Attitudes, Values and Organizational Culture:

Disentangling the Concepts

Geert Hofstede

Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation, Maastricht and Tilburg, the Netherlands

Sentiments collected through paper-and-pencil surveys are often arbitrarily classified according to categories imposed by the researcher, such as
attitudes, values, and manifestations of organizational culture. The question is, to what extent are such classifications supported by the distinctions that
respondents make in their own minds? In this paper, distinctions between categories of sentiments are supported empirically from the results of an
employee survey in a large Danish insurance company (n = 2,590). The 120 questions used were classified into attitudes, values, perceptions of
organizational practices (for diagnosing organizational cultures), and demographics.

Perceptions of organizational cultures were measured using an approach developed by the author and his colleagues in an earlier study across 20
Danish and Dutch organizational units. In the insurance company study, employee attitudes were found to be clearly distinct from employee values.
Perceptions of organizational practices were unrelated to values, and only overlapped with attitudes where both dealt with communication. In the latter
case, both can be seen as expressions of the organization's communication climate. Other perceptions of organizational practices did not form
recognizable clusters at the level of individuals, but only at the level of organizational (sub)units.

Key Words: attitudes • values • organizational culture • survey methods • organizational communication • insurance companies

Cultural Diversity & Negotiations—A Global Perspective

By : Prof. Rajesh Asrani

Core Faculty Member,
N. R. Institute of Business Management, Ahmedabad, India
(P. G. Centre of Gujarat University for MBA)
Abstract

The emerging trend towards liberalized global policies

coupled with suitable reform processes throughout the globe
have drastically changed the business environment for the
firms. This leaves the managers in organizations of all sizes
and types around the world with the opportunities and
challenges of operating in the global market. The immediate
issue to be addressed is configuration of human resource
that is diverse in culture and geographic proximity especially
in global business organizations.

The paper is broadly categorized in two parts. The first part

tries to explore the meaning of culture, concepts related to it
and the role of culture in finding global opportunities. It also
emphasizes on the various cross-cultural issues concerning
the integration of diverse workforce in an international
organization.

The second part has a major emphasize in understanding

the dynamics of successful international business
negotiations and the strategies that work in the current multi-
cultural business arena. The paper presents various models
in a standardized form to suggest a model framework for
global business negotiations and the significance of culture
in the same. It mainly concentrates on 12 negotiating
variables i.e. selection of negotiator, role of individual
aspirations, concern with protocol, significance of type of
issue, complexity of language, value of time, basis of trust,
risk taking propensity, etc. All these negotiating variables in
specific reference to countries like India, Russia, Germany,
France, Nigeria and Brazil are considered.

Finally the paper concludes with the suggestions on

appropriate behavior coupled with acculturation, assimilation
and maintenance of the new culture, and resistance to both
new and old cultures.
INTRODUCTION
The emerging trend towards liberalized global policies
coupled with suitable reform processes throughout the globe
have drastically changed the business environment for the
firms. This leaves the managers in organizations of all sizes
and types around the world with the opportunities and
challenges of operating in the global market. The immediate
issue to be addressed is configuration of human resource
that is diverse in culture and geographic proximity especially
in global business organizations.

We know that every person has a unique personality. An

individual’s personality is a set of relatively permanent and
stable traits. Our personality influences the way we act and
interact with others. When we describe someone as warm,
open, relaxed, or conservative, we’re describing personality
traits. An organization too has a personality, which we call its
culture.
MEANING OF CULTURE

It’s a system of shared meaning and beliefs held by

organizational members that determines, in large degree,
how they act. It represents a common perception held by the
organization’s members. Just as tribal cultures have rules
and taboos that dictate how members will act toward each
other and outsiders, organizations have cultures that govern
how its members should behave. In every organization,
there are systems or patterns of values, symbols, rituals,
myths, and practices that have evolved over time. These
shared values determine to a large degree what employees
see and how they respond to their world. When confronted
with problems or work issues, the organizational culture –
the way we do things around here- influences what
employees can do and how they conceptualize, define,
analyze, and resolve issues.

Research suggests that there are seven dimensions that

capture the essence of an organization’s culture that are
described in the figure. Each of the characteristics exists on
a continuum from low to high. Appraising an organization on
these seven dimensions gives a composite picture of the
organization’s culture. In many organizations, one of these
cultural dimensions often rises above the others and
essentially shapes the organization’s personality and the
way organizational members do their work.
ROLE OF CULTURE
Universal needs create strong pressure for a global strategy.
Universal needs exist when the tastes and preferences of
consumers in different countries with regard to a product are
similar. Products that serve universal needs require little
adoption across national markets; thus, global integration is
facilitated. The role of culture plays an important role in this
context.

In many ways, cultural issues represent the most elusive

aspect of international business. In an era when modern
transportation and communication technologies have
created a “global village”, it is easy to forget how deep and
enduring the differences among nations actually can be. The
fact that people everywhere drink Coke, wear blue jeans,
and drive Toyota doesn’t mean we are all becoming alike.
Each country is unique for reasons rooted in history, culture,
language, geography, social conditions, race and religion.
These differences complicate any international activities, and
represent the fundamental issues that inform and guide how
an organization should conduct business across borders.

Managers who ignore culture put their organizations at a

great disadvantage in the global marketplace. Because each
culture has its own norms, customs, and expectations for
behavior, success in an international organization depends
on one’s ability to understand the cross-cultural issues
especially those concerning the integration of diverse
workforce.
DIVERSITY IN WORKFORCE

Workforce diversity has become an important issue abroad.

