THE EFFECTS OF CULTURE ON ORGANIZATIONS ONE BEST WAY OF ORGANIZING: DOES IT EXIST?

MENTAL PROGRAMS DEFINE THE MEANINGS THAT PEOPLE ATTACH TO ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES MANAGEMENT PROCESSES MANAGEMENT PRACTICES CONTROL MECHANISMS POLICIES AND PROCEDURE

PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH TO CULTURE PEOPLE PERCEIVE THEIR ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN WAYS THAT ARE –COHERENT –ORDERLY –SENSIBLE

SENSE MAKING IS INFLUENCED BY EE’s CULTURAL BACKGROUND EE’s EXPECTATIONS OF –POWER DISTANCES –LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY –INDIVIDUALISM –MASCULINITY –CONFUCIAN WORK VALUES

TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT THOUGHT MANAGEMENT DECIDES HOW THE ORGANIZATION IS DEFINED MANAGEMENT DECIDES WHAT MEANINGS WILL BE ATTACHED TO THE ORGANIZATIONS THERE IS A UNIVERSAL WAY IN WHICH ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE PERCEIVED

TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT THOUGHT TAYLOR FAYOL WEBER DRUCKER ASSUMPTION: ONE BEST WAY OF ORGANIZING FOR FIRMS, EVERYWHERE

CONTINGENCY THEORIES MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES I.E TECHNOLOGY, INTENSITY OF COMPETITION WILL SHAPE THE ORGANIZATION STRUCTURES (EVERYWHERE THE SAME WAY) NO ATTENTION PAID TO CULTURAL PREFERENCE EVEN WHEN THE THEORY WAS NOT EMPIRICALLY WELL SUPPORTED

TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM ANALYZABILITY OF OPERATIONS NUMBER OF EXCEPTIONS DETERMINE THE REQUIRED FLOW OF INFORMATION. –THE NEED TO PROPERLY PROCESSING THE INFORMATION DETERMINES THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE –I.E. INTEGRATED TECNOLOGIES REQUIRE SAME TYPE OF STRUCTURES TO MANAGE THEM

CULTURE AS A SIDE DISH IS THE CONSIDERATION OF CULTURE A LUXURY? CAN WE CONVENIENTLY PAY LIP SERVICE TO IT AND GO ON PRACTICING THE “UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES”?

CONTEMPORARY THINKING DIFFERENT BELIEFS, PERCEPTIONS AND ATITUDES GIVE MEANING TO ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS THE DIFFERENCES IN VALUES, PERCEPTIONS, EXPECTATIONS AND ATTITUDES ARE HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY EE CULTURE. WE CAN FIND OUT THE WAYS IN WHICH CULTURE CONSISTENTLY INFLUENCES THESE PERCEPTIONS

CULTURE DOES NOT REFUTE NOR DOES IT VALIDATE THESE MGT PRINCIPLES IT PROVIDES THE SOCIAL CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH THEY WILL BE UNDERSTOOD AND INTERPRETED

“WHICH KIND OF COMPANY IS NORMAL” SYSTEM OF INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTS, AUGMENTED BY TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM OF SOCIAL RELATIONS ESTABLISHED BY A GROUP OF PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER WIDE VARIATIONS AMONG NATIONAL SAMPLES IN THE MEANING ATTACHED TO ORGANIZATION

CONCLUSION THERE ARE MORE THAN ONE WAY TO ORGANIZE AND MANAGE SOME ARE MORE APPROPRIATE THAN OTHERS IN DIFFERENT CULTURES UNDERSTANDING THESE WILL ENABLE MANAGERS TO IMPROVE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN DIVERSE CULTURES