Chapters 1 and 2

Why study culture

-People from different cultures see the world differently
-Culture explains how people make meaning of their environment.
-Miscommunication and mistakes can be avoided

What is culture?
-the coherent, learned, shared view of a group of people about life’s concerns,
expresses in symbols and activities, that ranks what is important, furnishes
attitudes about what things are appropriate, and dictates behaviour.

Components of culture
Objective component
-Consists of such things as infrastructure of roads, architecture, patterns of
music, food, and dress habits.
-Can be seen, man-made
Subjective component
-Ways that people categorize experience, associations, beliefs, attitudes, self-
definitions, role definitions, norms, and values (Chinese family in Malaysia,
high saving rates)
-Not visible to the eye, only understood (usually) between people from the same
culture

Cultural Sensitivity
-Alertness towards different cultures, whether people willing to accept other’s
culture
Skills to deal with cultural sensitivity:
i) Comprehension (avoid misunderstanding)
ii) Expression (Japan – keep distance)
iii) Active listening (English – different nations different slang, cultural noise
will happen, need to be patient to interpret what they want to say)
Types of cultural sensitivity
Parochialism- the belief that there is no other way of doing things except that
found within one’s own culture, that is, there is no better alternative.
Ethnocentrism- believe that their ways of doing things are the best, no matter
which cultures are involved.
Geocentrism- responsive to local cultures and markets.

Chapter 3
Hofstede’s Value Dimensions Framework

Collectivist
-Relationship prevails over task
-Malaysia, China, Japan
Individualist
-Task prevails over relationship
-United States, Germany, Australia

Power Distance
-Defined as “the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and
organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed
unequally”
-Lower ranking obey instructions from higher ranking
 Low Power Distance High Power Distance
-Inequalities among people should be -Inequalities among people are both
minimized expected and desired
-Decentralized is popular -Centralization is popular

-Subordinates expect to be consulted -Subordinates expect to be told what

to do

Uncertainty Avoidance
-Defined as the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown
situations
- Cultures that are high in uncertainty avoidance tend to be more expressive
-High uncertainty avoidance country (Germany and Japan)
Weak Uncertainty Avoidance Strong Uncertainty Avoidance
-Low Stress, subjective feeling of -High stress, subjective feeling of
well-being anxiety
-What is different is curios -What is different is dangerous
-Comfortable feeling when lazy -Emotional need to be busy

Masculinity versus Femininity

Masculinity
- Pertains to societies in which social gender roles are clearly distinct (men are
supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success whereas
women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality
of life)
Femininity
- Pertains to societies in which social gender roles overlap (both men and
women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of
life)
Masculinity Femininity
-Money and things are important -People and warm relationships are
important
-Sympathy for the strong -Sympathy for the weak
-Live in order to work -Work in order to live
Long-term versus Short-term orientation
-Long-term orientation stands for the fostering of virtues oriented toward future
rewards
-Short-term orientation stands for the fostering of virtues related to the past and
present
Long-term orientation Short-term orientation
-Sustained efforts toward slow -Efforts should produce quick
result results
-Respect for circumstances -Respect for traditions
-Concern with “face” -Having a sense of shame

Chapter 4
High Context Cultures
-Cultures where members do not convey feelings and thoughts very explicitly
and must develop an ability to detect subtle meanings and nonverbal messages
that are present in the physical context of the communication
*Collectivism
Example: cultures of Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Mediterranean,
and parts of Africa
Low Context Cultures
-Cultures where communication does not need the detailed information
demanded for communication in high context cultures. Explicit forms of
communication are preferred.
*Individualism
Example: Canada, USA, western and northern Europe
Low context Culture High Context culture
-Personal and business relationships -Feelings and thoughts not explicit
separated expressed
-Low levels of programmed info -High levels of programmed info

-Listener knows very little; convey all -Verbal and non-verbal messages
info
Barriers to Effective Communication
Communicating across cultures is more difficult than communicating in one’s
own culture because people with different cultural backgrounds have less
common information about how to communicate effectively.
Barriers:
Beliefs about what is correct to communicate – what can be said, what
shouldn’t be said.
Attitude toward the content of the message – in a collectivist culture, people
are more concerned with interpersonal and the social aspect of the content,
whereas in individualistic cultures, the focus of the content is more on specific
aspects that are immediately relevant.
The Role of Symbols - Symbols are highly culture-specific and may introduce
noise easily when used excessively.

Managing cross-cultural communication

Develop cultural sensitivity in communication
-Encode the message in a form that will most likely be understood as its
intended
-the manager must be aware of their own culture, the recipient’s culture, the
expectations surrounding the situation
Selective transmission
-The channel medium should be chosen after considering the nature of the
message, level of importance, and timing involved.
Careful encoding
-The sender must consider the receiver’s frame of reference to make the best
voice regarding words, pictures, and gestures.
Careful decoding of feedback
-Best means for obtaining accurate feedback is face-to-face interactions
-Best beams for avoiding miscommunication is to improve your own listening
and observation skills.
Chapter 6
How Hofstede’s dimension affects the negotiation
Individualists Collectivists
spend more time planning for spend more time planning for
short-term goals long-term goals
make more extreme offers reach more integrative solutions
prefer competition prefer accommodation, collaboration
and withdrawal more

Power Distance
Negotiators from high power distance cultures need to seek approval
from their superiors more frequently, it will slow down the
negotiation process
Low P/D
-less approval seeking
-direct (Face to face)
-mediation/facilitation by peer
-group decision-making to resolve conflict
High P/D
-seek approval from superior
-trust in-group
-avoid face-to-face confrontation

Masculinity and Femininity

-Negotiators from masculine cultures are more competitive
-Those from feminine cultures are more empathetic and willing to seek
compromise.
Uncertainty Avoidance
-Negotiators from high uncertainty avoidance cultures are less
comfortable with ambiguous situations and are more likely to seek
stable rules and procedures when they negotiate.
-Negotiators from low uncertainty avoidance cultures are more likely
to adapt to quickly changing situations and more tolerant of
negotiation situations that are ambiguous or shifting.

