Franck BRULHARTLecturer

University of Aix-Marseille AGEFA PME

franck.brulhart@univmed.fr

Project INTENT January 17, 2008

Intercultural Management

17 janvier 2008 2

Structure of the presentation1. The state of affairs on international cultural diversity

Globalization and uniformization of cultures?

Explanation of international cultural diversity

2. Characterization of international cultural diversity

3. Management of international cultural diversity

Intercultural awareness Mastering foreign languages Merging in the situation

Using vocational/sectoral cultureas bridge

Nonverbal communication

G. Hofstede (1980, 1991) – House (2004)

E.T. Hall (1990)

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1. The state of affairs on international cultural diversity (a) 1.1 Globalization and uniformization of cultures ?

Globalization : « The processes and their results on phenomena of different disciplines (political,

economic, cultural, social…) are of a worldwide dimension » A. Mattelard (2007)

The trend to cultural uniformity « Mankind has established a monoculture; it prepares to produce a mass-

civilization, as if eating beetroot. It’s daily food doesn’t consist of more than this » C. Levi-Strauss (1955)

The convergence of consumer’s cultures or the « coca-colonization »U. Hannerz (1992)

The emergence of a global village

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1. The state of affairs on international cultural diversity (b) 1.2 Explanation of international cultural diversity

The configuration of a global village of 1000 inhabitants (Houston India Herald, Oct. 1998 ):

Geographical origins : 584 Asians, 124 Africans, 95 Europeans, 84 South-Americans, 52 North-Americans…

Language : 165 speak Mandarin, 86 English, 83 Hindi or Urdu, 65 Spanish, 58 Russian, 37 Arabic …

Religion : 329 Christians, 178 Muslims, 60 Buddhists, 45 Atheists, 32 Hindustani, …

Age : 330 children, 60 above 60 years old, … Income : 200 habitants possess 75% of wealth, 200 others posses 2% of wealth, …

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1. The state of affairs on international cultural diversity (c)

Germany500$ / week

Peru31$ / week

1.2 Explanation of international cultural diversity“Weekly menus as seen by Peter Menzel” (part)

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1. The state of affairs on international cultural diversity (c)1.2 Explanation of international cultural diversity

“Weekly menus as seen by Peter Menzel” (part)

Culture (C. Usunier, 2004): The symbolic organization of a group and the representation that the group

creates of itself and of its relations with others Explicit elements : languages, customs, habits, traditions, skills, knowhow… Implicit elements : values, myths, beliefs, concepts, representations…

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1. The state of affairs on international cultural diversity (d) 1.3 Synthesis

Cultural heterogenity on global scale: From homogeneity to mixture of races: “creolization” (Hannerz, 1992)

International entrepreneurial strategy: Facing the state of a continuous cultural diversity, the development of a strategy of international entrepreneurship calls for

the identification of the dimensions of this cultural diversity and for the preparation for those. Indeed, if social interactions are based on specific cultural models, the international entrepreneur should adapt his

behaviour and his attitude in order to avoid disturbing or violating the norms held consciously or subconsciously by his business relations (E. Hall, 1990).

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2. Characterization of international cultural diversity (a)2.1 Identifying the dimensions of cultural diversity: G. Hofstede

The Hofstede model (1980, 1991) : 5 indepent bipolar dimensions: The importance of hierarchical distance

(HIE) The degree of individualism (IND) The relation with insecurity (INC) Masculine / feminine orientation (MAS) Short-term / long-term orientation (LTO)

House (2004) Globe study

  HIE IND INC MAS LTO

DK 18 74 23 16 45

FR 68 71 86 43 39

JAP 54 46 92 95 80

NL 38 80 53 14 35

RO 90 91 30 42  

USA 40 91 46 62 29

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2. Characterization of international cultural diversity (b)2.2 Identifying the dimensions of cultural diversity : E. Hall

The model of E.T. Hall (1990) : Culture is a system of creating, emitting, retaining and of processing

information (Chevrier, 2003). The objective of Hall is to provide the necessary tools to decode messages of another culture.

3 hidden dimensions of communication: The concept of time (monochronic versus polychronic) The concept of space (cultural proximity) The context of communication (rich versus poor)

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2. Characterization of international cultural diversity (c) Rich context versus poor context (E. Hall)

Switzerland

Germany

Denmark

United States

United Kingdom

France

Italy

Latin America

Middle East

Africa (below the Sahara)

China

Japan

explicit implicit

Strong

IMPLICIT Communication

style

EXPLICIT Communication

style

Preferential message types

Weak

Appeal on the context of the message

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2. Characterization of international cultural diversity (d) 2.3 Synthesis

Characterizing international contexts:

The identification of cultural specifics of international contexts permits the comprehension of the influence of culture on behaviour, management practices and communication: interpersonal interactions.

This comprehension constitutes the prerequisites of intercultural management practices for the international entrepreneur.

“Good practices” of the international entrepreneur:

The refined comprehension of international cultural contexts has to facilitate the necessary adaption of behaviour and to avoid the classic errors due to failing intercultural management.

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3. Management of international cultural diversity (a)

3.2 Mastering foreign languages

Acknowledgement of the relativity of behaviours and practices (Trompenaars, 2003)

The limits of a “generic” approach on culture

3.1 Intercultural awareness

The risks of not understanding

Avoid “lathophobia” – fear of making errors (C. Hagège, 1996)

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3. Management of international cultural diversity (b)

3.4 Using vocational/sectoral culture as bridge

Learning by experience

Real experience, shared of simulated: Simulation EUROSIM

3.3 Merging in the situation

Capitalizing on the culture of the vocation or the sector to overcome the cultural gap (Chevrier, 2003)

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3. Management of international cultural diversity (c)

Physical movements, paralanguage, use of space, physical environment… (Meier, 2004)

A necessary “nonverbal” gesture

3.5 Nonverbal communication

Shaking the head from left to right:

USA : noFrance: noNetherlands : no

Bulgary : yesMalaysia : yesSaoudi Arabia : yes

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3.6 Synthesis

A statement: The existence of great cultural differences between countries and regions

.

A neccessity : perceive and understand the differences in order to improve the ability to deal with international exchanges.

A means : Intercultural management and intercultural communication.

3. Management of international cultural diversity (d)

Thank you for your attention

Project INTENTJanuary 17, 2008