Chapter 2

Culture and Organizational

Behavior

Case 1: A cultural clash in the entertainment industry

• Can any nation protect its cultural characteristics and uniqueness?– In a world of instant communications via the Internet?– World wide distribution of movies?– World wide transmission of television?– World wide travel?

• What is the potential of subsidies, trade restrictions, quotas, and governmental control of sustaining a unique national culture?

Case 6—A & BEllen Moore-Living/working in Bahrain

• Culture in Bahrain & Saudi Arabia

• Role of professional women

• Adjustments to stereotypes

• When to adjust & when to challenge?

Cases

• Case 6: “Ellen Moore: – Did Ellen compromise her values (too much)

in accepting the Customer Service position?– How useful are her tips for women in

becoming successful in management?• Meeting fellow employees or others?• Obtaining recognition?• Adjusting to stereotype female roles (when

required)?• Finding and using a mentor?• Adjusting to the culture?• Negotiating with her husband on relative roles?

Defining Culture: An unbounded definition

• A way of life of a group of people

• That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society

• Everything that people have, think, and do as members of society

Narrowing the definition: Sathe’s Levels of Culture

Waterline

Basic assumptions

Expressed values

Manifestculture

Basicassumptions

Expressed values

Manifestculture

Iceberg Onion

How is Culture Learned?• Enculturation

– Non-intentional process that includes all of the learning available as the result of what is in an environment to be learned

• Primary Socialization– more intentional learning process that occurs in

the family and local community • Subcultures

– Develop because a group has an ethnic background, language, or religion that is different from the majority population

• Secondary Socialization– Occurs after primary socialization and usually

equips people with the knowledge, skills, and behavior to enact adult roles successfully

Classifications of culture• Broad classifications: Hall’s High-Context

and Low-Context Cultural Framework

• Detailed classifications:– Tonnies and Loomis’s amplification – Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Variations in Values

Orientations– Hofstede’s definition of culture & Bond’s addition– Schwartz's classification– Trompenaars’ 7 Dimensions of Culture

Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Cultural Framework

High-Context Low-Context

China AustriaEgypt CanadaFrance DenmarkItaly EnglandJapan FinlandLebanon GermanySaudi Arabia NorwaySpain SwitzerlandSyria United States

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Variations in Values Orientations

• Framework to describe how different societies cope with various issues or problems

• Includes 6 Values Orientations

• A culture is defined by one or more variations of a values orientation

Kluckhohn & Strodbeck definition of national culture

Type of national culture

Traditional-high context

Mixed Modern—Low context

•Relation to nature

Subjugation Harmony Mastery

•Time view Past Present Future

•Human nature Evil (theory X) Mixed Good (theory Y)

•Activity Being Containing Doing

•Relationships Hierarchical Group Individualistic

•Spatial Public Mixed Private

Relation to Nature

• SubjugationAccept nature; don’t try to change it

• HarmonyCoexist with nature (feng shui)

• MasteryChange nature through technology when

necessary or desirable

Time Orientation

• PastEmphasizes tradition

• PresentFocuses on short-term

• FutureEmphasizes long-term

Basic Human Nature

• GoodPeople trust each other

• Mixed-NeutralGenerally trusting but need to be cautious

and protect self

• EvilLack of trust

•

Activity Orientation

• DoingEmphasis on action, achievement, learning

• Containing/ControllingEmphasis on rationality and logic

• BeingEmphasis on enjoying life and working for

the moment

Relationships among People

• IndividualisticPeople define themselves through personal

characteristics and achievement

• Group-orientedPeople relate to and take responsibility for

members of the family, network, or community

• HierarchicalPeople value group relationships but also within

the society emphasize relative ranking of groups

Space Orientation

• PublicSpace belongs to all

• MixedThere is a combination of public and private

space

• PrivatePeople consider it important to have their

own space

Hofstede’s Dimensions of Cultural Values

• Focuses specifically on work-related values

• Developed in 1980 with data over 116,000 employees in 72 countries

• Average scores for each country used to develop national profiles to explain differences in work behaviors

Hofstede’s definition of culture & Bond’s addition

– individualism-collectivism– uncertainty avoidance– power distance– masculinity/femininity– Confucian work dynamism (time orientation)

Hofstede’s definition of culture & Bond’s addition

Type of culture

Traditional-High context

Mixed Modern- Low context

•Relationships Collectivism Combination Individualism

•Uncertainty avoidance

Extensive Combination Limited

•Power distance

High Combination Low

•Activity Femininity Combination Masculinity

•Time orientation

Long term Combination Short term

Individualism/Collectivism

• Collectivistic

People value the overall good of the group

• Individualistic

People have concern for themselves and their immediate families

Power Distance

• The extent to which less powerful members of organizations accept that power is unequally distributed

