Chapter 4:

The Meanings and Dimensions

of Culture
Walta Nemariam, Emily Roberson, Katie Quill, and
Madison Cawthon

What is culture?

Culture is how people behave and react as a

result of what they see and experience

This knowledge forms values, creates

attitudes, and influences behavior

Characteristics of culture:

Learned -acquired by learning or

experience

Shared - not specific to single individuals

Trans-generational - cumulative, passed

down from one generation to the next

Characteristics of culture:
Symbolic - culture is based on the human
capacity to symbolize or use one thing to
represent another
Patterned - has structure and is
integrated; a change in one part will bring
changes in another
Adaptive - based on human capacity to
change or adapt

How can the culture of a society

affect management approaches?

-centralized vs. decentralized decision

making

-safety vs. risk

-individual vs. group rewards

-informal vs. formal procedures

How can the culture of a society affect

management approaches?

-high vs. low organizational loyalty

-cooperation vs. competition

-short term vs. long term horizons

-stability vs. innovation

A Model of Culture

What are values?

Values are the basic convictions people

have concerning right and wrong, good and
bad, important and unimportant
learned from the culture in which the individual is
raised
help direct the persons behavior

Hofstedes 5 Dimensions of
Culture
5 dimensions that help explain how and why
people from different cultures behave the way
they do

Hofstedes 5 Dimensions of
Culture
1. Power distance- the extent to which less
powerful members of institutions and
organizations accept that power is distributed
unequally
2. uncertainty avoidance- extent to which
people feel threatened by ambiguous
situations and have created beliefs and
institutions that try to avoid these

Hofstedes 5 Dimensions of
Culture
3. Individualism/Collectivism
individualism- the tendency of people to look
after themselves and their immediate family
only
collectivism- tendency of people to belong to
groups or collectives and to look after each
other in exchange for loyalty

Hofstedes 5 Dimensions of
Culture
4. masculinity- a cultural
characteristic in which the dominant
values in society are success, money,
and materialistic things
femininity- a cultural characteristic
in which the dominant values are
caring for others and the quality of
life

Hofstedes 5 Dimensions of
Culture
5. Time orientation is the fifth and newer
dimension, but not as well known

Integrating the dimensions of culture into

pairings or clusters helps depict what
countries are similar in values

Trompenaars Cultural
Dimensions

Dimensions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Universalism vs. Particularism

Individualism vs. Communitarianism
Neutral culture vs. Emotional culture
Specific vs. Diffuse culture
Achievement vs. Ascription culture

Widely accepted study of international management

Conducted over 10-year period, 28 countries
These dimensions address the way people deal with
one another

1. Universalism vs.
Particularism

Universalism
the belief that ideas and practices can be applied
everywhere without modification
Focus is on rules over relationships
United States, Germany, Sweden, Australia

Particularism
The belief that circumstances dictate how ideas
and practices should be applied
Legal contracts are modified
Venezuela, Indonesia, China
Be prepared for small talk and meandering

Universalism vs. Particularism

dilemma
a.

b.

c.

My friend has a definite right as a friend to

expect me to testify to the lower figure.
He has some right as a friend to expect me
to testify to the lower figure
He has no right as friend to expect me to
testify to the lower figure.

2. Invidividualism vs.
Communitarianism

Individualism
People regard themselves as individuals.
Negotiation takes the form of a representative

Communitarianism
People regard themselves as being part of a
whole
Decisions are usually referred to committees
How should people from these different cultures
deal with one another in business settings?

