This document discusses the link between culture and management. It explores how culture affects business management and ways to develop cross-cultural effectiveness. Culture is defined as learned behaviors and values passed down through generations. A culture can be seen as having three layers - observable behaviors, underlying norms and values, and core assumptions. Culture exists at various levels, including national, organizational, corporate, and professional. Managing organizations requires understanding how cultural elements influence employee relationships and readiness to accept changes. A corporate culture can develop through a company's shared history and be influenced by national culture and partnerships with foreign companies.

1. Part 1: culture and
management
Objectives
1. Understanding the link between culture
and management
2. Determining the effect of culture on the
management of business
3. Exploring ways in which cross-cultural
effectiveness can be developed.
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2. Determinants of cultures
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Learning outcomes:
• the concept of culture and the role of
norms, and values in determining culture.
•The relationship
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between culture,
organization, and
management
•The concept of culture
at various levels;
both national and
organizational
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3. What does culture really
mean?
Culture is learned rather than innate. It is passed down
from generation to generation and is the basis of
socialization process in childhood when the norms of
behavior and the values on which these norms are
based are learned (Browaeys & Price, 2011).
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4. What does culture really
mean?
Norms and values:
Each culture can be seen as having 3 layers:
1. Outer layer which is the “behavioral” or “explicit” level. It’s what you
notice immediately when you go abroad for the first time, such as
language, food, architecture, houses, buildings as well as
communication style.
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5. example
Culture Shock - Chinese Americans in China
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Llkj58ujY
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3BEO3Ggxg
TALIA VS EUROPA
1.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKC4XGGlnRI

6. What does culture really
mean?
Norms and values:
Each culture can be seen as having 3 layers:
2. The second layer contains the norms and values. Every culture has
its own system of norms and values. Together, these form the
national characteristics of a culture, and act as its framework of
reference.
Norms are the rules of society, determining what is good or bad with
regard to behavior (can be written and unwritten rules of society)
Values are what is considered important or unimportant, right or
wrong. A value is something experienced inwardly and which is not
up for discussion.
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7. example
Movies about cultural misunderstandings made by a
group of 7 german students.
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYbynThuONs
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glywa5MxbE4
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT655h4DS2U

