Chapter 2

National Culture and Its Impact on Organizational Behavior

National Culture
Collective programming of the mind which distinguishes members of one [social group] from another. This software emerges as a group learns how to solve survival related problems, over a period of time, in an external environment and its problems of internal integration.

National Culture

Contd

National Cultures evolve as all societies face the same basic questions, issues or problems, but differ in their answers.

Factors like climate, natural resources, historical events shape their basic beliefs and assumptions.

Behavior Differences Across Cultures

Cultures are studied across nations rather than by homogeneous regional, ethnic or linguistic groups because research is more practical that way. All cultures can be generally understood if we could compare them in terms of:
How

people view themselves and the world round them How people view Time How people view Space How people view relationship with other people, and how do they communicate among other parameters

Artifacts of Culture

When we refer to our culture, we usually refer to the visible aspect of culture, such as distinct behaviour, norms, or symbols. This visible aspect of culture is known as Artifacts. Cultural artifacts come to be accepted and practiced by the entire social group because of a set of common values This is how . should be done / this is how we do it. When many people follow this as their way of doing things, it becomes a ritual, norm or a custom.

Beliefs, Assumptions and Values

Values are beliefs involving judgment between right and wrong, should and should-not. Assumptions are beliefs taken for granted as true. Beliefs and assumptions shared by a group of people is the second, and a more subtle, invisible part of culture.

Why Uniqueness of Culture

Since practices are based on shared values learned early in life and their widely observed practice, it might never be asked why things must be done in a specific way, whether there are viable options, and why they are not tried. The person practicing the culture may not be conscious of the way in which these values and assumptions affect the patterns of behaviour.

Understanding Cultures Through Cultural Frameworks

Control vs. Subjugation to Nature

Groups supporting subjugation to Nature rather than unwise and futile attempts to control it might also believe that man (I

/ We) are not in control and merge with

another belief, someone else controls the destiny or major events of my/our) life.

Control vs. Subjugation to Contd Nature

The view of the man as subjugated to nature can thus lead to lower stress levels among the members of the society,

but on the other hand there is also an accompanying sense

of dependency and lack of initiative and persistence.

Belief that the Man is in Control

Members of Control oriented cultures believe that the nature is to be mastered by man. So, the groups with this belief inspire self-directedness in members leading to the belief that we shape the events of our life. Because people believe they are in charge, the stress levels may be higher due to

taking personal responsibility for the major outcomes of ones

life.

Uncertainty Avoidance

Explains the extent to which a society is comfortable in the face of uncertainty, unstructured situation and ambiguity. When faced with uncertain or unknown situations, members of cultures with high uncertainty avoidance feel threatened or uncomfortable, or anxious.

Uncertainty Avoidance
Contd

In order to cope with these emotions, they develop detailed planning or elaborate technology. This

often is turned into a penchant for precision and

punctuality. The stress level is also high.

Public V/S Private Space

The concept of Space shapes perceptions of boundaries between self and others. People from the cultures highly conscious of their private space define and maintain their territory to a large extent.

A code of rules and routines guides conduct outside the personal space. Chosen people allowed inside this space, rest intruders. Silence may be discomforting.
Main

Public V/S Private Space

On the other hand, in other cultures such as Mediterranean, Arab and Africans, people may come to intimate conversation sooner as the boundary separating personal space are not guarded as much.
Business

acquaintances may be invited at home, and patches of silence are an accepted part of dialogue.

Synchronic or Polychronic vs. Monochronic (view of) Time

Different cultures understand time differently. In some cultures the s time perceived as sequential, linear and fixed.

Synchronic or Polychronic vs. Monochronic (view of) Contd Time

So, people pay attention to one thing at a time and structure procedures into scheduled segments. This could mean that some of the past traditions may survive but once these are over, people go back to work often in different attires, different places and in a mode very different from the previous one.

Polychronic Cultures

In polychronic cultures time is viewed as fluid, circular stream where the past, present and future all unfold simultaneously.

The ideas about future and the memories of the past shape the action in the present.

Long (vs.) Short Time Orientation

Long versus Short Time orientation is explained as the relative preference of Virtue versus Truth respectively. The cultures with the long time orientation value thrift and perseverance.

Even when the virtues are not providing the results in the short run, they are not compromised. Information is not held on to or manipulated for success.

Short Time Orientation

Whereas the values associated with short time orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling the social obligations, and protecting ones Face where exchange of favors and gifts is normal. Here the truth is in knowing what one wants and making that happen.

