Organizational Culture

■ Shared values and norms

■ Common beliefs and feelings, regularities in
behavior
– “The way we do things around here”
■ Conveyed through rituals, stories, and social
indoctrination
 Creation of Organizational
Culture
■ Beliefs and values of the organization’s
founder
■ Societal norms of firm’s native/host
country
■ Problems of external adaptation and
survival
■ Problems of internal integration
 Cultural Differences

■ Westerners have fairly precise

measures of time and a stronger
concern for punctuality than most
other people
– Monochronic style individuals focus on
one thing at a time; characteristic of
USA
– Polychronic style individuals focus on
several things at one time;
characteristics of Latin American
 Dimensions of Cultural
Differences
■ Research has shown that countries differ
significantly in
– Interpersonal trust
– Power-distance
– Avoidance of uncertainty
– Individualism v. Collectivism
 Doing Business in Latin
America
■ Few people rush into business
■ Men and women congregate into separate
groups at social functions
■ Latin Americans stand more closely to
each other than North Americans when
in conversation
■ Men may embrace
 Doing Business in Latin
America (Cont.)
■ Guests are expected to arrive late, with
exception of American guests
■ Little concern about deadlines
■ Machismo - expectation that businessmen
will display forcefulness, self-confidence,
leadership with flourish
■ Fatalism
 Doing Business in East Asia
■ Japan, Korea, China
■ Meetings devoted to pleasantries; serving
tea, engaging in chitchat
■ Seniors and elders command respect
■ Consciously use slow down techniques as
bargaining ploys
■ Business cards should be bilingual
 Doing Business in Russia
■ Protocol-conscious
■ Do business only with highest ranking
executives
■ Appear stiff and dull
■ More expressive in private than in public
■ Hard to draw up contracts due to
language barriers
■ Have little advertising experience
 Doing Business in the
Middle East
■ Prefer to act through trusted third parties
■ Personal honor given high premium
■ Fatalism
■ Emotionally expressive
■ Intense eye contact
■ Guests should avoid discussing politics,
religion, host’s family and personal professions
 Assessing Your Cultural Identity
This questionnaire is to help you think about the degree to which you identify
with your culture group. Use the following scale to indicate the degree to
which each statement is true of the way you typically think about yourself.
“Always False” (1), “Mostly False” (2), “Sometimes True and Sometimes
False” (3), “Mostly True” (4), or “Always True” (5).

Cultural Identity
1. Being a member of my culture is important to me.
2. Membership in my culture is central to how I define myself.
3. If I were born again, I would want to be born as a member of my culture.
4. I often think about being a member of my culture
5. Being a member of my culture plays a large role in my life.
 Assessing Your Ethnic Identity
This questionnaire is to help you think about the degree to which you identify
with your ethnic group. Use the following scale to indicate the degree to
which each statement is true of the way you typically think about yourself.
“Always False” (1), “Mostly False” (2), “Sometimes True and Sometimes
False” (3), “Mostly True” (4), or “Always True” (5).
1. If I were born again, I would want to be born as a member of my ethnic
group.
2. Being a member of my ethnic group is important to me.
3. I often think about being a member of my ethnic group.
4. Being a member of my ethnic group plays a large role in my life.
5. Thinking about myself as a member of my ethnic group is central to how I
define myself.

To find your scores, add the numbers you wrote next to each of the statements. Compute
separate scores for cultural and ethnic identity. Scores range from 5 to 25. The higher the score,
the more you identify with the group.
Adapted from Hofman’s (1985) measures of “civic” and ethnic identities
 Assessing Your Ethnocentrism

Use the following scale to indicate the degree to which each statement
is true of the way you typically think about yourself. “Always False”
(1), “Mostly False” (2), “Sometimes True and Sometimes False” (3),
“Mostly True” (4), or “Always True” (5).

1. I apply my values when judging people who are different.

2. I see people who are similar to me as virtuous.
3. I do not cooperate with people who are different.
4. I prefer to associate with people who are like me.
5. I do not trust people who are different from me.

To find your score, add the numbers you wrote next to each of the statements. Scores
range from 5 to 25. The higher the score, the more ethnocentric you are.
SOURCE: The items on this questionnaire are drawn from Brewer’s (1981) description of ethnocentrism.