Slide 1.1 Part Culture and management Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.2 Chapter Determinants of culture Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.3 The concept of culture What culture is?/is not? • Culture is a code of attitudes, norms and values, the way of thinking • Culture determines: – How we see ourselves – How we see the world • Culture is not right or wrong, inherited, about individual behaviour Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.4 Three layers The concept of culture has three layers: 1) Artefacts and attitudes – Behavioural or explicit level 2) Norms (rules) and values – Every culture has its own system 3) Basic assumptions – Difficult to describe or explain Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.5 Comparison of value systems of societies Four categories (Ruano-Borbalan, 2002) • Traditional society (Arab countries) – Religion plays an important role • Rational society (Germany) – Interests of the individual come first • Society where materialism is predominant (ex-communist countries) • Post-modern society (Scandinavia) – Tolerant and democratic Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.6 European culture What is important in the forming process of a European culture? •Meeting of diversity •Complementarity of ideas •Interaction and interference within opposite values: – Religion/rationality – Mythical thought/critical thought – Humanism/science (Morin, 1987) Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.7 Levels of cultures in a business context Cultures can develop at different levels: • Culture and nation • National culture • Organisational culture • Corporate culture • Professional culture • Culture and management Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.8 Culture and nation Influence of culture/nation on organisations: • Macro level – Laws and economic institutions – The nation must be considered by organisations going about their business • Micro level – The organisation is influenced through a number of cultural elements relating to: • employer–employee relationships • behaviour among employees Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.9 National culture • Elements that contribute to the creation of a national culture: – Physical environment – History of the nation • Institutions that contribute to the establishment of a national culture – Family/Religion/Education – Mass communication media – The multinational company as culture-building institution (Tabey, 2003) Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.10 Organisational culture • In organisations, culture affects the way: – Strategy is determined – Goals are established – How the organisation operates • The personnel of the organisation: – are influenced by their cultural backgrounds; – share their own values and perceptions (Schein, 1999) Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.11 Cultural assumptions in management Edgar Schein defines culture as: ‘a set of basic assumptions – shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (how to survive) and internal integration (how to stay together) – which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next’ (Schein, 2004, p.14) Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.12 Corporate culture • Corporate culture is a combination of: – Organisational culture – National/regional culture • Two differing views about the influence of corporate culture on a (multi-) national company: – Success depends on it having either A clearly defined corporate culture, or A flexible culture • Internal factors play an important role, in particular the extent of cultural control Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.13 Professional culture Three professional cultures in management: • Operators – involved in production (goods/services) • Engineers – design and monitor the technology • Executives – senior managers (Schein, 1996) The question remains: how these professional cultures co-exist? Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.14 Culture and management Cross-cultural management • Explains the behaviour of people in organisations around the world • Describes and compares organisational behaviour across countries and cultures • Seeks to understand and improve the interaction of : co-workers, managers, executives, clients, suppliers and alliance partners (Adler, 2002) Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 Slide 1.15 Conclusion • Chapter shows how difficult it is to give a definition of the word ‘culture’ • Chapter also shows that the individuals in a group form a culture that can be national, organisational or professional Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2015 ... levels: • Culture and nation • National culture • Organisational culture • Corporate culture • Professional culture • Culture and management Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross- Cultural Management. .. (Scandinavia) – Tolerant and democratic Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross- Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2 015 Slide 1. 6 European culture. .. (Morin, 19 87) Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross- Cultural Management PowerPoints on the Web, 3rd edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2 015 Slide 1. 7 Levels of cultures in a business context Cultures