49529779 7419ccross-cultural-management-systems-and-practices-121118124351-phpapp02

Management In Action – Social ,
Economic And Ethical Issues
Module IV
Cross Cultural Management Systems and Processes
03/11/15 Amity Business School,AUUP 1

Cross Cultural Management
Systems and Processes
Lec.Ms.Deepshikha Singh
Amity Business School at Amity University

Cross Cultural Management – An Everyday
Activity
• On 7 July 2005, terrorist attacks on the transport network in
London killed 52 passengers and injured approximately 700
people. The victims of the atrocity accurately, and in this case
poignantly, reflected the multicultural nature of London’s
workforce in the early twenty – first century ( the vast majority
were on their way to or from work when the bomb exploded).
Those who died comprised citizens of 13 different countries
including the UK.
• The existence of culturally diverse workforces is furthermore by
no means limited to the UK or, more specifically, to its capital city.
For many of us it is now an everyday event to deal with
employees from different cultural backgrounds in a single work
place.

• And it is no longer necessary to leave one’s country
of origin – or to be employed in an explicitly
international role – to be touched by cross – cultural
(intercultural concerns)
• Many organizations are in any case concerned to
secure and foster diversity within the workforce in
order to enhance employee performance and secure
competitive advantage.

“The World is full of Stateless Corporations”
Nestle ( Switzerland)
• This company personifies the stateless
corporations with 98 percent of sales and 96
percent of employees outside the home
country.
• Nestlé's previous Global CEO was German
born H.Maucher, and half of the company’s
General Managers are non - Swiss.

Coca – Cola
• Is a multinational corporation that obtains
over 80 percent of its operating income from
outside the United States. It operates in 185
markets, has more than 6,50,000 employees,
and serves more than 5 billion customers.
• One of the company’s core values is to “think
globally, but act locally.”

 Other companies –
Example, Colgate – Palmolive Company sells Colgate
toothpaste in more than 50 countries
Mc Donald’s sells its burgers in 73 countries.
Gillette, Johnson & Johnson earn well over 50 percent of
their profit overseas.
Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) has operations throughout the
world.
Unilever is a British – Dutch Conglomerate and have the
employee strength of 1,63,000. It operates in 156
countries and has 400 brands of which 25 brands account
for 70 percent of sales.

INSIGHT
 Types of Organizational Culture
Strength of Organizational Culture
Function of Organizational Culture
Importance of Culture to the Organization
Cultural models
Cross – cultural perspectives
Geert Hofstede
Cross – Cultural Issues

Education/
Human Capital
• Primary/ secondary
• Vocational
• Professional
• Literacy
Social Structure
• Kinship/family
• Mobility
• Nationalism
• Urbanization
• Social stratification
• Paternalism/
materialism
Communication
• Language(s)
• Dialects
• Nonverbal
• Media
• Technology
Religious Beliefs
• Denominations
• Totems/taboos
• Rituals
• Holy days
Values/Ideologies
• Work ethic
• Time orientation
• Individualism/
collectivism
• Risk propensity
• Achievement
Cultural
Environment of
International
Business

American Japanese Arab
Management Styles Leadership,
Friendliness
Persuasion;
Functional Group
Activities
Coaching
Friendliness,
Parenthood;
Personal
Attention
Control Independence,
Decision
making;
Space, Time,
Money
Group harmony Of others/
Parenthood,
Emotional Appeal Opportunity Group
Participation;
Company
participation
Religion;
Nationhood,
Admiration

“ A person is not born with a given culture
:rather, he or she acquires it through the
socialization process that begins at birth: an
American is not born with a liking for hot
dogs, or a German with a natural preference
for beer :these behavioral attributes are
culturally transmitted.”

Case in point..

Unilever
 The company has decentralized its operations
worldwide
 To knit together the decentralized organization,
Unilever worked to build a common organizational
culture among its managers.
 For years company hired people of different
nationalities,but with similar values and interests
 The idea was to hire people who could jell with
Unilever’s culture.
It is said that the company has been so successful
that Unilever executives recognize one another at
airports even when they met only once before.
03/11/15 Amity School Of Business,AUUP 13

 Unilever’s senior management believes that this corps
of like-minded people is the reason why its employees
work so well, despite their national and cultural
differences.
The company also works to periodically bring these
managers together.
Yearly conferences on company strategy, and
executive education sessions at Unilever’s
management training centre outside London, help
establish connections between managers.
 the idea is to build an informal network of equals,
facilitating thereby experience exchanges.

 the company also moves its managers
frequently ,across borders, products and
divisions.
 this policy establishes a base for Unilever’s
relationships early as well as increases know-
how.
 not just the corporate but also nations
promote multiculturalism.
 Ex. Canada ( declared itself a multicultural
society in the year 1988)

CULTURE ( Definition)
• Culture is understood as the customs, beliefs,
norms and values that guide the behavior of
the people in a society and that are passed on
from one generation to the next.

