1. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
UNDERSTANDING THE CROSS-CULTURAL FACTOR

2. Overview of Lecture Part I Culture and International Business Part II
Theories & Models
- Kluckholm and Strodbeck (Cultural Orientation)
- Hall (Cultural Context)
- Laurent (Culture, Status and Function)
- Hofstede (and the Workplace)
- Trompenaars (Consultatn’s Contribution)
Part III
Cross-cultural Management Communication
- Appropriate Business Communication Across Cultures
- A Transaction Model

3. PART I Culture and International Business

4. Why study intercultural communication in business contexts?

6. Difficulties in developing globalized products:
Diversity of taste and demand
Hoecklin, L Managing Cultural Differences: Strategies for Competitive Advantage, The Economist Intelligence Unit / Addison Wesley.
Diversity of worldwide industry standards
Difficulty in managing global companies and the lack of agreement on organizational structures and systems
Subsidiaries need to develop their own abilities, talents and local knowledge

7. Think Globally. Act Locally. ~ Derek Torrington, 1994

8. Where does culture fit into the business equation?

9. Business Environment
Decisions taken by a company are usually influenced by:
internal factors such as strategy, goals, scope of operations, internal resources including management systems and organizational culture
and factors in the external business environment

10. External Factors

11. Mead, Richard, International Management: Cross cultural dimensions. 2nd Edition. Blackwell. Pp 15.

12. Cross-cultural Management Skills
understand the nature of culture and how it influences behaviour in the workplace
learn about specific cultures – the other’s and your own
recognize the differences between cultures
Implementation of structures

13. Beamish, P. W. and Calof, J. L., International business education: a corporate view. Journal of International Business Studies, Fall, pp

14. Ignoring Cultural Diversity
This policy is followed when:
the management lack skills and resources to handle the diversity
the task offers no opportunities for deriving positive effects from diversity
the negative effects outweigh the positive effects
refusing to recognize diversity seems likely to minimize the negative effects

15. PART II Theories and Models

16. 1. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck on Cultural Orientations
Kluckhohn, F. R. and Strodtbeck, F. L Variations in Value Orientations, Peterson, New York.

17. Cultural Orientations
What is the nature of people?
What is the person’s relationship to nature?
What is the person’s relationship to other people?
Range of Variations
Good (changeable/unchangeable)
Evil
A mixture of good and evil
Dominant
In harmony
Subjugation
Lineal (hierarchical)
Collateral (collectivist)
Individualist

18. Cultural Orientations
4. What is the modality of human activity?
5. What is the temporal focus of human activity?
6. What is the conception of space?
Range of Variations
Doing
Being
Containing
Future
Present
Past
Private
Public
Mixed

19. Critique of the Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck Model
Weaknesses
the authors were not centrally concerned with management studies and did not describe the implications for management
the orientations and variations are not precisely defined
interpretations are bound to be subjective

20. Strengths cultures can be compared along distinct dimensions
comparative models apply to cross-cultural management
analysis of predominant variations within the national culture does not accurately predict: - the values of sub-cultural minorities; the values practiced in different industries and organizations and the values practiced in exceptional cases.

21. 2. Edward T. Hall and Cultural Contexts
Hall, E. T., Beyong Culture, Anchor Press / Doubleday

22. Characteristics of High-Context cultures
long lasting relationships
communication is economical, fast and efficient
wider range of communicative expressions
people in authority are personally responsible for the actions of subordinates

23. In high-context cultures …
Agreements between persons are spoken rather than written
Insiders and Outsiders are distinguished
Cultural patterns are ingrained and relatively slow to change

24. Characteristics of Low-Context Cultures
shorter relationships
messages are made explicit
authority is diffused
agreements are written rather than spoken

25. In low-context cultures…
Insiders and Outsiders are less closely distinguished
Cultural patterns are relatively fast to change

26. Critique of Hall’s Model
qualitative insights rather than quantitative data
useful in understanding how members of different cultures develop business relationships

27. 3. André Laurent: Culture, Status & Function
Laurent, A., The cultural diversity of Western conceptions of management, Internnational Studies of Management and Organization, 13 (1-2), pp

