3-1. badm 633 - wk 3 international business culture terry ryan

BADM 633 - Wk 3

International Business Culture

Terry Ryan

3-3

British Isles Wrap-up

Implications for Managers in UK and Ireland

“…two countries, separated by a common language.” George Bernard Shaw Language – minor challenges Laws US legal procedures mostly based on British precedence Regulations – many identical, BUT applied differently Openness to New Business – very high Inward Direct Investment – welcomed

3-4

Cultural Anthropology & International Business

Illustrations from Ferraro: Friedman – communist bloc & free worldLowering tariff barriers and explosion of ITIllustrations – 12.5 % or one in eight US residents are foreign-bornForeign-owned businesses employ >5MMOutsourcing of jobsForeign travel Outsourcing of religious rituals ( ! ! ! )

3-5


Friedman – “Lexus and the Olive Tree”

Berlin Wall Weight replaced by speed Cold War “us vs. them” replaced by all peoples of the world as competitors

Historical fiction of industrial complexes replacing nation-states World-wide production facilities

3-6


Two views of anthology:

Indiana Jones Academic

Anthropology – “the study of humanity” Anthropology differs from other studies of humans in both geography and history:

Archeology Physical Anthropology Anthropological Linguistics Cultural Anthropology

3-7


Cultural Anthropology & Business

Much of the body of literature features American-trained anthropologists studying American companies. US business organisations are composed of people from diverse backgrounds

Organisations must understand their associates just as marketers attempt to identify different target segments

Values, attitudes, lifestyles (VALs) plus opinions, expectations and behaviours

3-8


Cultural Anthropology & Int’l Business

Expertise Travels: yes or no? Inability to adapt to understand and adapt to foreign ways of thinking and acting

Marketing Miscues “rendezvous lounges” in Brazil Perdue – “It takes a virile man to make a chicken affectionate” ( ! ) “Got milk?”

Japan team example Bahrain example

3-9


Dominance of US Multi-Nationals

Changed and continuing to change Trade deficits:

o Unfair trade practiceso “Quintessential consumers”

Expatriate Attrition Saudi Arabia – 68% Japan – 37 % London – 18 %

Costs of failure

3-10


International Competency

Knowledge of others Knowledge of self Skills to interpret and relate Skills to discover and interact Valuing beliefs an behaviours of others Seeing oneself relative to others Linguistic competency

Winthrop recognised need for international awareness both in University- wide GLI and within the CBA.

3-12

Culture & International Business

Cultured vs. Culture

“Finer things in life” Interests and tastes

Culture is everything that people have, think and do as members of their societies.

Have: material goods or objects Think: ideas, values, attitudes and beliefs Do: behave in certain ways (normative or expected patterns of behaviour)

3-13


Culture is learned

Nature or nurture Born into an existing culture Learning abilities are comparableCross-cultural expertise can be learned

Culture influences biological processes Food Pain control Aesthetics – ear piercing, tattoos, plastic surgery

3-14


Cultural Universals

850 distinctly different cultures with mutually unintelligible languages in Africa alone. Number of differences between cultures illustrates flexibility & adaptability of humans

Maslow’s hierarchy Physiological Safety Belonging Esteem Self-actualisation

3-15


Cultural Universals

Economic Systems – producing, distributing and consuming essentials Marriage and Family Systems – mating, marriage, child-rearing and family formation Educational Systems – learn the way of life Social Control Systems – most of the people obey most of the rules most of the time Supernatural Belief Systems – explaining the unexplainable; religions help shape attitudes towards work, savings, consump- tion, efficiency and personal responsibility

3-16


Cultural Change - All cultures experience continual change. Internal Forces – discovery and invention External Forces – cultural diffusion

the innovation is superior consistent with existing patterns easily understood can be tested experimentally benefits are clear to a large number of people

Let’s discuss

3-17


Cultural Borrowing

Two-way street Primitive vs. “Civilised” Societies

Borrowed ideas/items usually not transferred in exact original form. Some cultural traits more easily diffused than others.

Dynamism of Cultures - Things, ideas and behaviour patterns can undergo additions, deletions and modifications.

