Cultural differences Denise Oram and Mike Headon Centre for Applied Internet Research North East Wales Institute, Wrexham,UK

1What is culture? 2Why are cultural differences important? 3Approaches to the problem 4Difficulties involved 5Some solutions

Culture Organisational National

Organisational culture company history and tradition leader influence technology industry competition legislation and company environment procedures and policies

Organisational culture (cont’d) missions visions values and beliefs organisation resources (Goodman, 1997)

National culture “A shared set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, values, and behavior organized around a central theme and found among speakers of one language, in one time period, and in one geographic region” (Triandis, 1995)

A synthesised definition of culture “A dynamic mix of national/geographic, organisational, and professional or disciplinary elements in constant interaction with one another” (Heaton, 1998)

every worker in the industrialised countries uses computer-based information systems for daily work systems involve relationships between individuals relationships between individuals are guided by systems of ethics computer-based information systems present new and unresolved ethical problems cultural differences need to be reconciled ethics is a highly conceptual field

“Words obtain meanings in the context of collective actions by groups of people” (Stamper, 1991)

It’s not what comes out of the mouth – it’s what’s inside the head

requirements elicitation or requirements negotiation?

“Those are my principles – if you don’t like them, I have others” (Marx [Groucho])

Steinmann & Lohr’s “constructivist dialogue ethics” (1996) 1procedural approach to ethics 2derived from the practice of life 3conflict resolution based on consensus, not power structures 4consensus solutions are better and more stable 5harmony is the normative ideal

The culturally negotiated ethical triangle should rightness ought obligation must duty regulations laws constrained ethics negotiated ethics situated ethics shareholder theory stakeholder theory social contract theory

CAIRtools Inc!

Hofstede Power distance Uncertainty avoidance Individualism Masculinity/femininity (later) Long-term/short-term orientation

Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner Universalism/particularism Individualism/communitarianism Affective/neutral Specific/diffuse Achievement/ascription Time orientation (past, present, future) Internal/external