The integration of this diverse workforce along many
different dimensions has become very important. These
dimensions of diversity might include gender, age, ethnic
origin or any of several others. A group comprising five
middle-aged white male U. S. executives has relatively little
diversity. If one member is replaced by a young white female
executive, the group becomes a bit more diverse. If another
member is replaced by an older African American executive,
diversity increases a bit more. And when a third member is
replaced by a Japanese executive, the group becomes even
more diverse.

DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY

• Age
One important dimension of diversity in any organization is age distribution
of workers. Birth rate and health and medical care are the factors
contributing to this pattern.

• Gender
As more and more women have entered the workforce, organizations
have subsequently experienced changes in relative proportion of male and
female employees. Many organizations today also face a major gender
related problem called glass ceiling. The glass ceiling describes a barrier
that keeps women from advancing to top management positions in many
organizations. This ceiling is a real barrier that is difficult to break, but it is
also so subtle as to be hard to see.

• Ethnicity
A third major dimension of cultural diversity in
organization is ethnicity. Ethnicity refers to ethnic
composition of a group or organization. Issues of right
and wrong get blurred as we move from one culture to
another, and actions that may be normal and customary
in one setting may be unethical- even illegal- in another.
To safeguard against ethical problems, companies have
established codes of conduct. The codes lay out
precisely what kinds of actions are permissible, and
provide procedure and support systems that
organizations can use in ambiguous situations.
 • Other dimensions
In addition to age, gender and ethnicity, organizations are also
confronting other dimensions of diversity. Country of national
origin is a dimension of diversity that can be especially important
for global organizations. This dimension can be particularly
important when different languages are involved. Handicapped
and physically challenging employees are increasingly important
in many organizations. Single parents, dual career couples, gays
and lesbians, people with special dietary preferences and people
with different political ideologies and view points also present
major dimensions of diversity in today’s organizations.

Geert Hofstede has identified four dimensions along which

managers in international organizations tend to view cultural
differences:

• Power distance: the extent to which a society accepts

the fact that power in organizations is distributed
unequally.
• Individualism/collectivism: the extent to which people
act on their own or as a part of a group.
• Uncertainty avoidance: the extent to which people in a
society feel threatened by uncertain and ambiguous
situations.
• Masculinity/feminity: the extent to which a society
values quantity of life (e.g. accomplishment, money)
over quality of life
(e.g. compassion, beauty).
http://www.laynetworks.com/Cultural-Diversity-Negotiations2.htm

Technical Ability Social Skills

Achievement Ascription
Scientific Skills Status
Legal training Personal Attributes
General Knowledge Kinship
Language fluency Social class

CONCLUSION
Thus to conclude there are various patterns for negotiations in various countries, how
ever any negotiator, in order to be successful has to be comfortable with the culture of the
alien country in which he has to operate. Unless the same is done, negotiation, which is
like a two way communication process, cannot be completed on a positive note.

1. Slide 1: Organizational Culture Jeff McNeill – 2007 University of Hawaii at

Manoa Copyright © Jeff McNeill This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
2. Slide 2: the Study of′Organizational Culture – Agenda Comes from
Anthropology http://tinyurl.com/48b4o Six′ Different from National Culture λ
Culture http://tinyurl.com/4dqmz Process vs.′Dimensions of Organizational
Culture Open vs. Closed Systemλ Parochial vs. Professional λ Employee vs. Job
λResults λ Normative vs. Pragmatic λ Loose vs. Tight Control λ
3. Slide 3: “The′Measurement of Organizational Culture Definition of Culture the
mind which distinguishes one group or categoryλcollective programming of Not
directly′of people from another” – Geert Hoffstede Culture is a Construct Useful
in predictingλ Inferable from behavior λ λaccessible to observation behavior
4. Slide 4: Organizational Culture & About people in′National Culture Culture
Normativeλ λ The way things “should be” ′ National culture = “values” λgroups
“How we doλ λ The way things “are” ′Organizational culture = “practices”
Descriptiveλthings around here”
5. Slide 5: How′ ′Process vs. Results Process Orientation Results Orientation
Processλ λ The way we do things Outcome λ λthings are done What gets done
Results
6. Slide 6: Employee′ ′Employee vs. Job Concern for Employee Concern for Job
employee can do Employee Jobλ λsatisfaction Work and what
7. Slide 7: Identity taken′ ′Parochial vs. Professional Parochial Professional in the
organization organization Parochialλ λfrom being Identity from outside
Professional
8. Slide 8: Easy to join′ ′Open vs. Closed System Open System Closed System
peopleλ λ Quickly get up to speed Only certain kind of λ λDifficult to join fit in
Open Closed
9. Slide 9: Casual′ ′Loose vs. Tight Control Loose Control Tight Control Loose
Tightλ λ Improvisation Punctuality λ λSeriousness
10. Slide 10: ′ ′Normative vs. Pragmatic Normative Orientation Pragmatic
Orientation Normative Pragmaticλ λIdeologically driven Market-driven
11. Slide 11: Six Dimensions of Organizational Culture′Organizational Culture
Open vλ Parochial vs. Professional λ Employee vs. Job λ λProcess vs. Results s.
Normative vs. Pragmatic Measured onλ Loose vs. Tight Control λClosed System
Bimodal Scale