1. science
2. medicine
3. psychology and psychiatry

Chapter 2
Managing Across Cultures
Chapter 2(1) _ Global Culture…2
Chapter 2(2) _ Multicultural Teams…11
Chapter 2(3) _ Motivation in a Global Context…36
Chapter 2(4) _ Decision Making…51
Chapter 2(5) _ Leadership…68
Chapter 2(6) _ Global HRM…92
1
Cross-Cultural Management
Chapter 2(1) _Global Culture
2
Cross-Cultural Management
CULTURAL MESSAGES COME
FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES
– Domestic
– International
– Global
although most common challenges are
addressed by nations, a global civil society is
emerging
3
Cross-Cultural Management
PEOPLE LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE
ENTITIES FOR CULTURAL DIRECTION
• Affiliative groups e.g., ethnic groups
• Nongovernmental organizations, e.g., the
Women’s League for Peace and Freedom
• Religious groups
• Regional associations, e.g., Economic Union
• Business organizations
4
Cross-Cultural Management
Multiple messages and sources
create CONFUSION AND
UNCERTAINTY
• Leading to new questions national cultures are
less well able to answer
– but
• In a global society, we don’t have a sense of the
appropriate rules by which all can live
5
Cross-Cultural Management
TRANSITION TIME?
• Are we at a point
where nationality is
less important to
culture than in the
past?
6
All of
Us
Cross-Cultural Management
WE SEE THAT SOME VALUES
ARE COVERGING, OTHERS ARE
NOT
•
•
•
•
7
The Planet Project
The Roper Poll of Values
The World Values Survey
The GLOBE Project
Cross-Cultural Management
GLOBE RESPONSES ON GENDER
EGALITARIANISM SHOWS
COVERGENCE ON “SHOULD BE”
Latin America
7
Indigenous Africa
6
Anglo
5
As Is
4
Arab
3
Nordic
2
Shd Be
1
S Asia
Germanic
Confucian
Latin Europe
East Europe
8
Cross-Cultural Management
GLOBE RESPONSES ON HUMANE
ORIENTATION ALSO SHOWS
COVERGENCE ON “SHOULD BE”
Latin America
7
Indigenous Africa
6
Anglo
5
4
Arab
3
As Is
Nordic
2
1
Shd Be
S Asia
Germanic
Confucian
Latin Europe
East Europe
9
Cross-Cultural Management
QUESTIONS OF GLOBAL AND
LOCAL CULTURES
• Will global culture replace or exist with local
cultures?
• Will global culture bring positive or negative
outcomes?
10
Cross-Cultural Management
Chapter 2(2)- Multicultural Teams
11
Cross-Cultural Management
Group
Two or more interacting individuals who
come together to achieve some objectives.
Groups can be either formal or informal,
and further subclassified into command,
task, interest, or friendship categories.
12
Cross-Cultural Management
Team
A specific type of group where an
emphasis is put on some level of
member interdependence and on
achievement of common goals
•All teams are groups
•Some groups are just people assembled together
•Teams have task interdependence whereas some
groups do not (e.g., group of employees enjoying
lunch together)
13
Cross-Cultural Management
Reasons for Team Popularity
• Outperform individuals on tasks requiring
multiple skills, judgment, and experience
• Better utilization of employee talents
• More flexible and responsive to changing events
• Facilitate employee participation in operating
decisions
• Effective in democratizing the organization and
increasing employee involvement and motivation
14
Cross-Cultural Management
Basic Group Concepts
Group Roles
Group Norms
Expected Patterns of Acceptable Standards
Behavior Based on a
of Behavior Shared
Given Position in a
by the Members
Social Unit
of a Group
15
Cross-Cultural Management
Cohesiveness
Social-Oriented Cohesiveness: The degree to
which members of the group are attracted to
each other and motivated to stay in the group
Task-Oriented Cohesiveness: The degree to
which group members work together,
cooperate and coordinate their activity in
order to achieve group goals
16
Cross-Cultural Management
Team Effectiveness Model
Organizational and
Team Environment
Team Design
• Reward systems
•Task characteristics
• Communication
systems
•Team size
•Team composition
• Physical space
• Organizational
environment
• Organizational
structure
• Organizational
leadership
17
Team Processes
•Team development
•Team norms
•Team roles
•Team cohesiveness
Cross-Cultural Management
Team
Effectiveness
• Achieve
organizational
goals
• Satisfy member
needs
• Maintain team
survival
Groups Across Cultures
Two cultural dimensions are especially relevant:
• Individualism-Collectivism
• Power Distance
• Also Uncertainty Avoidance; e.g., potential for
Role Conflict (esp. in multi-functional teams)
18
Cross-Cultural Management
The Challenge in
Shaping Team Players
Greatest where...
Less demanding...
