s values, ethics, attitudes, assumptions, and expectations

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Ethnocentrism  

!  Ethnocentrism 9  belief that one’s native country, culture,

language, and behavior are superior to all others.

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Research  Insight  and  Dealing  with   Ethnocentrism  

!  A survey of companies in Europe, Japan and the U.S. found ethnocentric staffing and human resource policies to be associated with increased personnel problems.

!  Those problems included recruiting difficulties, high turnover rates, and lawsuits over personnel policies.

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Cultural  Paradoxes  Require     Cultural  Intelligence  

!  Cultural intelligence 9  ability to interpret ambiguous cross-cultural

situations correctly

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Cultural  Intelligence  

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High-­‐context  cultures  and     Low-­‐context  cultures  

!  High-context cultures – rely heavily on situational cues for meaning when perceiving and communicating with others

!  Low-context cultures – written and spoken words carry the burden of shared meanings

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Contras4ng  High-­‐Context  and     Low-­‐Context  Cultures  

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Avoiding  Cultural  Collisions  

!  People on both sides of the context barrier must be trained to make adjustments.

!  Background information is essential when explaining anything.

!  Do not assume the newcomer is self-reliant. !  High-context workers from abroad need to learn to

ask questions outside their department and function. !  Foreign workers must make an effort to become

more self-reliant.

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Project  GLOBE  

!  GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) 9  attempt to develop an empirically based theory

to describe, understand, and predict the impact of specific cultural variables on leadership and organizational processes and the effectiveness of these processes

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Nine  Cultural  Dimensions  from   the  GLOBE  Project  

!  Power distance 9  How much unequal distribution of power should

there be in organizations and society? !  Uncertainty-avoidance

9  How much should people rely on social norms and rules to avoid uncertainty and limit unpredictability?

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Nine  Cultural  Dimensions  from   the  GLOBE  Project  

!  Institutional collectivism 9  How much should leaders encourage and

reward loyalty to the social unit, as opposed to the pursuit of individual goals?

!  In-group collectivism 9  How much pride and loyalty should individuals

have for their family or organization?

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Nine  Cultural  Dimensions  from  the   GLOBE  Project  

!  Gender egalitarianism 9  How much effort should be put into minimizing

gender discrimination and role inequalities? !  Assertiveness

9  How confrontational and dominant should individuals be in social relationships?

!  Future orientation 9  How much should people delay gratification by

planning and saving for the future?

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Nine  Cultural  Dimensions  from  the   GLOBE  Project  

!  Performance orientation 9  How much should individuals be rewarded for

improvement and excellence? !  Humane orientation

9  How much should society encourage and reward people for being kind, fair, friendly, and generous?

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Countries  Ranking  Highest  and  Lowest   on  the  GLOBE  Cultural  Dimensions  

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Individualism  versus  Collec4vism  

!  Individualistic culture 9  characterized  as  “I”   and  “me”  cultures,   give  priority  to   individual  freedom   and  choice  

!  Collectivist culture 9  oppositely called

“we” and “us” cultures, rank shared goals higher than individual desires and goals

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Cultural  Percep4ons  of  Time  

!  Monochronic time 9  revealed in the ordered, precise, schedule-

driven use of public time that typifies and even caricatures efficient Northern Europeans and North Americans

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Cultural  Percep4ons  of  Time  

!  Polychronic time 9  seen in the multiple and cyclical activities and

concurrent involvement with different people in Mediterranean, Latin American, and especially Arab cultures.

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Interpersonal  Space  

!  Proxemics 9  study  of  cultural   expecta4ons  about   interpersonal  space  

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Interpersonal  Distance  Zones  for  Business   Conversa4ons  Vary  from  Culture  to  Culture  

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Prac4cal  Insights  from  Cross-­‐Cultural   Management  Research  

!  Cross-cultural management 9  Understanding and teaching behavioral

patterns in different cultures

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GLOBE  and  the  Hofstede  Study  

!  Power distance 9  How  much  inequality   does  someone  expect   in  social  situa4ons?  

!  Individualism- collectivism 9  How loosely or

closely is the person socially bonded?

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GLOBE  and  the  Hofstede  Study  

!  Masculinity- femininity 9  Does  the  person   embrace   stereotypically   compe44ve,   performance-­‐ oriented  masculine   traits  or  nurturing,   rela4onship-­‐oriented   feminine  traits?  

!  Uncertainty- avoidance 9  How strongly does

the person desire highly structured situations?

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Leadership  AZributes  Universally  Liked   and  Disliked  

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Why  Do  US  Expatriates  Fail   on  Foreign  Assignments?  

!  Expatriate 9  refers to anyone

living and/or working outside their home country

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Avoiding  Unrealis4c  Expecta4ons  

!  Realistic job previews are a must for future expatriates.

!  Cross-cultural training 9  any type of structured experience designed to

help departing employees (and their families) adjust to a foreign culture

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The  Foreign  Assignment  Cycle  

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Key  Cross-­‐Cultural  Competencies  

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Avoiding  Culture  Shock  

!  Culture shock 9  anxiety and doubt caused by an overload of

new expectations and cues !  Best defense is comprehensive cross-

cultural training, including intensive language study

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Support  during  the  Foreign   Assignment  

!  Host-country sponsors 9  assigned to individual managers or families 9  Serve as “cultural seeing-eye dogs”