3. Neutral vs. Emotional

Cultures

Neutral culture
One in which emotions are held in check
Japan, UK
Lack of emotion does not mean disinterest or
boredom

Emotional culture
One in which emotions are expressed openly and
naturally
Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland
Those in an emotional culture should respond
warmly in a business setting

4. Specific vs. Diffuse

culture

Specific
Individuals have large public space they readily enter
and share, and a small public space they guard
closely and share with close friends and associates
Strong separation between work and private life
United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland

Diffuse
Public and private space are similar in size and level
of privacy
Work and private life are more closely linked
Venezuela, Spain, China
Formality is maintained in individual titles

5. Achievement vs. Ascription

culture

Achievement culture
Status based on performance at functions
High status to high achievers
United States, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Ascription culture
Status is based on who or what someone is
Status based on age, gender, social connections
Venezuela, Indonesia, China

Time

Sequential

One activity at a time

Keep appointments strictly
Show strong preference for following plans
United States

Synchronous

Multitasking
Appointments are approximate
Mexico
For French and Mexicans, what was important was that
they get to the end, not the particular path or sequence by
which that end was reached.
Past, present, future orientation

The Environment

One thing he did was asked managers to

choose one of the following statements.
1. What happens to me is my own doing.
2. Sometimes I feel that I do not have enough
control over the directions my life is taking.
.When dealing with those from cultures who believe
in dominating the environment, it is important to
play hardball.
.When dealing with cultures that believe in letting
things run their course, it is important to be polite
and to maintain relationships.

Cultural Clusters

Trompenaars research lends itself to cultural

patterns.
Anglo cluster: United States, United Kingdom
Asian cluster: Japan, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong,
Singapore
Latin American cluster: Argentina, Mexico,
Venezuela, Brazil
Latin European cluster: France, Belgium, Spain, Italy
Germanic cluster: Austria, Germany, Switzerland,
Czechoslovakia

The GLOBE Project

Similar to Trompenaars and Hofsted with
greater emphasis on managerial styles
A different approach to measuring cultural
differences
Conducted by a team of multicultural
researchers

GLOBE Project

Culture and Management

Researchers use these attributes to predict
the most suitable, effective and acceptable
organizational and leader practices within
that culture
Goal: to develop an empirically based
theory to describe, understand and predict
the impact of cultural variables on
leadership and organizational processes and
their effectiveness

Ch. 5 Managing
Across Cultures

Managing Across Cultures

For MNCs to be successful companies must

carefully address the cultural similarities
and differences in their varied markets.
Renault

Strategic Predispositions

Ethnocentric Predisposition
allows the values of the parent company to guide
strategic decisions.

Polycentric Predisposition
firms make strategic decisions tailored to suit the cultures
of the countries where the MNC operates. EX- Disney

Regiocentric Predisposition
firm tries to blend its own interests with those of its
subsidiaries on a regional basis.

Geocentric Predisposition
tries to integrate a global systems approach to decision
making

Managing Across Cultures

Some companies are committed to a

globalization imperative or one worldwide
approach to doing business.
A study showed that 103 medium and large MNCs
out of 115 use the same strategies at home as
they do abroad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0rKn7X7UWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB85iQ0Y_bw

Managing Across Cultures

The most effective MNCs are constantly

trying to address local needs.
Warner-Lambert
They have manufacturing facilities in Belgium,
France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain, and the
United Kingdom. Each plant is specializes and
produces a small number of products for the entire
European market. This allows each one to focus on
the unique demands for the various markets.

Managing Across Cultures

There are several reasons for differentiating

strategies to meet the needs of different
cultures.
1. Industry standards are different for each
country.
2. Customers want differentiated products
3. Customers prefer to buy local
4. The difficulty of managing global organizations
5. Letting subsidiaries customize their products
for their market

Managing Across Cultures

Marketing becomes especially different

when dealing cultures.
Cosmetic products
In Spain and Greece tooth paste is marketed as a
cosmetic product but is marketed as a cavity-fighter
in the Netherlands and the US. Soap is also
considered a cosmetic product in Spain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCSxbIvpE4Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1uvi7qjrs

Managing Across Cultures

How the marketing message is delivered is

essential.
German advertising is factual and rational. They
fear being manipulated.
French avoid reasoning and logic. Their
advertising is emotional and dramatic.
Commercials are viewed as short films.
British value laughter above all else. They like to
mock the advertiser and consumer.
However, with a high end or low end products
marketing messages are similar world wide. Ex.
Coca-Cola, Porsche

Managing Across Cultures

The need to adjust global strategies for

regional markets presents three major
challenges:
1. The MNC must stay up to date about local
markets and be careful not to assume that all
markets are basically the same.
2.The MNC must know the needs of the subsidiaries
so that it can provide best for these units when it
comes to addressing local demands
3. The company must give the subsidiary more
autonomy so that it can respond to changes in local
demands.

