CHAPTER 12 Managing Cultural Differences Group 6

What Is Culture in an Organizational Context? Directions -> what is important -> how things get done Shape people’s behavior

What Is Culture in an Organizational Context? Different firms = Different culture Clearly understand its growth strategy to meet corporate objective. Executive to culture creation Communication ValuesBeliefs Expected behavior

What Is Culture in an Organizational Context? Company B Arrogant Poor collaborative skills Inflexible midlevel manager

What Is Culture in an Organizational Context? Failure is not an option Encourage to take risks Company B

What Is Culture in an Organizational Context? How will the company A deal with cultural differences? Ignore the culture -> Characterize the partners firm’s culture -> Evaluate the characteristics -> Manage differences

Three Types of Culture  National Culture – Japan vs. the United States - The culture of a nation  Corporate Culture – IBM vs. Merck - The culture of an organization  Subunit Culture – Marketing vs. R&D - The culture of a department within the organization

Three Types of Culture Alliance # 1Alliance # 2 Type of CultureCollaborative R&D between U.S. firms Product development, manufacturing, and marketing between a U.S. and Japanese firm NationalSameDifferent CorporateDifferent SubunitSameDifferent

The Impact of Personality and Language on Culture TWO FACTORS THAT AFFECT CULTURE  Personality  Language

Personality and Stereotype Traps  Individuals show different behaviors.  Stereotypical behaviors describe people as a group.

Language Traps First Trap Foreign language shapes a person’s behavior. Second Trap Different interpretation of the same word.

Transmitting Information, Listening, and Display Patience Communication errors  Aware of pitfall of using verbal shorthand in describing alliance ideas

Face-to-Face vs. & Videoconferencing o Introduce an increased risk of miscommunication in alliances Normally, interteam communications should be face-to-face during the early day of an alliance

Workable Strategies for Dealing with Culture Knowledge  Cultural training courses Trust and Respect  Cultural intervention program provides many activities that foster personal bonding help bridge cultural gaps.  Culture different cannot stand up under a relentless assault of trust and respect.

Tips on Managing Culture Understand the dominant behaviors in each firm’s culture Develop trust and respect between counterparts Have fun together