National cultures differ from organizational cultures in important ways. National cultures are shaped by the values learned from a very young age in one's country and change slowly over generations. Organizational cultures are shaped more by work practices and can change more quickly as organizations evolve. While national cultures vary most in their underlying values, organizational cultures vary more in superficial elements like symbols, heroes, and rituals. Understanding different cultural perspectives is important for cooperation in increasingly diverse societies and workplaces.

1. National Cultures vs.
Organisational Cultures

2. Concept of Culture:
 The word ‘culture’ has three meanings: Literally it means tilling the
soil: cultivation. Metaphorically the word is used for the training or
refining of the mind: civilization.
 Interpretation of what is moral is influenced by cultural norms, and
different cultures can have different beliefs about what is right and
wrong.
 ‘Culture’ in this sense is “the collective programming of the mind that
distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from
others”.
 ‘Culture’ as thus defined is a construct, that is, a product of our
imagination.

3. Culture as collective programming

4. National Culture vs. Organizational Culture:
 National culture is distinctive in the way that it significantly differs not only in terms
of language, religion and other factors but also in terms of the way people of that
nation perceives, behave, act and hold the values in them.
 formation of an organizational culture stems from the ideologies of the founders of the
organizations, the basis of which are the values, beliefs and assumptions of the
founders.
 National cultures differ mostly at the level of values, while organization cultures differ
mostly at the level of the more superficial practices: symbols, heroes, and rituals.
 Organizational (also called corporate) cultures oppose different organizations within
the same countries.

5. Example:

6. Cont……
 National cultures differ mostly at the level of values, while organization
cultures differ mostly at the level of the more superficial practices: symbols,
heroes, and rituals.
 So national culture differences are rooted in values learned before age 10;
children learn them from parents who also acquired them before age ten, so
they are quite stable and take generations to be changed.
 Organizational cultures are rooted in practices learned on the job, and they
can change much faster. Their implications for management are quite
different, as will be shown later.

7. Hofstede model for comparing national
culture: six independent dimensions
•Power Distance (large versus small)
•Uncertainty Avoidance (strong versus weak)
•Individualism versus Collectivism
•Masculinity versus Femininity
•Long-Term versus Short-Term Orientation
•Indulgence versus Restraint

8. Why is cultural diversity a “good thing”?
Cultural diversity is important because our country, workplaces, and schools
increasingly consist of various cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. We can
learn from one another, but first we must have a level of understanding about
each other in order to facilitate collaboration and cooperation. Learning
about other cultures helps us understand different perspectives within the
world in which we live, and helps dispel negative stereotypes and personal
biases about different groups.