MGMT978 Cross Cultural Management

Cultural Management Concepts and Theories
Spring 2014 – week 3 Dr. Alison Thirlwall alisonthirlwall@uowdubai.ac.ae Learning Agenda
• Recap on Hofstede
– what did you find? – do you agree? – what kind of issues did you identify?

• Who read “The Country of the Blind?” – What did it tell you? • Seven dimensions of cultural difference – Trompenaars • Ethics for interviewers and interviewees
– background – form

• Have you completed your project proposal and had it approved?
• Group work - assessments 1 and 2

Dimensions of difference
• Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2004) built on the work of Hofstede, resulting in the following:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Universalism or Particularism Individualism or Communitarianism Specific or Diffusion Neutral or Affective Achievement or Ascription Inner direction or Outer direction Sequential time or Synchronic time

Universalism or Particularism
• Universalism
– Rules, codes, laws, and generalisations

• Particularism
– Exceptions, special circumstances, unique relations

Think: If you were sitting in the passenger seat when your best friend drove his/her car into a pedestrian, would you tell the truth about the accident to the police?

Individualism or Communitarianism
• Individualism
– Focus on the rights, motivations, rewards, and freedom of individuals

• Communitarianism
– Focus on the care and advancement of the whole community

Specificity or Diffusion
• Specificity
– focus on details, facts, and numbers

• Diffusion
– focus on patterns, relationships, and contexts

Think:
If a worker makes an expensive mistake is it the worker’s fault or the fault of the system that allowed the error to occur?

Neutral or Affective
• Neutral
– Behave professionally, be detached, dispassionate, and focus on tasks

• Affective
– Communicate personal feelings to colleagues Think: Would you reveal your feelings at work if you were upset about something?

Achievement or Ascription
• Achievement
– focus on merit, achievements, and performance

• Ascription
– focus on rights, seniority, ethnicity, gender, etc Think: Is it more important to achieve or to act in a way that best suits you, even if not much gets done?

Inner direction or Outer direction
• Inner direction
– guided by conscience and moral compass

• Outer direction
– guided by social and physical environment Think: How much control do you believe you have over what happens to you?

Sequential time or Synchronic time
• Sequential time
– focus on individual tasks and speed

• Synchronic time
– focus on coordination and synchronisation of tasks For more information and examples see Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2004), Managing people Across Cultures – available from the library

Research ethics
• Important to gain permission from interviewees
– Stanford Prison Experiments
• • http://www.prisonexp.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_LKzEqlPto

– Tearoom Trade study

• The research consent form is available on the website in the subject folder • Each interviewee must sign that they agree to participate in your research • You must comply with the terms on the agreement (i.e., confidentiality/anonymity)

Assessment 1 - Preparation
• Preparing for interviews and focus groups
– – – – – – – – – – Research the organisation (e.g., sector, size, products) Work out how you will get there/parking etc. Plan how you will organise speaking and note-taking Practice using open questions and active listening Be punctual Organise room, if required Make personal introductions Request permission to record Introduce the project and topic Complete consent forms

• At the interview/focus group

Assessment 1 – Data collection
• Gathering data
– – – – Use open questions Active listening Be non-judgemental Practice in advance

• Taking notes
– Share the load

• Finishing
– Thanks and any follow-up – Only promise what you are able to give

• Keep your promises

Groupwork

• Work on assessments 1 and 2