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Course INDU1033: Managing Across Cultures Course School/Level BU/PG

Coursework Individual Project Assessment Weight 70.00%
Tutor U Veersma Submission Deadline 08/01/2010

Coursework is receipted on the understanding that it is the student's own work and that it has not,
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regarding Cheating and Plagiarism.

000534729 Tonima Azam

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 Managing Across Culture

Living in a global age where technology has brought the world much closer together, we all know that
we are not the only one who’s being influenced by our cultural. This means that, people of different
cultures find themselves working together and communicating more and more along with facing
difficulties to work as a team.

This new world is very exciting and interesting, but at the same time this can also be frustrating and
troubled with improbability. In this situation the question arises that, how do we relate to someone of
another culture? What do we need say, or not to say in order to start a conversation? Are there cultural
taboos that we needed to be aware of and in what extent?

One of the dimensions of cultural diversity is building connections with people from around the world.
But culture is no longer a national phenomenon, as the world is growing closer so the managers of
MNCs facing varies challenging situations considering cultural issues. Managers of international and
global organizations have to cope with the issues like motivating people, structuring projects, and
developing strategy. It is also very important to understand that, rather creating a cultural melting pot,
we need to design organizations as cultural mosaics in which each elements preserves its unique value.

What works in one location may or may not work somewhere else. In case of managing an international
organization it is very difficult for one person to not only understand the mergers of cross culture
employees but at the same time motivating them to work as a team. “Trying to define the meaning of
management also shows up differences in beliefs and values. Taking this popular definition of
management: ‘management is getting things done through other people’ stated by the peter Drucker
can be deconstructed to revel a number of culture beliefs and values” A challenge to free Enterprise
which a very American approach. But on the other hand, “German managers might also take issue with
the definition but for different reasons. Germans do not distinguish management from doing technical
work. For German managers there is a perceived oneness of technical duties and managerial
responsibilities” Managing Across Culture, Susan C. Schneider and Jean –Louis Barsoux , 2nd edition pg 33
Therefore management is partly about getting things done but it is also means doing it yourself. In this
circumstance it is difficult to understand the very depth of different cultural dimensions. To discuss and
demonstrate the possible solutions to these problems there are few Cultural dimensions formulated as
follows:
Schein theory, Trompenaars theory, Adler, Hall, Kluckoln and Strodtbeck and most commonly used
Hofstede theory of cultural dimension.

The relationship between the various dimensions can be more easily understood if it can be refers to the
definition of culture as “shared solution to problems of external adaptation and internal integration”
Managing Across Culture, Susan C. Schneider and Jean –Louis Barsoux , 2nd edition pg 35. This distinction
provides a useful framework for organizing the relevant cultural assumptions. Managing relationship
among people includes assumptions regarding the importance of relations over task achievement,
relationships over task achievement, relationships with superiors and subordinates, and relationships
with peers. Assumptions regarding time, space, and language are related to both relationships with
nature as well as relationships with people.

In the following discussion, the paper will briefly describe and illustrate two dimensions (Trompenaars
theory and Hofstede theory). The purpose here is to provide an idea of the core assumptions or
foundation of culture in order to be properly equipped to diagnose culture, are to discover coherence
and meaning. Only then can be moved on to understand the impact of culture on management practice.

Hofstedes’ culture dimension theory:

Armed with a large database of cultural statistics, Hofstede analyzed the results and found clear
patterns of similarity and difference amid the responses along these five dimensions.

The five dimensions are:

1. Power/Distance (PD) - This refers to the degree of inequality that exists - and is accepted - among
people with and without power. Application: “According to Hofstede's model, in a high PD country like
Malaysia (104), you would probably send reports only to top management and have closed door
meetings where only a select few, powerful leaders were in attendance”
(http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm).

2. Individualism (IDV) - This refers to the strength of the ties people have to others within the
community. In countries with a high IDV score shows lack of interpersonal connection and less sharing of
responsibility. A society with a low IDV score would have strong group unity. The group itself is larger in
number and people take more responsibility for each other or on behalf of each other. Application:
“Hofstede's analysis suggests that in the Central American countries of Panama and Guatemala where
the IDV scores are very low (11 and 6, respectively), a marketing campaign that emphasized benefits to
the community or that tied into a popular political movement would likely be understood and well-
received” (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm).

