International BusinessPart TwoComparative EnvironmentalFrameworks
Chapter Two
The Cultural Environments FacingBusiness
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Chapter Objectives
•To understand methods for learning aboutcultural environments
•To analyze the major causes of culturaldifference and change
•To discuss behavioral factors influencingcountries’ business practices
•To understand cultural guidelines forcompanies that operate internationally
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The People Factor
•Culture refers to learned norms based onthe values, attitudes, and beliefs of agroup of people
•Cultural diversity
•Cultural collision
•Sensitivity and Adjustment
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Cultural Awareness
•There is no foolproof way to build yourawareness of culture
•Hard to isolate culture from economic andpolitical conditions
•Education about a culture helps
•Studies of cultures have shortcomings
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The Nation as a Point of Reference
•National boundaries act as proxy forculture
•Not everyone in a country shares thesame culture
•Certain cultural attributes may link groupsfrom different nations more closely thancertain groups within nations
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How Cultures Form and Change
•Cultural values set early in life
•Changes occur from:
Choice
Imposition
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Language as a Cultural Stabilizer
•When people from different areas speak thesame language, culture spreads more easily
•Among nations that share a same language,commerce is easier
•Isolation from other groups, especially becauseof language, tends to stabilize cultures.
•Some countries see language as being soimportant that they regulate the inclusion offoreign words and/or mandate the use of thecountry’s official language for businesspurposes.
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Religion as a Cultural Stabilizer
•Centuries of profound religious influencecontinue to play a major role in shapingcultural values
•Many religions influence specific beliefsthat may affect business
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Issues in Social Stratification
•Ascribed group memberships are determined atbirth
•Acquired group memberships are based onone’s choice of affiliation
•Performance orientation of the society
•Open vs. Closed society
•Attitude towards gender
•Attitude towards age
•Importance of family group
•Prestige of occupation
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Issues in Work Motivation
•Materialism and Motivation
•Expectation of Success and Reward
•Assertiveness: The Masculinity–FemininityIndex
•Hierarchies of Needs
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Factors Affecting RelationshipPreferences
•Power distance: general relationshipbetween superiors and subordinates.
•Individualism vs. collectivism: degree ofdependence on organization
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Factors Affecting Risk-takingBehavior
•Uncertainty avoidance
•Trust
•Future orientation
•Fatalism
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Factors Affecting Information andTask Processing
•Perception of cues
•Obtaining Information: Low-Context versusHigh-Context Cultures
•Information Processing
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Factors Affecting theCommunication Process
•Spoken and Written language
•Silent language:
color associations
conversational distance
perception of time and punctuality
body language and gestures
prestige
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Dealing with Cultural Differences
•Accommodation
•Cultural distance
•Culture shock
•Company and Management orientations
polycentric
ethnocentric
geocentric
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Factors Affecting Strategies forInstituting Cultural Change
•Value systems
•Cost/benefits of change
•Resistance to too much change
•Participation
•Reward sharing
•Opinion leadership
•Timing
•Learning abroad