tips for the north american manager working in latin america
Post on 07-Nov-2014
6.610 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Dr. Greg WaddellDr. Greg WaddellDirector of Institutional ImprovementDirector of Institutional ImprovementMidMid--South Christian CollegeSouth Christian CollegeMemphis, TNMemphis, TN
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Why different groups think and act so differently
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
What do We Mean by “Culture”?
“A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration”
‒
Schein,1992, p. 12
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
4
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Conflicts over goals
4
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Conflicts over goals
Impatience or lack of time
4
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Conflicts over goals
Impatience or lack of time
Conflicting values
4
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Conflicts over goals
Impatience or lack of time
Conflicting values
4
Ambiguous structure
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Conflicts over goals
Impatience or lack of time
Conflicting values
Lack of a Framework
4
Ambiguous structure
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Power Distance1
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Power Distance1
Individualism-Collectivism2
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Power Distance1
Individualism-Collectivism2
Uncertainty Avoidance3
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Power Distance1
Individualism-Collectivism2
Uncertainty Avoidance3
Time Orientation4
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Power Distance1
Individualism-Collectivism2
Uncertainty Avoidance3
Time Orientation4
Human Nature5
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Power Distance1
Individualism-Collectivism2
Uncertainty Avoidance3
Time Orientation4
Human Nature5
Being-Doing6
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Power Distance1
Individualism-Collectivism2
Uncertainty Avoidance3
Time Orientation4
Human Nature5
Being-Doing6
Verbal-Contextual7
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
“The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.”
―Geert Hofstede
Power Distance1
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Wedding Cake?
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Wedding Cake?
or Pancake?
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
For Latin Americans …
the group is more important than the individual.
2
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
For Latin Americans …
the group is more important than the individual.
2
“In a collectivist society a relationship of trust should be established with another person before any business can be done”
(Hofstede, 2005, pp. 102-103).
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
For North Americans …
the individual is more important than the group.
2
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
For North Americans …
the individual is more important than the group.
2
“To know that you prefer, instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive”
─
Robert Louis Stevenson
3 Lessons for the Manager working in Latin America
3 Lessons for the Manager working in Latin America
•
Relationships
•
Relationships
•
Relationships
3
“The degree to which people ... prefer structured over unstructured situations”
(Hofstede).
3
“The degree to which people ... prefer structured over unstructured situations”
(Hofstede).
Latin American culture avoids uncertainty by . . .
3
“The degree to which people ... prefer structured over unstructured situations”
(Hofstede).
•
Seeking consensus.Latin American culture avoids uncertainty by . . .
3
“The degree to which people ... prefer structured over unstructured situations”
(Hofstede).
•
Seeking consensus.•
Jumping into action.
Latin American culture avoids uncertainty by . . .
3
“The degree to which people ... prefer structured over unstructured situations”
(Hofstede).
•
Seeking consensus.•
Jumping into action.
•
Hiring family
Latin American culture avoids uncertainty by . . .
3
“The degree to which people ... prefer structured over unstructured situations”
(Hofstede).
•
Seeking consensus.•
Jumping into action.
•
Hiring family•
Creating structure
Latin American culture avoids uncertainty by . . .
4
For Latin Americans, heritage is very important.
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
“Identify with virtues linked with an orientation toward the past, such as respect for tradition, avoiding shame, and fulfilling social obligations.”
─
Geert Hofstede
5
“In Spanish South America, the dominant assumption is that human nature is mixed or evil.”
‒
Kumar & Nti, 2004
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
The Mystery of Human Nature
“A human being is mysterious and awesome to contemplate. . . . The easy conformity at the top of his mind may be a mask to hide his heart's treason from himself and others.”
―H. Grady Davis
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
6
In a Being culture “people, events, and ideas flow spontaneously; people stress release, indulgence of existing desires, and living and working for the moment”
─
Nancy J. Adler
6
Things that are a little more difficult in a
being-oriented culture ...
6
Things that are a little more difficult in a
being-oriented culture ...
Punctuality
6
Things that are a little more difficult in a
being-oriented culture ...
PunctualityPlanning
6
Things that are a little more difficult in a
being-oriented culture ...
PunctualityPlanningEvaluation
6
Things that are a little more difficult in a
being-oriented culture ...
PunctualityPlanningEvaluationTeams
6
Things that are a little more difficult in a
being-oriented culture ...
PunctualityPlanningEvaluationTeams
“How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward.”─
Spanish Proverb
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
7
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Recommendations …
“Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves.”
─
Donella Meadows
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Open your eyes.
Recommendations …
“Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves.”
─
Donella Meadows
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Open your eyes.
Read between the lines.
Recommendations …
“Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves.”
─
Donella Meadows
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Open your eyes.
Read between the lines.
Use more detail.
Recommendations …
“Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves.”
─
Donella Meadows
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Open your eyes.
Read between the lines.
Use more detail.
Assume misunderstanding.
Recommendations …
“Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves.”
─
Donella Meadows
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Open your eyes.
Read between the lines.
Use more detail.
Assume misunderstanding.
Check your interpretations.
Recommendations …
“Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves.”
─
Donella Meadows
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Open your eyes.
Read between the lines.
Use more detail.
Assume misunderstanding.
Check your interpretations.
Create a shared context.
Recommendations …
“Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves.”
─
Donella Meadows
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
“The more synergistic and transformative leaders today realize that while competition appears to work on the surface, underneath lies the real secrets of adaptation and self-organization which make all synergy systems work”
(Stagich, 2001, p. 179).
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Horses galloping (IMG_6411_x.JPG) by Mary R. Vogt. Accessed September 3, 2007 from http://www.morguefile.com/archive/?display=154233&
Horse galloping (IMG_2271.g.JPG) by Mary R. Vogt. Accessed September 3,2007 from http://www.morguefile.com/archive/?display=148432&
Circus Acrobats (Circus Beija-Flor -
33) by carf. Accessed September 4, 2007 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/beija-flor/7066025/in/photostream/
The following photos are my own:
Monastery Door
Gaucho playing guitar
All other photos from the Microsoft Office Online collection
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Hofstede, G. & Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures & organizations, software of the mind (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kumar, R. & Nti, K. O. (2004) National cultural values and the evolution of process and outcome discrepancies in international strategic alliances. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 40(3), 344-361. Retrieved March 12, 2005,
Henry Grady Davis, Design for Preaching. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1958),
Adler, N. J. (1997). International dimensions of organizational behavior (3rd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College.
Meadows, D. (Winter, 2001). Dancing with systems: What to do when systems resist change. Whole Earth Magazine. [Excerpt from an unpublished manuscript] Accessed August 26, 2005 from http://www.wholeearthmag.com/ArticleBin/447.html
Stagich, T. (2001). Collaborative Leadership and Global Transformation. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse.
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
It is not my intention to offend anyone by these observations and recommendations. Nor do I mean to contribute to unwarranted stereotypes. I recognize that there are exceptions to these generalities and that individuals are personalized beings full of surprises. My only intention here is to promote understanding that might aid a manager working in a cross-cultural setting.
Disclaimer
MSCC Training & Improvement Services
Greg Waddell www.SpiritOfOrganization.com
top related