3. Masculinity (MAS) - This refers to how many a society sticks with, and values, traditional male and
female roles. Application: “Japan is highly masculine with a score of 95 whereas Sweden has the lowest
measured value (5). According to Hofstede's analysis, if you were to open an office in Japan, you might
have greater success if you appointed a male employee to lead the team and had a strong male
contingent on the team. In Sweden, on the other hand, you would aim for a team that was balanced in
terms of skill rather than gender” (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm).

4. Uncertainty/Avoidance Index (UAI) - This relates to the degree of anxiety society members feel when
in uncertain or unknown situations. Application: “Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions imply that when
discussing a project with people in Belgium, whose country scored a 94 on the UAI scale, you should
investigate the various options and then present a limited number of choices, but have very detailed
information available on your contingency and risk plans”
(http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm)

5. Long Term Orientation (LTO) - This refers to how much society values long-standing - as opposite to
short term - traditions and values. Application: “According to Hofstede's analysis, people in the United
States and United Kingdom have low LTO scores. This suggests that you can pretty much expect
anything in this culture in terms of creative expression and novel ideas. The model implies that people in
the US and UK don't value tradition as much as many others, and are therefore likely to be willing to
help you execute the most innovative plans as long as they get to participate fully”
(http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm)

Criticism: Hofstede's analysis is done by country. While this is valid for many countries, it does not hold
in the countries where there are strong subcultures that are based on ethnicity of origin or geography.
For example: “In Canada, for instance, there is a distinct French Canadian culture that has quite a
different set of norms compared to English-speaking Canada. And in Italy, masculinity scores would
differ between North and South” Marketing Across Cultures, Jean-C Usunier, 2nd edition pg 45.

Strength of Hofstede theory: The theory covers a huge number of data from many numbers of
countries. This is very easy to understand and can be applicable to a great extent.
Trompenaars cultural dimensions:

Professor Trompenaars studied how people in specific countries resolve their dilemmas. After analyzing
problem resolution behaviours, Dr. Trompenaars has identified 7 basic cultural dimensions.
“International trade consultants and lawyers consider these cultural dimensions when designing sales
strategies where buyers and sellers originate from different cultures” (Marketing Across Cultures, Jean-C
Usunier, 2nd edition pg 52).

Below is a brief summary of the seven cultural dimensions:

Achievement vs. Ascription:

In an achievement based culture, people are acknowledged by how well they perform their occupation.
High achievers must continue to prove their worth. In an ascription culture, status is attributed based on
who or what a person is. This is basically acknowledged by age, gender and social connections.

Individualism vs. Communitarianism:

In highly individualist countries like the USA and Canada people work on their own to shape their future
and achievements in life is controlled by the decision making responsibilities of their own. On the other
hand in countries where communitarianism is high people tend to believe that, success can be achieved
in groups and decisions are made by the influence of the community.

Internal vs. External:

In an internalistic culture based country people tend to believe that what happens to them is their own
doing. Many Asian countries have an external culture, where their destiny is shaped by the environment
surrounded them. As they don’t believe that they are in full control of their destinies they relay on the
external circumstances.

Neutral vs. Emotional:

In countries like the USA people tend not to show their emotions in public where as in emotional
oriented nations expressing emotion and sensitivity is a common phenomenon in public.
Specific vs. Diffuse:

Specific oriented culture tends to have a separate public and private life in which they never cross the
border, but in diffuse based culture people do blur they professional and private like a share a great deal
of emotion with each other.

Time Orientation:

In sequential cultures like the United States, people follow time table in a strictly manner and
appointment are kept in very tight formal mode and changes in appointment is not subject to change at
any moment. Where as in a synchronous cultures like France and Mexico, India time is approximately
mode and followed in a lightly manner and appoints are subjected to change at any moment.

Universalism vs. Particularism:

In universalism culture people give emphasis on rules and regulation than relationship and emotion.
People follow an universal rule which applied on everyone. But in particularism culture people place
relationship and emotion above rule and they believe that circumstances are responsible for any action
taken by the citizens.