Managing Across Cultures

Cross-Cultural Differences and SimilaritiesThe way MNCs manage their home

businesses often should be different from the
way they manage their overseas operations.
Parochialism- the tendency to view the
world through ones own eyes and
perspectives.
Soviet Companies

Simplification- exhibiting the same

orientation toward different cultural groups.

Similarities Across
Cultures

There was a lot of hope that businesses

would be able to keep their practices the
same when internationalization started in
the 1970s which proved to be false.
However, there are similarities.
Studies show that the US has several
similarities with Russia.
Managerial Activities- Networking
Organizational Behavioral Modification- providing
corrective feedback proved to have positive
results in Russia after adopting the US practice.

Managing Across Cultures

From a Human Resource Standpoint

Management has to be careful when letting each
national operating company oversee evaluations.

Each evaluation will vary greatly from

country to country.
Shell Oil had the head office established criteria to
evaluate the personal and had the national
operating company do the evaluating. Each
company had completely different results.

Managing Across Cultures

Other Human Resource Management differences:

wages, compensation, pay equity, and maternity
leave.
Hourly wage plays a minor role in Mexico. Labor law requires
that employees receive full pay 365 days a year.
Austrian and Brazilian employees with one year of service are
automatically given 30 days of paid vacation.
Japan: compensation levels are determined by age, length of
service, and educational background rather than skill, ability,
and performancethat comes into play at age 45
United Kingdom: Employees are given 40 weeks for maternity
leave including 18 weeks of government mandated pay.

Managing Across Cultures

Incentive

Plans are also different for

different cultures
Pacific Rim: Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore.
High salaries should be paid to senior-level managers.
For Belgium and Italy- significantly higher salaries should be paid to
local senior-level managers because of the high masculinity index.
Portugal and Greece- both of which have a low individualism index,
profit sharing plans would be more effective than individual incentive
plan.
Personal Incentive plans would be highly useful for Denmark,
Netherlands, Germany because of the high individualism in these
cultures.
Great Britain and Ireland and the US managers value their
individualism and are motivated by the opportunity for earnings,
recognition, advancement, and challenge.

Managing Across Cultures

Hiring also varies from country to country.

In the Untied States people are hired based on
what they can do for the firm in the short run.
Americans also prefer specialized training.
In Japan, they hire based on who will help the firm
in the long run, and prefer cross training.
Americans prefer to reward people as individuals
while in Japan they prefer to reward people as a
group.

Doing Business in China

1979-Deng Xiaoping opened the
country to the world
US and Europeans find doing business
with China a long and grueling process

Technical Competence
Time/Patience

Guanxi: means good connection in

Chinese
Collective society: pride themselves on
being members of a group

Doing Business in Russia

Build personal relationships with
partners
Use local consultants
Consider business ethics
Stress exclusivity
Keep financial information personal
Research the company
Stress mutual gain
Written contracts are not as binding

Doing Business in India

Unsaturated consumer markets, cheap labor

and production location
Be on time
Personal questions should not be asked
Titles are important
PDA is inappropriate (backslaps)
Namaste gesture
Many Indians understand that Westerners
may not be familiar with their culture and
thats ok

Doing Business in France

Social class is very important
Friendly, humorous and sarcastic
Accustomed to conflict
Trustworthiness
View on Work ethic
Highly centralized and have rigid
structures
Management differences
French business tips

Doing Business in Brazil

Portuguese influence
Relaxed work ethic
Good natured and avoid confrontation
Working with Brazil:

Personal space
Face-to-Face interaction
Trust
Patience
Appearance
Loyal and Committed
Consistency

Doing Business in Arab

Countries

Allah controls time

Status is determined by family position and
connections
Emotions over logic
Working with Arabs:
Never display feelings of superiority
Never take credit for joint efforts
Administrative channels
Connections are important
Patience

Case Study! Page 153