THE GLOBAL

MANAGER CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Why The Interest?

1.

Labor market migration patterns have

produced urban areas and regions which are
increasingly heterogeneous in cultural terms.
2. Multiculturalism has been driven by
different forces and produced different
outcomes amongst the old socialist
economies in Europe.
3. The emergence during the 1980s and
1990s of large global corporations which
employ increasingly diverse labor forces.

What Is Cultural Diversity?

historically

created guides for living.

collective mental programming.
a shared set of deep assumptions which
are not directly accessible but which may be
indirectly reflected in the values, attitudes
and behavior of individuals and groups. Such
assumptions are cultural because they are
learnt [not innate], patterned, shared and
passed down through generations.

What Are The Dimensions Of

Cultural Difference?

Relationships with the physical environment [the extent to

which it is taken as given or susceptible to human control]
Conceptions of space [how close is close? how is public
differentiated from private?]
Conceptions of time [how the past, the present and the future
are linked together, evaluated and understood]
Understanding of the manner in which truth is determined
[through inductive or deductive reasoning
There are various dimensions around which differences in
human relationships may be understood

orientation towards authority

acceptance of power inequalities
desire for orderliness and structure
the need to belong to a wider social group and so on.

What Are The Dimensions Of

Cultural Difference?

An influential model was developed by the Dutch

academic, Geert Hofstede. He identified four
national cultural dimensions in work related values.
The four dimensions are:
Power distance The extent to which the less
powerful expect and accept that power is
distributed unequally. (more authoritarian regimes
tend to be associated with high power distance
cultures; in such cultures, bosses have much more
power than subordinates)
Uncertainty avoidance The extent to which
uncertain or unknown situations are perceived as
threatening. (high uncertainty avoidance indicates
a strong desire to structure and control the future)

What Are The Dimensions Of

Cultural Difference?
The four dimensions are:
Individualism/collectivism The extent to which individuals and
families are expected to look after themselves. (more
collectivist societies are characterized by strong social ties
which offer unconditional support and protection throughout
life)
Masculinity/femininity The extent to which masculine values
(assertiveness, ambition, achievement) dominate, as opposed
to feminine values (relationships, quality of life, service).
(gender roles are clearly differentiated in highly masculine
societies; in more feminine societies gender roles overlap)
In more recent work Hofstede has added a fifth dimension long term orientation (personal thrift, perseverance, adoption
of traditions to the modern context) - which appears to be a
particularly distinctive feature of East Asian cultures (e.g.
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea).

What Are The Dimensions Of

Cultural Difference?

Value Dimensions and

Management Dilemmas

1. Universalism vs. Particularism When no code, rule, or law seems to quite cover an
exceptional case; should the most relevant rule be imposed. however imperfectly, on that
case, or should the case be considered on its unique merits, regardless of the rule?
2. Analysing vs. Integrating Are we more effective as managers when we analyse
phenomena into parts, i.e., facts, items, tasks, numbers, units, points, specifics, or when we
integrate and configure such details into whole patterns, relationships, and wider contexts?
3. Individualism vs. Communitariansim Is it more important to focus upon the
enhancement of each individual, his or her rights, motivations, rewards, capacities,
attitudes, or should more attention be paid to the advancement of the corporation as a
community, which all its members are pledged to serve?
4. Inner-directed vs. Outer-directed Orientation Which are the more important guides
to action, our inner-directed judgements, decisions, and commitments, or the signals,
demands, and trends in the outside world to which we must adjust?
5. Time as Sequence vs. Time as Synchronisation Is it more important to do things
fast, in the shortest possible sequence of passing time, or to synchronise efforts so that
completion is coordinated?
6. Achieved Status vs. Ascribed Status Should the status of employees depend on what
they have achieved and how they have performed, or on some other characteristic
important to the corporation, i.e., age, seniority, gender, education, potential, strategic role?
7. Equality vs. Hierarchy Is it more important that we treat employees as equals so as to
elicit from them the best they have to give, or to emphasise the judgement and authority of
the hierarchy that is coaching and evaluating them?
Source: Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars The Seven Cultures of Capitalism, 1994

The Management Challenge

the

way in which cultural diversity is managed

may be an important determinant of the
effectiveness of large global corporations.
Recognizing cultural differences in the
motivational profiles of managers often
represents the first step in designing reward
systems which are effective across culturally
diverse groups.
Such differences are also important in
understanding - and improving - the
performance of culturally diverse work teams.

