Challenge 7: Culture & Global Mindset

Culture

The learned, shared, and enduring orientation patterns in a society; demonstrated through values, ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and symbols

Cross-cultural risk

A situation or event where a cultural miscommunication puts some human value at stake. It arises in environments characterized by unfamiliar languages and unique value systems, beliefs, and behaviors

Culture is...

- Not right or wrong

- Not about individual behavior

- Not inherited

Socialization

The process of learning the rules and behavioral patterns appropriate to one's society

Acculturation

The process of adjusting and adapting to a culture other than one's own; commonly experienced by expatriate workers

Culture is an iceberg.

True or False?

True

Culture is linked with particular groups based on various factors, including

Geography, ethnicity, gender, age, language, and occupation

Cross-Cultural Encounters are Common at Home as well.

True or False?

True

Cultural Metaphors

to a distinctive tradition or institution strongly associated with a society; a guide to deciphering attitudes, values, and behaviors

(ex. American football represents systematic planning, strategy, leadership, and struggling against rivals)

Stereotypes

are generalizations that may or may not be factual, often overlooking real, deeper differences

Idiom

An expression whose symbolic meaning differs from its literal meaning; You can't understand it simply by knowing what the individual words mean

(ex. The tall poppy gets cut down)

Low-context cultures

- rely on explicit explanations, with emphasis on spoken words

- such cultures emphasize clear, efficient, logical delivery of verbal messages. Communication is direct

- agreements are concluded with specific, legal contracts

High-context cultures

- emphasize nonverbal or indirect language

- Communication aims to promote smooth, harmonious relationships

- Such cultures prefer a polite, "face-saving" style that emphasizes a mutual sense of care and respect for others.

- Care is taken not to embarrass or offend others

Hofstede's Typology of National Culture

1. Individualism vs collectivism

2. Power distance

3. Uncertainty Avoidance

4. Masculinity vs femininity

5. Long-term vs short term orientation

6. Indulgence vs restraint

Individualism versus collectivism

whether a person primarily functions as an individual or within a group

In individualistic societies

each person emphasizes his or her own self-interest; competition for resources is the norm; individuals who compete best are rewarded

In collectivist societies

ties among individuals are important; business is conducted in a group context; life is a fundamentally cooperative experience; conformity and compromise help maintain harmony

Power distance

describes how a society deals with the inequalities in power that exist among people

High power distance societies

exhibit big gaps between the weak and powerful; in firms, top management tends to be autocratic, giving little autonomy to lower-level employees

Low-power distance societies

have small gaps between the weak and powerful. Firms tend toward flat organizational structures, with relatively equal relations between managers and workers

Uncertainty avoidance

refers to the extent to which people can tolerate risk and uncertainty in their lives

High uncertainty avoidance societies

create institutions to minimize risk and ensure security; firms emphasize stable careers and regulate worker actions; decisions are made slowly

Low uncertainty avoidance societies

managers are relatively entrepreneurial and comfortable with risk; firms make decisions quickly; people are comfortable changing jobs

Masculinity versus femininity

refers to a society's orientation based on traditional male and female value

Masculine cultures

value competitiveness, ambition, assertiveness, and the accumulation of wealth; both men and women are assertive, focused on career and earning money

Feminine cultures

emphasize nurturing roles, interdependence among people, and caring for less fortunate people - for both men and women

Long-term vs. short-term orientation

describes the degree to which people and organizations defer gratification to achieve long-term success

Long-term orientation

emphasizes the long view in planning and living, focusing on years and decades

Short-term orientation

A worldview that values personal stability or happiness and living for the present

Indulgence vs restraint

is still relatively new and describes the potential achievement of happiness through the perception of self-control for oneself and one's life in contrast to an externally determined way of living one's life

Indulgence

Values

represent a person's judgments about what is good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, and normal or abnormal

Attitudes and preferences

are developed based on values, and are similar to opinions, except that attitudes are often unconsciously held and may not have a rational basis

Guanxi

a Chinese term meaning "connections" or "relationships" and describes personal ties between individuals based on such things as common birthplace or mutual acquaintances; important factor in China's political and economic life.

Monochronic

A rigid orientation to time in which the individual is focused on schedules, punctuality, time as a resource, time is linear, "time is money"

Polychronic

A flexible, non-linear orientation to time in which the individual takes a long-term perspective; time is elastic, long delays are tolerated before taking action. Punctuality is relatively unimportant. Relationships are valued.

Managerial Orientations

1. Ethnocentric

2. Polycentric

3. Geocentric

Ethnocentric orientation

Using our own culture as the standard for judging other cultures

Polycentric orientation

A mindset in which the manager develops a greater affinity for the country in which he or she works than for the home country

Geocentric orientation

A global mindset in which the manager is able to understand a business or market without regard to national boundaries

Managers should strive for which type of managerial orientation?

Geocentric Orientation

Managerial Guidelines for Cross-Cultural Success

-Acquire factual and interpretive knowledge about the other culture; try to speak their language

-Avoid cultural bias

-Develop cross-cultural skills such as perceptiveness, interpersonal skills, and adaptability.

- Self-reference criterion

- Critical incident analysis

The Global Mindset of Successful Leaders: Personal Work Style

- High "cultural quotient"(CQ)

- Open minded and flexible

- Effective cross-cultural communicator and collaborator

- Team player in a global matrix

- Supports global objective sand balances global with local goals and practices

The Global Mindset of Successful Leaders: General Perspective

- Broad system perspective

- Personal autonomy and emotional resilience

- Change is welcomed and facilitated

- Enables boundary-less organization

- Operates easily in cross-cultural and cross-functional environment

- Global learning is sought and used for career development

Culture can be described as

an iceberg

Which of the following is not one of the 4 risks of international business?

Commercial risk

Environmental risk

Country risk

Finanical risk

Environmental Risk

According to the article "The Attributes of an Effective Global Leader", Navigating global complexities can not be nearly impossible for rising leaders without the support and guidance of a sponsor, a senior-level advocate who will support their protégé's authority and empower them to make decisions.

True

False

False

How many dimensions does the globe project model of societal culture consist of?

Six

According to the article "Why is culture so important? "Geert Hostede is a Dutch social psychologist who did a pioneering study of cultures across many nations.

True

False

True

Individualism versus collectivism refers to whether a person primarily functions as an individual or within a group

True

False

True

Socialization is the process of learning the rules and behavioral patterns appropriate to one's given society, i.e. cultural learning

True

False

True

"A mindset in which the manager develops a greater affinity for the country in which he or she works than for the home country" refers to

Cultural orientation

Ethnocentric orientation

Polycentric orientation

Geocentric orientation

Polycentric orientation

Low-context cultures rely on

A. explicit explanations, with emphasis on spoken words. Such cultures emphasize clear, efficient, logical delivery of verbal messages. Communication is direct. Agreements are concluded with specific, legal contracts

B. nonverbal or indirect language. Communication aims to promote smooth, harmonious relationships.

Such cultures prefer a polite,

"face-saving" style that emphasizes a mutual sense of care and respect

for others. Care is taken not to embarrass or offend others

A. explicit explanations, with emphasis on spoken words. Such cultures emphasize clear, efficient, logical delivery of verbal messages. Communication is direct. Agreements are concluded with specific, legal contracts

Culture refers to

Learned, shared, and enduring orientations of a society that are expressed in the values, ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and other meaningful symbols and artifacts