–The national culture –Where employees have
is highly
strong collectivist values,
individualistic
such as Japan or
Mexico
–Introduced into
organizations that
–In new organizations
historically value
that use teams as their
individual
initial form for structuring
achievement
work
19
Cross-Cultural Management
Cross-Cultural Differences
Cross–cultural differences in intergroup processes
– Collectivistic cultures
• Expect little expression of conflict; favor
suppressing conflict
• Prefer to personalize interaction; focus
on people, despite what group they
represent
• Group membership is an important part
of identity and interaction
20
Cross-Cultural Management
Power Distance and SDWTs
Nicholls et al. (1999) study of SDWT in Mexico:
• Why are teams failing in a highly collectivist culture
such as Mexico?
• Major challenges in implementing SDWTs
• Workers expect to exercise little control over work
and not to be involved in decision making
• Expect clear instructions from the top and are not
highly motivated by opportunity to initiate and take
larger responsibility
• Can SDWT work in high-PD cultures? How?
21
Cross-Cultural Management
Interpersonal Relationships
• Individualists tend to have more friends, but with
lesser intensity level;
• Collectivists tend to have less friends, but with
higher intensity level.
• Individualists are less suspicious towards outgroup members and easier to make initial contact;
• Collectivists have stronger bonds with in-group
members
22
Cross-Cultural Management
Differential Group Processes
• Conformity: who is more conforming?
• Formal/regulated participation vs. spontaneous
• Social loafing versus social striving
• Preferences for group vs. individual rewards
• Equality (‘you deserve what you get’) vs. Equity
(‘you get what you deserve’) vs. Need based
decisions (‘to all according to their needs’)
23
Cross-Cultural Management
Conformity
• Cross–cultural variations in tendency to accept
group pressure for conformity to group norms
– Japanese encourage high conformity to
norms of a group that has the person's
primary loyalty
– German students (in some experimental
research) showed a lower tendency to
conform
– Moderate conformity among people in
Hong Kong, Brazil, Lebanon, and the
United States
24
Cross-Cultural Management
Teams’ Cultural Composition
•Cultural Diversity: the number of different cultures
represented in the group;
•Cultural Norms: the orientations of the specific
cultures represented in the group toward group
dynamics and processes; and
•Relative Cultural Distance: the extent to which
group members are culturally different from each
other
25
Cross-Cultural Management
Surface and Deep Diversity
In multicultural teams, diversity can be in the
form of:
• Surface-level (black-American; CaucasianAmerican; French and Vietnamese) and/or
• Deep-level (Irish and English; Singaporean
and Chinese; N. and S. Africans)
26
Cross-Cultural Management
Dynamics of Team Diversity
Social Context
Org. Context
Group
Dynamics
Diversity
•Surface
•Deep
27
Affective
Reactions
•Cohesion
•Satisfaction
•Commitment
Team
Behaviours
•Communication
•Conflict
•Cooperation
Cross-Cultural Management
Long-term
Conseq.
•Performance
•Promotion
•Turnover
Jackson, Joshi & Erhardt (2003)
• Surface-level diversity has more immediate
impact and is influential in early-stage/newly
formed teams while deep-level becomes more
important over time and its effects last longer.
• Diversity, in general, and cultural/ethnic diversity
in particular, have mixed effects on team
processes and performance;
• Less effect on simpler, motor-based tasks; more
effect on complex, interdependent teamwork
28
Cross-Cultural Management
Earley & Mosakowski (2000)
• Studied effects of heterogeneity in transnational
teams using experimental and field settings
• Reasoned that the effects of national
heterogeneity on team performance is non-linear;
• Found that in the early stages, homogenous
teams (those with only one major national group
identity) outperformed both moderately
heterogeneous (groups with two different subgroup identities) and highly heterogeneous (no
clear sub-group identities exist) teams.
29
Cross-Cultural Management
Earley & Mosakowski (2000)
• In the longer term, high-heterogeneous teams’
performance increased as they managed to create
a hybrid-culture;
• Such hybrid culture was not created in moderately
heterogeneous teams, whose performance was
lower than both high and low heterogeneity teams.
Team processes mediated the effects of heterogeneity
on team performance, such that:
• In homogenous groups, members perceived many
similarities between themselves (remember SIT?);
trust, shared mental models and open
communication developed early on in the team’s life
30
Cross-Cultural Management
Earley & Mosakowski (2000)
• In moderately heterogeneous teams, a dynamic of
‘us vs. them’ prevailed, with the two sub-groups
sticking to themselves in times of conflict, resulting
in little cross sub-group cooperation;
• In highly heterogeneous teams, as time passed,
members go to know each other better and since
there were no dominant sub-groups, they were free
to form a ‘hybrid culture’-unique to their team and
overarching each members’ national identity.
