1 Chapter 13 International Human Relations

2 Learning Objectives Define the term multinational enterprise and discuss four major reasons why companies become multinational enterprises. Identify the term culture and relate four basic dimensions of international culture. Discuss the value of country clusters in understanding the impact of culture in the international arena.

3 Learning Objectives (contd.) Relate the ways in which culture affects work attitudes, motivation, and how people deal with time. Describe the ways in which cross-cultural training is used to prepare personnel to deal with international cultures.

4 Multinational Enterprise … is a company headquartered in one country but having operations in two or more countries

5 Table 13.1 The Worlds Most Admired Companies (Top Ten) RankCompanyIndustry General Electric Cisco Systems Microsoft Intel Wal-Mart Stores Sony Dell Computer Nokia Home Depot Toyota Motor Electronics, elec. equipment Network comm., Internet tech. Computer hardware, software Retail: general and specialty Electronics, elec. equipment Computer hardware, software Network comm., Internet tech. Retail: general, specialty Motor vehicles

6 Table 13.2 Worlds Largest MNEs for 2002 (Adapted, Top Ten) RankCompanyRevenue ($ in millions) Wal-Mart Exxon Mobil General Motors BP Ford Motor Enron DaimlerChrysler Royal Dutch/Shell Group General Electric Toyota Motor 219, , , , , , , , , ,814.4

7 Culture Culture is the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and to generate social behavior

8 Ethnocentrism … is the belief that ones way of doing things is superior to that of others

9 Table 13.3 Comparison of Cultural Values by Priority AmericansJapaneseArabs Freedom Independence Self-reliance Equality Individualism Competition Efficiency Time Directness Openness Belonging Group harmony Collectivity Age/seniority Group consensus Cooperation Quality Patience Indirectness Go-between Family security Family harmony Parental guidance Age Authority Compromise Devotion Patience Indirectness Hospitality

10 Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Power distance is the degree to which less powerful members of the society accept the fact that power is not distributed equally Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have created institutions for minimizing or avoiding these uncertainties

11 Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions (contd.) Individualism is the tendency of people to look after themselves and their immediate family only Collectivism is the tendency of people to belong to groups that look after each other in exchange for loyalty

12 Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions (contd.) Masculinity is the degree to which the dominant values of a society are success, money, and material things Femininity is the degree to which the dominant values of a society focus on caring for others and on the quality of life

13 Selection Criteria to Fill Overseas Positions 1.The ability to adapt personally to an overseas assignment 2.Technical competence 3.The ability of ones family to adapt 4.Human relations skills 5.Previous overseas experience

14 Cultural Assimilator A cultural assimilator is a programmed learning technique that is designed to expose members of one culture to the values of another culture

15 Key Terms in the Chapter Multinational enterprise Culture Ethnocentrism Power distance Uncertainty avoidance Individualism Collectivism Masculinity Femininity Cultural assimilator