The Cultural Dimension JohnHooker CarnegieMellonUniversity - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Cultural Dimension

JohnHooker CarnegieMellonUniversity October2007

Outline

Acrossculturalperspective Relationshipsvs.rules Competitionandrisk Cultureandpoliticalpower

A Cross-Cultural Perspective

What culture is not

Cultureisprimarilyaboutfood,language,dress, customs,holidays.

What culture is

Cultureisabout. Itdeterminesourdeepestassumptions,mostof whichwenotevenaware.

Likeaniceberg,cultureliesmostlybeneaththesurface.

Language Cuisine Dress, hairstyle Overt religion Concept of authority Concepts

• f space

and time Guilt vs. shame Rule-based vs. relationship

• based

Apollonian vs. Dionysian Universalizing rationality? Management

• f information

Stress management Covert religion Fundamental conception of reality Pop culture

Culture vs. personality

Everyculturecontainsthe

• fhumanpersonalities.

Cultureisabouttheframework intowhichthesepersonalitiesfit, about”nationalcharacter.” However,differentpersonalities succeedindifferentcultures. Example:Zimbabwe.

Relationships vs. Rules

Two types of cultures

Thereare5000+culturesintheworld,allvery different. Buttheycanbeclassifiedroughlyas:

Relationshipbased=lifeisorganizedprimarily around.

Africa,Asia,MiddleEast,SouthAmerica

Rulebased=lifeisorganizedprimarilyby.

Australia,Europe,NorthAmerica

Meetings

Personalconnectionsvs.strictlybusiness

Deals

Personaltrustvs. contracts&law Trustthe vs.trustthe.

Trafficbehavior

Negotiationvs. regulation.

TrafficinChina

Dealingwith

Family&friendsvs.technology&engineering.

Mexicanfamily

Conceptofauthority.

Relationshipbased– authorityrestsinthe. Rulebased– authorityderivesfrom.

CustodianoftheTwoHolyMosques KingAbdullahbinAbdulAzizAlSaud

Manyculturaltraitswiththerulebased, relationshipbaseddistinction.

Relationship- based Rule-based

High power distance Low power distance Shame-based Guilt-based High-context Low-context Corruption as bribery Corruption as cheating

Power distance

isthe degreetowhichless powerfulpeople theirsubordinateposition.

Relationship- based Rule-based

High power distance Low power distance Shame-based Guilt-based High-context Low-context Corruption as bribery Corruption as cheating

Relationshipbased countries tendtobepower distance.

Behaviorisregulatedby withauthority. Rulesarelegitimatedand enforcedbyauthorityfigures. Leadersareexpectedtobe wiseandcaring. Example:DengXiaoping

DengXiaoping DefactoleaderofChina 19781992

Rulebasedcountriestendto be powerdistance.

Peoplerespectthe more thansuperiors. Example:Sweden.

KarlXVIGustaf SwedishKingsince1973

Highpowerdistance:

Childrenobeyandrespectparents,teachers. Employeesarereluctanttochallengethebossordiscuss problems.

• Guangzhouexecutives
• Filipinomaids

Highpowerdistance:

Idealbossisbenevolentor fatherlyautocrat(rarelyfemale). Largedifferencesinsalary/skills. Classdifferences,limitedupward mobility.

Dalit(untouchable) India

Lowpowerdistance:

Childrenareallowedtocontradicttheirparents. Twowaydiscussioninclassroom. Disciplinemaybea problem;parentsside withchildratherthan teacher. Nocorporalpunishment.

Lowpowerdistance:

Consultativemanagement. Employeesbringconcernsandgrievancestotheboss. Idealbossinspiresworkers. Laborunions. Smallersalarydifferences; workersmayresent executiveperks.

• Scandinavianvs.U.S.offices.
• Powerdistancehigherin

U.S.business Solidaritylogo,Poland

Shame and guilt

and aremechanismsforenforcing behaviornorms.

Relationship- based Rule-based

High power distance Low power distance Shame-based Guilt-based High-context Low-context Corruption as bribery Corruption as cheating

culturesenforcebehavior normsby.

Lossofface. Humiliation. Punishmentonthespot. Directandconstantsupervision.

• Departmentstorecashier.

Noguilt.

• ShoheiNazawaandYamaichiSecurities

Keypointforshamebasedcultures:

Failuretosupervisetobreakthe“rules.”

• Publictransit.
• Examcheating.
• Governmentregulation.

ismoreimportantin cultures.

Guiltencouragesobedienceto ruleswithoutsupervision. Butitmaybeapoormotivator andcarryhighpsychological cost.

• EingutesGewissenistan

sanftesRuhekissen.

Guiltisreinforcedbyfearof punishment.