Some of these value orientations can be regarded as nearly identical to Hofstede's dimensions. Others
offer a somewhat different perspective. This theory cover areas that Hofstede theory overlooked like
time orientation and specific vs. Diffuse, which is application in the sub cultural context and help to
understand the human nature on variation culture in much more depth.

The lessons that MNCs can draw from Trompenaars findings are many. Below are few examples:

“Universalism versus Particularism: Companies from universalistic cultures negotiating with a potential
joint venture partner in China must recognize that relationships matter and take time to develop. They
form the basis of the trust that is necessary in order to do business. In a particularistic culture, contracts
are only a rough guideline or approximation”.
www1.ximb.ac.in/.../Trompenaars%20cultural%20dimensions.ppt

“Communitarianism versus Individualism: Companies from individualistic cultures such as the USA will
face difficulties in introducing methods of individual incentives such as pay-for-performance and
individual assessment in subsidiaries in communitarian cultures such as Germany or Japan”.
www1.ximb.ac.in/.../Trompenaars%20cultural%20dimensions.ppt
“Specific versus Diffuse: Managers from specific cultures such as Denmark are much more prone to
criticize subordinates directly and openly without regarding their criticism as a personal matter. In the
context of a subsidiary in a diffuse culture such as a personal matter. In the context of a subsidiary in a
diffuse culture such as Russia, this may constitute an unacceptable loss of face”.
www1.ximb.ac.in/.../Trompenaars%20cultural%20dimensions.ppt

In order to understand the differentiation and difficulties faced by international managers, we can gave
an example of two separate culture working under one roof or leading different culture group as a
manager. The example as follows:

If the architectural culture of an office environment of Japan and Germany is taken as an example to
explore the working culture of two nations who is known as very hard working, dedication, time
oriented and neutral in work place, the result will be-

Entering an organization the most obvious artefact is architecture and design of the building. In Japan
companies one often finds large, open , crowed offices where everyone including the boss sits together.
“ Business offices in Japan in general are not partitioned. Junior employees work in teams sitting face to
face at rows of desk. Section chief work at the head of the row. The department chief sits slightyly apart,
overseeing a number of section” Santos, J.P., International executive and professor of Management,
Universidade catolica portuguesa, Personal communication.

In Germany, on the other hand is more likely to find private offices with closed doors bearing official
titles. Germans often have difficulty working in open plan offices, since being able to hear others is
experienced as a lack of privacy. These differences led to problems in a joint venture between IBM,
Toshiba and Siemens located at IBM in new work, where the HR department failed to satisfy both
regions cultural norms. The Japanese were unhappy; wanting to knock out some office walls which they
thought inhibited informal communication. The Germans complined about not having exterior window
which would allow them to see outside, and were uncomfortable with the interior windows which
allowed people to look into their offices. Finally the German managers and engineers about to be
transferred to Alabama underwent special training, “to prepare for the move and begin the necessary
acculturation, the team designing the new operation has been segregated from the main headquarters
here in a small warren of building intended to be much more intimate than is common German
business. Work spaces are open, doors left ajar. Privacy, a cherished commodity in densely populated
Germany, is being eradicated” Cole, R.E., Work and leisure in Japan, California Management Review,
spring pp. 25-39, p.33

The architecture and design of an organization hint at the underlying assumptions regarding internal
integration where bringing people together or keeping them apart; and external adaptation where
harmonizing with or dominating nature. They indicate the importance of hierarchy, of collective rather
than individual effort, the preferred type of activity and interaction between people. And in this
situation managers tend to adopt to the most common ground, find and imply the motivating factors to
encourage cross cultural employees to work under one roof.
 References

Cole, R.E., Work and leisure in Japan, California Management Review, spring pp. 25-39, p.33

Santos, J.P., International executive and professor of Management, Universidade catolica portuguesa,
Personal communication.

Managing Across Culture, Susan C. Schneider and Jean –Louis Barsoux , 2nd edition

Marketing Across Cultures, Jean-C Usunier, 2nd edition

www1.ximb.ac.in/.../Trompenaars%20cultural%20dimensions.ppt

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm