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Management An Introduction: Chapter 4 - Managing Internationally 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.9

This document summarizes key aspects of international management and cultural differences between societies and their impacts. It discusses how culture is shaped by both human nature and distinct societal influences. Frameworks for analyzing cultural dimensions from scholars like Hofstede and Hall are introduced, examining factors such as individualism/collectivism, power distance, and high/low context communication styles. Management systems are also noted to vary substantially between countries due to divergent institutional and economic development paths.

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HAOYU LEE
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48 views

Management An Introduction: Chapter 4 - Managing Internationally 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.9

This document summarizes key aspects of international management and cultural differences between societies and their impacts. It discusses how culture is shaped by both human nature and distinct societal influences. Frameworks for analyzing cultural dimensions from scholars like Hofstede and Hall are introduced, examining factors such as individualism/collectivism, power distance, and high/low context communication styles. Management systems are also noted to vary substantially between countries due to divergent institutional and economic development paths.

Uploaded by

HAOYU LEE
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Daniel Schenk Maastricht University 13th October 2015

Management an Introduction
Chapter 4 – Managing Internationally 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.9
International management is the practice of managing business operations in more than
one country

Socio-cultural context
Humans share common biological features those in particular society, nation or religion
develop a distinct culture. Culture is distinct from human nature and individual’s personality.

Cultural diversity and evolution


Hofstede and Hofstede (2005)
Diversity of cultures between human societies has evolved from common ancestors. Societies
adapt to their environment, experience military or religious conquest, or explot scientific
discoveries.
Nations develop distinct institutions that account for differences in behaviour between
countries.

High-context and low-context cultures


Hall (1976)
High-context cultures – Information is implicit and can only be fully understood by those with
shared experiences in the culture.
Low-context cultures – People being more psychologically distant so that information needs
to be explicit if members are to understand it.

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Daniel Schenk Maastricht University 13th October 2015

Hofstede’s comparison of national cultures


Hofstede saw culture as a collective programming of people’s minds, which influences how
they react to events in the workplace. He identified different dimensions of culture.

Power distance
…extent to which the less powerful members of organisations within a country expect and
accept that power is distributed unevenly.

Uncertainty avoidance
…extent to which members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations

Individualism/collectivism
Individualism – Societies in which the ties between individuals are loose.
Collectivism – Societies in which people, are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups that
protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

Masculinity/femininity
Masculinity – Societies in which social gender roles are clearly distinct:
 Men are supposed to be assertive, tough and focussed on material success
 Women are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life
Femininity – Societies in which social gender roles overlap

Integrating the dimensions


Dimensions describe the overall culture of society, and each culture is unique. They do have
differences though, and can fall into particular cultural clusters.

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Daniel Schenk Maastricht University 13th October 2015

Long-term and short-term orientation


Long-term orientation (LTO) – Fostering virtues orientated towards future rewards –
Perseverance and thrift
Short-term orientation (STO) – Fostering virtues related to the past and present – Tradition,
preservation of ‘face’, fulfilling social obligations

Contrasting management systems


Countries vary substantially in the way they organise economic activities.
Whitley (1999)
Different patterns of industrialisation developed in contrasting institutional contexts and led to
contrasting institutional arrangements governing economic processes becoming established.

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