• Implications for joint ventures and projects where
two cultures (national or organizational) get together
to try to create a cooperative structure
31
Cross-Cultural Management
Diversity and Teams
• Overall, diversity causes process losses
• Can be beneficial if team overcomes these
losses over time
• Depends on organizational culture and topmanagement support
• Highly heterogeneous and highly homogenous
teams work better than mid-range ones
• Fault lines in teams lead to rivalry coalitions =>
decrease effectiveness
32
Cross-Cultural Management
Conditions for Effectiveness
More Effective
Less Effective
Task
Innovative
Routine
Stage
Divergence (earlier)
Convergence (later)
Conditions
Differences Recognized
Differences Ignore
Task-based member
selection
Pluralism
Culture-base members
selection
Ethnocentrism
Equal Power
Cultural Dominance
Superordinate goals
Individual goals
External feedback
No feedback/autonomy
33
Cross-Cultural Management
Some Implications
• Investment in diverse teams is more sensible for
the longer-term, for complex tasks and when
team members are (relatively) pluralistic
• More careful task design is needed
• Positive feedback, early on
• Preparation and training, through conceptual and
experiential approaches is recommended
• Strive to create a third culture through
superordinate goals and neutralization of
differences
34
Cross-Cultural Management
Diversity: Beyond the Obvious
• Seemingly culturally similar team members may
have the hardest time to get along: need to take
into account other variables besides culture
(history, class)
• Idiosyncratic cultural variables, e.g., intellectual
style (Russians vs. N. Americans)
• Prior experience with different cultures plays
important role (usually for the better)
• Virtual Teams: added complexity
35
Cross-Cultural Management
Chapter 2(3)-Motivation
Global Context
36
Cross-Cultural Management
in a
Introduction to Motivation
Motivation
Psychological process through which
unsatisfied wants or needs lead to drives
that are aimed at goals or incentives
The Basic Motivation Process
Unsatisfied
need
37
Drive toward goal to
satisfy need
Cross-Cultural Management
Attainment of goal
(need satisfaction)
Introduction to Motivation
• Need Theories
• Cognitive theories
– Expectancy theory: describes internal processes
of choice among different behaviors
– Equity theory: describes how and why people
react when they feel unfairly treated
– Goal setting theory: focuses on how to set goals
for people to reach
• Behavioral theory
– Behavior modification: focuses on observable
behavior, not internal psychological processes
38
Cross-Cultural Management
Basic Assumptions
• The Universalist Assumption
– All people are motivated to pursue goals they
value
– Specific content of the goals that are pursued
will be influenced by culture
– Movement toward market economies may make
motivation more similar in different countries
39
Cross-Cultural Management
Motivation Theories
Are Culture Bound
Hierarchy
of Needs
Need for
Achievement
Goal-Setting
Theory
40
Cross-Cultural Management
Attitudes and Personality
• Personality characteristics
– People in individualistic cultures (United
States) have stronger need for autonomy than
people in group–oriented cultures (Japan)
– People in cultures that emphasize avoiding
uncertainty (Belgium, Peru) have stronger
need for security than people in cultures that
are less concerned about avoiding uncertainty
(Singapore, Ireland)
41
Cross-Cultural Management
Need Theories of Motivation
• Concept of needs holds across cultures
• People from different cultures may express and
satisfy needs differently
• Importance of needs in Maslow's need hierarchy
– United States: self–actualization
– Latin America: security, affiliation
– France and Germany: need for security
– New Zealand: belongingness and love
• McClelland: needs for affiliation, power and
achievement
42
Cross-Cultural Management
International Aspects of
Job Design
• Herzberg: Two Factor Theory
• Individual and group–based job design
– U.S. managers have mostly used individual
approaches to job design
– Recent shifts to group–based approaches
– Managers in other industrialized countries have
mainly emphasized group–based job design
43
Cross-Cultural Management
Job Design (Cont.)
• Changing specific job characteristics
– Belgium, Mexico, Greece, Thailand: not
likely to accept efforts to increase
autonomy and task identity
– French managers particularly dislike
recommendations to decentralize decision
authority. Subordinates do not expect
them to do so
– Quality circles: big success in Japan, but
only partial in the US
44
Cross-Cultural Management
Cognitive and Behavioral Theories
of Motivation
• Two assumptions that could restrict use of
these theories outside the U.S.
– Individual controls decisions about future
actions
– Manager can deliberately shape the
behavior of people
45
Cross-Cultural Management
Cognitive and Behavioral Theories
of Motivation
• Both assumptions reflect U.S. values of free will,
individualism, individual control
• Cultural contrasts
– Muslim managers believe something happens
mainly because God wills it to happen
– Hong Kong Chinese believe luck plays a role
in all events
46
Cross-Cultural Management
Cognitive and Behavioral Theories
• Expectancy theory's validity in other cultures
– Japanese female life insurance sales
representatives responded to commission
system as expected
– Russian textile workers
• Linked valued extrinsic rewards to worker
performance
• Productivity increased as the theory predicts
• Generally, expectancy theory best explains
motivation of people in cultures that emphasize
internal attribution
47
Cross-Cultural Management
Cognitive and Behavioral Theories (Cont.)
• Equity theory: complex cross–cultural effects
– Reward allocation decisions followed equity
theory premises in U.S., Russian, and
Chinese samples
– Other studies
• Chinese emphasized seniority in their
reward decisions more than Americans.
