Cross-cultural psychology of organizational behavior
1. Cross-cultural psychology of organizational behaviorNATIONAL CULTURES AND ORGANISATIONAL
2. Levels of cultures in a business contextCulture is also present on different levels:
Corporate culture (Organizational culture)
3. Levels of cultures in a business contextCulture is also present on different levels:
Corporate culture (Organizational culture)
Corporate culture is an ideology shared
by members in an organization
(Ouchi 1981; Pascale & Athos 1981; Deal & Kennedy 1982).
5. The Nature of Corporate cultureCorporate culture: shared values and beliefs
enabling members to understand their roles and the
norms of the organization, including:
Observed behavioral regularities, typified by common
language, terminology, rituals
Norms, reflected by things such as amount of work to do
and degree of cooperation between management and
Dominant values organization advocates and expected
participants to share.
6. What Organizational Culture Does?FUNCTIONS
Provides of identity
Creates a sense of commitment
Acts as source of high reliability
Acts as a social control
Organizational culture provides
standard code of conduct.
Can create barriers to
Can create conflict
within the organization
Subcultures can change
at different rates than
8. 12 Dimensions of Organizational Culture1.
External versus internal emphasis: the degree to which
the organization focuses on customer/client satisfaction
versus internal activities, such as reports and committee
Task versus "worker" or "human resource" focus:
accomplishment versus the social needs of the employees.
Risk averse versus risk seeking: a tendency to be
cautious in adopting innovations versus being willing to
take risks especially when confronted with new challenges
and opportunities is tolerated.
9. 12 Dimensions of Organizational Culture4.
Conformity versus individuality: the degree to which
distinctive and idiosyncratic behavior is tolerated.
Individual versus collective decision making: the
degree to which decisions are made in a collegial manner
with broad input from those affected.
Centralized versus decentralized decision making:
relating to the degree to which decision making is
centralized in the organization.
10. 12 Dimensions of Organizational Culture7.
Stability versus innovation: the tendency of the
organization to innovate and change versus emphasizing
stability and well-established procedures.
Cooperation versus competition: the degree to which
cooperative behavior is emphasized and rewarded.
Simple versus complex organization: relating to the
complexity of the formal and informal structures and the
political processes within an organization.
11. 12 Dimensions of Organizational Culture10. Informal versus formalized procedures: the degree of
emphasis on detailed rules and procedures versus informal
discussions and flexible work rules.
11. High versus low loyalty: the degree of loyalty to the
work organization versus other relevant groups.
12. Ignorance versus knowledge of organizational
expectations: focusing on the degree to which
organizations communicate performance expectations to
employees and gain their commitment to organizational
12. Interaction between National and Organizational CultureNational cultural values of employees may
significantly impact their organizational performance
Cultural values employees bring to workplace are not
easily changed by organization
13. Organizational Cultures and Country PreferencesTrompenaars and
Hampden-Turner attempted to
identify national patterns of corporate culture. They
surveyed 13,000 respondents across 42 countries.
They suggests that MNCs should adjust their local
organizational cultures to fit the cultures of the
countries where they have operations.
important in determining corporate culture.
1. The general relationship between employees and their
2. The vertical or hierarchical system of authority defining
superiors and subordinates.
3. The general views of employees about the organisation’s
destiny, purpose and goals and their places in this.
dimensions, generating four quadrants. The dimensions we
use to distinguish different corporate cultures are
orientation to the person - orientation to the task.
17. Family cultureWe use the metaphor of family for the culture which is at the
same time personal, with close face-to-face relationships,
but also hierarchical, in the sense that the “father” of a
family has experience and authority greatly exceeding those
of his “children”, especially where these are young.
18. Family cultureThe result is a power-oriented corporate culture
in which the leader is regarded as a caring father
who knows better than his subordinates what should
be done and what is good for them.
19. Family cultureRelationships tend to be diffuse. The “father” or
“elder brother” is influential in all situations,
whether they have knowledge of the problem or
not, whether an event occurs at work, in the canteen or
on the way home, and even if someone else present is
different cultures saw their leaders “as a kind of father” or
to what extent they thought the leader “got the job done”.
The results are shown in Figure 1, where we see one of the
widest ranges of national variances of response, and a
marked grouping of Asian countries towards the top of the
21. Figure 1 What makes a good manager? Percentage of respondents opting to be left alone to get the job done21
of the company they work for in terms of a
triangle, and to pick the one on the diagram
(Figure 2) which best represents it. The steepest
triangle scores five points and so on down to one.
23. Figure 2 Company triangles23
24. Motivating, rewarding and resolving conflictBecause family members enjoy their relationships they may
be motivated more by praise and appreciation than by money.
Their major weakness occurs when intra-family conflicts
block necessary change. Resolving conflict often depends on
the skill of a leader.
Criticisms are seldom voiced publicly (if they are the family is
in turmoil). Negative feedback is indirect.
