Developing

Global
Managers

Chapter Three

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 After reading the material in this chapter,
you should be able to:
LO3.1 Describe a global mind-set, and
explain how to build its three-component
forms of capital.
LO3.2 Identify and describe the nine cultural
dimensions from the GLOBE project.
LO3.3 Describe the differences between
individualistic cultures and collectivist
cultures.
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After reading the material in this chapter,
you should be able to:
LO3.4 Demonstrate your knowledge of the
distinctions between high-context versus
low-context cultures and monochronic
versus polychronic cultures.
LO3.5 Explain what the GLOBE project has
taught us about leadership.
LO3.6 Identify an OB trouble spot for each
stage of the foreign assignment cycle.
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Developing a Global Mindset

Intellectual
capital

Psychological
Social capital
capital

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 A Model of Societal and
Organizational Cultures
Societal culture
 involves shared values, norms, identities, and
interpretations that result from common
experiences of members of collectives that are
transmitted over time.

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 Cultural Influences on
Organizational Behavior

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 Merging Societal and
Organizational Culture
Employees bring their societal culture to
work with them in the form of customs and
language
Organizational culture affects an individual’s
values, ethics, attitudes, assumptions, and
expectations

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 Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism
 belief that one’s native country, culture,
language, and behavior are superior to all
others.

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Research Insight and Dealing with
Ethnocentrism
A survey of companies in Europe, Japan
and the U.S. found ethnocentric staffing and
human resource policies to be associated
with increased personnel problems.
Those problems included recruiting
difficulties, high turnover rates, and lawsuits
over personnel policies.

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 Question?
Patricia has lived in the US her entire life.
She believes that the US is the greatest
country in the world. Her belief is an
example of _____.
A. Societal norm
B. Cultural paradox
C. Ethnocentrism
D. Collectivism

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 Becoming Cross-Culturally
Competent
Cultural intelligence
 ability to interpret ambiguous cross-cultural
situations correctly

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 Project GLOBE
GLOBE (Global Leadership and
Organizational Behavior Effectiveness)
 attempt to develop an empirically based theory
to describe, understand, and predict the impact
of specific cultural variables on leadership and
organizational processes and the effectiveness
of these processes

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Nine Basic Cultural Dimensions from
the GLOBE Project
Power distance
 How much unequal distribution of power should
there be in organizations and society?
Uncertainty-avoidance
 How much should people rely on social norms
and rules to avoid uncertainty and limit
unpredictability?

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Nine Basic Cultural Dimensions from
the GLOBE Project
Institutional collectivism
 How much should leaders encourage and
reward loyalty to the social unit, as opposed to
the pursuit of individual goals?
In-group collectivism
 How much pride and loyalty should individuals
have for their family or organization?

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Nine Basic Cultural Dimensions
from the GLOBE Project
Gender egalitarianism
 How much effort should be put into minimizing
gender discrimination and role inequalities?
Assertiveness
 How confrontational and dominant should
individuals be in social relationships?
Future orientation
 How much should people delay gratification by
planning and saving for the future?

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Nine Basic Cultural Dimensions
from the GLOBE Project
Performance orientation
 How much should individuals be rewarded for
improvement and excellence?
Humane orientation
 How much should society encourage and
reward people for being kind, fair, friendly, and
generous?

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GLOBE and the Hofstede Study
Power distance Individualism-
 How much inequality collectivism
does someone expect  How loosely or
in social situations? closely is the
person socially
bonded?

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GLOBE and the Hofstede Study
Masculinity- Uncertainty-
femininity avoidance
 Does the person  How strongly does
embrace the person desire
stereotypically highly structured
competitive, situations?
performance-
oriented masculine
traits or nurturing,
relationship-oriented
feminine traits?
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Countries Ranking Highest and Lowest
on the GLOBE Cultural Dimensions

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 Country Profiles and Practical
Implications
Knowing the cultural tendencies of foreign
business partners and competitors can give
you a strategic competitive advantage.

