3 Developing Global

Managers
Chapter

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 Ch. 3 Learning Objectives
LO3.1 Describe a global mind-set, and explain how to build its
three-component forms of capital.
LO3.2 Identify and describe the nine cultural dimensions from the
GLOBE project.
LO3.3 Describe the differences between individualistic cultures and
collectivist cultures.
LO3.4 Demonstrate your knowledge of the distinctions between
high-context versus low-context cultures and monochronic
versus polychronic cultures.
LO3.5 Explain what the GLOBE project has taught us about
leadership.
LO3.6 Identify an OB trouble spot for each stage of the foreign
assignment cycle. 2
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Developing a Global Mindset

Intellectual
capital

Psychological
Social capital
capital

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A Model of Societal and Organizational
Cultures
Societal culture
involves shared values, norms, identities, and
interpretations that result from common experiences
of members of collectives that are transmitted over
time.

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 Culture
Culture is: a set of
beliefs and values
about how people
should and do act
It involves taken for
granted assumptions
about one should
perceive, think, act, and
feel
We do not
understand that we
do not understand 5
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 Culture
Culture as mental programming (Hofstede, 1991)
Three levels of uniqueness in Human Mental Programming

Specific to individual Inherited

and learned
Personality
Specific to group Learned
or category Culture

Universal Inherited
Human nature

6
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Geert Hofstede (1991):
Culture one culture in narrow sense
Culture: mental programs/software software of the mind
pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Culture two a collective phenomenon

it is at least partly shared with people who live or lived within the
same social environment, which is where it was learned.
Culture: the collective programming of the mind which
distinguishes the members of one group or category of people
from another.

7
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National Culture?
is the sum of total of the beliefs, rituals, rules, customs, artifacts ,
and institutions that characterize the population

A nations culture and its subcultures effect how organizations are

conducted (e.g. marketing, hiring practices, reward programs,
supervisor-employee interactions, use of technology)

Learning to operate in a world influenced by national culture

differences is becoming a mandatory requirement for effective
management.

8
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Culture and Societal Value Systems
Organization are able to operate efficiently only when shared values
exist among the employees

Values:
are the conscious, affective desires or wants of people that guide
their behavior
are societys ideas about what is right or wrong

Values are passed from one generation to the next and are
communicated through education systems, religion, families,
communities, and organizations
A societys values have an impact on organizational values
because of the interactive nature of work, leisure, family, and
community
9
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 Cultural Influences on
Organizational Behavior

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 Merging Societal and Organizational
Culture
Employees bring their societal culture to work with
them in the form of customs and language
Organizational culture affects an individuals values,
ethics, attitudes, assumptions, and expectations

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Ethnocentrism: A Cultural Roadblock
Ethnocentrism is
the belief that ones
native country, culture,
language, and modes
of behavior are
superior to all others
How do you overcome
this?

12
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 Research Insight and Dealing with
Ethnocentrism
A survey of companies in Europe, Japan and the U.S.
found ethnocentric staffing and human resource
policies to be associated with increased personnel
problems.
Those problems included recruiting difficulties, high
turnover rates, and lawsuits over personnel policies.

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Becoming Cross-Culturally Competent
Cultural intelligence
ability to interpret ambiguous
cross-cultural situations correctly
Involves:
Recognizing different values and
practices
Understanding the meaning of
others actions
Perspective on ones own ways

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 Project GLOBE
GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational
Behavior Effectiveness)
attempt to develop an empirically based theory to
describe, understand, and predict the impact of specific
cultural variables on leadership and organizational
processes and the effectiveness of these processes

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Nine Basic Cultural Dimensions from
the GLOBE Project
Power distance
How much unequal distribution of power should there be in
organizations and society?
Uncertainty-avoidance
How much should people rely on social norms and rules to
avoid uncertainty and limit unpredictability?
Institutional collectivism
How much should leaders encourage and reward loyalty to the
social unit, as opposed to the pursuit of individual goals?
In-group collectivism
How much pride and loyalty should individuals have for their
family or organization?