• Eastern European transition economies:
endorsed positive inequity more than
American students
48
Cross-Cultural Management
Culture & Motivation
• Research on goal setting theory in several
countries
• Results consistent with U.S. work that
formulated the theory
• Some cultural differences
– U.S. students not affected by how goals were
set
– Israeli students performed better when goals
were set participatively; consistent with
culture of cooperation
49
Cross-Cultural Management
Idiosyncratic Factors
Beyond cultures’ variance along the major cultural
value dimensions, there are specific aspects
anchored in nation’s history and expressed
through its symbols and language.
Ignoring such factors may
render motivational
techniques ineffective or
even result in de-motivation;
e.g.:
Slay the Dragon!!
50
Cross-Cultural Management
Chap 2(4)- Decision Making
across Cultures
51
Cross-Cultural Management
Decision Making
Process of choosing a course of action among
alternatives
52
Cross-Cultural Management
Various Factors
* Time Orientation
• Deciding for the short/long term?
• How long to make a decision?
• Polichronic or monochronic style?
* Who decides: Groups vs. Individuals
* Voting vs. Consensus based decisions
* Process: Participative vs. Autocratic
53
Cross-Cultural Management
Value of Rationality
Strong preference for rational D.M. vs.
Occasional or low value on rationality;
In some cultures more emphasis on:
• Emotions
• Religion
• Ideology
54
Cross-Cultural Management
Rational Decision Making
The Rational Approach assumes that
– Managers follow a systematic, step-by-step
process.
– Organization is economically based and is
managed by decision makers who are entirely
objective and have complete information.
It assumes that rational choices are:
• Consistent
• Value-maximizing
• Within specified constraints
55
Cross-Cultural Management
The Six-Step Rational
Decision-Making Model
1. Define the problem
2. Identify decision criteria
3. Weight the criteria
4. Generate alternatives
5. Rate each alternative on each criterion
6. Compute the optimal decision
56
Cross-Cultural Management
Cultural Contingencies in Decision Making
Step
1. Problem
Recognition
Problem solving; change Situation acceptance
2. Information Search
Gathering facts
Gathering ideas and
possibilities
3. Construction of
Alternatives
New, future oriented
based on change
Past/present/future
based on stability
4. Choice
Individual level;
delegation of
responsibility; fast
Slow; top-down
Group level; by senior
management; slowly
5. Implementation
57
Cross-Cultural Management
Fast; broad participation
Case Study: The Road to Hell (p. 512)
• What mistakes did John Baker Made? Why did
he not realize his mistake when it occurred?
• What would you recommend that Baker do
now?
• What do you learn from this case about human
resource management across different
nations?
58
Cross-Cultural Management
Stages of Moral Development
Stage
Description
Level
6. Following self-chosen ethical
principles, even if they
violate the law
Principled
5. Valuing rights of others;
upholding non-relative
values and rights regardless
of the majority’s opinion
4. Maintaining conventional order by
fulfilling obligations to which
you have agreed
3. Living up to what is expected by
people close to you
Conventional
Pre-conventional
2. Following rules only when it’s in your
immediate interest
1. Sticking to rules to avoid physical
punishment
Adapted from L. Kohlberg, “Moral Stages and Moralization: The Cognitive-Developmental approach,” pages 34-55 in
Moral Develop and Behavior: Theory, Research, and Social Issues, ed. T. Lickona (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1976).
59
Cross-Cultural Management
Three Different Criteria in Making
Ethical Choices
• Utilitarian Criterion - made solely on basis of
outcomes or consequences
• Focus on Rights - made consistently with
fundamental liberties and privileges
• Focus on Justice - requires imposing and
enforcing rules fairly and impartially for equitable
distribution of benefits and costs
60
Cross-Cultural Management
Ethical Aspects of Decisions
• Multinational firms face many ethical questions
and issues
• Operate in many countries; subject to the laws of
those countries
• Legal and social context of globally oriented
organizations can present their managers with
ethical dilemmas
61
Cross-Cultural Management
Ethical Aspects of Decisions
Two ethical views
Cultural
relativism
62
Multinational
organization
Cross-Cultural Management
Ethical
realism
Ethical Aspects of Decisions
Ethical views:
• Cultural relativism
• Cultural relativism refers to differences in
ethical values among different cultures
• Premise: right and wrong should be
decided by each society's predominant
ethical values
• Cultural relativists base their argument on
three points
63
Cross-Cultural Management
Ethical Aspects of Decisions
- Cultural relativism (cont.)
• Three points
–Moral judgments are statements of
feelings and opinions; neither wrong nor
right
–Moral judgments are based on local
ethical systems; cannot judge right or
wrong across cultures
–Prudent approach: do not claim an action
is either right or wrong
64
Cross-Cultural Management
Ethical Aspects of Decisions
- Cultural relativism (cont.)
