Appunti di Cross cultural management

CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT

THE CHALLENGING ROLE OF THE GLOBAL MARKET

Globalization has been described as the "crystallization of the world as a single place", the overlapping of the interests of business and society or "an increase in the impact on human activities of forces that span national boundaries". Parker: "a process whereby worldwide interconnections in virtually every sphere of activity are growing. Some of these interconnections lead to integration/unity worldwide; others do not."

This increase in interconnections is the result of shifts that have taken place in technological, political, and economic spheres. The following four categories of change illustrate the process of globalization.

Growing Economic Interconnectedness

1. The economic interconnections among countries were dramatically increased with the advent of free-trade areas in the 1990s, the three largest (they account for about one half of the world's trade) are:
• European Union

(EU)- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

In addition, the World Trade Organization (WTO), formed in 1995 with the goal of reducing tariffs and liberalizing trade across the board, now has 157 member-nations.

➔ Greater degree of interconnectedness among the world’s economies.

➔ The gap between regional GDP growth rates of the fastest growing and least dynamic regions of the world has begun to narrow.

➔ The level of foreign direct investment (FDI) also has a globalizing effect. , Since the great recession began, flows have stabilized at approximately their 2000 levels. The inward flow of FDI now accounts for about one-third of the GDP of developing countries compared to about 10 percent in 1980 (with China).

➔ Effects of globalization: 1. potential to favour developed market economies and 2. a small number of large emerging economies but are not even consistently positive in developed economies.

➔ Organizational boundaries are also

affected by globalization: I, production, sales and marketing, and distribution might all be located in different countries to capitalize on certain location-specific advantages ➔ Networks of less hierarchical relationships and cooperative strategic alliances. ➔ Emergence of virtual organizations ➔ Manufacturing and sales on a global basis on an unprecedented scale More Complex-Dynamic Work Environment due to downsizing, privatization, and team-based management. 1. DOWNSIZING: Workforce reductions due to mergers and acquisitions. → The number of permanent migrants is changing the composition of the workforce in numerous countries. The number of women migrants is increasing and today's migrant is much more likely to be highly skilled. 2. PRIVATIZATION: Governments in both developed and developing countries are selling state-owned business to private investors at an increasing rate. → Privatization enables formerly government-controlled enterprises to be available for

purchase by foreign firms, thus reducing boundaries.

Major changes in technology, workforce size, and management are often required to meet global standards of quality and efficiency.

TEAM-BASED MANAGEMENT: teams of workers as a solution to productivity problems

Demographic shifts in the workforce in many countries.

Demographic changes: increasing cultural diversity because of ease of movement of workers of all skill levels across borders, the rising average age of employees, and more women to the workforce.

Introducing teams involves changes in work methods, compensation systems, level of employee involvement and the role of the first-line supervisor.

Increased Use and Sophistication of Information Technology

Multinational firms can now communicate all types of information worldwide and instantaneously.

Access to information, resources, products, and markets is influenced by improved information technology.

Businesses are almost entirely unconcerned with

Le tradizionali barriere e limiti, inclusi quelli di scala e portata. Più e diversi attori sul palcoscenico globale1. Inizialmente, gli attori sul palcoscenico degli affari internazionali erano l'azienda e la sua clientela straniera, ma presto si sono uniti anche i governi dei paesi di origine e di destinazione, seguiti da gruppi di interesse speciale, agenzie internazionali e alleanze economiche.→2. Nel tempo, le caratteristiche di questi attori sono cambiate: ci sono più piccole imprese, il settore dei servizi è in aumento e ci sono più manager internazionali, bande internazionali e terroristi (Cina, Russia, Giappone, Italia e Stati Uniti).Ambiente della gestione globale1. Gli elementi dell'ambiente del manager globale possono essere divisi in quattro categorie: economica, legale, politica e culturale.→ I manager devono avere conoscenze sulle strategie economiche dei paesi, sulla complessità delle leggi e dei regolamenti, sulle strutture e sui processi con cui una nazione integra le parti della società in un'unità funzionante e sulle diverse culture.2.

Culture is uniquely important to international management for three reasons.

1. Economic, legal, and political characteristics of a country are a manifestation of a nation's culture and history.
2. Culture is largely invisible and difficult to detect, and managers therefore often overlook it.
3. Management largely focuses on interpersonal interactions with individuals who are culturally different.

What Global Managers Do

Managerial work was characterized by brevity, variety, and fragmentation, with a high degree of interpersonal interaction.

Interpersonal interactions are at the core of management.

