IB Chapter 2 Tr-Nu-2019 0911 PDF

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Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture

Influences on Cultures Formation & Change 

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Cultural Values : Set early in life, but may change through : o Change by Choice : Take place as a reaction to social and economic changes that present new alternatives ( life style change between rural and urban life) o Change by imposition ( Cultural imperialism) : Occur by imposing certain elements from an alien culture (e.g., Forced changed in laws by an occupying country, that becomes part of the culture over time.) Culture diffusion : Bring change through contact among countries Creolization : Change in culture results of mixing cultural elements ( e.g., Mixture of Chinese and local culture) Protection of national culture have not succeeded entirely.

Languages as Both a diffuser & Stabilizer of Culture    

Common language within a country : unifying force Many countries : Have multiple language groups, Language : Limit people’s contact with other countries Same Language : Culture spreads more easily among them & expand commerce.

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Common Language : Foster a sense of shared identity, & less need to translate everything Second language : Choose the ones that are most useful in interacting with other countries especially for commerce. English : International language of business & the world’s most important second language 6 percent of the global population who speak English as first language : o Account for 25 percent of the world’s output

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Problem of monolingual English speakers : o Decreasing percentage of English speaking people o Rapid growth of China & India Languages : Coexist & influence each other o Vocabulary often enters the language through using innovated foreign made products o Crosspollination of languages : An ongoing phenomenon that coincides with the diffusion of cultures.

Region Aa A Cultural Stabilizer  

Centuries of profound religious influence continue to play a major role in shaping cultural values and behavior Strong role of religion : Shaping behavior among people with strong religious conviction Page 1 of 11

Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture 

Religion impacts almost all business functions

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Not legitimated by local people if the firm ignores religion Not all countries with same religion impose the same constraints on business

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Trouble in business activity due to vying political control by rival religions or fractions ( Property damage, broken supply chains, or breaches in customer connections)

Behavioral Practices Affecting Business Issues in Social Stratification    

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Every culture ranks some people more highly than others Social stratification : Dictate a person’s social class or status & financial rewards within that culture Member ranking : Managerial groups may be more highly valued than employees Determinants of social stratification o Individual’s achievements & qualifications o Individual’s affiliation with or membership in certain groups Different affiliations : Differs in business practices among countries E.g., Seniority system in Japan : Favor older employees

Individual Qualifications & their Limitations   

Ascribed (qualified) group membership based on : o Gender, family, age, caste, ethnic, racial, or national origin Acquired (obtained) group membership based on : o Religion, Political affiliation, and professional and other associations Laws & policies : To reinforce or remove group difference E.g., : Policies that exclude female access to education in much of sub-Saharan Africa => Lower females’ earning potential

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Exclusion of people from the workforce : Unfreedom & negative effect on economic development

Country-by-country varying in attitudes toward group membership     

Race and ethnicity, Male and female roles, Rules and expectations based on age, Family ties Social connections (Who you know, not what you know)

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Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture Age-Based Groups :  Paradox in logic of laws : Age limitation for vote, marry, drive, and die for the country (18) vs. Legally buying alcohol (21) o Different employment age : “When jobs are scarce, people should be forced to retire early”

Family-Based Groups : o o

Person’s position in society : Family’s social status (respectability) individual achievement Growth difficulties of family-run companies : Affect long-term economic development of the country

Social connections : Who you know, not what you know

Work Motivation  

Motivation : Influence companies’ efficiency & countries’ development Factors differences in motivation o Materialism and Motivation  The Productivity / Leisure Trade-Off o Expectation of Success and Reward  Success and Reward Across Borders o Performance and Achievement  The Masculinity-Femininity Index  Hierarchies of Needs

The productivity / Leisure Trade-Off   

Value in leisure time : Work shorter hours, take more holidays and vacations, & spend more time and money on leisure activities. French : 30 days mandated vacation, more time per day for eating & sleeping Americans : No vacation o Disdain for people who work very little  People of privilege who appear to contribute too little to society  People who appear to be satisfied to live on social benefits o Retirees : Complain of doing too little to occupy their time meaningfully

Expectation of Success and Reward  

Influenced by perceived likelihood of success and reward People have little enthusiasm for effort : Page 3 of 11

Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture

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o When the likelihood of success seems too easy or too difficult; o When the outcome is too predictable The highest degrees of enthusiasm : High uncertainty, but high rewards of success

