Cultures
and standards
We take our own culture for granted. In fact,
we are scarcely aware of it until we interact with another. Each culture
has a worldview: a set of values and beliefs. This is meaningful
to its members but alien to others. As a consequence, we look at people
from other cultures, see that their ways are different and often dislike
these ways.
Employees who have
cross-border responsibilities and/or cross-cultural relationships need to be prepared to
effectively handle the inevitable intercultural tasks and challenges involved. Read:
by Gary M. Wederspahn
Cultural variety
(...) there are differences not only between cultures
but also within cultures. For example, Australian culture can be
identified with that of the majority Anglo-Celtic population; but the nation's
culture also encompasses a number of distinctive subcultures.
Hofstede argues that an individual's culture may have several levels:
(1) national; (2) regional, ethnic, religious, linguistic; (3) gender; (4) generation;
(5) social class; (6) organizational.
We can see readily that this mixture provides an intriguing cocktail for a selector to attempt
to disentangle; for a performance assessor to misunderstand; a management developer to 'correct'.
All in all, there is massive scope for a clash of cultures - and prejudices. (...)
The perception of time
This section of Human
Resource Management in a Business Context consider some differences regarding the perception of time in
different cultures. We all have in-built standards, the origins of which we rarely question and which we interpret
as 'normal'. This has profound implications for people management at the global level.
Triandis pinpoints the perception of time as one element of cultural complexity. He argues that
different cultures have different attitudes towards time. Time-keeping is treated tolerantly in underdeveloped
societies - with few things to do, one can do them in any order. But in industrialized countries there are many
thigs to do and they must be co-ordinated with other people. Hence, time becomes more important and is regarded
as something precise and highly significant.
Another significant time characteristic is that of short- or long-term orientation. Typically, East Asians are
considered to have a longer time perspective than nationals of many other regions (...)
Roles
Triandis also relates cultural complexity to the way we define our working and other roles.
In complex societies roles become increasingly specific - compartmentalized into separate mental boxes. We can be finance
managers, parents and social club officials, and behave differently in each role. In less complex societies, on the other
hand, roles are diffuse, affecting every aspect of people's lives. Religion, politics and matters of taste are important
in diffuse cultures. They are less important in role-specific cultures. Developed countries tend to be role-specific, avoiding
role confusion.
Theory and best practice in key HRM areas such as selection, performance measurement and development assume an equal
opportunities approach in which people are dealt without favour or prejudice. However, this notion is alien to diffuse-role
cultures, in which it is natural to favour members of one's own family or community. (...)
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