8. What does culture really
mean?
Norms and values:
Each culture can be seen as having 3 layers:
3. Innermost layer. This layer lies at the core of culture’ contains
its assumptions and beliefs. These are difficult to describe or
explain.
When you are asked to justify why you do this or say that, the
answer is often: “I don’t know”
Example, why do people eat with knife and fork? Or with
chopsticks? Well, that’s the way people eat….
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9. What does culture really
mean?
Sociologist, Ruano-Borbalan (2002) page 339 concluded that there are 4
categories of the value systems:
1. Traditional society—religion plays an important role…large family is
2.
3.
4.
encouraged, individualism rejected, such as many Arab countries
Rational society--the interest of individual comes first, birth control is
encouraged and authority of the state is recognized, such as Germany
A society in which survival is the primary concern—people are not
happy, equality between the sexes has little chance, materialism is
predominant, such as ex-communist countries.
Post-modern society--tolerant and democratic, such as those in
Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
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10. What does culture really
mean?
Politics and norms and values:
In many countries, politic as a say in education, dress, manners and many other
aspects of daily life.
For example, Iran show the degree of political interference in people’s lives there.
Students from Iranian universities heavily criticized their highest political leaders
and the government’s vice squad for persistently prescribing how Iranians should
dress, how they should do their hair and how they should enjoy themselves.
For example, when the affair came to light between a US president and an intern
working in the white house. There was a call for him to be impeached because he
had lied about his relationship with the intern during a formal investigation. The
impeachment process stumbled in the Senate and the president was allowed to
complete his term of office.
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11. What does culture really
mean?
Cultural assumptions in management:
After social norms and values comes the third layer of culture: assumption.
This layer also referred to by Schein (2004) when identifying organizational
culture. He defined culture as:
“ a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external
adaptation (how to survival) and internal integration (how to stay together)-which have
evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next” (page 14).
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12. Levels of cultures
In the business context, culture can develop at different levels—within a
department or at the various ranks of a hierarchy. A company can
develop its own culture, provided that it has was Schein calls “sufficient
shared history” (1999). This applies to regions of a country, or regions
across countries or grouping of nations when they share a common
experiences such as language, religion, ethic origins or even shared
historical experience in their development.
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13. Levels of cultures
Culture and Nation:
Tayeb (2003) makes clear that they are people with a distinctive cultural identity.
If culture is defined as a set of historically evolved, learned and shared value,
attitudes and meanings, then this has an influence on organizations at both
macro and micro level.
At macro level, the nation, in terms of its laws and economic institutions, must be
taken into account by organization going about their business. They have to
consider the measures taken by the state to protect its interests and those of
inhabitants.
CONT.
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14. Levels of cultures
At the micro level, the organization is influenced by cultural elements
relating to employer-employee relationships and to behavior among
employees. Those wishing to introduce any changes with a view to
improving management effectiveness or increasing productivity must
take account of these elements when implementing such changes.
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15. Levels of cultures
National culture:
Tayeb (2003) gives a list of elements and considers the effect at both
macro and micro level. She starts with two elements that contribute to
the building of a nation and the creation of national cultures:
1. The physical environment
2. The history the nation has undergone
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16. Levels of cultures
Tayeb (2003) refers to “institutions” that contribute to the
establishment of a national culture:
1. Family:
2. Religion
3. Education
4. Mass communication media
5. The multinational company
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17. Levels of cultures
Organizational culture:
Schein (1990:111) develops his definition of culture when defining
organization culture:
1. A pattern of basic assumptions
2. Invented, discovered, or developed by a given group
3. As it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and
internal integration
4. That has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore
5. Is to be taught to new members as the
6. Correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to chosen
problems.
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18. Levels of cultures
Corporate culture:
Meschi and Roger (1994) point out, if an organization develops into a
multinational conglomerate, the culture at headquarters may influence
that of subsidiaries abroad. In the same way, a firm involved in a joint
venture with a company from another country may well find that the
presence of the foreign partners influences the underlying culture of the
firm.
What evolves over time in terms of corporate culture can have as its
basis the original organizational culture, or the national/regional cultureor a combination of the two.
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19. Levels of cultures
The extent of the influence of corporate culture is disputed
among experts in the field. Some regard a clearly defined
corporate culture as a key to (multi)national company’s
success. Other consider a flexible culture to be the key to
success because it can adapt to.
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20. Levels of cultures
Professional culture:
Professional culture is essentially to do with the set of values shared
by people working together professionally, schein (1996:237) talks of 3
professional cultures in management.
First, there are the operators who are directly involved in production of
goods or the provision of services.
Second, there are the engineers, the people who design and monitor
the technology behind the production or service.
Third, there are the executive, the senior managers who share tacit
assumptions regarding the daily realities of their status and role.
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21. Conclusion
This chapter has shown how difficult it is to give a
definition of the word “culture” which can be considered at
various levels. Also, the individuals in a group form a culture
that can be national, organizational or professional.
This implies that across cultural management has to
take into account all of these contexts, not only within
organizations, but also in relations with companies of different
countries.
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22. Homework
1. Managing an organization also involves managing HR. these
resources are not static: employees can move to another position, or
leave an organization, or be replaced. Ideally, any newcomers will
adapt to the culture of the company or at least respect it.
Give your comments on the statement above. Then answer the
question: can a corporate culture be managed? If so, explain
what needs to be done for it to be managed. If you believe it
cannot be managed, explain why?
Due: 6/11/2013 on my table before 12:00 pm
Please write your name, ID, and section
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23. vdo
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