Tasha Haight & Arielle Lyons

Professor Shapero
International Management
November 12, 2014
Motivation Across Cultures
Cultures do greatly influence the effectiveness of various rewards (Incentives and
Culture, 450). Different cultures must implement different motivational systems and rewards.
For example, in Europe alone various reward systems must be put into place for employees to be
motivated in different European countries. Mostly in Europe, financial rewards (pay, bonuses,
and stock options), recognition and achievement, work environment and employee conditions
such as work hours are all agreed upon as good incentives. However, beyond this, a number of
differences emerged in preferred types of rewards (Incentives and Culture, 449). For example,
France and Italy put strong emphasis on job security while in Scandinavia personal freedom and
autonomy as well as concern for others on the job are highly valued. Germans mostly concern
themselves with getting ahead, security, and fringe benefits. If even one continent has such
varied opinions on rewards and incentives used to motivate employees to stay committed within
a company, it is no wonder within the whole world these things vary greatly.
To try to figure out the best motivational methods in China, WorkChina surveyed their
employees and found compensation had a limited role in motivating Chinese employees
(Motivating Employees in China, 423). According to the survey, management effectiveness,
positive work environment, objective performance management system, and clear
communication came out as the leading commitment drivers. However, Fisher and Yuans case
study of Chinese employees of a major hotel in Shanghai found that good wages and good
working conditions were the most important motivating factors (Motivating Employees in
China, 424) proving that even within a single country motivational methods may vary. Wage
raises, increased housing subsidies, employee share ownership, and a loyal manager are also key
motivational factors for the Chinese employees.
In Southeast Asia, smaller organizations and positive climate perceptions lead to strong
commitment within a company for employees. Merit-based rewards oftentimes do not work, as

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once they raise one persons salary, all employees salaries must be raised. However, workers
tend to opt for financial incentives as long as they are group based and not given on an
individual basis (Incentives and Culture, 450). Southeast Asian employees also appreciate when
their own culture is kept when dealing with joint ventures. To prove this, two bank mergers were
studied in Korea by Nam.
The American bank put into place management practices and personnel policies that
were common in its own organization. The Japanese bank put together a blend of
Japanese and Korean human resource management policies. Name found that employees
in the joint venture with the Japanese bank were significantly more committed to the
organization that were their counterparts in the American joint venture.
Incentives and Culture, 449
It is because of this that it would be more to the employees advantage to work for a truly global
company, as opposed to a North American multinational company. The North American
company would most likely simply try to implement their own managerial ways which would
ultimately prove ineffective, whereas a truly global company would take into consideration the
other cultures. Keeping employees and customers happy with the implementation of these host
cultures, global MNCs can provide successful motivation for each culture it deals with.
Whereas financial rewards seem to be generally accepted by most cultures, the scientific
and technological communities may be more driven by intrinsic motivational rewards, such as a
scientific discovery, technological invention, or further knowledge and development in their field
of study. It is important to not only realize the differences in cultures, but to also realize the types
of work being performed to successfully determine which motivational strategies or rewards to
implement. If something seems not to be working, new motivational strategies may always be
applied, but it is good to first have a basic understanding of the culture and community one is
venturing into.