• Managers should behave according to local
ethical systems, even if behavior violates
home country ethical system
• Many philosophers reject cultural relativism's
argument that codes of ethics cannot cross
national boundaries
• Agree that countries vary in defining right
and wrong
65
Cross-Cultural Management
Ethical Aspects of Decisions
– Ethical realism
• Morality does not apply to international
transactions
• Because no power rules over international
events, people will not behave morally
• Because others will not behave morally,
one is not morally required to behave
ethically
66
Cross-Cultural Management
Ethical Aspects of Decisions
• International ethical dilemmas
– Goods made in a country with no child labor
laws
– Goods made in a country with child labor laws
that are not enforced
– Changing the behavior of local people
– Making small payments that are allowed under
the company’s national law
67
Cross-Cultural Management
Chapter 2(5)-Leadership
68
Cross-Cultural Management
Definitions
There are almost as many definitions of
leadership as there are theories…some of the
more common ones are:
• Ability to influence a group toward the
achievement of goals.
• The process whereby one individual influences
other group members towards the attainment of
defined group or organisational goals.
• The process of creating vision for others and
having the power to translate it into a reality and
sustain it.
69
Cross-Cultural Management
Foundation for Leadership
Leadership Behaviors and Styles
70
Authoritarian
Leadership
The use of work-centered
behavior designed to ensure task
accomplishment.
Paternalistic
Leadership
The use of work-centered behavior
coupled with a protective
employee centered concern.
Participative
Leadership
The use of both work- or taskcentered and people centered
approaches to leading
subordinates.
Cross-Cultural Management
Leader–Subordinate Interactions
Authoritarian Leader
Subordinate
Subordinate
Subordinate
One-way downward flow of information
and influence from authoritarian leader
to subordinates.
71
Cross-Cultural Management
Leader–Subordinate Interactions
Paternalistic Leader
Subordinate
Subordinate
Subordinate
Continual interaction and exchange of
information and influence between
leader and subordinates.
72
Cross-Cultural Management
Leader–Subordinate Interactions
Participative Leader
Subordinate
Subordinate
Subordinate
Continual interaction and exchange of
information and influence between
leader and subordinates.
73
Cross-Cultural Management
Contingency Theories
• Leaders use various leadership
styles/behaviours;
• Quality of leadership experience depends on
several situational factors, including followers
and task type.
• Path-Goal Model - Leader assists followers in
attaining goals and ensures goals are
compatible with overall objectives
74
Cross-Cultural Management
Path-Goal Theory
A theory of leadership suggesting that subordinates
will be motivated by a leader only to the extent they
perceive this individual as helping them to attain
valued goals.
75
Cross-Cultural Management
Path-Goal Theory
Four basic leadership styles:
• Instrumental (directive): An approach focused
on providing specific guidance and establishing
work schedules and rules.
• Supportive: A style focused on establishing
good relations with subordinates and satisfying
their needs.
• Participative: A pattern in which the leader
consults with subordinates, permitting them to
participate in decisions.
• Achievement Oriented: An approach in which
the leader sets challenging goals and seeks
improvements in performance.
76
Cross-Cultural Management
Path-Goal Theory
Environmental contingency factors
• Task structure
• Formal authority system
• Work group
Leader behavior
• Directive
• Supportive
• Participative
• Achievement oriented
Outcomes
• Performance
• Satisfaction
Subordinate contingency factors
• Locus of control
• Experience
• Perceived ability
77
Cross-Cultural Management
Leadership
Core values of country’s culture often define type of
leadership behavior that is acceptable
– In high PD, an emphasis on hierarchical
relationships—directive approaches accepted;
Hong Kong, Latin American countries; Russia
– In low PD, hierarchical relationships are not
valued —supportive (or participative)
approaches accepted; Austria, Scandinavia,
Israel
78
Cross-Cultural Management
Leadership
Individualism-Collectivism
• Leader as a paternal figure vs. leader as an expert
• Degree to which intervention of leader in follower’s
private lives is expected and accepted
Masculine/Feminine
• Acceptance of women as leaders
• Accepted style for leaders
Long-Term-Orientation
• Elect leaders for four years…or forty?
Leader’s style: first among equals (China) or class of
its own (Arab Countries)
79
Cross-Cultural Management
GLOBE Project
• Multi-country study and evaluation of cultural
attributes and leadership behavior
• Are transformational characteristics of
leadership universally endorsed?
• 170 country co-investigators
• 65 different cultures
• 17,500 middle managers
• 800 organizations
80
Cross-Cultural Management
GLOBE Project
• Which traits are universally viewed as
impediments to leadership effectiveness?
• Based on beliefs that
– Certain attributes that distinguish one culture from
others can be used to predict the most suitable,
effective and acceptable organizational and leader
practices within that culture
– Societal culture has direct impact on organizational
culture
– Leader acceptance stems from tying leader
attributes and behaviors to subordinate norms
81
Cross-Cultural Management
GLOBE Cultural Variable Results
Variable
Highest
Ranking
Assertiveness
Spain, U.S.
Future orientation
Medium
Ranking
Lowest
Ranking
Sweden, New
Zealand
Denmark, CanadaSlovenia, Egypt Russia, Argentina
Gender differentiation South Korea,
Egypt
Egypt, Ireland
Italy, Brazil
Uncertainty avoidance Austria, Denmark Israel, U.S.