How Global Managers Carry Out Their Role: Sources of Guidance

Managers throughout the world report that they rely heavily on their: own experience and training; on other people, their roleset (colleagues, superiors, and subordinates), and norms (explicit organizational rules and procedures; and implicit norms such as the organizational culture) in order to understand how to carry out

Il contesto organizzativo, la cultura e i ruoli manageriali Il contesto globale della gestione internazionale può influenzare il ruolo del manager. I manager possono avere lavori con richieste e vincoli simili e ancora differire in quali ruoli scelgono di enfatizzare (scelte che i manager di diverse culture fanno riguardo ai loro ruoli). I ruoli e i comportamenti lavorativi dei manager sono il risultato sia del contesto nazionale che organizzativo. La cultura influenza anche i ruoli e i comportamenti dei manager in modo indiretto (ruoli informativi, interpersonali o decisionali). Valutazione degli studi sulla gestione interculturale: 1. Nella maggior parte delle ricerche sulla gestione, il loro mondo è gli Stati Uniti e la loro teoria riflette la convinzione intrinseca nella superiorità della gestione statunitense ma anche il provincialismo - una mancanza di consapevolezza di contesti, modelli, ricerche e valori alternativi. 2. Le domande alle quali gli studiosi della gestione cercano risposte sono il prodotto del tempo in cui vengono studiate (dopo la seconda guerra mondiale). 3. La mancanza diuniversality of "made in America" theories. However, three particularly pervasive aspects of the U.S:
1. Extreme individualism
2. A belief that individuals are in control of their circumstances and can influence their environment and future (free will)
3. Low-context communication (the meaning of a message is contained in the explicit communication)
→ Most cross-cultural research must be carefully evaluated with the recognition of the limitations presented by the cultures involved and the method used. Types of International Management Research: Six categories of research studies.
1. Domestic Research: within a single country without regard for the boundary conditions set by the cultural orientation. Culture is ignored, or universality of theory is assumed. The vast majority originated in USA & suffers from the parochialism.
2. Replication Research: replicating research results first found in one country by repeating the research in other countries. Universality is
questioned; there is no theory available to predict the effect of culture. The goal of such research is to compare the responses in the two cultures as closely as possible. Finding: theory X applies in culture A & also in culture B? 3. Indigenous Research: focuses on the different and varied ways in which managers behave and organizations are run in a specific cultural setting in a way that highlights something that is expected to be unique. Cultural differences are assumed to exist; indigenous theory is needed to explain behaviour. Finding: how explain behaviour Examples of indigenous approaches are the concept of simpatía (interactions in Hispanic cultures), amae (indulgent dependence – superior-subordinate relationships in Japan), guanxi (relationships for Chinese businesses) cultures 4. Comparative Research: Comparative studies seek to find both the similarities and differences that exist across cultures regarding a particular management issue and if

A theory is universal and the ways in which it is culturally limited. Similarities and differences exist; there may or may not be a theory available to predict the effect of culture.

International Research: focus attention on the multinational enterprise (MNE). They recognize that both similarities and differences exist across cultures, but the cultural context does not figure prominently in the conceptualization of the study. → Finding: How organizations that operate in multiple countries function

Intercultural Research: seeks to understand the interactions between culturally different individuals in organizational settings. The mechanisms responsible for the influence of culture are an integral part of these studies. Intercultural research considers the culture of both parties in the interaction as well as contextual explanations for observed similarities and differences. → Finding: How the theory is influenced by cultural differences, and how is universal.

Methodological

Issues in Cross-Cultural Research: EQUIVALENCE, SAMPLING, AND DATA COLLECTION.

EQUIVALENCE: instrument development process & data collection strategy are important in research across national boundaries

Conceptual or construct equivalence relates to the extent to which concepts have the same meaning in different countries.

Method equivalence relates to similarities and differences in the way to which the cultural groups being studied respond to measurement instruments in general: acquiescence (tendency for some cultural groups to agree/disagree with all or most questions asked) and extremity bias (the extent to which cultural groups systematically choose the extreme points or the middle points on rating scales).

Metric equivalence refers to the extent tiiat questions (survey items) have similar measurement properties across different groups.

SAMPLING: a small number of participants who accurately represent a clearly identifiable population.

DATA COLLECTION: questionnaires, followed by interviews.

cal analysis is often used to analyze the data collected from questionnaires and interviews. Additionally, surveys and experiments are also commonly used quantitative methods in research. In international and cross-cultural research, questionnaires are widely used due to their ability to collect large amounts of data from a diverse range of participants. Questionnaires can be administered in person, through mail, or online, making them a flexible and convenient method for data collection. Interviews, on the other hand, are a qualitative method that allows researchers to gather in-depth information and insights from participants. Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured, depending on the research objectives. They provide an opportunity for participants to express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in their own words. Critical analysis is an important step in analyzing the data collected from questionnaires and interviews. It involves examining the data for patterns, themes, and relationships, and interpreting the findings in light of the research objectives. Critical analysis helps researchers make sense of the data and draw meaningful conclusions. Surveys and experiments are also commonly used quantitative methods in international and cross-cultural research. Surveys involve administering a set of standardized questions to a sample of participants, while experiments involve manipulating variables and measuring their effects on participants. These methods allow researchers to test hypotheses and make causal inferences. In conclusion, questionnaires and interviews are the most common methods used in international and cross-cultural research. Critical analysis is essential for analyzing the data collected from these methods, while surveys and experiments are also valuable quantitative methods in research.