• Large– Differences among people with different ranks are

acceptable

• Small– Less comfortable with power differences

•

Uncertainty Avoidance

• Indicates preferred amount of structure

• Weak– People prefer unstructured situations

• Strong– People prefer more structure

Masculinity/Femininity

• Extent to which people prefer traditional male or female values

• Feminine– “Tender” values dominant - personal

relationships, care for others, quality of life, service

• Masculine– “Tough” values dominant - success,

money, status, competition

The Chinese Value Survey

• Reaction to the Hofstede study

• Developed in Chinese based on traditional Chinese values

• Translated and administered to students in 23 countries

• 4 dimensions, 3 match Hofstede (PD, I/C, and M/F) plus Confucian Work Dynamism

Long-term/Short-term Orientation

• High Confucian work dynamism/Long-term orientedConcern with future, value thrift and

persistence

• Low Confucian work dynamism/Short-term orientedOriented toward past and present,

respect for tradition but here and now is most important

Schwartz's classification

• Focuses on universal aspects of individual value content and structure

• Based on issues that confront all societies – The nature of boundaries between the

individual and the group.– How to support responsible behavior.– How to regulate the relation of people to

the social and natural world.

Embeddedness Versus Autonomy • Embeddedness

– People view others as inherently part of collectives. Meaning in life comes from social relationships & shared way of life & goals.

• Autonomy– Individuals seen as autonomous, bounded entities

who find meaning in their own uniqueness• Intellectual autonomy - people follow their own

ideas and value curiosity, creativity, and open-mindedness

• Affective autonomy - individuals independently pursue positive experiences that make them feel good

Hierarchy Versus Egalitarianism

• HierarchyThe social system has clearly defined roles

to identify obligations & rules of behavior

• EgalitarianismThink of each other as equals sharing basic

human interests that values equality, justice, honesty & responsbility

Mastery Versus Harmony

• HarmonyEmphasizes understanding and fitting in

with the environment, rather than trying to change it

• Mastery Encourages people to master, change, and

exploit the natural and social environment for personal or group goals

Trompenaars’ Dimensions of Culture

• Dimensions represent how societies develop approaches to managing problems and difficult situations

• Over a 14 year period, data collected from over 46,000 managers representing more than 40 national cultures

Trompenaars’ 7 Dimensions of Culture

• Particularism vs. Universalism

• Collectivism vs. Individualism

• Affective vs. Neutral Relationships

• Diffuse vs. Specific Relationships

• Ascription vs. Achievement

• Relationship to Time

• Relationship to Nature

Universalism Versus Particularism

• Particularist– Circumstances and relationships influence

judgments of what is good or true

• Universal– Judgment of what is good or true applies

to every situation

Individualism Versus Communitarianism

• Communitarian Emphasizes group membership, social

responsibility, harmonious relationships, and cooperation

• IndividualistFocus on self, personal freedom, and

competitiveness

Specificity Versus Diffusion• Level of particularity or wholeness used

by the culture to define different constructs

• Diffuse– Focus on conceptual wholeness and

relationships of all kinds are valued– Small public spaces and larger private spaces

• Specific– Objective, break things down into small parts– Large public spaces and smaller private

spaces

Achieved Status Versus Ascribed Status

• AscriptionBelieve people are born into influence, and

who you are, your potential, and your connections are all important

• AchievementEmphasize attainment of position and

influence through a demonstration of expertise

Inner Direction Versus Outer Direction

• Outer-directedBelieve virtue is outside the person and

located in nature and relationships

• Inner-directedSee virtue as being inside the individual and

believe that conscience and convictions are internal

Sequential Time Versus Synchronous Time

• Synchronic Do several activities simultaneously, the

time for appointments is approximate, and interpersonal relationships are more important than schedules

• SequentialDo one thing at a time, make appointments

and arrive on time, and generally stick to schedules.

The World Values Survey

• Study of sociocultural and political change

• Collected data from more than 65 societies

• Four waves of data collection: 1981, 1990-1991, 1995-1996, and 1999-2001

Traditional Versus Secular-Rational Orientations Toward Authority

• TraditionalValues reflect preindustrial society

and the centrality of the family

• Secular-RationalOpposite preferences to traditional

Survival Versus Self-Expression Values

• SurvivalPut priority on economic and physical

security over self-expression and quality of life

• Self-expressionOpposite preferences to survival

Do the Frameworks Explain Differences?

• Represent average behavior within a culture• Countries classified similarly may still be

very different• Reliability may vary• Range of differences on any dimension

exists within the population of a single country

• Can explain differences in individual people’s behavior within the same country

Convergence or Divergence?

• Closer communication and trade links

• Worldwide markets and products

• Different cultural interpretations

• Need to maintain cultural identity

Implications for Managers

• Understanding culture important even in home country

• Organization’s stakeholders could be from another culture

• Need to look for underlying cultural meanings