Success and Reward across Borders  

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Different countries : different probabilities of success, different rewards for success vs. failure High degree of economic failure & low perceived rewards of success : o Work => Necessary but unsatisfying o E.g., : Harsh climates, in poor areas, & in subcultures subject to discrimination Less motivation : When little difference in rewards between working hard or not (Equal benefits) Greatest work enthusiasm : High uncertainty of success and little or none for failure

The Masculinity-Femininity Index  

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High Masculinity score : Admiration for success, little sympathy for unfortunate, & preference for being better than others. High vs. Low masculinity cultures (Austria vs Sweden) o Money-and-things vs People orientation o Live to work vs Work to Live o Preference for performance & growth vs quality of life & environment High femininity culture : Need for smooth social relationships, amiable & ongoing dealings with suppliers, and employee and social welfare High masculinity culture : Prefers lower costs, faster delivery, & minimized compensation or workers. The Hierarchy of Needs and Need-Hierarchy Comparisons

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Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture

Asian Model of Hierarchy of Needs -

Status : The desire to enhance an individual’s image & position through contributions to society Admiration : The desire to earn respect of others through acts

Relationship Preferences Power distance  

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Interactions between superiors & subordinates When power distance is high: o Distant management style (autocratic or paternalistic). o People prefer little consultation o Lose confidence in the manager who asking suggestions When power distance is low: o Managers tend to interact with and consult their subordinates Need to adjust worker-participation method

Individualism versus collectivism 

High individualism: o Preference to fulfill leisure time o Build friendship, improve skills outside the organization o Prefer to receive direct monetary compensation as opposed to fringe benefits o Engage in personal decision-making o On-the –job challenge Page 5 of 11

Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture 

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High Collectivism: o Depend on the organization through training, satisfactory workplace conditions, & good benefits Prime motivator : Self-actualization opportunity Vs Fulfilling security needs Work culture between Japan & U.S. (E.g. Levi Strauss)

Risk-taking Behavior  

Differ in people’s willingness to accept things the status quo & control over the destiny Nationalities differ in o Ease of handling uncertainties o Degree of trust among people o Future orientation o Attitudes of self-determination & fatalism

Uncertainty avoidance    

High-prefer set rules, lifetime employment, certainty of present position Long-term employment Supervisors need to be precise in their directions Fewer early product adopters

Trust    

Leads to lower cost of doing business Less time spending on possible contingency & monitoring every action for compliance with certain business principles More time spending on producing, selling, & innovating, May differ between in-group & out-group

Future Orientation  

Willingness to delay gratification in order to reap more in the future High future orientation & Trust : Better motive workers through delayed compensation like retirement programs.

Fatalism   

Fatalistic : Believe every event in life is inevitable o Less likely to accept the basic cause & effect relationship between work & reward Self determination : willing to work hard to achieve goals & take responsibility for performance High fatalism : less planning for contingencies ( Buying insurance) o Not work with cause-and -effect logic o Making personal appeals or offering rewards for complying with requests

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Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture

Information and Task Processing 

People perceive, obtain, & process information differently o Perception of Cues o Obtaining information : Low Context versus High Context cultures o Information Processing o Monochronic Vs. Polychronic Cultures o Idealism Vs. Pragmatism

Perception of Cues     

Selective in perceiving cues (features that show the nature of something) People identify what things are through their senses Psychological evolution & genetic : Differ in how different groups perceive Each culture is able to perceive some subjects more precisely than other cultures perceive them Richness of a language ‘s descriptive vocabulary

Obtaining Information Low-Context Cultures:  

Most people consider firsthand information to be the only information relevant to the decision to be made. Spend little time on small talk & saying things directly

High-Context Cultures   

People tend to regard seemingly peripheral information as pertinent and to infer meanings from things said either indirectly or casually Results in misunderstanding between two culture and challenge in conveying work expectation (Japan vs UK) Differ perceptions on each other

Information processing 

Every culture has its own systems for ordering and classifying information o Different processing systems  Challenges in sharing global data

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Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture

Monochronic Vs Polychronic Culture   

Differ in people’s comfort with different degrees of multitasking Monochronic: people prefer to work sequentially Polychronic : People prefer to work simultaneously on all tasks faced.