Sweden Denmark
Russia, Hungary
Power distance
Russia, Spain
England, France Demark, Netherlands
Collectivism/Societal
Denmark,
Singapore
Hong Kong, U.S. Greece, Hungary
In-group collectivism
Egypt, China
England, France Denmark,
Netherlands
Performance orientation U.S., Taiwan
Humane orientation
82
Sweden, Israel
Indonesia, Egypt Hong Kong,
Sweden
Cross-Cultural Management
Russia, Argentina
Germany, Spain
Universal Leadership Attributes
Positive
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
83
Negative
Trustworthy
Just
Honest
Charisma
Inspiration & Vision
Team-Orientation
Excellence-Oriented
Decisive
Intelligent
•
•
•
•
•
•
Loner
Non-Cooperative
Ruthless
Non-explicit
Irritable
Dictatorial
Cross-Cultural Management
Leadership and Management
Need to bear in mind that leadership style is very
much situation dependent: for example, in some
situations (e.g., emergency) and in some
organizational cultures, directive style will be
accepted even in a country like the US;
Participation is more likely if the basis of power is
more achievement based (instrumental) than if it
is ascribed (personal) and
Degree of participation in decision making and
leadership by subordinates vary cross-nationally
84
Cross-Cultural Management
Leadership in the
International Context
Attitudes of European
Managers Toward
Leadership Practices
Capacity for Leadership
and Initiative
85
European managers tend to use a
participative approach.
Researchers investigated four
areas relevant to leadership.
Does the leader believe that employees
prefer to be directed and have little
ambition? (Theory X)
OR
Does the leader believe that
characteristics such as initiative can be
acquired by most people regardless of
their inborn traits and abilities? (Theory Y)
Cross-Cultural Management
Leadership in the
International Context
Attitudes of European
Managers Toward
Leadership Practices
Capacity for Leadership
and Initiative
Sharing Information
and Objectives
86
Most evidence indicates European
managers tend to use a participative
approach. Researchers investigated
four areas relevant to leadership.
Does the leader believe that detailed,
complete instructions should be given to
subordinates and that subordinates need
only this information to do their jobs?
OR
Does the leader believe that general
directions are sufficient and that
subordinates can use their initiative in
working out the details?
Cross-Cultural Management
Leadership in the
International Context
Attitudes of European
Managers Toward
Leadership Practices
Capacity for Leadership
and Initiative
Most evidence indicates European
managers tend to use a participative
approach. Researchers investigated
four areas relevant to leadership.
Does the leader support participative
leadership practices?
Sharing Information
and Objectives
Participation
87
Cross-Cultural Management
Leadership in the
International Context
Attitudes of European
Managers Toward
Leadership Practices
Capacity for Leadership
and Initiative
Sharing Information
and Objectives
Participation
Most evidence indicates European
managers tend to use a participative
approach. Researchers investigated
four areas relevant to leadership.
Does the leader believe that the
most effective way to control
employees is through rewards
and punishment?
OR
Does the leader believe that
employees respond best to
internally generated control?
Internal Control
88
Cross-Cultural Management
Japanese vs. U.S.
Leadership Styles
Dimension
Employment
Evaluation
Japan
Often for life
Slow, takes many years
US
Often short-term
Fast: those not promoted
often leave
Career Paths
Very general; based on
rotations
v. specialised; people stay
in one area
Dec. Making
Group based
By individual managers
Control Mech.
Implicit & informal;
reliance on trust and
goodwill
Explicit; based on
knowing the control
mechanisms
Responsibility
Shared collectively
Assigned individually
Concern for
employees
Broad and covers the
whole life
limited to work-life
89
Cross-Cultural Management
Differences in Middle Eastern
and Western Management
90
Cross-Cultural Management
Differences in Middle Eastern
and Western Management
91
Cross-Cultural Management
Leadership-Other Issues
• Emphasis on Emotional Intelligence is
especially important for leading crossculturally
• Idiosyncratic effects & paradoxes:
– Moderately masculine Muslim and Hindu
nations with traditional views on women…but,
– Israel, India, Pakistan and other exceptions
• Charismatic leadership is not universally
accepted
92
Cross-Cultural Management
Chapter 2(6)-GLOBAL HUMAN
RESOURCES
93
Cross-Cultural Management
HR Challenges of International
Business
Researchers asked “What are the key global pressures
affecting human resource management practices in your
firm currently and for the projected future?” Responses
were:
• Deployment
• Knowledge and innovation
dissemination
• Identifying and developing talent
globally
94
Cross-Cultural Management
Global Staffing
Pressures
– Candidate selections
– Assignment terms
– Relocation
– Immigration
– Culture and language
– Compensation
– Tax administration
– Handling spouse and dependent matters
95
Cross-Cultural Management
Economic Differences
Translate into differences in HR practices:
• Espousing ideals of free enterprise
• Wage costs vary
• Other labor costs vary: severance pay; holidays
96
Cross-Cultural Management
International Labor Relations
Union membership varies widely worldwide
29%
80%
24%
39%
44%
39%
97
14%
Cross-Cultural Management
23%
International Staffing
Multinational corporations (MNC’s) use
several types of international managers:
– Locals
– Expatriates
• Home-country nationals
• Third-country nationals
98
Cross-Cultural Management
Sources of Human
Resources
Home Country Nationals