Context

In,informationandbehavior normsarespelledout.

Typicalofrulebasedcultures. Therulesarespelledout.

In,theseareimplicitinthe culturalcontext.

Normsaretransmittedbythepeoplearoundyou. Particularlyauthorityfigures.

Relationship- based Rule-based

High power distance Low power distance Shame-based Guilt-based High-context Low-context Corruption as bribery Corruption as cheating

Incultures,

Thereanymany, timetables,maps. arewritten,long, anddetailed.

• Fixedoncesigned.
• Disputesresolvedby

lawsuits.

Peopleexpecttherulestobe inwriting. People .

• Example:restroomsign.

Incultures,

Peoplealreadyknowwhattodo. arevague,verbal,ornonexistent.

• Exceptin“lowuncertaintytolerance”cultures,e.g.Latin

America.

• Agreementsevolvewiththesituation.
• Legalsystemweak.
• Disputesresolvedbynegotiation.

People .

• Butgoodforhightechinformation

transfer.

Corruption

isbehaviorthat underminesaculturalsystem. Socorruptingbehavioris acrosscultures.

Relationship- based Rule-based

High power distance Low power distance Shame-based Guilt-based High-context Low-context Corruption as bribery Corruption as cheating

Inrelationshipbasedcultures,iscommon

Alsokickbacks,facilitatingpayments. Shortcuttorelationshipbuilding. Systemisbut.

• e.g.,Chineseeconomy

Inrulebasedcultures,iscommon

Incometaxevasion,businessscandals,plagiarism. Relativelylittlesupervision. Systemis but.

Competition and risk

Two more classifications

Masculine Feminine Uncertaintytolerant Uncertaintyavoiding

Thesedonotnecessarilycorrelatewithrule based/relationshipbasedorwitheachother.

Masculine/feminine

Thedistinctioncanbeunderstood intwoways…

! " Uncertaintytolerant Uncertaintyavoiding

Masculine/feminine

Attitudetoward.

Masculine:Menareexpectedtobe. Feminine:Men&womenmore.

Attitudetoward.

Masculine: valued. Feminine: valued.

Japan USA,UK,Ireland Philippines India Bantuculturesin Africa Arabcultures EasternSlavic cultures Machismo cultures Scandinavia WesternSlavic cultures Thailand Masculinevalues Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Competitiiveness

Thisisnot machismo

Uncertainty

Attitudestowardunpredictability inlife…

Masculine Feminine # #

Uncertainty

Uncertaintytolerant:

Willingtotakerisks. Entrepreneurialinbusiness. Comfortablewithtravel,relocation.

Uncertainty

Uncertaintyavoiding:

Preferfamiliarsurroundings. Riskaverseinbusiness. Dysfunctionalbureaucracyservesasritual.

Uncertainty

Someuncertaintyavoidingcultures: Greece. LatinAmerica. Slaviccultures. Belgium. France.

Uncertainty

Someuncertaintytolerantcultures:

U.K. USA. HongKong& coastalChinese. Singapore.

Uncertainty

Casestudy:Russia

Feminineculture

• MotherRussia
• Aversiontocompetition
• PostSovietfailureofmarket

system Uncertaintyavoidingculture

• Fearofforeigners,reluctance

toemigrate.

• Createdbufferstates,firstto

thewest,nowtothesouth.

Culture and Political Power

Fundamentalquestionofpolitics:Howdo ?

Rulersseldomrulebyalone. Obedienceisatroot. makesthispossible.

Culture and political power

Powerinaculturehastwomain characteristics:

Rulersderivefromrules,ratherthanviceversa.

• Example:judge.

Rulesarebyguilt,ratherthanpersonal supervision.

Rulesmustthereforebe .

Naturallaw:Stoplightvs.speed limit. Politicaldecisions:democracyisself evident. Economicdecisions:lawsof marketplaceareselfevident. Consistentwithlowpowerdistance.

Whatisselfevidentis.

Everyoneshouldhavedemocracy, capitalistmarketsystem.

Powerina cultureisbasedononeis.

Itisendowed,notearned.

• Importantfamily
• Wealthorgoodfortune
• Divineselection(e.g.,mandateof

heaven)

• Legendaryabilities

Authoritymustbeprotected

• Deference,facesaving.
• Bossisneverwrong.
• Ambiguousrole.

14th DalaiLama

$ maynotlegitimizerulers.

Thisisrulebasedlegitimation. Thismayseemobvioustous,butnottoothers.

• Actually,noseriouspoliticaltheoristintheWesterntradition

everendorsedmajorityrule.

Winnersoftheelection willaccepttheoutcome, losersmayrejectit.

% maybeinterpreteddifferently.

