Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.1 Part One: Culture and Management CHAPTER 1 DETERMINANTS OF CULTURE Concept 1.1: Facets of culture Concept 2.2: Levels of cultures

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.2 The concept of culture What culture is?/is not? Culture is a code of attitudes, norms and values, the way of thinking... The culture determines: –How we see ourselves –How we see the world Culture is not right or wrong, inherited, about individual behaviour...

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.3 Three layers The concept of culture has three layers: Artifacts and attitudes –Behavioural or explicit level Norms ( rules ) and values –Every culture has its own system Basic assumptions –Difficult to describe or explain

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.4 Figure 1.1 Navigating the seas of international business Source: Adapted from Schneider and Barsoux (2003: 21) How can we explore culture?

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.5 Cultural assumptions in management Edgar Schein defines culture as: ‘a set of basic assumptions – shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (how to survive) and internal integration (how to stay together) - which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next’ (Schein, 2004: 14)

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.6 Comparison value systems of societies Four categories (Ruano-Borbalan, 2002: 339) Traditional society (Arab countries) –religion plays an important role Rational society (Germany) –interests of the individual come first Society where materialism is predominant (ex-communist countries) Post-modern society (Scandinavia) –tolerant and democratic

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.7 European Culture What is important in the forming process of an European culture? Meeting of diversity Complementarity of ideas Interaction and interference within opposite values : - religion/rationality - mythical thought/critical thought - humanism/science (Morin,1987)

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.8 Levels of cultures in a business context Cultures can develop at different levels: Culture and nation National culture Organizational culture Corporate culture Professional culture Culture and management

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.9 Culture and nation Influence of culture on organizations Macro level –laws and economic institutions –the nation must be considered by organizations going about their business. Micro level –the organization is influenced through a number of cultural elements relating to: –employer-employee relationships –behaviour among employees

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.10 National culture Elements that contribute to the creation of a national culture: - Physical environment - History of the nation Institutions that contribute to the establishment of a national culture - Family/Religion/Education - Mass communication media - The multinational company (Tayeb, 2003: 13)

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.11 Organizational culture In organization, culture affects the way: - strategy is determined - goals are established - how the organization operates The personnel of the organization: - influenced by their cultural backgrounds - shared their own values and perceptions (Schein, 1999)

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.12 Corporate culture Corporate culture is a combination of: - Organizational culture - National/regional culture Two meanings on the influence of corporate culture: Key to success if: 1) Clearly defined corporate culture 2) Flexible culture Role of the company culture - internal cultural factors

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.13 Professional culture Three professional cultures in management: Operators - involved in production (goods/services) Engineers - design and monitor the technology Executives - senior managers (Schein, 1996) The question remains: how these professional cultures co-exist?

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.14 Culture and management Cross-cultural management explains the behaviour of people in organizations around the world describes and compares organizational behaviour across countries and cultures seeks to understand and improve the interaction of : –co-workers, managers, executives, clients, suppliers, and alliance partners (Adler, 2002: 11)

Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 1.15 Conclusion Chapter 1 Chapter shows how difficult it is to give a definition of the word ‘culture’. Chapter also shows that the individuals in a group form a culture that can be national, organizational or professional.