According to Peter Drucker, if management is an organ of society, culture is its very nature. Therefore, for organizational excellence management must take care of the sensitivities of societal culture. This extends to setting of objectives, formulation and implementation of strategies, designing organization structure and communication or displaying type of leadership roles or reward systems. Human behaviour, in organizational settings is conditioned apart from other factors by societal and organizational culture which in turn influence all other areas of business processes like communication, decision-making, diplomacy, negotiations and so on. The overwhelming success of Japanese companies in the eighties is primarily attributed to its unique national culture. In fact, every national culture can contribute something unique to the field of management and business.
Globalization, which is said to be the second industrial revolution', is fast changing how our society conducts business and trade. Global trade has increased from US $55 billion in 1974-75 (GOI, Economic Survey) to more than US $ 6,000 billion in 2000. The foreign exchange market has growing at a rapid pace too, reflecting a general growth in the volume of cross-border trade and investment. In March 1986, the average total value of global foreign exchange tradeing was about US $ 200 billion per day. By April 1998 it had reached US $ 1490 billion per day. There are more than 80,000 multinationals operating around the globe. There are several global corporations, like GE, Shell, IBM and GM with sales exceeding the GDP of some nations. Increasing global interaction in business, sports, arts and culture demands that international managers be thoroughly groomed in the study and practice of cross-culture.
Concept of the culture:
What then, is the concept of culture? George Peter Murdock in the article, The science of Human Learning, Society, Culture and Personality' makes some profound observations. He emphasizes that except in the case of man, what the individual' of a species learns dies with it. There is no consolidation and transmission of behaviour excepting in the broad context of genetic biological evolution. But in man, however, he says, most of the behaviour acquired by any individual, in whatever part of the world or period of history he may live, has been previously learned and found adaptive by other and older members of his own society, and he in turn transmits this behaviour, together with any adaptive by other and older members of his own society, and he in turn transmits this behaviour, together with any adaptive modifications acquired through his life experience, to other younger members of his social group. The interaction of learning within a society, thus produces in every human group a body of socially transmitted behaviour, which appears super-individual, because it is shared, because it is perpetrated beyond the individual lifespan, and because in quantity and quality it so vastly exceeds the capacity of any single person to achieve by his own efforts. The term culture' is applied to such systems of acquired and transmitted behaviour. Since cultures change with the varying and cumulative experience of individuals in social groups, it is possible to say of man, as of no other species, with the hereditary capacity to learn, that societies as well as individuals learn. Social learning is synonymous with cultural evolution.
To the question, why do men organisse themselves into societies? Plato answers, To give the members of society (all the members)', the best chance of realizing their best selves.' Thus, culture is the process of social lerning and a society's adaptation to its changing environment- because human society is an open system. Human society becomes more social in order that individuals may become more individual.
Determinants of culture:
National cultures are constantly evolving. Factors that influence the evolving pattern are prevailing political and economic systems, the social structure of society, dominant religion, language, aesthetics and education.
Religion may be defined as a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred. Most ethical systems which guide and shape human behaviour are the product of religion. The relation between religion, ethics and society is subtle, complex and profound. While religion have different values (which are the bedrock of culture), yet countries with the same religion have different cultures, for example, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Hence, religion is a weak determinant of culture. What is important for management is how religion shapes the attitude of a society towards work and entrepreneurship. In this regard, the Bhagavad Gita, a holy book of the Hindus propounds a unique philosophy towards selfless work, which suggests a way of life. Different religions send different messages, which create values and moral standards in a given society.
Social Structure:
A society's social structure refers to its basic organization. Although social structure consists of many aspects, for study of cultural differences, two aspects of it are more important. The first is the degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the individual, as opposed to the group. An individual is the basic unit in western societies and therefore individual achievement gets primacy. In most other societies the group is the basic unit of social structure and an individual considers himself first as part of his family or the company for which he works. It is the degree relative importance to individualism or group that differentiates different cultures.
Social Mobility:
This refers to the extent to which individuals can more out of the strate, caste or class in which they are born. The class system is less rigid than the caste system which is prevalent in India. While most societies have a class system, social mobility within it varies from society to society. For example, Britain has a more rigid class system than certain other western societies. Britain has three classes: the upper class which is associated with power and wealth, the middle class which consists of professionals and clerks, and the working class. The division of society into class or caste creates disharmony and industrial strife.
Language:
Language is an essential element of culture for it reflects its nature and riches. It is language which distinguishes one culture from another. In countries such as Canada and Switzerland, two or more languages are spoken. In countries like China, India and Nigeria with a diversity of populations, several languages are spoken. Although language could be said to reflect the nature and value of a culture, this is not always the case. English is the official language of many countries, such as Australia and Singapore, but the two countries are culturally diverse. English tends to be the business language, while French is seen as the language of diplomacy.