Democracyis government,not government. Thegovernmenttakescareofyou. Itdoesnotoppress. Government the people,notnecessarily and thepeople.

Almostallcultureshavemechanismstomakerulers responsive.

Democracyisonlyone. Councils,righttoahearing.

• e.g.,Mongols,Arabs

Justicetradition

• Muslimcountries

Divineoversight

• Failureisasignofdivinedisapproval

Obligationtobegenerous

• “Bigman”system.

Collectiveredress

• Africancultures.

GenghisKhan

Western cultures

Westernculturesarefundamentally.

Nohasinherentauthority.

Howdowejustifygivingpower toaparticularperson?

Chosenbytherules

• Popularorparliamentaryelections

Powerislimited.

• Basicallyadministersthelaw.
• Limitedterm.

Bundeskanzlerin AngelaMerkel

Butaleadermustmakesome decisions.

Howcananyindividualhavethe righttodothis?

$ solution: aristocracy.

Thearistocratisqualifiedtolead Superiortraining,ability, sophistication.

# solution:regularguy.

Taketurnsatleadership. Authorityevaporatesafterleaving

• ffice.

Oneofthesepersonsis verypopularinEurope (PhD,intellectual, musician) Oneisveryunpopular (toomuchlikea regularguy) Yetshecarriesout hispolicies!

China

IdealConfucianleader

Authoritarian Goodcharacter

Accountability

Mustbeeffective(Heavenisonhisside)

DukeofZhou RolemodelforConfucius DengXiaoping IdealConfucianleader

Workingwitha Confucianleader.

Stronglyrelationship basedculture. Mustbuildguānxì – a longtermpersonaltrust relationshipofmutual

• bligation.

Therelationshipis everything,the agreement/deal/treatyis nothing.

HuJintao President(zhŭxí,Chairman)ofChina

Singapore

LargelyaConfucian model.

LeeKuanYew IdealConfucianleader: Authoritarian,unselfish,highmoralcharacter,effective

Japan

Leaderratifiespolicythat risesfromtheranks.

Buthighpowerdistance.

Grouporienteddecision making.

Traditionallynemawashi.

Accountability

Directresponsibilityfordecision ishardtopindown.

• Protectsleadersfromlossofface.

Butdecisionisvettedbygroup.

HisImperialMajesty EmperorofJapan (Tennō Heika) KnownoutsideJapanas Akihito

WorkingwithaJapanese leader.

Highcontextculture– most extremecaseintheworld. Communicationisindirect, throughbodylanguage, context,whatisnotsaid. Etiquetteandrespectare essential.

ShinzoAbe PrimeMinisterofJapan

India

Theidealleader:

Welleducated,intellectual,wise.

• Culturalemphasisonintellect,

mentaldiscipline.

• Institutionoftheguru.

Fromprominentfamily.

• Highpowerdistance.

Wellconnected.

• Relationshipbasedculture.

Accountability

Cannolongerworkthrough connectionsifineffective.

Dr.ManmohanSingh PrimeMinisterofIndia

WorkingwithanIndian leader.

Approachhim/her throughconnections. Becourteousand hospitable. Presentarationalcase. Doyourhomework.

World’slargest democracy,but…

Therealpowerstructure isthenetworkof importantfamilies.

IndianParliamentbuilding

Arab culture

Using“Arab”inthesenseof SaudiArabiaandtheArabGulf States.

Typicalleaderbelongstoan importantfamily.

Nepotismiseverything. Veryhighpowerdistance.

Accountability

Sheikhhostsmajlis (council, fromArabicwordfortent). MustrulewithKoranicjustice.

ThelateKingFahdofSaudiArabia Beforehisstroke,heheldaregular majlis withBedouintriballeaders.

WorkingwithanArableader.

Totalrespectandcourtesy.

• Watchposture,bodylanguage.

Lowkeyapproach,softspoken. Respectmaleego.

• Arabcultureisoriginof

machismo.

Allowtimetoestablishcomfort level.

• Malebondingisimportant.
• Notunlikegoodol’boyTexas

culture,importantforSaudi Aramco,etc.

Thedealiscentral.

• Ideaofacontractoriginatedin

theMiddleEast. SheikhHamadbinKhalifaAlThani EmirofQatar

Turkey

Theidealleaderhaslegendary abilities.

Takescharge,ruleswith confidence.

• Masculineculture

Listenstosubordinatesand makesjustdecisions. Theonlyreallyrespected authorityinTurkeyisthemilitary.

• Duetoitshistoricalconnection

withAtatürk. MustafaKemalAtatürk FounderofmodernTurkish state

WorkingwithTurkishleaders.

Establishafriendshipbasedontrust.

