QUIZ 3 CREATING CULTURAL SYNERGY MULTICULTURAL TEAMS Creating Cultural Synergy It is important for global managers to get to know each other and form a relationship before getting to work Do Managers see culture 2 3 said culture had no impact on management 1 3 said culture had a negative impact culture caused problems Only one person reported a positive impact of culture on organizations Is seeing culture illegitimate or inappropriate Some people in cultures believe that all people should be treated the same Many believe that recognizing culture differences is o Offensive o Simplistic o Racist o Ethnocentric o Unprofessional o Basically they think it is politically correct to not address culture Pretending Culture Doesn t make a difference Based on North American culture norms that argue that everyone should be treated the same Confuses recognition with judgment Should be like me mirror image fallacy Causes foreigners to become projections of ourselves EFFECTIVE CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT BEGINS WITH RECOGNITION OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES Cultural Diversity Causes Problems Organizational Costs Increases ambiguity Increases complexity complicated Increases confusion Difficulty converging meanings Miscommunication Harder to reach agreement Harder to agree on specific actions EX In the U S we have to write dissertation to graduate In Germany have to publish a book Becayse if academic differences in goals value is placed on different things Culture Specific Disadvantages Costs of Working in a specific culture Overgeneralizing organizational policies assume things are the same everywhere Overgeneralizing organizational strategies Overgeneralizing organizational practices Overgeneralizing organizational procedures Ethnocentrism The nail that sticks up gets pick down U S is BIG on data Other countries make decisions based on judgment Diversity Creates Advantages Expanding meanings Expanding Alternatives Increasing creativity Increasing flexibility Increasing problem solving skills Greater Openness to new ideas Multiple perspectives Multiple interpretations Culture Specific Advantages Business should be more effective b c you re actually working in the culture Better understanding of local employees Better able to work with local clients Better able to market effectively to local customers Increased understanding of local political social economic and cultural environment Strategies for Managing Cultural Diversity Most common strategy of managing culture Parochial Need to minimize differences but potential advantages eliminated Ethnocentric Least common approach Synergistic Cultural Synergy The behavior of whole systems that cannot be predicted from their parts taken separately 1 1 3 People interact and play off of each other Not a group but a team In management synergy means developing strategies policies structures and practices that transcend the distinct cultures of their members Cultural Assumptions and their Implications for Management There are multiple paths to reach a goal Culturally Synergistic Problem Solving EX Fillapino Woman who is a nurse can t tell Doctor she didn t understand him because it shows that the doctors didn t explain themselves well So instead Doctors are asking the nurses to repeat to them the instructions they were told to avoid mistakes EX Company in US does business with Japan We tell Japan it ll be there on this day Like to avoid uncertainty so we get upset when shipment doesn t get there When Japanese send it don t give the exact date b c they don t want to be wrong Solution Give a range of dates so both countries can be satisfied Summary Effective cross cultural management begins with the recognition of your own culture and the new culture you are working with Once similarities and differences are assessed a synergistic approach can be developed Synergistic approaches use culture as an advantage by creating approaches that include both cultures in a new approach Multicultural Teams The Nature of Organizational Culture Organizational culture Shared values and beliefs enabling members to understand their roles and norms of the organization including Observed behavioral regularities typified by common language terminology rituals Norms reflected by things such as the amount of work to do and the degree of cooperation between management and employees Dominant values that the organization advocates and expects participants to share o Low absenteeism high efficiency Other values and beliefs Shaped by national culture Philosophy set forth regarding how to treat employees and customers Rules dictating do s and don ts of employee behavior pertaining to productivity intergroup cooperation and customer relations Organizational climate as reflected by the way partcipants react with each other treat customers and feel about how they are treated by senior level management Interaction between National and Organizational Culture National cultural values of employees may significantly impact their organizational Cultural values employees bring to the workplace are not easily changed by the organization o EX American companies who moved overseas has a difficult time adapting to the performance culture Dimensions of Corporate Culture Motivation relationship identity communication control conduct Organizational Cultures in MNCs Shaped by numerous factors including cultural preferences of leaders and employees Some MNCs have subsidiaries that aside from logo and reporting procedures wouldn t be easily recognizable as belonging to the same MNC There are 4 critical steps to successfully integrate organizational culture after international expansion via mergers acquisitions 1 The two groups establish the purpose goals and focus of their merger 2 Then mechanisms are developed to identify most important structures and manager roles 3 Next the groups determine who has authority over resources 4 Finally the expectations of all involved participants are identified communication between departments and individuals is facilitated Types of Diversity in Teams Homogenous Members from all the same culture Token groups One member from a different culture Bicultural 2 or more members represent each of two distinct cultures Multicultural Members represent three or more distinct cultures Cultural Diversity s Impact on Teams Actual Productivity Potential Productivity Losses due to faulty process Causes of Process Losses in Multicultural Teams The problem is that most of the people in a