3-18


Ethnocentrism – Culture-centred

Tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own ( S R C ) American War of Independence

Who were the Rebels?Who were the Patriots?•Continentals were the rebels•Tories were the Patriots who supported the Red-coats• King’s Mountain – Col. Patrick Ferguson

3-19


Ethnocentrism

No society has a monopoly on ethnocentrism “Our" way is right, proper and normal “Their” way is wrong and inferior Pronunciations“Ugly American” (1958) NYC is NOT the center of the universe

3-20


Integrated Culture

Cultures thought of as integrated wholeso coherent and logical systemso some parts are interrelated

Marital Practiceso Polygamy – Legal barriers notwithstanding, it takes lotsa $’s to support multiple wives/progenyo Polygyny supports social status based on size of householdo Polyandry-historical examples

“Ped-rage” NYC Iceland - genealogical books

3-21


Precautions

1. Learned nature of culture2. Cultural influences on biological

processes3. Cultural universals4. Ubiquity of cultural change5. Ethnocentrism6. Integrated nature of culture

Generalizations As with stereotypes, generalisations are helpful, but are ONLY a starting point Ideal vs. actual behaviour

3-22


Generalizations – cont’d Rigidity in thinking can be disastrous Escalade example Japan example in textbook:

o restaurant foodo“Good” vs. real reasons

IQ Assessments – great debate: culturally- biased testing

3-23


Corporations Have Own Cultures

Shared values, behaviours and communications styles Symbols, legends, heroes, non-verbal cues Corporate Culture

o Identify common beliefso Gain consensuso Document essential featureso Make culture visible to all on a continuing basiso Provide explicit training corporate culture

3-24


Corporations Have Own Cultures

Shared values, behaviours and communications styles Symbols, legends, heroes, non-verbal cues Corporate Culture

o Identify common beliefso Gain consensuso Document essential featureso Make culture visible to all on a continuing basiso Provide explicit training corporate culture

3-25


Cultural Differences in Business

Challenges – where do we hear about this??

Examples?

Opportunities – how can we capitalise on differences btwn. corporate cultures??

Examples?

3-27

2-1 Sam Lucas, a construction supervisor for an international engineering firm, hadbeen chosen to supervise construction on a new hotel project, in Jidda, Saudi Arabia,primarily because of his outstanding work record. On this project, Sam supervised thework of about a dozen Americans and nearly one hundred Saudi laborers. It was notlong before Sam realized that the Saudi laborers, to his way of thinking, were nowhereas reliable as the workers he had supervised in the United States. He was becomingincreasingly annoyed at the seeming lack of competence of the local workforce.Following the leadership style that held him in such good stead at home, he wouldreprimand any worker who was not doing his job properly, and he would make certainthat he did it publicly so that it would serve as an object lesson to all the other workers.He was convinced that he was doing the right thing and was being fair, for after all, hereprimanded both Americans and Saudis alike. He was troubled, however, by the factthat the problems seemed to be growing worse and more numerous.What advice might you give Sam?

3-28

2-1 In the United States, public humiliation is one of a number of techniques that can be used quite effectively to change people’s behavior. In the world of Islam, however, where

the preservation of dignity and self-respect is absolutely essential, public reprimand will be totally counterproductive. If Arabs feel that they have suffered a loss of personal dignity because they have been criticized in public, they take it as a dishonor to both

themselves and their families. And when Sam insisted on using this “motivational” technique, he alienated not only the individual to whom the reprimand was directed but also all his fellow workers, who felt hurt on his behalf. When this happens, the person

giving the reprimand loses the respect of those witnessing it.

3-29

2-2 George Burgess was a chief engineer for a machinery manufacturer based inSt. Louis. His company had recently signed a contract with one of its largest customersin Japan to upgrade the equipment and retrain mechanics to maintain the equipmentmore effectively. As part of the contract, the Japanese company sent all ten of their

mechanics to St. Louis for a three-month retraining course under George’s supervision.Although George had never lived or worked abroad, he was looking forward to the challenge

of working with the group of Japanese mechanics, because he had been told thatthey were all fluent in English and tireless workers. The first several weeks of the training

went along quite smoothly, but soon George became increasingly annoyed with the constantdemands they were making on his personal time. They would seek him out after the

regularly scheduled sessions were over for additional information. They sought his adviceon how to occupy their leisure time. Several even asked him to help settle a disagreement

that developed between them. Feeling frustrated by all these demands on his time,George told his Japanese trainees that he preferred not to mix business with pleasure.

Within a matter of days, the group requested another instructor.What was the principle operating here?