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 Nine Basic Cultural Dimensions
from the GLOBE Project
Gender egalitarianism
How much effort should be put into minimizing gender
discrimination and role inequalities?
Assertiveness
How confrontational and dominant should individuals be
in social relationships?
Future orientation
How much should people delay gratification by planning
and saving for the future?

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 Nine Basic Cultural Dimensions
from the GLOBE Project
Performance orientation
How much should individuals be rewarded for
improvement and excellence?
Humane orientation
How much should society encourage and reward people
for being kind, fair, friendly, and generous?

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GLOBE and the Hofstede Study
Power distance Individualism-
How much inequality collectivism
does someone expect How loosely or closely
in social situations? is the person socially
bonded?

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GLOBE and the Hofstede Study
Masculinity- Uncertainty-
femininity avoidance
Does the person How strongly does the
embrace person desire highly
stereotypically structured situations?
competitive,
performance-oriented
masculine traits or
nurturing, relationship-
oriented feminine
traits?
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Countries Ranking Highest and Lowest
on the GLOBE Cultural Dimensions

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Country Profiles and Practical Implications
Knowing the cultural tendencies of foreign business
partners and competitors can give you a strategic
competitive advantage.

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Individualism versus Collectivism
Individualistic culture - characterized as I and me
cultures, give priority to individual freedom and choice
Collectivist culture oppositely called we and us
cultures, rank shared goals higher than individual
desires and goals
High-context cultures rely heavily on situational cues
for meaning when perceiving and communicating with
others
Low-context cultures written and spoken words carry
the burden
of shared meanings
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Contrasting High-Context & Low-Context Cultures

24
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 Interpersonal Distance Zones
Figure 4-3

Public
US Interpersonal Zones

12.0
(distance in feet)

Social

4.0
Personal
1.5
Intimate
0

Arab Asian + North

Latin American +
American Northern
Cultures European
25
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 Cultural Perceptions of Time
Monochronic time
revealed in the ordered, precise, schedule-driven use of
public time that typifies and even caricatures efficient
Northern Europeans and North Americans
Polychronic time
seen in the multiple and cyclical activities and concurrent
involvement with different people in Mediterranean, Latin
American, and especially Arab cultures.

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 Leadership Attributes Universally
Liked and Disliked
Table 3-2

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Preparing for a Foreign Assignment
Expatriate
refers to anyone living
and/or working outside
their home country

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 Common Types of Expatriate
Performance Failures
1. Early return from assignment
2. Delayed productivity or project start time
3. Disruption of relationship between expatriate and
host nationals
4. Damage to employers image
5. Lost opportunities
6. Problematic repatriation

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 The Foreign Assignment Cycle

Figure 3-2

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Avoiding Unrealistic Expectations
Realistic job previews are a must for future
expatriates.

Cross-cultural training
any activities aimed at enhancing the cultural awareness
of employees to enable them to work more effectively
with people from different cultural backgrounds.

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Key Cross-Cultural Competencies

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 Avoiding Culture Shock
Culture shock
anxiety and doubt caused by an overload of new
expectations and cues
Best defense is comprehensive cross-cultural training,
including intensive language study

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Support during the Foreign Assignment
Host-country sponsors
assigned to individual managers or families
Serve as cultural seeing-eye dogs

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Building a Support Network During a
Foreign Assignment
Informational Emotional support
support helps expatriates feel
includes knowledge to better about
assist expatriates themselves and their
functioning and situation when
problem solving in the adjustment is difficult
host country or overwhelming

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 Building a Support Network During a
Foreign Assignment
Stage 1: First, if not also foremost, expatriates need to be
motivated to seek support.
Stage 2: Next, potential sources of support need to be
identified and approached.
Stage 3: And once identified, the support providers
willingness and ability to support needs to be determined
and support needs to be utilized.
Stage 4: Support needs to be utilized.
Stage 5: Include support provider in the expatriates
networkif the support was helpful.

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Successful International Assignments
1. Be sure that repatriation is an explicit part of your
international assignment plan.
2. Identify, establish, and maintain communications
with sources of ongoing support in your home
country.
3. Confirm that senior management openly and
genuinely values international expertise.

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