Cross Cultural Management
Managing Diversity • Chapter 1 – Introduction • Chapter 2 - Cultures SAA 1.1 What do you know about diversity? 1. The majority of employees entering workforce are “white men” 2. Women who work fulltime make almost as much as male peers? 3. Minorities are well represented at all levels of management 4. To relate well to people from diverse groups, I should first look at how they’re different 5. Few people hold biases about minorities 6. The major payoff for managing diversity is contributing to social responsibility. Payoffs for Managing Diversity • Attracting and retaining best available human talent • Reducing costs • Increasing organizational flexibility • Attracting and keeping customers and suppliers • Gaining greater market share • Improving the quality of management • Problem -solving and innovating more powerfully • Increasing productivity • Contributing to social responsibility • Bottom line: increased profits Form 6 groups of 6 or 7 each to discuss Self -Awareness Activities 2.2 – 2.7 Group 1 - Begin with SAA 2.3 Your Cultural Profile and what you learned about yourself; then go on to 2.5, 2.6 etc. Group 2 - begin with 2.5 Identifying Perception Group 3 – begin with 2.6 Your Sense of Time Group 4 – begin with 2.7 Your Boundaries Group 5 – begin with 2.8 Your Values Group 6 – begin with 2.9 Cultures You’ve Known Appoint a reporter, who lists members’ names, takes notes, reports key points to class, turns in to instructor at end of class (not in assignments stack) SAA 2.1 What do you know about cultures? 1. Aspects of culture that people don’t talk about? 2. A myth is a false belief? 3. People experience different realities? 4. Americans put ingroups above own desires? 5. Most cultures believe in inequality? 6. Most cultures value achievement over relationships? 7. A major issue of bi -ethnic persons is self -identity? 8. Corp culture need heroes mainly because people love a good story? 9. Strong corp cultures are on the way out? Content of our reality Culture consists of: • Values, the beliefs that people think are most important • Myths , stories, and legends that express key group values • Heroes and heroines who are stars of the myths and serve as role models • Rituals, ceremonies, and celebrations that express or reinforce values • Symbols we recognize as shortcuts for expressing the various cultural elements • Networks of relationships that connect people 11 Types of Cultural Difference 1. Source of Control I’m controlled or I control 2. Collectivism -Individualism Us -first or Me -first 3. Homogeneous -Heterogeneous Tight ties or Loose ties 4. Feminine or Masculine Relationships first or Achievement first 5. Rank -status Class difference or Equality 6. Risk orientation Security -seeking or Risk -taking 7. Decision -Making Long -term or Short -term 8. Time use Circular multi -task or Linear single -task 9. Space use Up -close, Arm’s length, or Distant 10. Communication style Indirect or Direct 11. Economic system Agricultural, Industrial, Post -Industrial Bi - Ethnic Persons • U.S. Census 2000, 2.4% of people selected 2 or more categories of ethnicity • Asian Americans – 14% identify as “hapas” • Major issues involve cultural confusion, conflict How to identify themselves How others may classify them Whether to “pass” as one ethnicity Right to be who they are Corp Culture Questions 6. Corporate cultures need heroes mainly because people love a good story. 7. Strong corporate cultures are on their way out. Weak Corporate Cultures • No clear set of beliefs about how to succeed • No rank -ordered priority of values is communicated • No overriding common values are held by the different subcultures • Role models don’t reinforce values • Rituals of everyday work life - disorganized or contradictory • People do own thing or work at cross -purposes, undermining each other Strong Corporate Cultures • A few clearly defined & enforced values and norms • A few shared values & expectations • Leader actions consistent Authoritarian – more rules, more rigid Flexible – allow for more individuality fewer rules, rigid only on the basics