Short Time Orientation

Contd

It is said that the long time orientation translates into work practices of innovation and experimentation, gaining knowledge the factors believed to have contributed to the economic growth rate of Asian economies.
Incidentally,

China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and India happen to be in the list of top ten countries having long term orientation.

Universalist vs. Particularist Cultures

In universalist cultures, the general rules of conduct and ones obligations to the society have stronger influence on ones actions than ones personal relationships. Hence, if a friend or a relative is involved in breaking a rule (e.g. speed limit), then the universalist would uphold the general rule even if the friend will receive punishment.

Universalist vs. Particularist Cultures

Contd

So, if a friend is involved in breaking a traffic rule, and a Particularist person is the only eye witness, then the friend will be saved by lying to the traffic police.
Countries

like Norway and Switzerland are considered to have the highest level of universalism, while India is the fourth highest in rank along the Particularist preference.

Neutral vs. Affective Cultures

Affective cultures encourage members to directly acknowledge their emotions. People from neutral cultures prefer to first give reason why they feel in a particular way.

Thus the expression of their emotion is regulated and indirect among the Neutrals.
Korean

culture strongly influences its members NOT to show emotions overtly, while people from Spain will not do much to restrict their emotional response to others.

Low Context vs. High Context Cultures

Members of Low context cultures convey much of the information explicitly in the message. What is being said is important, and can be taken at the face value. On the other hand, the shared meaning is derived in high context cultures not only from the explicit content, but also from the environment or the persons involved.

Low Context vs. High Context Cultures

Contd

People from the high context culture might say yes, for reasons such as not to spoil the spirit of the meeting, to say goodbye to the guest on a happy note, to acknowledge the respectability of the other person, and so on. There is greater involvement of emotion in close relationships, indirectness of message conveyed, and use of non-verbal communication.

Achievement vs. Ascription

Status differences among members are common to all societies. How cultures differ is whether a person enjoys higher status because he or she worked to

achieve it or whether it was given by age, class, gender,

education and so on.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

This cultural dimension reflects whether a society attaches supremacy to the interest of an individual or that of a group. In a collectivist society the members see themselves as a part of a large, usually extended family and their sense of identity, protection and belonging are largely influenced by the membership of we in-group against the rest of the world as they, the out-group.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Contd

The ties between individuals in individualist societies are loose. Collectivist societies provide lifetime protection to individuals through the in-groups, in return of unquestioning loyalty. The group resources are shared.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Contd

An individualistic society is made of majority of nuclear or single-parent family, where an individual sees himself/herself as I that is surrounded by others not due to their group membership, but the individual preference, often in case of say playmates.
The young are generally expected to be responsible for themselves and often leave home as early as in adolescence.

Power Distance

This dimension is about inequalities present in any society created by differences in wealth, resources, capabilities, opportunities that individuals have in a society.

Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.
The

seniors in the high power distance societies are expected to protect the younger and the junior.

Power Distance
Contd

Power Distance is correlated with the strength of the need to depend on more powerful people among the adult members of the society. Low power distance societies prefer the individuals autonomy. Assistance and support are provided only to the extent needed.

Power Distance
Contd

Saying no is acceptable and in fact, appreciated as a part of ones assertiveness skills, but in collectivist culture with high power distance, assertive behaviour might be considered rude, or even dominating.

Power Distance
Contd

High collectivist societies usually tend to be high on power distance, those not strictly as a rule. Correlation between industrialization and urbanization with individualism.
Agricultural

and rural areas with low per capita income demonstrate high collectivism. The scores along this dimension might be retained by countries unless there is a shift in their economic wealth.

Masculinity vs. Femininity

Societies differ in their distribution of roles between genders. Across cultures, womens values are not very different (e.g. caring, nurturing). But mens values vary from high assertiveness in some cultures, to modesty and caring in some other cultures. The modest and caring end of cultures are called feminine cultures, and the assertive end is called masculine cultures.

Three Views of the Self: The Private Self, Collective Self and Public Self
Low-context and more individualistic cultures highlight the private self. In contrast, the highcontext and collectivistic cultures highlight the collective self, and the public self, reinforcing the socio-centric behaviour.

Three Views of the Self: The Private Self, Collective Self and Public Self

Individualists give less importance to their collective self, highlight their private self, give priority to their own preferences, needs and rights; are motivated to achieve personal goals rather than the goals of others. Collectivists give more importance to social norms, and duties, and can sacrifice personal interests for collective interests.
Contd

Assessing Cultures on the Basis of What Should Be vs. As Is

The GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness) survey used the dimensions as described below:

Power Distance is defined as the degree to which members of an organisation or society expect and agree that power should be unequally shared.

