PART TWOCOMPARATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL FRAMEWORKS

International Business

Chapter Two

The Cultural Environments Facing

Business

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Chapter Objectives

•To understand the major causes of cultural differences and change

•To grasp behavioral factors influencing countries’ business practices

•To become familiar with cultural guidelines for companies that operate internationally

•To learn to discuss the problems and methods of learning about cultural environments

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Culture Defined

Culture: the specific learned norms of a society that reflect attitudes, values, and beliefs

Major problems of cultural collision are likely to occur if:

-a firm implements practices that do not reflect local customs and values and/or -employees are unable to accept or

adjust to foreign customs.

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Fig. 2.1: Cultural Influenceson International Business

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Cultural Dynamics

• Cultures consist of societies, i.e., relatively homogeneous groups of people, who share attitudes, values, beliefs, and customs.

• Cultures are dynamic; they evolve over time.

• Cultural value systems are set early in life, but may change because of:

-choice or imposition

-contact with other cultures.

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The Nation as a Point of Reference

•The basic similarity amongst people within countries is both a cause and an effect of national boundaries.

•National identity is perpetuated through the rites and symbols of a country and a common perception of history.

Subcultures may link groups from different nations more closely than certain groups within nations.

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Cultural Formation and Change

•Societal values and customs constantly evolve in response to changing realities.

•Cultural imperialism is brought about by the imposition of one culture upon that of another.

•Certain elements introduced from outside a culture may be known as creolization, indigenization, or cultural diffusion.

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Language as a Cultural Stabilizer

• Isolation from other groups, especially because of language, tends to stabilize cultures.

•Some countries see language as being so important that they regulate the inclusion of foreign words and/or mandate the use of the country’s official language for business purposes.

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Map 2.2: Major Languagesof the World

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Fig. 2.2: Importance of Major Language Groups: Two Views

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Religion as a Cultural Stabilizer• Religion is a major source of both cultural

imperatives and cultural taboos.

• Major religions include:-Buddhism-Christianity-Hinduism-Islam-Judaism

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Map 2.3: Major Religionsof the World

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Social Stratification Systems

•Ascribed group memberships are defined at birth; they may include gender, family, age, caste, and ethnic or national origin.

•Acquired group memberships are based on one’s choice of affiliation, such as political party, religion, and social and professional organizations.

Social stratification affects both business strategy and operational practices.

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Factors Affecting Work Ethics•The desire for material wealth vs. the

desire for leisure (Protestant Ethic)•The expectation of success and reward•Assertiveness (Hofstede’s masculinity

vs. femininity index)•Needs satisfaction (Maslow’s Hierarchy)

Motivated employees are normally more productive, and higher productivity leads to lower costs.

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Fig. 2.4: The Hierarchy of Needs and Need-Hierarchy

Comparisons

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Factors Affecting Relationship Preferences

•Power distance, i.e., the psychological and social distance between superiors and subordinates

• Individualism vs. collectivism– Individualism represents a desire for

personal freedom, time, and challenge.– Collectivism represents a dependence

on the organization as well as a need for a safe environment.

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Factors Affecting Risk-taking Behavior

• Uncertainty avoidance, i.e., one’s tolerance of risk

• Trust, i.e., one’s belief in the reliability and honesty of another

• Future orientation, i.e., the need for immediate vs. delayed gratification

• Fatalism, i.e., the belief that life is pre-destined, that events are “the will of God”

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Factors Affecting Information and Task Processing

• Selective perception of cues• Communication context

-low-context cultures [explicit]-high-context cultures [implicit]

• Information processing-monochronic [work sequentially]-polychronic [multi-task]

Whereas idealistic cultures are principle driven, pragmatic cultures are detail driven.

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Factors Affecting the Communication Process

• Spoken language• Written language• Silent language

-color associations-conversational distance-perception of time-kinesics [body language and gestures]

Problems in communication may arise, even when nations share the same basic language (e.g., British, Canadian, and American

English).

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Managerial Issues Associated with Cultural Differences

•Accommodation of foreigners

•Cultural distance [degree of similarity]

•Culture shock and reverse culture shock

•Managerial orientations– polycentric– ethnocentric– geocentric

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Map 2.4: A Synthesis of Country Clusters

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Factors Affecting Strategies for Instituting Cultural Change

• Value systems

• Cost/benefits of change

• Resistance to change

• Participation in decision-making

• Reward sharing

• Role of opinion leaders

• Timing

• Opportunities to learn from abroad

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Implications/Conclusions

•Culture is dynamic and evolves over time. Economic development and globalization are two engines of cultural change.

• In addition to being part of a national culture, people are simultaneously part of other cultures, such as social and professional associations and business and government organizations. [continued]

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•Host cultures do not always expect firms and individuals to conform to their norms; in some instances they may choose to accommodate differences in traditions.

• International firms should make a concerted effort to identify ideas and behaviors in host countries and foreign cultures that can be usefully applied across the whole of their organizations.