Idealism Vs Pragmatism   

Idealism : When people determine principles before they try to resolve small issues. o Establish overall principles before resolving small issues. Pragmatism : Focus more on details than on abstract principles Labor negotiation in the U.S. &Argentina

Problems in Communicating across Cultures 

Differences in word meanings, and silent language

Translation of Spoken and Written languages     

Difficult to directly translate one language into another, go through intermediate language, usually English Some words do not have a direct translation Languages and the common meaning of words are constantly evolving. Words may mean different things in different contexts E.g., “Old” Misusing (misplacing) words may change the meaning significantly

La Langu ngu nguage age Str Strateg ateg ategies ies Rules for good communication         

Get references for translators Ensure the translators is familiar with technical vocabulary for the business Make sure the tone, not just the words, fit with intended way Do a back translation Use simple words Avoid slang Repeat words and ask questions when second language us used by either party Expect the extra time & budget Be careful different meaning in different countries

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Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture

Silent languages    

Nonspoken and nonwritten cues Color associations, distance, time and punctuality, body language, & prestige Be tolerant of differing perceptions of time Understand the message sent by body language

Degree of Cultural Differences Cultural Distance   

The average number of countries they are apart on the dimensions Cultural proximity: When moving within a cluster of culturally similar countries, o Expert to encounter fewer cultural differences and to face fewer cultural adjustments Not to overlook important subtleties in culturally similar countries

Hidden Cultural Attitudes  

Reject the influx of foreign practices as seen as threaten self-identities Need cultural adjustment for entering in culturally similar countries

Abil Ability ity to Ad Adjus jus justt : Cu Cultu ltu ltural ral Shoc Shockk   

May feel traumatic practices in a foreign culture Frustration from having to learn and scope with vast array of new cultural cues and expectations Frustrated when entering different culture even with not significant differences

Reverse Culture Shock: 

When people return their home country, having become partial to aspects of life abroad that are not options back home Page 9 of 11

Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture

Com Compan pan panyy & Man Manag ag agem em emen en entt Orie Orient nt ntation ation ationss 

Adaptions : Depend on host-country culture as well as owned attitudes

Polycentrism:   

Belief that business units in different countries should act like local companies Control is decentralized so regional managers can conduct business in local manner. May be overly cautious response to cultural variety o Avoid transferring home country practices or resources that actually may work well abroad o Need to perform differently from competitors abroad to have an competitive advantage  Rely too heavily on imitating proven host country practices -> losing innovative edge

Ethnocentrism    

Conviction that one’s own culture is superior to that of other countries Ignores important local factors & underestimate the complexities in means -> lead to poor performance Not entirely an inappropriate way of looking things May be able to deal with outliers though average person have strong cultural bias against home country practices

Geocentrism   

A hybrid of polycentrism and ethnocentrism Balance informed knowledge of home and host country needs, capabilities, and constraints Encourage innovation & improve the likelihood of success -> Preferred approach for IB

Stra Strateg teg tegies ies for In Institu stitu stituting ting C Chang hang hange e   

To establish CA in foreign markets => Need some degree of change in foreign markets Change agents : People or processes that intentionally cause or accelerate social, cultural, or behavioral change Approaches for successful change o Value Systems o Resistance to too much change o Participation o Reward sharing o Opinion leadership o Biculturals as mediators o Timing o Learning Abroad

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Cha Chapte pte pterr 2 Culture Value Systems 

The more something contradicts value system, the harder it is to accept.

Resistance to too much change  

Resistance to change may be lower if the number of changes is not great Need to phase in its plan for change a little more gradually

Participation   

Discussing proposed change with stakeholders in advance may reduce resistance Thereby, assess the strength of resistance, recognize the need for change, & ease fear about consequences of changes Extremely important in such countries as low education levels, high power distance & uncertainty avoidance

Reward Sharing  

Employees are more apt to support change when they expect personal or group rewards Need to develop the mean of sharing gains with stakeholders both within & outside the company

Opinion leaders  

Local channels of influence => can facilitate speed up the acceptance of change Should be convinced first about benefits of change

Biculturals as Mediators 

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Serve as bridges by bicultural/Multicultural individuals due to o Confidence in the presenters’ technical qualifications, understanding of host country constraints, and flexible attitudes toward reaching solutions. Especially adept as a mediator if their cultures are from both the company’s home and host countries More positively perceived in host countries due to their empathy for divergent viewpoints

Timing  

Change should be timed to occur when resistance is likely to be low Must attend to attitudes and needs of culture

Learning abroad   

International companies should learn things abroad that they can apply at home Little chance to learn with the belief of already knowing everything Need open minded Page 11 of 11...