Chapter 9 (Leadership in the international context)

Europe
-European managers tend to use a participative approach.
Researchers investigated four areas relevant to leadership:
a) Capacity for leadership and initiative (Theory X vs Theory Y)
b) Sharing information and objectives: general vs detailed,
completed instructions for subordinates.
c) Participation: leadership support for participative leadership
d) Internal control: leader control through external vs internal
means

Japan
-Paternalistic approach to leadership
-Japanese culture promotes a high safety or security need, which
is present among home country-based employees as well as
MNC expatriates
-Japanese managers have much greater belief in the capacity of
subordinates for leadership and initiative than do managers in
most other countries.
Japanese vs. American
Variety amplification: Japanese executives are taught and tend to use variety
amplification
Variety reduction: U.S. executives tend to use variety reduction

China
Individualism- Measured by importance of self-sufficiency and personal
accomplishments
Collectivism- Measured by willingness to subordinate personal goals to those
of the work group with an emphasis on sharing and group harmony
Confucianism- Measured by the importance of societal harmony, virtuous
interpersonal behavior, and personal and interpersonal harmony

Middle East
-Sheikocracy: A leadership style that reflects an emphasis on hierarchical
authority, personal connections, human relations, conformity to rules and
regulations based on the personality and power of those who made the rules, on
the other hand.
-There may be much greater similarity between Middle Eastern leadership
styles and those of Western countries
Chapter 12
Reasons for Expatriate Failure (US)
Individual Family Cultural Organizational
-Personality of -Spouse or family -Managers fails to -Excessively
the manager members fail to adapt difficult
adapt. Lack of responsibilities
network of family
and friends and
immigration
restrictions
-Lack of technical -Family members -Manager fails to -Company fails to
proficiency or spouse do not develop pick the right
want to be there relationship person
with key people
-No motivation -Company fails to
for assignment provide the
technical
support

Reasons for Expatriate Failure (JAPAN)

Individual Family Cultural
-Lack of technical - Inability of spouse to - Difficulties with the
competence adjust new environment
- Emotional problem
- Inability to cope with
larger overseas
responsibilities

Reasons for Expatriate Failure (EUROPE)

Family
-Inability of spouse to adjust
Key Success Factors for Expatriate Assignments
Family situation
-Spouse and dependence are an important consideration when a person is to be
chosen for an overseas assignment. If the family is not happy, the manager often
performs poorly or may decide to leave the organisation.
Technical and managerial skill with international motivation
-The applicant has to have the desired technical capabilities in-line with the
overseas assignment requirement, as well as the leadership ability in influencing
others.
Personality traits
-Self-orientation: Strengthen expats high self-esteem, self-confidence and
mental well-being.
Others-Orientation
-Enhances expats ability to interact with host-country nationals (Relational
abilities & relationship building, willingness to use host language)
Perceptual Ability
-Expats ability to empathize and understand why people in host-country behave
the way they do.
Culture Toughness
-How well an expat adjusts to a particular posting tends to be related to the
country of assignment.
Chapter 13

Compensation Schemes for Expatriates

The balance-sheet approach
- Attempts to provide expatriate with similar standard of living as at home plus
financial incentives
- Provides financial incentives to offset qualitative differences between
assignment locations
Other Approaches
Headquarter-based compensation - paying home country wages regardless of
location. The salary for the same job at headquarters determines the base salary
of the home country national.
Host-based compensation system- adjusting wages to local lifestyles and costs
of living. The manager’s salary is based on the standard for the country of his or
her citizenship or native residence.
Global pay systems- worldwide job evaluation, performance appraisal methods,
and salary scales are use.
Objectives of an ideal expatriate compensation system
-To attract personnel in the areas where the MNC has its greatest needs and
opportunities.
- To facilitate the transfer of international employees in the most cost-effective
manner.
- To be consistent and fair in the treatment of all its employees.
- To facilitate re-entry into the home country at the end of the foreign
assignment
- To contribute to organizational strategy and to support organizational goals.

Chapter 14
Four Stages U-Curve Theory of Adjustment
Stage 1 – Honeymoon stage
- Occur during the first week after arrival at the host country.
- Individuals are attracted by the new and different culture.
Stage 2 –Culture Shock stage
-When new comers start to cope with real conditions on daily basis.
-Frustration and hostility towards the host nation and its people.
Stage 3 – Adjustment stage
-Individual gradually adapts to the new norms and values of the host country
and can act more appropriately than they were before
Stage 4 – Mastery stage
-Individual is able to effectively function in the new culture
3 dimensions of cross-cultural adjustment
Work adjustment
-Adaptation to new job tasks, work roles, and the new work environment
-Aided by similarities in procedures, policies and task requirements between the
parent company and host subsidiary abroad
Interaction adjustment
-Involves the comfort achieved in interacting with host nationals in both work
and non-work situations
-Greater contact with host nationals positively relates to cross-cultural
adjustment when an individual possesses the personality trait of openness.
General adjustment
-Involves the overall adaptation to living in the foreign culture and comprises
factors such as housing conditions, health care and cost of living