In business communication, the translation from one language to another can result in inaccuracies. A literal translation may change the meaning. For example, some of the more famous translation blunders are Body by Fisher' which is translated as Corpse by Fisher' or Rendezvous lounge' translated into Portuguese as Meet your mistress lounge'. The same language may have different terms for the same word, for example, in American English, petrol (British English) is called gasoline and biscuits as cookies. An Indian generally would not understand the word downtown' frequently used by Americans for city centre.
Communication goes beyond the formal written and oral structure of language. Language is also symbolic communication in terms of space, time and friendship, and marketers need to be aware of these silent languages'. In the UK, a person with a large office is important in the hierarchy. But in Japan, many high executives share offices. Much business communication also depends on non-verbal messages. Body language differs from culture to culture. For example, nodding of the head one way may mean yes' in one culture and no' in another.
Education:
Learning and sharing cultural values happens through the education system. The educational system can take many forms and it is important to understand the differences because it can indicate the type of consumer market available the quality of human resources available for employment and training.
Aesthetics:
The aesthetics of a culture refers to designs forms, colours shapes, sounds- things conveying the concept of beauty and good taste. These are reflected in the music, art, and architecture of a society. The aesthetics of a culture can affect a firm's marketing strategy, diplomacy and management of human resources.
Colours, for example, are often used to identify brands and for product differentiation. Colours tend to have different connotations and more symbolic value in international than domestic markets. Red, for example, is a good-luck colour for may oriental cultures, whjile white is associated with death in Islamic countries. The design of products and packaging should take into consideration local preferences.
National culture:
National culture influences the extent to which leadership, teams and employee activities are socially valued and supported. Studies suggest that directive styles of leadership appear culturally inappropriate in northern Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. An employee participation programme failed in Russia, perhaps because of the national culture's disbelief and distrust in participatory programmes. On the other hand, the cultures of Sweden and Japan strongly support employee involvement in organizational activities.
Trompenaars, and Charles Hampden-Turner have studied the impact of national culture on organisationsal cultures by distinguishing corporate cultures along two axe's: equality, hierarchy and orientation to the person- the task. This gives broadly four types of cultures depending on how they think and learn, how they change and how they motivate, reward and resolve conflicts. The four types can be described as follows: the family, the Eiffel tower, the guided missile and the incubator. Each of these types of corporate culture is the ideal' type. In practice, the types are mixed or overlaid with one culture dominating.
Family Culture:
Family culture is one, which is personal with face-to-face relationships, as well as hierarchical (power-oriented). The leader is not threatening but benevolent. The leader regarded as caring father-mother who knows better than his/her subordinates what is good. Work in this type of culture is usually carried out in an atmosphere that in many respects mimic the home. The Japanese recreate the family in their corporate culture. The main business virtue is amae, a kind of love between persons of different rank, with indulgence shown to the younger and respect to the older. To please your superior is reward in itself. Pressure is morale and social rather than financial or legal. Relationship with the company is for the long term and one of loyalty. Many corporations with family-styles cultures are from nations like Greece, Italy, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
Eiffel Tower Culture:
In this culture a bureaucratic division of labour roles and functions is prescribed in advanced. These allocation are coordinated from the top of the hierarchy. This hierarchy is very different from that of a family. You obey the boss because it is his/her role to instruct you he/she has legal authority to tell you what to do. The role of boss is confined to the office. If you meet him/her on the golf course, you have no obligation to let him/her play through and he/she probably would not expect it either. Careers are much assisted by professional qualifications. The bureaucracy is depersonalized and a rational-legal system is very much prevalent in Austria and Germany.
Guided Missile Culture:
This culture is egalitarian, impersonal and task focused. Project-oriented culture is oriented to tasks, typically undertaken by teams or project groups. It differs from pure role culture found in most organizations in that the jobs members do, or not fixed in advance. They must do what ever it takes' to complete a task and what is needed is often unclear and may have to be discovered.
Incubator Culture:
This culture is based on the existential idea that organizations are secondary to the fulfillment of individuals. If organizations are to be tolerated at all, they should be there to serve as incubators for self-expressions and self-fulfillments. The purpose of this culture is to move individuals from routine to more creative activities and to minimize time spent on self-maintenance. The incubator is both personal and egalitarian. Indeed, it has no structure at all and just some services like word-processing, coffee, heat and light provided by the organization and so on. Cultural incubators are seen not only in small innovative companies in the Silicon Valley and on Route 128 around Boston, but also in groups of doctors, lawyers, consultants and Charted Accountants.
