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The reason cultural factors are a challenge to global marketers is that they are hidden
from view. Because culture is learned behavior passed on from generation to
generation, it is difficult for the inexperienced or untrained outsider to fathom. Becoming
a global manager means learning how to let go of cultural assumptions. Failure to do so
will hinder accurate understanding of the meaning and significance of the statements
and behaviors of business associates from a different culture. For example, a person
from a culture that encourages responsibility and initiative could experience
misunderstandings with a client or boss from a culture that encourages bosses to
remain in personal control of all activities. Such a boss would expect to be kept advised
of a subordinate’s actions; the subordinate might be taking initiative on the mistaken
assumption that the boss would appreciate a willingness to assume responsibility.
Culture
- Values
- Perception
- Preference
- Behavior
Social Class
- Income
- Job
- Education
1. Social Factor
2. Personal Influences
- Active
- Interest
- Opinion
3. Psychological Factors
cultural Factors
Increased awareness about the nature and effects of cultural differences can overcome barriers to adjustment and
peak performance within the team. The participants analyze their own cultural profile using the following dimensions
from Fons Trompenaars²'s schema. This analysis focuses on cultural factors rather than professional or other issues.
Relationships with people - Participants explore ways in which they relate to each other. For example,
some may feel that friendship has special obligations and should come first in working relationships, while
others may give more emphasis to following rules first and less importance to helping friends.
Attitudes towards time - Individual team members may have differences relating to how strongly they are
orientated to the influence of the past (for example, the importance of precedence and history), the present
(for example, current organizational politics and concerns) and the future (for example, a vision for future
development).
Attitudes towards nature - Some people view the environment, fate and current circumstances as acting
powerfully on individuals and will seek to live in harmony with these factors. Others may want to manipulate,
control and even exploit the environment. These views may lead to very different ways of analyzing the
feasibility and importance of projects. These attitudes are also highly important in anticipating reactions to
field projects.
The analysis of culture differences using a cultural profile questionnaire first helps participants understand how they
may be perceived by others and, second, helps them to modify and expand their understanding of the behaviors of
others. Cultural differences can either inhibit or augment the effectiveness of teams, depending in part on the
awareness that each member brings to the team regarding these differences. If members view such differences as
annoyances or barriers, then the team's effectiveness will be inhibited. If, on the other hand, members see these
differences as representing alternative ways of both understanding and implementing the work of the team, the
capacity of the team will be enhanced. Since there are within all cultures both effective and difficult
(counterproductive) people, it is not the presence of individuals from multiple cultural backgrounds that causes
problems but rather the presence of those who are either unwilling or unable to carry out the work of the group. This
is an important distinction, since it is often assumed that the cultures themselves may inhibit the work of the team.
Recent research has suggested that although diverse teams take more time to complete tasks in the short run, in the
long run they find more creative solutions.
Individual Differences
In the analysis of individual differences, participants explore their personality type and reflect upon their working
styles and management preferences. With the help of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator³, participants gain a
perspective on how they are energized, acquire information, make decisions and relate to their fellow workers. Within
the context of these four scales they are helped to understand themselves and their behaviors and appreciate others,
so as to make constructive use of individual differences. By knowing their own preferences and learning about those
of others, they come to know their special strengths and how people with different preferences can relate to each
other and become valuable within teams.
Additionally, using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the weighting of types within the team as a whole is analyzed
and discussed with participants, with regard to the impact on the team as a whole and on the larger organization. In
the present format of this team-building workshop, the individual differences resulting from technical competences or
knowledge and experience levels are not analyzed. However, we believe that in the initial formation of teams,
professional competences and complementary expertise should also be taken into consideration.
Before team-building sessions are conducted it has been found to be advisable to create a positive atmosphere in
which such sessions can be conducted effectively. The following activities can be useful in building receptiveness.
1. It is necessary for participants to have participated in a primary workshop on intercultural skills development
prior to attending the team-building program. This workshop provides participants with analytical tools to
distinguish between different causes of management behavior; assess how their own cultural management
preferences may affect the workplace environment; develop skills and strategies for working effectively in a
multicultural, gender neutral environment; and increase their awareness of research in the field of
intercultural and gender management practices.
2. Prior to the team-building program, team members should be selected or trained for the knowledge,
information and expertise needed to help the overall group with its mission and should display competence
in managing small- or large-scale projects. This involves skills in the areas of time management, negotiation,
conflict management, presentation and intercultural communication.