28. Adler, N. J. , Campbell, N. C. , and Laurent, A. , 1989
Adler, N.J., Campbell, N. C., and Laurent, A., In search of appropriate methodology: from outside the People’s Republic of China, Journal of International Business Studies, Spring, pp 61-74

29. Laurent’s 4 parameters
Perceptions of the organization as political systems
Authority systems
Role formulation systems and
Hierarchical relationship systems

30. 3 points:
how far the manager carries his/her status into the wider context outside the workplace
the manager’s capacity to bypass levels in the hierarchy
the manager as expert in contrast to the manager as facilitator

31. “through their professional activity, managers play an important role in society”
Denmark 32%
UK 40%
Netherlands 45%
Germany 46%
Sweden 54%
USA 52%
Switzerland 65%
Italy 74%
France 76%
~ Laurent, 1983:80

32. “in order to have efficient work relationships, it is often necessary to bypass the hierarchical line”
Sweden 22%
UK 31%
USA 32%
Denmark 37%
Netherlands 39%
Switzerland 41%
Belgium 42%
France 42%
Germany 46%
Italy 75%
China 66%
~ Laurent, 1983:86 and Adler et all, 1989:64

33. “it is important for a manager to have at hand precise answers to most of the questions that his subordinates may raise about their work”
Sweden 10%
Netherlands 17%
USA 18%
Denmark 23%
UK 27%
Switzerland 38%
Belgium 44%
Germany 46%
France 53%
Italy 66%
Indonesia 73%
China 74%
Japan 78%
~ Adler et al, 1989:69

34. 4. Geert Hofstede: Culture & the Workplace
Hofstede, G., Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values, Sage
Hofstede, G., Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values, abridged edn, Sage, Beverly Hills
Hofstede, G., Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, McGraw-Hill

35. Hofstede’s Model
power distance – the distance between individuals at different levels of a hierarchy in an organization.
uncertainty avoidance – more or less need to avoid uncertainties about the future
individualism vs collectivism – the relations between the individual and his / her fellows
masculinity vs femininity – the division of roles and values in society.

36. Critique of Hofstede’s Model
Weaknesses
assumes that National Territory are the limits that culture correspond to
informants also worked within a single industry
technical difficulties

37. Hofstede’s Model Strengths most practical to management problems
comparisons between national cultures possible
highly relevant

38. Sondergaard, M., Research note: Hofstede’s Consequences: a study of reviews, citations and replications, Organizational Studies, 15(3), pp

39. Smith, P. B. , Dugan, S. , and Trrompanaars, F. , 1996
Smith, P. B., Dugan, S., and Trrompanaars, F., National culture and the values of organizational employees: a dimensional analysis across 43 nations, Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology. 27, pp

40. 5. Fons Trompenaars and the Consultant’s Contribution
Trompenaars, F., Riding the Waves of Culture. Nicholas Brealey, London

41. Trompenaars’s parameters:
4. Relationships and rules; Universalism vs Particularism
5. The group and the individual; Collectivism vs Individualism
6. Feelings and relationships; Neutral vs Emotional
7. How far we get involved; Specific vs Diffuse

42. Trompenaars Parameters:
8. How we accord Status
9. How we manage Time
10. How we relate to Nature

43. Critique of Trompenaars’ Parameters
advantage of this approach is that it draws together and applies ideas contributed by a range of scholars
disadvantage like in the value of Trompenaars own research. The pool of informants is vaguely defined and lacks homogeneity

44. Cross-cultural Management Communication
PART III
Cross-cultural Management Communication

45. What is appropriate communication in different cultures?
When communicating, consider the following:
WHO
TO WHOM
WHAT
HOW
WHEN
WHERE

46. The Transactional Model
Participant A
decides what to communicate
encodes a message
transmits the message
decodes B’s message
situational influences
Participant B
decides what to communicate
encodes a message
transmits the message
decodes A’s message
situational influences

47. Situational Influences
Non-verbal signaling
Hall, E. T., The Silent Language. Doubleday.
Stance
Gesture
Voice quality

48. Cheryl M. Cordeiro cordeiro@ling.gu.se
Group Work
Cheryl M. Cordeiro