UNIT5 management and cultural diversity--陈海萍

ManagementandCulturalDiversity陈海萍0093893Contents123CulturalattitudesManagingmultinationalsYouandyourculture1aDiscussionΩMultinationalcompaniescaneitherattempttousesimilarmanagementmethodsinalltheirforeignsubsidiaries,oradapttheirmethodstothelocalcultureineachcountryorcontinent.Whichproceduredoyouthinkisthemostefficient?Inmypointofview,multinationalcompaniesshouldadapttheirmethodstothelocalcultureineachcountryorcontinent.Thestaffinthecompanyarefromdifferentcountriesandcultures,eachhashisowntaboos,dosanddon’ts.Onlybyadaptingthemethodstothelocalculture,canthecompanyavoiddisputesandcreataharmoniousatmosphere,whichisquiteimportanttoacompany’sdevelopment.Doyouthinkthecultureofyourcountryissimilarenoughtothoseofneighboringcountriestohavethesamemanagementtechniques?Oraretherecountriesnearbywherepeoplehaveverydifferentattitudestowork,hierarchy,organization,andsoon?(INDIA,SOUTHKOREA,RUSSIA)ININDIA:InsucharichlydiverseandcomplexcountryasIndiaitisdifficulttoimpartgenericconclusionsthatcanbeusedbythosedoingbusinessthere.Regionalism,religion,languageandcasteareallfactorsthatneedtobetakenintoaccountwhendoingbusinessinIndia.Behavior,etiquetteandapproachareallmodifieddependingonwhomyouareaddressingandthecontextinwhichtheyarebeingaddressed.HierarchyOfalltheculturalinfluencesthatmostimpactIndianbusinessculture,hierarchyplaysakeyrole.WithitsrootsinHinduismandthecastesystem,Indiansocietyoperateswithinaframeworkofstricthierarchythatdefinespeople'sroles,statusandsocialorder.Forexample,withincompaniesmanuallaborwillonlybecarriedoutbythepeon(roughlyequivalenttoa'runner').Itisnotuncommonforthemovingofadesktotakehours.Thisisbecauseno-oneintheofficewillcarryoutthetaskbutthepeon,who,ifotherwiseengagedcannotdoso.InRussia:StructureandhierarchyinRussiancompaniesThehierarchicalstructureinRussianbusinesspracticesmeansthatthedecisionmakershigheruphaveauthorityovertheirsubordinates.However,thenatureofthecollectivegoodoftenencouragesaflexibleanddemocraticworkethos.Showingrespectforseniorityandrecognizingthehierarchicalstructureisvitalforestablishingandmaintainingstrongbusinessrelationships.AttitudetowardsworkTasksareexecutedslowerthaninEurope.Itisnotlaziness,justdifferentspeedofwork.Russiansoftenstayatworklaterbuttheintensityoftheiractivityduringbusinesshoursmaybelower.RussiansalsomakefriendsatworkandvaluetheenvironmentandhumanfactormorehighlythanEuropeans.InSouthKorea:KoreancorporatecultureisinspiredbyConfucianismandJapanesecorporateculture.SomeveryminoraspectsofAmericancorporateculturehavealsobeenadoptedinKorea.Koreansconsiderthattheircompanyisanintegralpartoftheiridentity.KoreanCompanylifeAKoreanworker'sjobtitledescribestheirstatusinthehierarchyratherthanwhattaskstheyperform.Regardingwork,Koreansperformanytasktheyareaskedbythesupervisor.Therearenolimitsregardingwhattasksasupervisormayask.Taskscanincludecallingsomeone,proofreadingdocumentsordrivingtodifferentplaces.Koreanworkersareseldomtoldwhattaskstheywillperformthenextdayorthenextmonthordiscussreasonswhytasksarebeingperformed.Thus,forKoreanworkers,theirdepartment'sactivitiescanbeatotalmystery.EachKoreanworkerhasadirectsupervisor.Koreanworkersareexpectednottoleavethecompanyuntiltheirdirectsupervisordoes.Koreansareexpectedtohavelunchandsometimesdinnerwiththeirteamandsupervisor.1bDiscussionADutchresearcher,FonsTrompenaars,andhisassociates,haveaskednearly15,000businesspeopleinover50countriesanumberofquestionswhichrevealdifferingculturalbeliefsandattitudestowork.Herearefiveofthem,adaptedfromRidingtheWavesofCulture:UnderstandingCulturalDiversityinBusiness.Theyconcernwaysofworking,individualsandgroups,rulesandpersonalfriendships,andsoon.Whatareyouranswerstothequestions？Ifyouhadtochoose,wouldyousaythatacompanyis(a)asystemdesignedtoperformfunctionsandtasksinanefficientway,usingmachinesandpeople,or(b)agroupofpeoplewhosefunctioningdependsonsocialrelationsandwaypeopleworktogether?(b)Acompanyisagroupconsistoflotsofpeople,whetherthesocialrelationsaregoodornotandthewaypeopleworktogetherhaveadirectinfluenceontheworkefficiencyofthestaff,andtheninfluencethedailyoperationofacompany.Whatisthemainreasonforhavinganorganizationstructureinacompany?(a)Sothateveryoneknowswhohasauthorityoverwhom(b)Sothateveryoneknowshowfunctionsareallocatedandcoordinated(b)Havinganarganizationstructureinacompanycouldletthestaffknowwhoheisaccountabletoandtheexactresponsibiolitiesheshouldtake,thiscouldhelpdevelopaclearideaabouttheoperationofthecompanyandabouthowfunctionsareallocatedandcoordinated.(b)Ifanindividualisreadytocareforotherssothatotherscouldhaveabetterlife,thatofcoursewillimprovethequalityofhisownlifeinthathehasagoodsurroundingarea;what’smore,goodturnsexchangesgoodrepay…Will(a)thequalityofanindividual’slifeimproveifheorshehasasmuchfreedomaspossibleandthemaximumopportunitytodeveloppersonally,or(b)thequalityoflifeforeveryoneimproveifindividualsarecontinuouslytakingcareoftheirfellowhumanbeings,evenifthislimitsindividualfreedomanddevelopment?(b)Asthispersonisamemberofagroup,thewholegroup,especiallytheleaderofthegro