BUS360 - XC Ch 05-Mgt - Puleo - STUDENT - SLIDE DECK

Managerial Work Environments

Introduction

Agenda

The session covers crucial topics, including:

• Managerial Environments & Expectations: This topic explores the dynamics that shape managerial roles and their environments, including how globalization, technology, and organizational culture influence managerial expectations.

• Patterns of Managerial Thinking: Identifying how different cultural paradigms influence managerial thought processes is vital. This includes examining cognitive biases, decision-making frameworks, and how cultural backgrounds affect perceptions.

• Situational Contingencies: Analyzing how various situational factors, such as economic conditions, labor markets, and legal frameworks, can affect managerial behavior and decision-making.

• Management & Motivation: This section focuses on the interplay between management practices and employee motivation, particularly how managers can create environments that foster intrinsic motivation among diverse employee populations.

• Diversity & Inclusion: Highlighting the significance of fostering diverse and inclusive workplaces, this section explores both the ethical imperatives and the business case for diversity, showcasing strategies for effective implementation.

Global Managers at Work

Case Study: Samsung in Mexico

The operation of Samsung in Mexico illustrates the complexities global managers face.

• Maquiladoras: These are foreign-owned entities situated in Mexico’s free trade zones that benefit from duty-free imports. They play a significant role in the Mexican economy by creating employment opportunities and acting as a model for successful global operations.

• Samsung Plants: With three major plants in Northwest Mexico, Samsung serves both North and South American markets. The integration of diverse workforces presents significant management challenges, including:

  • Cultural Management Conflicts: The presence of South Korean managers supervising Mexican workers has led to various cultural and labor management conflicts. Conflicts arise as

    • Differences in work ethic stemming from strong Confucian values among Koreans often clash with the Mexican approach, which may prioritize personal relations and flexibility over rigid adherence to structure.

Framing Managerial Work Environments

Influence of Cultural Patterns

Understanding various cultural patterns is essential for effective management:

• Managerial Perceptions: These refer to what managers perceive in their work environments, which can greatly influence decisions.

• Managerial Cognitions: This involves how managers interpret or make sense of their perceptions, including the filters of past experiences, biases, and cultural influences.

• Managerial Actions: This describes how managers act based on their perceptions and cognitions, which can lead to different managerial styles and practices.

• Societal Variations: The distinction between individualistic and collectivistic cultures greatly influences management structures. Hierarchical societies typically view managers as distinct from their followers, supporting more formal and rigid management approaches, while egalitarian societies often promote a more approachable and inclusive work environment.

Managerial Environments & Expectations

Key Areas for Managerial Preparation

These include:

• Understanding role expectations and developing managerial thinking skills necessary for navigating diverse situational contingencies.

• Recognizing the importance of work values and intrinsic motivations while embracing diversity and inclusion for overall organizational success.

Managerial Role Expectations

Henry Mintzberg's 10 Roles of a Manager

Mintzberg identified ten distinct roles that managers perform, categorized into three main types:

• Interpersonal Roles: Including figurehead, leader, and liaison roles. These roles emphasize the importance of relationships and social networks within organizations, with interpretations varying across cultures.

• Informational Roles: Encompassing monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson roles, which highlight the need for managers to effectively gather, interpret, and share information with stakeholders.

• Decisional Roles: This includes entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator roles, showcasing the critical decision-making responsibilities that managers must undertake to guide their organizations effectively.

Cross-Cultural Management Study (André Laurent)

This study reveals differing attitudes towards managerial expectations. For example:

• In cultures such as China and Indonesia, there is a prevailing belief that managers should possess definitive answers to all queries, while this perspective is less common in Sweden, reinforcing how cultural norms significantly shape management expectations.

Patterns of Managerial Thinking

Cognitive Differences Across Cultures

Understanding cognitive differences is crucial for effective international management. The key components include:

• Cultural Cognitive Differences: These differences broaden perspectives during international negotiations and influence staffing decisions, organizational culture, and the design and execution of business strategies.

• Cognitive Patterns (Richard Nisbett):

  • Asian cognitive patterns frequently favor holistic interrelations, taking into account the overall context when analyzing situations.

  • Conversely, Western patterns tend to categorize objects and issues as distinct entities, which leads to divergent approaches in problem-solving.

• Cognitive Schemas: These are mental frameworks that influence how managers perceive and interpret their experiences. While essential for decision-making, cognitive schemas may not always align with reality, leading to potential misunderstandings or misinterpretations in diverse settings.

Situational Contingencies

Definition and Components

Situational contingencies arise during business engagements and include factors such as:

• Individual differences among employees, their specific goals and tasks, defined roles and responsibilities, and the various operational locations.

• It is essential for managers to analyze critical dimensions of situations to adapt their behavior accordingly.

Example: Hakan Gümüş

A transition from Türkiye to Iraq provided insight into how preconceived notions can lead to unexpected social interactions, necessitating a high degree of cultural adaptability for effective management.

Management & Motivation

Development of Work Values

Work values are integral to understanding employees' beliefs about what motivates them:

• Recognizing desired states and modes of conduct necessary for achieving these states is critical.

• Cultural dimensions heavily influence motivation methods, characterized as individualistic vs. collectivistic, hierarchical vs. egalitarian, and mastery-based vs. harmony-based approaches.

Compensation and Distributive Justice

This concept highlights the differences between merit-based compensation systems and more collectivistic approaches, such as shared rewards, reflecting broader implications seen in cross-cultural expansions and varying management expectations concerning compensation.

Diversity & Inclusion

Key Definitions

• Diversity: This refers to the inclusion of individuals with varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, enhancing innovation and problem-solving within organizations.

• Inclusion: Creating a sense of belonging and recognition for all employees within the workplace is essential for fostering loyalty and engagement.

Research findings demonstrate that workplace inclusivity enhances engagement, boosts performance, and minimizes conflict among team members, ultimately leading to superior organizational outcomes.

Challenges and Strategies

Racism and discrimination can act as significant barriers to achieving inclusivity, and addressing these obstacles often yields positive organizational outcomes.

Inclusive Skills

Essential skills for fostering inclusivity include self-awareness, understanding, and empathizing with others, as well as effectively bridging differences to cultivate an inclusive workplace culture.

Real-World Example: Martin Paino at KPMG

Paino exemplifies the daily multicultural challenges faced by managers, emphasizing the need for strategic inclusivity to enhance communication, collaboration, and learning across culturally diverse teams. By leveraging diverse teams' strengths, organizations can unlock innovative solutions and drive business success.