International cultures and project
work
Lecture slide attachments
Theme 2
Attachment 1:
Expatriates and cultural differences
Expatriate
A citizen of one country living and
working in another country.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Local and Expatriate
Employees to Staff International Subsidiaries
Locals
Advantages
• Lower labor costs
• Demonstrates trust in local
citizenry
• Increases acceptance of the
company by the local community
• Leads to recognition of the
company as a legitimate
participant in the local economy
• Effectively represents local
considerations and constraints
in the decision-making process
Disadvantages
• Makes it difficult to balance local
demands and global priorities
• Leads to postponement of
difficult local decisions (such as
layoffs) until they are
unavoidable, when they are more
difficult, costly, and painful than
they would have been if
implemented earlier
• May make it difficult to recruit
qualified personnel
• May reduce the amount of control
exercised by headquarters
Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Local and Expatriate
Employees to Staff International Subsidiaries (cont.)
Expatriates
Advantages
• Cultural similarity with parent
company ensures transfer of
business/management practices
• Permits closer control and
coordination of international
subsidiaries
• Gives employees a multinational
orientation through experience
at parent company
• Establishes a pool of
internationally experienced
executives
• Local talent may not yet be able
to deliver as much value as
expatriates can
Disadvantages
• Creates problems of adaptability
to foreign environment and
culture
• Increases the “foreignness” of
the subsidiary
• May involve high transfer, salary,
and other costs
• May result in personal and family
problems
• Has disincentive effect on localmanagement morale and
motivation
• May be subject to local
government restrictions
Figure 20.3 Phases in acculturation
•
Why International Assignments
end in Failure
Career Blockage
– Many feel that the home office has forgotten them and that their career has been sidetracked
•
Culture Shock
– Many people who take international assignments cannot adjust to a different cultural
environment
•
Lack of Predeparture Cross-Cultural Training
– Only about one-third of MNCs provide any cross-cultural training to expatriates
•
Overemphasis on Technical Qualifications
– The same traits that led to success at home can be disastrous in another country
•
Getting Rid of a Troublesome Employee
– International assignments may seem to be a convenient way of dealing with mangers who
are having problems in the home office
•
Family Problems
– The inability or unwillingness of the expatriate’s spouse and children to adapt to life in
another country is one of the most important reasons for failure
Difficulties on Return
• Lack of Respect for Acquired Skills
– International experience is not highly valued
• Loss of Status
– Returning expatriates often experience a substantial loss of
prestige, poser, independence, and authority
• Poor Planning for Return Position
– Often management repatriates an employee with no idea of what
position this person should hold in the home office
• Reverse Culture Shock
– Expatriates are usually unaware of how much psychological
change they have undergone until they return home
Selecting Employees for
International Assignments
• Emphasize cultural sensitivity as a selection
criteria
• Establish a selection board of expatriates
• Require previous international experience
• Explore the possibility of hiring foreign-born
employees who can serve as “expatriates” at a
future date
• Screen candidates’ spouses and families
Attachment 2:
The Hofstede framework (1980)
Hofstede Cultural Framework
1. Power Distance
2. Individualism vs.
Collectivism
3. Masculinity vs.
Femininity
4. Uncertainty
Avoidance
5. Long Term
Orientation
Power Distance
• “...the extent to which
the less powerful
members of
institutions and
organizations within a
country expect and
accept that power is
distributed unequally.”
PD
P.R.C
Russia
West Africa
Indonesia
Hong Kong
Netherlands
France
Japan
Germany
Canada
U.S.A.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Power Distance at Work
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hierarchy
Centralization
Salary range
Participation
Ideal Boss
Privilege & status
symbols
Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Individualist societies:
ties are loose and
everyone looks out for
himself or herself
• Collectivist societies:
people integrated into
strong, cohesive
groups; protection is
exchanged for loyalty
ID
P.R.C
Russia
West Africa
Indonesia
Hong Kong
Netherlands
France
Japan
Germany
Canada
U.S.A.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Individualism / Collectivism
at Work
• Employee-employer
relationship
• Hiring and promotion
decisions
• Managerial focus
• Task vs. relationship
priority
Masculinity vs. Femininity
• Masculine societies:
social gender roles are
distinct (men focus on
material success;
women on quality of
life)
• Feminine societies:
social gender roles
overlap (both quality
of life)
MA
P.R.C
Russia
West Africa
Indonesia
Hong Kong
Netherlands
France
Japan
Germany
Canada
U.S.A.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Masculinity / Femininity at Work
• Centrality of work
• Ways of managing &
decision making
• Fem: equality,
solidarity, quality of
work life
• Mas: equity, compete,
performance
• Conflict resolution
Uncertainty Avoidance
• “…the extent to which
the members of a
culture feel threatened
by uncertain or
unknown situations.”
• NOT the same as risk
avoidance
• Presence of rules
UA
P.R.C
Russia
West Africa
Indonesia
Hong Kong
Netherlands
France
Japan
Germany
Canada
U.S.A.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Uncertainty Avoidance at Work
• Necessity of rules
• Time orientation
• Precision &
punctuality
• Interpretation of
“What is different…”
• Appropriateness of
emotional displays
Long term orientation
Confucian Dynamism
• The ‘newest’
dimension
• three universal
dimensions and two
fourth dimensions
• Truth vs. Virtue: What
one believes vs. What
one does
LT
P.R.C
Russia
West Africa
Indonesia
Hong Kong
Netherlands
France
Japan
Germany
Canada
U.S.A.
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Confucian Dynamism
• Short-term orientation
• Social pressure to
‘keep up with the
Joneses’
• small savings
• expect quick results
• concern with
possessing Truth
• Long-term orientation
• Thrift: being sparing
with resources
• large savings
• perseverance toward
slow results
• concern with
respecting the
demands of Virtue
Hofstede Framework Comparisons
140
120
100
U.S.A.
80
Canada
Japan
Netherlands
60
P.R.C
40
20
0
PD
ID
MA
UA
LT
Idiosyncrasies of North American
Management Theory
• Stress on Market
Processes
• Stress on the
Individual
• Stress on Managers
rather than Workers