3-30

2-2 The employee–employer relationship in Japan is very different than in the United States. When a Japanese firm hires an employee, he or she becomes part of the

corporate family. Whereas labor and management in the United States operate largely from an adversarial perspective, the relationship between the Japanese worker and the company is based on loyalty and a long-term commitment to one another. Not only do

most employees expect to stay with the firm for the duration of their careers, but the firm also takes an active role in the personal lives of its employees and their families. Housing,

recreation, and schooling for the children are just some of the areas arranged by the employers for their workers. Moreover, far less separation of business and personal matters occurs between Japanese employees and their supervisors. Thus, it is little

wonder that the Japanese mechanics thought that George was not acting like a responsible supervisor because he was unwilling to become involved in their personal

lives.

3-31

2-4 Bob Mitchell, a retired military attaché with considerable experience in the MiddleEast, was hired by a large U.S. computer software company to represent it in a numberof Persian Gulf countries. Having received an introduction from a mutual acquaintance,Bob arranged to meet with Mr. Saade, a wealthy Lebanese industrialist, to discuss the

prospects of a joint venture between their companies. Having spent many years inthe Middle East, Bob knew that they would have to engage in considerable small talkbefore they would get down to business. They talked about the weather, Bob’s flight

from New York, and their golf games. Then Saade enquired about the health of Bob’selderly father. Without missing a beat, Bob responded that his father was doing fine, butthat the last time he saw his father at the nursing home several months ago he had losta little weight. From that point on, Saade’s demeanor changed abruptly from warm and

gracious to cool and aloof. Though the rest of the meeting was cordial enough, themeeting only lasted another two hours, and Bob was never invited back for further

discussions on the joint venture.What went wrong?

3-32

2-5 A U.S. fertilizer manufacturer headquartered in Minneapolis decided to venture intothe vast potential of third-world markets. The company sent a team of agricultural

researchers into an East African country to test soils, weather conditions, and topographicalconditions in order to develop locally effective fertilizers. Once the research

and manufacturing of these fertilizer products had been completed, one of the initial marketingstrategies was to distribute, free of charge, one hundred-pound bags of the fertilizerto selected areas of rural farmers. It was thought that those using the free fertilizer

would be so impressed with the dramatic increase in crop productivity that they wouldspread the word to their friends, relatives, and neighbors.

Teams of salespeople went from hut to hut in those designated areas, offeringeach male head of household a free bag of fertilizer along with an explanation of its

capacity to increase crop output. Although each head of household was very polite, theyall turned down the offer of free fertilizer. The marketing staff concluded that these localpeople were either uninterested in helping themselves grow more food and eat better or

so ignorant that they couldn’t understand the benefits of the new product.Why was this an ethnocentric conclusion?

3-33

2-6 While on a short business trip to Bolivia, Dr. Susan Henry, an organizational consultantfrom Atlanta, is invited to the home of one of her Bolivian business associates.

Wanting to express her gratitude, Susan brings the host a couple of dozen purple tulips.When Susan presents them with the flowers, however, she notices that both the husband

and the wife look startled. After the flowers had been taken to the kitchen, Susan feelssomewhat insulted because they never displayed the flowers nor thanked her for them.

What happened?

3-34

2-7 As an organizational consultant from Philadelphia working with a Mexican company,Dan Shaver has been traveling to Mexico City every other week for months to help his

client develop more-effective management systems. On this occasion, Dan scheduled athree-day trip, during which he planned to meet with a number of employees. But on thefirst day of scheduled meetings, Dan was informed that everyone would be leaving workat 2:00 P.M. because it was a fiesta day. Dan was furious because he had come all theway to Mexico just to have his first day of work cut short. As it turns out, Dan’s Mexican

colleagues failed to understand why he was so angry.What was behind this misunderstanding?

3-35

2-8 As an international organizational consultant from Toronto, Melissa Post was workingon a two-month project in Quito, Ecuador. After several weeks on the project, Melissa hadbecome a very good friend with Maria, a local employee of her client. Melissa had noticedthat whenever Maria greeted her other female friends from Ecuador, they would kiss eachother on the cheek. Since Melissa was feeling very good about her relationship with Maria,she decided that the next time they ran into one another outside the office, she would greetMaria with a kiss on the cheek. So, several days later Melissa unexpectedly met Maria ata coffeehouse and greeted her with an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek. Much to Melissa’s

surprise, Maria seemed startled and somewhat put off by the greeting.Had Melissa done something inappropriate?

3-1. badm 633 - wk 3 international business culture terry ryan

Documents

culture international

new business

us business organisations

study of humanity anthropology

costs of failure slide

us residents

tastes culture

foreign ways