3. Team members should attend the course: 'Leadership Styles and Effective Management', during which
participants reflect on how job performance and managerial effectiveness are related to the way they think
about themselves and others. This workshop provides middle-level professionals and senior managers with
the opportunity to examine their working styles as leaders, as well as the processes of managerial change
and self-improvement.
4. One of the facilitators may meet with a group before it begins the team-building process to do a thorough
needs assessment and inform the group of the structure of the program.
5. Team input sessions are arranged with an organizational development practitioner to provide education in
group decision making, communication, problem solving and skills of interfacing with other teams.
6. Team sessions are held on forecasting, budget planning, member replacement and impact of technological
or organizational changed on the team.
Defining culture
Culture is the cumulative result of experience, values, religion, beliefs, attitudes, meanings,
knowledge, social organizations, procedures, timing, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe
and material objects and possessions acquired or created by groups of people, in the course of
generations, through individual and group effort and interactions. Culture manifests itself in patterns
of language, behavior and activities and provides models and norms for acceptable day-to-day
interactions and styles of communication. Culture enables people to live together in a society within
a given geographic environment, at a given state of technical development and at a particular
moment in time (adapted from Samovar and Porter, 1972).
When we think of culture we often think of the national cultures reported in the international media.
However, culture is much broader and encompasses the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of diverse
ethnic groups, clans, tribes, regional subcultures or even neighborhoods. Culture also differentiates
people by religious or ideological persuasions, professions and educational backgrounds. Families
also have cultures, as do the two largest cultural groups in the world, men and women. Companies,
organizations and educational institutions also demonstrate unique cultures. With all of these cultural
variables, and significant variations within cultures, how can we develop any common
understanding, general hypotheses or conclusions about how a particular person or group from any
one culture might behave in negotiations or conflicts?
Fig 1 and 2
Yet specific cultures do contain clusters of people with fairly common attitudinal and behavioral
patterns. As indicated in Figure I above, these clusters occupy the middle portion of a bell-shaped
curve (Trompenaars, 1994).
However, every culture includes outliers - people who vary significantly from the norm. While still
contained within the range for their culture, their views and behaviors differ significantly from that of
their peers and may even look similar to other cultures. For instance, a businessman or engineer
from a developing country who was educated in England may have more in common with his or her
peers in Europe than with his fellow countrymen (see Figure II).
For this reason, we must be wary of generalizations about how people from a specific culture may
think or act. Rigid notions about a group's cultural patterns can result in inaccurate stereotypes,
gross injustice to the group and inaccurate (and possibly disastrous) assumptions or actions.
Common cultural patterns found in a group's central cultural cluster should be looked upon as
possible, or even probable, clues as to the ways a cultural group may think or respond. But the
hypothesis should always be tested and modified after direct interaction with the group in question.
You may well encounter an outlier who seems more similar to us than we ever expected.
Cultural factors
The rise of globalisation has meant that more people with different cultural backgrounds are able to
interact, and as a result, people from different parts of the world are increasingly sharing a more unified
set of cultural and social values. It is an idea which has been described as a 'cultural melting pot.' These
cultural factors include anything from language and sport, to movies and food.
Some people perceive this to be a positive impact. They believe that globalisation has resulted in the
increase of tourism, which has allowed more cultures to be kept alive. An example of this is the way that
thousands of tourists travel each year to see the Kayan women of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand.
Tourists buy souvenirs of local handicrafts and pay to see the brass rings coiled around the necks of the
women, which results in the striking appearance of a long neck. Refer Image 3
Others believe that tourism exploits cultures such as the Kayan people. It has also been suggested that
globalisation has changed and even destroyed many traditional cultures. In fact, there is a growing belief
that cultures are not being shared, but rather that they are being dominated by Western culture
(particularly the United States and Europe). Often, TNCs are blamed for this. The dominance of TNCs,
particularly in the areas of cultural products, has caused many around the world to fear that distinct
national identities and traditional cultures will be lost. Customary meals will be replaced with the food of
American TNC giant, McDonald's. Traditional clothing will be abandoned for Western clothes with the
brands of Nike and Converse. No longer will people listen to the sounds of traditional music or watch
movies spoken in their regional language, but rather turn to new releases by Sony or Twentieth Century
Fox.
Global communications are also rapidly developing, allowing the dominant aspects of North American
culture to dominate the cultural melting pot. Through the increase of television, films, music and the use of
the Internet, English has become the dominant language and has replaced a number of regional
languages.