Cultural Dimensions in People ManagementEssay title: Cultural Dimensions in People ManagementApril 30th, 2008Yongbei LiuJingbin XuJingling ZhangXianjing ZhouEMLyonCultural Dimensions in People ManagementFor any international organization, it is of extremely significance to understand cultural differences and make good use of them in the global context. Through insight into a culture perspective, the article analyzes the role and impact of culture.
It starts by introducing prerequisite concept of socialization and then deals with four cultural dimensions on the national level. Finally, it copes with corporate culture.
пЃЎпЂ SocializationSocialization, referred here, is the way in which a person is conditioned by environment(s). It is the process in which individuals get involved in the society, communicate and learn with each other. Before being socialized in a corporation, people are influenced by family and school. This process, so called pre-socialization, has more impact on personal behavior than socialization does.
The four elements in socialization are symbols, heroes, rituals and value.1) Symbols, serving as bridges among feeling, thoughts and action, help people communicate and share their frames of thoughts.It may be exemplified in a case study of nurses on a hospital rehabilitation unit who had requested a change in dress code. Pratt and Rafaeli (1997) discovered that the nurses’ social identity was at the heart of the discussion. When nurses were talking about street clothes vs. medical scrubs, they were actually talking about underlying philosophies related to their patients, their work, and their professional identities. The nurses used the symbol of organizational dress to represent and talk about the conflicting identities.
2) Heroes, on the organizational level, it can be the ideal manager or the founder. These people always have the deepest influence on the company. The selection of ideal managers depends on the organizational culture. If the company is conservative, there is no need to find a manager to be ambitious; it will find a cautious person instead.
3) Rituals are always set for a long time, and seem to vary widely by culture. For example, in the non-task stage in a negotiation, Americans generally spend less time than Mexican and Japanese do. In those countries, cultural norm that forming a good interpersonal relationship with business partners is likely to determine seal of a deal lead to the non-task stage playing a critical role. When it comes to contract, Americans tend to prepare long and detailed one while in Japan, it would be short and rough. In addition, contracts are always signed in a formal setting such as an office or conference room in America while in Japan, it is possible that a deal would be made during dinner or golf game.
4) Value is the deepest in the process of socialization. Values are considered subjective and vary across people and cultures. Types of values include ethical/moral values, doctrinal/ideological (political, religious) values, social values, and aesthetic values. It is debated whether some values are innate.
пЃЎпЂ Four Cultural dimensionsAs value is the root of socialization, the research projects were designed on the value level which reflects national cultural differences.1. Individualism versus CollectivismThis dimension focuses on the degree the society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships. Different socializations flow between the two extremes. A high individualism ranking indicates that individual rights are paramount within the society. Individuals in these societies tend to form a larger number of looser relationships. On the contrast, a low individualism ranking typifies societies of a more collectivist nature with close ties between individuals.
2. Economic EfficiencyA group with “determining” a society’s economic performance can choose to adopt the efficiency method as their own (e.g., as the goal of an organization or a community). Individualism, collectivism or collectives are generally recognized as one of the most productive modes of political organization. The degree to which these practices are successful or failure is the central element of political economy. Individual decisions are decided through the use of individual agents. While individual decisions are important for understanding economic and socio-economic trends, they are not particularly valuable to individuals because they can influence a society in many ways including its level of socialization.In contrast to political economy, economic analysis focuses on socialization of production as the primary means by which individuals can have and maintain a productive and peaceful life. The economic development of a society is facilitated by individual agents, such as market, police, social enterprise, and government departments. But individual agency, a form of organization, was introduced during the Industrial Revolution as a way to regulate production, while more recent developments show that individual agents and publics have significant influence on this process. Economic models of socialization tend to have complex dynamics and require a great deal of theory, research, and practical experience to determine whether or not the socialization process achieves economic efficiency. Economic models that rely on limited and experimental approaches to analyze socialization are less effective at identifying trends in a society or setting. A new generation of economists and social scientists are creating new economic models designed to take action toward economic sustainability, and the models will be able to capture changes in economic conditions.2. Globalization, Cultural and Social ImplicationsIf one considers the world’s economic problems, they typically include social disparities between individuals, in the environment, between states, communities and individuals, and between social groups. Economic researchers are focusing on the effects of globalization on human society. Economic models are largely limited in their analysis to examine how groups of individuals interact with one another, in relation to one another, and in relation to other populations. It is important to note however that social factors, including income, wealth, health care, wealth inequality, unemployment and inequality among countries are frequently involved in the development of economic models. In this section, we take a look at economic models that are specifically designed to examine the economic effects of globalization. The three basic economic models developed in this article are the economic model (Economic Order: Universal Economic Order), the political economy (economic order; Economic Union: Political Economy), and the political model (Economic System: Political Society). Both of these political models assume that both the rich and the poor are connected to one another, and they have similar social tendencies. The economic order theory aims to create a national economic framework for all countries (as well as developing a national democracy) and that nations have a strong incentive to adopt the Economic Order method when compared
2. Economic EfficiencyA group with “determining” a society’s economic performance can choose to adopt the efficiency method as their own (e.g., as the goal of an organization or a community). Individualism, collectivism or collectives are generally recognized as one of the most productive modes of political organization. The degree to which these practices are successful or failure is the central element of political economy. Individual decisions are decided through the use of individual agents. While individual decisions are important for understanding economic and socio-economic trends, they are not particularly valuable to individuals because they can influence a society in many ways including its level of socialization.In contrast to political economy, economic analysis focuses on socialization of production as the primary means by which individuals can have and maintain a productive and peaceful life. The economic development of a society is facilitated by individual agents, such as market, police, social enterprise, and government departments. But individual agency, a form of organization, was introduced during the Industrial Revolution as a way to regulate production, while more recent developments show that individual agents and publics have significant influence on this process. Economic models of socialization tend to have complex dynamics and require a great deal of theory, research, and practical experience to determine whether or not the socialization process achieves economic efficiency. Economic models that rely on limited and experimental approaches to analyze socialization are less effective at identifying trends in a society or setting. A new generation of economists and social scientists are creating new economic models designed to take action toward economic sustainability, and the models will be able to capture changes in economic conditions.2. Globalization, Cultural and Social ImplicationsIf one considers the world’s economic problems, they typically include social disparities between individuals, in the environment, between states, communities and individuals, and between social groups. Economic researchers are focusing on the effects of globalization on human society. Economic models are largely limited in their analysis to examine how groups of individuals interact with one another, in relation to one another, and in relation to other populations. It is important to note however that social factors, including income, wealth, health care, wealth inequality, unemployment and inequality among countries are frequently involved in the development of economic models. In this section, we take a look at economic models that are specifically designed to examine the economic effects of globalization. The three basic economic models developed in this article are the economic model (Economic Order: Universal Economic Order), the political economy (economic order; Economic Union: Political Economy), and the political model (Economic System: Political Society). Both of these political models assume that both the rich and the poor are connected to one another, and they have similar social tendencies. The economic order theory aims to create a national economic framework for all countries (as well as developing a national democracy) and that nations have a strong incentive to adopt the Economic Order method when compared
The degree of individualism in different countries can be seen in the operation of a multinational enterprise in today’s world. To put this into a simple way, Chinese employers regard their enterprises as home, paying very attention to organizational loyalty and obedience while western staff attach great importance to their individual rights and interests, best exemplified by contracts noting the exact working time and content. Therefore, if Chinese enterprise doesn’t know this difference, conflicts are often caused by this culture contradiction.