Levels of culture
i. Dominant cultures
ii. Sub – cultures
iii. Organizational cultures
iv. Occupational cultures

Dominant culture is pervasive and extends to the whole
of a country. Ex., certain things are auspicious and some
others are not so and this belief is shared by all Indians.
Subcultures exist within the dominant culture. The
cultural practices of Punjabis are different from those
obtaining in Karnataka.
Interestingly, subcultures subsume into the dominant
culture to present a unified culture, typifying “ unity in
diversity

Organizational Culture - Within the dominant
culture is the organizational culture. Every
organization will have its own distinct culture.
The culture of the Tatas, for example, is
different from that of Infosys while that of
Infosys is not the same as WIPRO.
Occupational cultures – Each profession
carries its own culture and it cuts across
dominant cultures. Ex.; An accountant speaks
the same language whether he or she is an Indian
or American

Culture has normative value.
It prescribes do’s and don'ts which are binding
on the members of a society.
 Culture is a group phenomenon.
 Culture applies to the members of a society.
 Cultural practices are passed on from
generation to generation

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
 Organizational culture is a common phrase that one encounters in the
business world.
 Organizational culture is not tangible. It can be best understood by
studying the behavior, the attitudes, the values and belief system
of the employees.
 It characterizes and colors our perception of the business entity. Any
employee however efficient will be a misfit if he is unable to
adapt himself to the work culture.
 Organizations are laying emphasis on culture since growth and
success depends on the kind of culture prevalent in the company.
 Do employees feel threatened or cherished?
 Is there a desire to work and grow, do they want to evolve as a group
or go their separate ways? These questions can be answered by a
careful examination of the organizational culture.

• Organizational culture has brought about a radical
change in the functioning of different organizations.
• It is basically the study of organizational management
and studies, which includes the description of attitude,
psychology, belief, experience, personal and cultural
values of an organization.
• Like varied personalities, there are different types of
organizational cultures that function, by following a
method of working, that is best suited to their core
business.

TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

The work on defining how each of the four
quadrants (formed by combining these two
dimensions) is related to company
characteristics was conducted by Kim
Cameron and Robert Quinn (1999).

TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
• “Collaborate (Clan)” Culture
• “Create (Adhocracy)” Culture
• “Control (Hierarchy)” Culture
• “Compete (Market)” Culture

“Collaborate (Clan)” Culture
• An open and friendly place to work
• People share a lot of themselves.
• It is like an extended family.
• Leaders are considered to be mentors or even
parental figures.
• Group loyalty and sense of tradition are strong.
• There is an emphasis on the long-term benefits of
human resources development and great
importance is given to group cohesion.
• There is a strong concern for people. The
organization places a premium on teamwork,
participation, and consensus.

Example (Collaborate)
• With the success of many Japanese firms in
the late 1970s and 1980s, American
corporations began to take note of the
different way they approached business.
Unlike American national culture, which is
founded upon individualism, Japanese firms
had a more team-centered approach.

“Create (Adhocracy)” Culture
• A dynamic, entrepreneurial, and creative place to
work.
• Innovation and risk-taking are embraced by employees
and leaders.
• A commitment to experimentation and thinking
differently are what unify the organization.
• They strive to be on the leading edge. The long-term
emphasis is on growth and acquiring new resources.
• Success means gaining unique and new products or
services.
• Being an industry leader is important. Individual
initiative and freedom are encouraged.

Example (Create )
• High-tech companies like Google are
prototypical Create (adhocracy). Google
develops innovative web tools, taking
advantage of entrepreneurial software
engineers and cutting-edge processes and
technologies.
• Their ability to quickly develop new services
and capture market share has made them
leaders in the marketplace and forced less
nimble competition to play catch-up.

“Control (Hierarchy)” Culture
• A highly structured and formal place to work.
• Rules and procedures govern behavior.
• Leaders strive to be good coordinators and organizers
who are efficiency-minded.
• Maintaining a smooth-running organization is most
critical.
• Formal policies are what hold the group together.
• Stability, performance, and efficient operations are
the long-term goals.
• Success means dependable delivery, smooth
scheduling, and low cost.
• Management wants security and predictablity

Example (Control )
• Good examples of companies with hierarchical
cultures are McDonald’s (think
standardization and efficiency)
• Government agencies like the Department of
Motor Vehicles (think rules and bureaucracy).
• As well, having many layers of management—
like Ford Motor Company with their
seventeen levels—is typical of a hierarchical
organizational structure.

“Compete (Market)” Culture
• A results-driven organization focused on job completion.
• People are competitive and goal-oriented.
• Leaders are demanding, hard-driving, and productive.
• The emphasis on winning unifies the organization.
• Reputation and success are common concerns.
• Long-term focus is on competitive action and
achievement of measurable goals and targets.
• Success means market share and penetration.
• Competitive pricing and market leadership are important.

Example ( Compete )
• General Electric, under the leadership of
former CEO Jack Welch, is a good example of
a Compete (market) organization.
• He famously announced that if businesses
divisions were not first or second in their
markets then, simply, they would be sold.
• Their corporate culture was (and still largely
is) highly competitive where performance
results speak louder than process.

49529779 7419ccross-cultural-management-systems-and-practices-121118124351-phpapp02

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