The Relationships between National Culture and Employee Performance Among US Multinational Companies in Bangkok By Dr. Chittapa Ngamkroeckjoti Rosesakorn Krongchuchuen

Issues of US Multinational Companies (US MNCs) in Bangkok According to 2015 Investment Climate Statement by Embassy of the United States in Bangkok Thailand  According to the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2014,  Thailand has been among the eight priority destinations for foreign investment for the period  Second half of 2014,  Demands recorded by the BOI reached record levels:  The number of registered projects increased by 73%, with an increase in value of 117% over 2013 levels. Source: Thailand Board of Investment, FDI by Country 2014

Statement of the Problem & Research Objective Statement of the problem  Is Thai National Culture has any significant relationships with Employee Performance in US MNCs located in Bangkok? Research objective  To determine whether National Culture (Power Distance, Individualism and Collectivism, Masculinity and Femininity, and Uncertainty Avoidance) has a significant relationship with Employee Performance (Work Result, Job Knowledge, and Job Satisfaction).

A set of shared values, assumptions, and beliefs that are learnt through membership in a group, and that influence the attitudes and behaviors of group members. National Culture Panjak & Sebastian, 2011 Employee Performance is the standards for employee behavior at work. The criteria contain much more than how an employee does the work. Employees are rated on how well they do their jobs compared with a set of standards determined by the employer. Employee Performance Moore, 2013 Organisation doing business in more than one country. In other words it is an organisation or enterprise carrying on business in not only the country where it is registered but also in several other countries. Multinational Company Soni,2012 Definition of Terms

Conceptual Framework National Culture Employees Performance National Culture Employees Performance Power Distance Individualism and Collectivism Masculinity and Femininity Uncertainty Avoidance Job Satisfaction Job Knowledge Work Result

Literature Reviews Author (year) and TitleFindings Testa et al. (2003) Title: Three Decades of Research on National Culture in the Work Place: Do the differences still make a difference? Research with large US HQ cruise line with over 10,000 employees from 90 different countries found that employees from High PD experience higher level of Job Satisfaction than employees from Low PD culture. Eskildsen et al. (2010) Title: The Relationships between Job Satisfaction and National Culture Collecting the data from 25,411 employees from 22 countries such as Denmark, India, Norway, Brazil, Finland and many more. The result of the study showed Masculinity and Uncertainty Avoidance plays a role in determining the level of employee Job Satisfaction in the individual country. The more Masculinity each National Culture is, the greater uncertainty and the lower Job Satisfaction of employee tend to be.

Statistical Hypotheses  H 01 : There is no relationship between National Culture (Power Distance, Individualism and Collectivism, Masculinity and Femininity, and Uncertainty Avoidance) and Employee Performance (Work Result, Job Knowledge, and Job Satisfaction) of US MNCs’ located in the Bangkok area, Thailand.  H a1 : There is a relationship between National Culture (Power Distance, Individualism and Collectivism, Masculinity and Femininity, and Uncertainty Avoidance) and Employee Performance (Work Result, Job Knowledge, and Job Satisfaction) of US MNCs’ located in the Bangkok area, Thailand.

Research Methodology Method of Research:Quantitative Methodology Target Population:Thai Employee (white collar) who is currently working in US MNCs located in Bangkok. Sampling Procedure:Non Probability under Convenience Sampling Technique. Sample Size:Unknown Population used (400 Sets). Measurement and Instrument:Likert Scales of 5 Levels. Inferential Analysis:Pearson’s Coefficient of Correlation. Statistical Treatment of Data:Statistic Analysis System (SAS) Program Version 5.1 license number

Reliability Analysis VariablesCronbach’s Coefficient Alpha (50 sets Pilot Test) Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha (400 Sets) National Culture: Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity and Femininity Individualism and Collectivism Employee Performance: Work Result Job Knowledge Job Satisfaction Source: Sekarah, 1992

Descriptive Analysis for Demographic Factors

Mean and Standard Deviation Rank of MeanInterpretation Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Overall Mean Value MeanInterpretation National Culture: Power Distance3.20Neutral Uncertainty Avoidance4.11Agree Masculinity and Femininity 2.31Disagree Individualism and Collectivism 3.72Agree Employee Performance: Work Result3.90Agree Job Knowledge3.86Agree Job Satisfaction3.47Agree

Pearson Correlation Interpretation Pearson Correlation Interpretation Very High Relationship High Relationship Medium Relationship Low Relationship Very Low Relationship Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity and Femininity Individualism and Collectivism Work Result0.262*0.272*-0.163*0.130* Job Knowledge0.112*0.208*-0.161*0.169* Job Satisfaction0.274*0.295* * Source: Hindle (1998)

Conclusions  If US MNCs would like to increase Work Result the company need to first focus on Uncertainty Avoidance follow by Power Distance, Masculinity and Femininity, and Individualism and Collectivism.  If US MNCs would like to increase Job Knowledge the company need to first focus on Uncertainty Avoidance follow by Individualism and Collectivism, Masculinity and Femininity, and Power Distance.  If US MNCs would like to increase Job Satisfaction the company need to first focus on Individualism and Collectivism follow by Uncertainty Avoidance, and Power Distance.

Recommendations  In terms of Uncertainty Avoidance, the MNCs should publish manual written step by step so that employee can follow and achieve MNCs goal. Then it would have tendency of increasing on Employee Performance (mostly on Job satisfaction, follow by Work Result and Job Knowledge).  In terms of Individualism and Collectivism, MNCs should frequently arrange team building activities such as dinner, game, sport day, and field trip to make employees feel they belong to the group. Then it would have tendency of increasing on Employee Performance (mostly on Job Satisfaction, Job Knowledge, and Work Result).  In terms of Power Distance, MNCs should include power and authority level of each manager level in MNC’s manual and organization chart. Then it would have tendency of increasing on Employee Performance (mostly on Job Satisfaction and follow by Work Result and Job Knowledge).  In terms of Masculinity and Femininity, MNCs should promote their employees base on capability of their past experiences, overall performances, knowledge, and skills. Then it would have tendency of increasing on Employee Performance (mostly on Job Knowledge follow by Work Result).

Further Studies  Further research should analyze additional factors such as gender, age, and education in order to find different correlation between National Culture (Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism and Collectivism, Power Distance, and Masculinity and Femininity) and Employee Performance (Work Result, Job Knowledge, and Job Satisfaction).  The additional factors such as organizational commitment and human resource management that correlate with Employee Performance should also included in the research.  Further research should not only measure the relationships between National Culture (Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism and Collectivism, Power Distance, and Masculinity and Femininity) and Employee Performance (Work Result, Job Knowledge, and Job Satisfaction) of Bangkok but also others capital city in 10 ASEAN countries such as Manila, Naypyidaw, Vientiane, Banda Seri Begawan, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hanoi, Phnom Penh.  Further in depth research of relationships between Organization Culture and Employee Performance of US MNCs or other expat should also be included.

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