Assessing Cultures on the Basis of What Should Be vs. As Is Contd

Collectivism

I: Societal Collectivism reflects the degree to which organisational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action. These three dimensions above are same as Hofstedes dimensions and actually use the same scales to measure the scores. Do remember them well, we will use these again in the last chapter on leadership.

Assessing Cultures on the Basis of What Should Be Contd vs. As Is

Collectivism II: In-Group Collectivism reflects the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organisations or families. Gender Egalitarianism is the extent to which an organisation or a society minimizes gender role differences and gender discrimination.

Assessing Cultures on the Basis of What Should Be Contd vs. As Is

Assertiveness is the degree to which individuals in organisations or societies are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in social relationships.

The two dimensions explained above, again, are derived from Hofstedes dimension of Masculinity.

Assessing Cultures on the Basis of What Should Contd Be vs. As Is

Future Orientation is the degree to which individuals in organisations or societies engage in future-oriented behaviours such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification.

Assessing Cultures on the Basis of What Should Be vs. As Is Contd

Performance Orientation refers to the extent to which an organisation or society encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence. This dimension includes the future-oriented component of the dimension called Confucian Dynamism by Hofstede and Bond (1988). Humane Orientation is the degree to which individuals in organisations or societies encourage and reward individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring, and kind to others.

Culture in India
Most senior managers in Indian organisations still have direct experience of the agricultural, caste-based society. For the younger generation also, the experience of growing up in Indian tradition and cultural pattern does have a deep-rooted influence on a wide range of issues including the behaviour within the organisation. Under the British rule, India was modernized, but its social values remained.

It is important for us to realize that even common values are manifested differently in behaviour across cultures. Important challenges arise out of cultural differences for managers who deal with multi-cultural business environment.

Footprints of National Culture in Organisations in India

Strong hierarchy, personalized relationships

Indian

social system is steeply hierarchical and highly conscious of status differences. Powerful, senior and elderly people command special respect. Subordinates are expected to show unquestioned loyalty and trust (Sra[d]dha) and in return, complete protection and care flows from the superior.

Family/social group centered

Employees

tend to be Collectivist, not Individualistic in organisations in India. The basic unit of society is thought to be family, rather than an individual. The primary commitment of an individual is to family, not work.

Footprints of National Culture in Organisations in India

Contd

Visibly influenced by religious / spiritual beliefs

These

attitudes and practices are regularly reinforced by frequent religious festivals and rituals, rites and specific menus associated with those festivals.

Coexistence of Contrasts
Realizing

detachment from the Maya (Illusion) of the material world . Transcend it for achieving un-ending union with the supreme being. the popular religious are more ritualistic.

Footprints of National Culture in Organisations in India

Contd

Desire to be embedded in a Group

Indians

feel comfortable if they are with other members of preferred in-groups, who are usually their families, friends, colleagues and members of their own caste. At work, informal networks are formed along these lines.

Context sensitive or Situational Behaviour

Most

people in India perceive a situation and the responses to it as one episode in an on-going flow of interactive relationships between situations and responses. That means that behaviour can be different on the basis of three situational elements generally known as the Place, Time and the Person (Desha, Kaala and Paatra).

How do Cultural Footprints Mark Specific Behavior at Work in India?

Our exposure to western influences is very unlikely to be stronger than the influence of our cultural values received during the formative years. The orientation of being rather than doing, along with high power distance may hamper effective teamwork and acceptance of self-managing teams as a work form. When Indians come together, consensus and cooperation become very difficult to achieve, and arguments stretch on, outsiders are not trusted. Proneness for dependency, and educational system that is still along the British line of thinking and fails to acknowledge and develop many subtle aspects of the Indian-ness, makes Indians better subordinates than leaders.

How Can Managers Work With Culture Differences

Insensitivity to cultural causes of behaviour difference can cause managers:

Not to recognize the other person, but to judge only on the basis of narrowly defined, only skill-based criteria. Ignore the reality of why a person is the way he/she is. Assume that all people are same (essentially like me). Judge that if they are not same as I am, they are inept (or whatever else): this can lead to racist, sexist, ethnocentric behaviours. To Choose not to see the cultural differences and thereby limit managerial choices.