• Alwaysbescrupulouslyhonest.
• Indicatethatyouenjoyworkingtogether.

Theagreementiscentral.

• Itshouldbefairtoallparties

(Islamicjustice).

Knowhowto.

President AbdullaGül PrimeMinister RecepTayyipErdoğan

Negotiation in the Middle East

Negotiationisculturalglue.

Itishowpeoplerelatetoeachother.

Itisnothagglingor confrontation.

Basedon. Itisinformationexchange.

• Signalsconveyonlyenough

informationtofindcommonground.

Itisculturallyspecific.

Onenegotiatesthe aswell asthedeal.

Noeffectoncredibility.

PresidentMahmoud AhmadinejadofIran

Slavic Cultures

WesternSlaviccultures

Lowpowerdistance Feminineculture.

EasternSlaviccultures, particularlyRussia.

Highpowerdistance.

• Mongolinfluence
• OKtobeharsh

Alsofeminineculture.

• Competitivenessisbad

form.

• Nowintransitional

period. VáclavHavel Playwright PresidentofCzechoslovakia198992 PresidentofCzechRepublic19932003

WorkingwithRussian leaders.

Russiansfearforeigners.

• Whencebufferstates,oncein

EasternEurope,nowinthe south.

Mustestablishcomfortlevel.

• Workthroughmutualfriends,

Russiansyouknow.

• Expectsomedoubledealingat

first.

Avoidhardnegotiation.

• Themainobjectisforthe

Russiansto about thesituation. VladimirVladimirovichPutin PresidentofRussia Inthemoldofatraditional Russianleader

Central/southern Africa

LeadershipinBantulanguage cultures.

The,notthe individual,iscentral.

• Anethicofsharing,

redistribution.

Wealthandsuccessincuran

• bligationtoplayaleadership

role.

• Familybackgroundcanbe

important.

Thegoodleaderis, particularlytothoseinneed.

• Relatedtothe“bigman”

phenomenonofMelanesia.

• Awealthredistribution

mechanism.

PresidentRobertMugabe

• fZimbabwe

Accountability

Individualsmustdefertoleaders(high powerdistance). Butthecommunitycanchallengethe leader.

• Askforredressofgrievances.

Onemodernform:labormovement.

Corruption

Mostofthesecultureslie uncomfortablybetweentraditionaland Westernways. Separationofworkfromcommunity hasbeenhighlycorrupting.

ZCTU=Zimbabwe CongressofTrade Unions

WorkingwithAfricanleaders.

Westernonthesurface,Africaninside.

• Duetocolonialexperience.

Maintaincourtesy. Respectthoseofhigherstation. Acceptresponsibilitiesofleadership.

• Showconcernforthoseinyourcare.

NelsonMandela PresidentofS.Africa199499 FromroyalfamilyofThembu people

Latin America

Highpowerdistancecultures

Lessso:CostaRica,Argentina, Uruguay. Inheritedfromindigenous cultureand/orcolonialpast.

Leaderstypically from prominent,wealthyfamilies.

ÓscarJoséRafaelBergerPerdomo Fromfamilyofwealthysugarand coffeeplantationowners

Polarizedcultures

Plutocracyvs.grassrootsjustice movements.

• RomanCatholicinfluence.
• Christianbasecommunities,

liberationtheology.

Countervailingtrends.

• Politics:towardleftwingelected

leaders.

• Religion:towardconservative

Protestantsects. DemonstrationinOaxaca

Accountability

Oscillationbetweenleftandright. Politicalleadersfeelpressurefrombothsides. Thetrickistobalancethem.

SalvadoreAllendeGossens MarxistPresidentofChile, 197073 AugustoJoséRamónPinochetUgarte RightwingPresidentofChile,197390

Leadersoftencatertoonesideortheother.

HugoRafaelChávezFrías PresidentofVenezuela Humblebackground Mestizo/zambo/mulattoancestry ÁlvaroUribeVélez PresidentofColombia Privilegedbackground Hispanicancestry

Sometimesamiddle courseseemstobe possible.

LuizInacioLuladaSilva PresidentofBrazil Veryhumbleorigins Butmakesoverturestotheright

WorkingwithLatinAmericanLeaders.

Establishapersonalfriendshipfirst.

• Especiallyinmoreconservativecountries,

e.g.Mexico.

• Nodistinctionofprofessionalandpersonal

life.

Remembermachismo,whichinLatin Americahasthreeaspects:

• Thinskinnedmaleego,asinArabculture.
• Mutualsupportandcare.
• Familyman;talkaboutit.

Keepyouremotionalradarinoperation.

• Relatetothewholeperson,notjustthe

rationalpart. abrazo