– Expatriate managers who are citizens of the
country where the MNC is headquartered
• Expatriates
– Those who live and work away from their home country
– Citizens of the country where the MNC is headquartered
• Expatriates are useful for:
– starting up operations
– providing technical expertise
– helping the MNC maintain financial control over the operation
• Expatriates almost always were men
– Situation is changing
• Expatriates typically used in top management
positions
99
Cross-Cultural Management
Sources of Human Resources
• Host-Country Nationals
– Local managers who are hired by the MNC
– Used in middle- and lower-level
management positions
– Nativization
• Requirement of host-country
government that mandates employment
of host-country nationals
100
Cross-Cultural Management
Sources of Human
Resources
• Third-Country Nationals (TCNs)
– Citizens of countries other than the one in
which the MNC is headquartered or the
one in which the managers are assigned to
work by the MNC
– Found in MNCs that have progressed
through the initial and middle stages of
internationalization
101
Cross-Cultural Management
Sources of Human Resources
– Advantages of using TCNs
• Require less compensation
• Good working knowledge of the region
• Given home office experience, often can
achieve objectives better than other types
of managers
• Offer different perspectives
102
Cross-Cultural Management
Failure Rates of International Assignments
International assignment failure can cost
hundreds of thousands of euros
Europe
% Failure
Japan
US
0
103
20
40
60
Cross-Cultural Management
Why International
Assignments Fail
•
•
•
•
•
104
Personality
Person’s intentions
Family pressures
Lack of cultural skills
Other non-work conditions like living and
housing conditions, and health care
Cross-Cultural Management
Improving Failure Rates/Solutions
•
•
•
•
•
•
105
Provide realistic previews
Have a careful screening process
Improve orientation
Provide good benefits
Test employees fairly
Shorten assignment length
Cross-Cultural Management
Important Predictors
of Success
• Family situation tops the list
• Flexibility/adaptability screening was high on
results
• Use paper and pencil tests like the Overseas
Assignment Inventory
• Previewing what changes an international
assignee can expect
106
Cross-Cultural Management
Selecting
International Managers
• Test for traits that predict success in
adapting to new environments
• Job knowledge and motivation
• Relational skills
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Extra-cultural openness
• Family situation
107
Cross-Cultural Management
Predictive trait
breakdown
Traits Distinguishing Successful
International Executives
SCALE
SAMPLE ITEM
Sensitive to Cultural Differences When working with people from other cultures, works
hard to understand their perspectives.
Business Knowledge
Has a solid understanding of our products and services.
Courage to Take a Stand
Is willing to take a stand on issues.
Brings Out the Best in People
Has a special talent for dealing with people.
Acts with Integrity
Can be depended on to tell the truth regardless of
Is Insightful
circumstances.
Is good at identifying the most important part of a
Is Committed to Success
complex problem or issue.
Clearly demonstrates commitment to seeing the
Takes Risks
organization succeed.
Uses Feedback
Takes personal as well as business risks.
Is Culturally Adventurous
Has changed as a result of feedback.
Enjoys the challenge of working in countries other than
Seeks Opportunities to Learn
his/her own.
Is Open to Criticism
Takes advantage of opportunities to do new things.
Seeks Feedback
Appears brittle—as if criticism might cause him/her to
Is Flexible
break.*
Pursues feedback even when others are reluctant to give in.
*Reverse scored
Doesn’t get so invested in things that she/he cannot
change when something doesn’t work.
108
Cross-Cultural Management
Performance Appraisal of
International Mangers
Five suggestions for improving the expatriate appraisal process:
1. Stipulate the assignment’s difficulty level. For example,
being an expatriate
manager in China is generally considered more difficult
than working in
England, and the appraisal should take such difficultylevel differences into
account.
2. Weight the evaluation more toward the on-site manager’s
appraisal than
toward the home-site manager’s distant perceptions of
the employee’s
performance.
109
Cross-Cultural Management
Performance Appraisal of
International Mangers
• 3. If however (as is usually the case), the home-site
manager does the actual
•
written appraisal, have him or her use a former
expatriate from the same
•
overseas location to provide background advice
during the appraisal process.
• 4. Modify the normal performance criteria used for
that particular position to
•
fit the overseas position and characteristics of
that particular locale.
• 5. Attempt to give the expatriate manager credit for
his or her insights into
•
the functioning of the operation and specifically
the interdependencies
•
of the domestic and foreign operations.
110
Cross-Cultural Management
The New Workplace:
Sending Women Abroad
• In the US, only 6% filled overseas positions
compared to 49% domestic
• One survey found inaccurate stereotypes:
– Not as internationally mobile
– Might have a tougher time building teams
111
Cross-Cultural Management
Performance Appraisal of
International Mangers
Five suggestions for improving the expatriate appraisal process:
1. Stipulate the assignment’s difficulty level. For example,
being an expatriate
manager in China is generally considered more difficult
than working in
England, and the appraisal should take such difficultylevel differences into
account.