Strong emphasis on hierarchy and orientation to the person
Family-type environment that is power oriented and headed
by a leader who is regarded as a caring parent
Management looks after employees, and tries to ensure that
they are treated well and have continued employment
May catalyze and multiply the energies of the personnel or
end up supporting a leader who is ineffective.
Authors have chosen the Eiffel
Tower in Paris to symbolise this
cultural type because it is steep,
symmetrical, narrow at the top
and broad at the base, stable,
rigid and robust.
Its structure, too, is more
important than its function.
If you meet the boss on the golf course, you have no obligation to let him play
through and he probably would not expect it.
Relationships are specific and status is ascribe and stays
behind at the office.
This is not, however, a personal ascription of status as we see
it in the family.
Status in the Eiffel Tower is ascribed to the role.
Thus bureaucracy in the Eiffel Tower is a depersonalised,
rational-legal system in which everyone is subordinate to
local rules and those rules prescribe a hierarchy to uphold
and enforce them.
The boss is powerful only because the rules sanction
him or her to act.
29. Eiffel TowerCareers in Eiffel Tower companies are much assisted
by professional qualifications.
At the top of German and Austrian companies, which
are typically Eiffel Tower models, the titles of professor
or doctor are common on office doors. This is
extremely rare in the USA.
30. Eiffel TowerEach role at each level of the hierarchy is described, rated
for its difficulty, complexity and responsibility, and has a
salary attached to it.
There then follows a search for a person to fill it.
One says: “The main reason for having an
organisational structure is so that everyone knows who has
authority over whom.”
B The other says: “The main reason for having an
organisational structure is so that everyone knows how
functions are allocated and co-ordinated.”
Which one of these two ways usually best represents an
Strong emphasis on hierarchy and orientation to the task
Jobs are well defined, and everything is coordinated from the top
This culture is narrow at the top, and broad at the base
Relationships are specific, and status remains with the job.
Managers seldom create off-the-job relationships with their
people, because they believe this could affect their rational
This culture operates very much like a formal hierarchy—
impersonal and efficient and loyalties
33. The guided missile cultureThe guided missile culture differs from both the Family and
the Eiffel Tower by being egalitarian, but differs also
from the family and resembles the Eiffel Tower in
being impersonal and task-oriented.
34. The guided missile cultureIndeed the guided missile culture is rather like the Eiffel
Tower in flight.
But while the rationale of the Eiffel Tower culture is means,
the guided missile has a rationale of ends. Everything must
be done to persevere in your strategic intent and reach your
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
pioneered the use of project groups working on space probes
which resembled guided missiles. It takes roughly 140
different kinds of engineers to build a lunar landing module
and whose contribution is crucial at exactly what time cannot
be known in advance.
Such groups will have leaders or co-ordinators, who are
responsible for sub and final assemblies, but these
generalists may know less than specialists in each discipline
and must treat all experts with great respect.
The group is egalitarian because it might need the help of any
one expert in changing direction towards its target.
The end is known but the possible trajectories are
Missile cultures frequently draw on professionals and are
38. The guided missile cultureGuided missile cultures are expensive because professionals
Groups tend to be temporary, relationships as fleeting as the
39. The guided missile cultureChange comes quickly to the guided missile culture. The
target moves. More targets appear, new groups are formed,
old ones dissolve.
Strong emphasis on equality in the
workplace and orientation to the task
Work typically is undertaken by teams or
In projects, formal hierarchical considerations
are given low priority, and individual expertise is of greatest
All team members are equal (or at least potentially equal)
All teams treat each other with respect, because they may need the
other for assistance
41. The incubator cultureThe incubator culture is based on the existential idea that
organisations are secondary to the fulfillment of individuals.
The purpose is to free individuals from routine to more
creative activities and to minimise time spent on selfmaintenance.
42. The incubator cultureThe incubator is both personal and egalitarian. Indeed it
has almost no structure at all and what structure it does
provide is merely for personal convenience: heat, light, word
processing, coffee and so on.
43. The incubator cultureMotivation is often wholehearted, intrinsic and intense with
individuals working “70 hours a week and loving it” as the Tshirts at Apple Computer used to read in its earlier days. There
is competition to contribute to the emerging shape of
something new. Everyone wants to get his or her “hands on”.
44. The incubator cultureIn contrast to the family culture, leadership in the incubator is
achieved, not ascribed. You follow those whose progress
most impresses you and whose ideas work.
Conflict is resolved either by splitting up or by trying the
proposed alternatives to see which works best.
Strong emphasis on equality and personal orientation
Based on the premise that organizations serve as incubators
for the self-expression and self-fulfillment of their members
Little formal structure.
Guided Missile Incubator
growing out of
Status is ascribed
to parent figures
who are close and
Status is ascribed
to superior roles
that are distant yet
Status is achieved
by project group
Status is achieved
Ways of thinking
Logical, analytical, Problem centered, Process oriented,
rationally efficient practical, cross
Ways of changing “Father” changes
Guided Missile Incubator
Human resources Specialists and
Change rules and
Shift aim as target