跨国公司管理第四章

Chapter4TheRoleofCulture“TheultimateprofitabilityofaHollywoodmovieincreasinglydependsonitsforeignrevenues.”HollywoodAbroadMoviestendtoreflecttheculturesinwhichtheirstoriesareset.Butwhilefilmmakershaveconsiderabledifficultyinpredictinghowdomesticaudiencesmayrespondtoanygivenmovie,predictinghowitwilldoabroadismoredifficult.CharacteristicsofCultureBusiness,likeallotherhumanactivities,isconductedwithinthecontextofsociety.Cultureisthecollectionofvalues,beliefs,behaviors,customs,andattitudesthatdistinguishonesocietyfromanother.Severalcharacteristicsofcultureareworthnothingfortheirrelevancetointernationalbusiness.ElementsofCultureAsociety’sculturedetermineshowitsmemberscommunicateandinteractwitheachother.Thebasicelementofculture(seeFigure4.1)aresocialstructure,language,communication,religion,andvaluesandattitudes.SocialStructureBasictoeverysocietyisitssocialstructure,theoverallframeworkthatdeterminestherolesofindividualswithinthesociety,thestratificationofthesociety,andindividuals’mobilitywithinthesociety.Anissueabout“TheImpactofJapaneseCultureonBusiness”showsdetailsonSocialStratification.Societymobilityistheabilityofindividualstomovefromonestratumofsocietytoanother.LanguageLanguagehereisusedasacompetitiveweapon.Wealsotalkabout“Lingua,Franca,Translation,andSayingNo.”CommunicationCommunicatingacrossculturalboundaries,whetherverballyornonverbally,isaparticularlyimportantskillforinternationalmanagers.NonverbalcommunicationMembersofasocietycommunicatewitheachothermorethanworlds.Becauseofculturaldifferences,nonverbalformsofcommunicationoftencanleadtomisunderstanding.Differencesinthemeaningsofhandgesturesandfacialexpressionsalsoexistamongcultures.Evensilencehasmeaning.Table4.1listsomeofthemanycommonformsofnonverbalcommunication.Gift-givingHospitalityTheyareimportantmeansofcommunicationinmanybusinessculture.Normsofhospitalityevenaffectthewaybadnewsisdeliveredinvariouscultures.ReligionAsreflectedinMap4.3,47%oftheworld’spopulationadherestooneoffourreligions:Christianity,ComprisingRomanCatholic(17.4%),Protestant(12.3%),andEasternOrthodox(3.6%);Islam(20.6%);Hinduism(14.3%);andBuddhism(6.0%).Letustalkabouttheinterestwhenitisforbiddenbyreligion.ValuesandAttitudesCulturalattitudestowardsuchfactorsastime,age,education,andstatusreflectthesevaluesandinturnshapethebehavioroftheopportunitiesavailabletointernationalbusinessesoperatinginagivenculture.SeetheForest,nottheTreesHall’sLow-Context-High-ContextApproachWhatisthetitleabovesay?Businessbehaviorinhigh-contextculturesoftendifferfromthoseinlow-contextcultures.TheCulturalClusterApproachMap4.4showstheeightcountryclustersdevelopedbyonesuchteamofresearchers,RonenandShenkar.Aculturalclustercomprisescountriesthatsharemanyculturalsimilarities,althoughdifferencestoremain.Agreenfieldinvestmentisabrand-newinvestment.Hofstede’sFiveDimensionsWecanseeclearlyfromFigure4.3thedimensions.SocialOrientationTherearesometermstolearnlike“socialorientation,individualism,collectivism”.AndTable4.3givestheextremesofsocialorientation.PowerOrientationThistitlediscussestheoppositeattitudesofdifferentcultures.Theyaretwoextremesofpowerorientation.UncertaintyOrientationUncertaintyorientationisthefeelingpeoplehaveregardinguncertainandambiguoussituations.Therearetwoextremes:uncertaintyacceptanceanduncertaintyavoidance.GoalOrientationHofstede’sfourthdimension,goalorientation,isthemannerinwhichpeoplearemotivatedtoworktowarddifferentkindsofgoals.Oneextremeonthegoalorientationcontinuumisaggressivegoalbehavior(seeTable4.6andtheotherispassivegoalbehavior.TimeOrientationInternationalManagementandCulturalDifferencesThankstoMTVandCNN,teenagersworldwidehavebeenabletoenjoythewitandwisdomoftheOsbournes,whiletheirparentcanlearnaboutpolitics,scandals,disasters,andcultureinothercountries.Emergingopportunities:China’sYuletideRevolution.Weshouldunderstandnewcultures.Peoplesoftenmakemistakeofrelyingontheself-referencecriterion.