2. Weight the evaluation more toward the on-site manager’s
appraisal than
toward the home-site manager’s distant perceptions of
the employee’s
performance.
112
Cross-Cultural Management
Performance Appraisal of
International Mangers
• 3. If however (as is usually the case), the home-site
manager does the actual
•
written appraisal, have him or her use a former
expatriate from the same
•
overseas location to provide background advice
during the appraisal process.
• 4. Modify the normal performance criteria used for
that particular position to
•
fit the overseas position and characteristics of
that particular locale.
• 5. Attempt to give the expatriate manager credit for
his or her insights into
•
the functioning of the operation and specifically
the interdependencies
•
of the domestic and foreign operations.
113
Cross-Cultural Management
Culture Shock!
• Disorientation upon entering a new cultural
environment
• Normal use of own cultural filter fails
– interpretation of perceptions
– communication of intentions
• All people experience culture shock... Past
experience and training can shorten its
length
114
Cross-Cultural Management
Culture Shock:
Responses
– Gone native (assimilation):
accepts the new... rejects
own
– Participator (integration):
adapts to the new ... but
retains own
– Tourist (separation): avoids
the new...
– Outcast (marginalization):
won’t/can’t adapt... rejects
own...
115
Cross-Cultural Management
Phases
• Honeymoon
– euphoria, unrealistically positive attitudes
towards host country, stay in hotel shields from
mundane difficulties, house hunting/school
hunting exciting, sightseeing!!
• Irritation and Hostility (the crisis stage)
– problems adjusting at work, local clocks don't
fit yours, difficulties getting the routine daily
tasks done, everything stinks; some never
recover
116
Cross-Cultural Management
Symptoms
– homesickness
– boredom
– withdrawal (reading is an obsession, focus
on home nationals, avoid host nationals)
– excessive sleep need, compulsive eating
and drinking
– irritability
– exaggerated cleanliness
117
Cross-Cultural Management
Symptoms (cont.)
– marital stress, family tension, conflict
– stereotyping host nationals
– hostility towards host nationals
– loss of ability to work effectively
– fits of weeping
– psychosomatic illnesses
118
Cross-Cultural Management
Phases
• Gradual Adjustment
– can manage, cope with situation now
• Biculturalism/Coping
– ability to function in both cultures,
acceptance of local customs and values for
what they are (not going native), possible to
get by, positive and growth gaining
experience
119
Cross-Cultural Management
Nature of Culture Shock
• Not a jolt, rather a series of cumulative
experiences
• Cultural differences become focus of
attention
• Foreign ways are quaint no more... they
seem inferior to your own
120
Cross-Cultural Management
What Special Training Do Overseas
Candidates Need?
• Impact of cultural differences
• Understanding attitude formation
• Factual knowledge about target country
• Language and adjustment/adaptability
skills
121
Cross-Cultural Management
Four Step Approach to Training Overseas
Candidates
Level 1 training focuses on the impact of cultural
differences, and on raising trainees’ awareness of such
differences and their impact on business outcomes.
 Level 2 training aims at getting participants to
understand how attitudes (both negative and positive)
are formed and how they influence behavior.
 Level 3 training provides factual knowledge about the
target country.
 Level 4 training provides skill building in areas like
language and adjustment and adaptation skills.

122
Cross-Cultural Management
Cross-Cultural Training
Training Time
Training Rigor
Months
Affective
Approach
Weeks
Information
Giving
Day(s)
High
Immersion
Approach
Geographic briefings
Cultural Briefings
Films/Books
Interpreters
Language: “Survival”
Culture assimilator
training
Role-playing
Cases
Stress reduction training
Cultural Briefings
Language: “Moderate”
Assessment
Field experience
Simulations
Sensitivity training
Language:
“intensive”
Low
Length of Assignment
Weeks
123
Months
Cross-Cultural Management
Years
Repatriation of Expatriates
• Repatriation
– Return to one’s home country from an overseas
management assignment
• Reasons for returning
– Formally agreed-on tour of duty is over
– Expats want their children educated in the home
country
– Unhappiness with foreign assignment
– Failure to perform well
• Readjustment problems
– Permanent position upon return constitutes a
demotion
– Lack opportunity to use skills learned abroad upon
return
– Salary and benefits may decrease upon return
124
Cross-Cultural Management
Repatriation Problems
• Leaving the firm prematurely
• Mediocre or makeshift jobs
• Finding former colleagues
promoted
• Reverse culture shock
125
Cross-Cultural Management
Repatriation
Several steps can be taken to avoid repatriation problems:








126
Write repatriation agreements
Shorten Assignment periods
Assign a sponsor
Provide career counseling
Keep communications open
Offer financial support
Develop reorientation programs
Build in return trips
Cross-Cultural Management