The Management Challenge

The

balance between task and more

supportive group maintenance activities is
itself a cultural product.
The proportion of effort devoted to
maintenance activities is traditionally higher
in more relationship oriented cultures such
as Japan, for example; by comparison,
highly individualist societies such as the UK
or the USA may produce highly task focused
teams.

Achieving High Performance in

International Teams
Setting

up the team

Chose people with appropriate skills, knowledge

and goals
Assess costs - and then double them
Remove organizational barriers and seek top
management support
Involve team members' managers in the process
Share the rationale with the team
Provide training and support
Explain national cultural influences
Clarify task, timescales, accountability.

Achieving High Performance in

International Teams

Running the team

Start slowly and end faster (rushing to complete the task
typically produces poor group processes)
Use help to facilitate group skills (e.g. feedback, surfacing
differences etc)
Encourage participation: summarize, check understanding,
seek consensus, keep track of time
Surface and address differences (rather than
`accommodate' them)
Build in time to discuss and review team processes.
Source: Sue Canney Davison, Creating a High Performance
International Team. Journal of Management Development ,
1991

The Impact Of Corporate

Culture
Despite well documented differences amongst diverse labor forces
there are clearly variations in the extent to which these are
acknowledged. In some corporations ethnic, gender and national
differences are publicly recognized and reflected in carefully
constructed human resource policies and personnel procedures.
1. Homogeneity assumptions: Dominant cultural groups within
organizations may make the [implicit] claim that were all the same
here - with the implication that everyone is like us. This effectively
makes the issue of diversity undiscussable. There may be
differences but they are publicly ignored.
2. Ethnocentric assumptions: recognize diversity but see it as a
problem. The dominant view in such organizations is that ours is the
best way, therefore differences are to be minimized.
3. Synergistic assumptions are those which recognize that diversity
brings both advantages and problems. The implication is that
creative combinations of our way and theirs may be best. This
approach acknowledges diversity and seeks not to minimize but to
manage it in ways which fully exploit available opportunities.

Ground Rules for Managing

across Cultures.
1. Recognize your own cultural
biases.
Respect for ones own culture is likely to
increase respect for others.
In effect, a sense of where you come
from can provide the platform upon
which leadership qualities such as
integrity, courage and honesty can rest.

Ground Rules for Managing

across Cultures.
2. Assume others are different. Some
differences are clearly visible and difficult to
avoid.
Physical attributes - for example, size, weight,
height, skin color, hair length etc
Other characteristics - such as individual values,
attitudes and motives - are less visible and often
more difficult to determine.
In the absence of reliable information there is a
well documented tendency for individuals to
assume that others are like them. In any
setting this is likely to be an inappropriate
assumption.

Ground Rules for Managing

across Cultures.
3. Assume differences are significant.
the manager can determine the impact
of diversity on the basis of experience
and careful observation.
Assuming differences are insignificant is
likely to damage relationships in such a
way that recovery is impossible.

Ground Rules for Managing

across Cultures.
4. Do not assume differences are
always cultural.
There are several sources of difference.
Some relate to factors such as
personality, aptitude or competence.
It is a mistake to assume that all
perceived differences are cultural in
origin.

Ground Rules for Managing

across Cultures.
5. Use stereotypes carefully.
At the interpersonal level cultural
awareness is more likely to involve
undermining rather than reproducing
stereotypes.