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 Question?
Rebecca has always focused on delaying
gratification and saving money for the well-being
and education of her children and her own
retirement. According to dimensions from the
GLOBE project, Rebecca's behavior reflects:
A.Future orientation
B.In-group collectivism
C.Masculinity-femininity
D.Assertiveness

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Individualism versus Collectivism
Individualistic culture - characterized as “I”
and “me” cultures, give priority to individual
freedom and choice
Collectivist culture – oppositely called “we”
and “us” cultures, rank shared goals higher
than individual desires and goals

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 High-context cultures and
Low-context cultures
High-context cultures – rely heavily on
situational cues for meaning when
perceiving and communicating with others
Low-context cultures – written and spoken
words carry the burden
of shared meanings

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 Question?
Michelle is torn between her desire to go on
vacation and her organization's desire to have her
at work. She decides to take her vacation.
Michelle is probably from a(n) _____ culture.
A.Organizational
B.Low-context
C.High-context
D.Individualistic

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 Cultural Perceptions of Time
Monochronic time
 revealed in the ordered, precise, schedule-
driven use of public time that typifies and even
caricatures efficient Northern Europeans and
North Americans
Polychronic time
 seen in the multiple and cyclical activities and
concurrent involvement with different people in
Mediterranean, Latin American, and especially
Arab cultures.
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 Leadership Attributes Universally
Liked and Disliked
Table 3-2

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 Question?
Manuel is manager of a work crew. He
keeps to himself and prefers not to interact
with his employees. This is an example of
which negative leader attribute.
A.Asocial
B.Ruthless
C.Eccentric
D.Loner

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Preparing for a Foreign Assignment
Expatriate
 refers to anyone
living and/or
working outside
their home country

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 Common Types of Expatriate
Performance Failures
1. Early return from assignment
2. Delayed productivity or project start time
3. Disruption of relationship between
expatriate and host nationals
4. Damage to employer’s image
5. Lost opportunities
6. Problematic repatriation

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 The Foreign Assignment Cycle

Figure 3-2

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Avoiding Unrealistic Expectations
Realistic job previews are a must for
future expatriates.

Cross-cultural training
 any activities aimed at enhancing the cultural
awareness of employees to enable them to
work more effectively with people from different
cultural backgrounds.

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Key Cross-Cultural Competencies

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 Avoiding Culture Shock
Culture shock
 anxiety and doubt caused by an overload of
new expectations and cues
Best defense is comprehensive cross-
cultural training, including intensive
language study

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 Question?
Danielle is struggling with the anxiety of
driving on the left-hand side of the road at
her new job assignment in the U.K. This is
called ___________.
A.Mentoring
B.Collective culture
C.Culture shock
D.Societal adjustment

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 Support during the Foreign
Assignment
Host-country sponsors
 assigned to individual managers or families
 Serve as “cultural seeing-eye dogs”

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Building a Support Network During a
Foreign Assignment
Informational Emotional support
support  helps expatriates
 includes knowledge feel better about
to assist expatriates’ themselves and
functioning and their situation when
problem solving in adjustment is
the host country difficult or
overwhelming

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 Building a Support Network During a
Foreign Assignment
Stage 1: First, if not also foremost, expatriates need to
be motivated to seek support.
Stage 2: Next, potential sources of support need to be
identified and approached.
Stage 3: And once identified, the support provider’s
willingness and ability to support needs to be determined
and support needs to be utilized.
Stage 4: Support needs to be utilized.
Stage 5: Include support provider in the expatriate’s
network—if the support was helpful.

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 Successful International
Assignments
1. Be sure that repatriation is an explicit part
of your international assignment plan.
2. Identify, establish, and maintain
communications with sources of ongoing
support in your home country.
3. Confirm that senior management openly
and genuinely values international
expertise.

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 Video Case: Cirque du Soleil
Why is Cirque du Soleil successful throughout the
world? Why does the product transcend culture
differences between countries?
How do the cultural influences influence
organizational behavior at Cirque du Soleil?
Why is it important for Cirque du Soleil to be a
good corporate citizen? How does ethnocentrism
relate to fulfilling this role?

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Video Case: Disney Imagineering
In what ways does Disney Imagineering truly live
up to the title of a global company? Why are their
parks and stories so universally accepted across
cultures?
For its remote locations, does Disney consider
local cultural tastes too much? Should they “stick
to their guns” more?
What benefit does paying attention to local culture
provide?

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