Managing Cultures

Pellegrino Riccardi

Vettre Hotel: March 2007

A DEFINITION OF CULTURE

a complex pattern of ideas, emotions and behaviours

… that tend to be expected, reinforced and rewarded

by and within a group

Levels of Culture

National

Professional

Organisational

Departmental

Individual

EXPECTED

REINFORCED

REWARDED

"Nordmannen er en nøktern person. Hans forhold til Gud er omtrent som hans forhold til Kongen: Han synes Gud (og Kongen) er grei nok - forutsett at han oppfører seg som en skikkelig nordmann og ikke tror at han er noe spesielt.”

”The average Norwegian is a down-to-earth kind of person. His relationship to God is more or less the same as his relationship to the King. He thinks that God (and the King) are OK kind of guys – provided that they behave like proper Norwegians and don’t go around thinking they are anything special!”

Nordmannen sier det ikke rett ut, men han mener at Gud (og Kongen) tross alt ikke er mer enn et menneske han heller. Nordmannen ville ikke bli forbauset om han en dag så Gud (eller Kongen) f. eks. foran seg i busskø eller på Karl Johansgate i Oslo.”

”A Norwegian will not say it straight out, but basically he believes that God (and the King for that matter) is, after all, no more a person than he is. Your average Norwegian would not be surprised if one day he saw God (or the King for that matter) standing in front of him in a bus queue in the centre of Oslo.”

MAL

How important is HIERARCHY?

PHIIN

DSIN

GBRA

FRAHKIT

AUSA

NLNOR

100

50

Percentage of respondents that feel that it is Percentage of respondents that feel that it is important for a boss to act and look like a bossimportant for a boss to act and look like a boss

Equality (Small Power Distance) cultures- Too much power in only a few hands is a NEGATIVE thing

- Powerful people often play down their status and power

- Employees expect to be consulted before important decisions are made (consensus)

- People do not adjust their communication style when speaking to other people higher than them in the hierarchy

- People are relatively less afraid of speaking their minds (especially to people in higher positions

Hierarchy (Large Power Distance) cultures- Leadership style tends to be top-down

- People at the top of the hierarchy have much more power than people at the bottom

- Those who are lower in the hierarchy expect direction and guidance from the people above them

- The ideal boss should be a “good father” (able to combine power with kindness)

- People lower down will not disagree with people above them in the hierarchy (at least not in public)

Hierarchypeople who agree that when you ask a manager a question, the

manager should know the precise answer

Customers don’t buy products or services,

they only buy the

SATISFACTION

they imagine they will get

by using them

SATISFACTION = A FEELING

the YOU as others see you

the YOU as you see yourself

the YOU as you would like to be seen

the YOU as others see you

the YOU as you see yourself

the YOU as you would like to be seen

EXPECTATIONS of others

the YOU as you see yourself

the YOU as you would like to be seen

Cultural & Ethical DILEMMA

You are the passenger in a car driven by a close friend

Your friend hits a pedestrian

Your know your friend was driving at 50km per hour in a 30 zone

There are no witnesses

Your friend’s lawyer says that if you testify under oath in court that your

friend was only driving at 30, it might save him/her from serious

consequences

Would you lie in court to help your friend?

SWI GER SWE NOR NETH

Percentage of respondents who said they would probably NOT lie in court

SPA POL IND

CHI INDO RUS KOR VEN

20

40

60

80

100

Rules vs. Relationships

Rules (aka Universalist) Relationships (aka Particularist)

“One-rule-for-all” attitude

Procedures and standards should be applied consistently and universally

NO EXCEPTIONS

The same rules cannot apply to everyone

Procedures and standards should allow room for discretion

Rules applied on a more case-by-case basis

Greece

Italy

Spain

Portugal

France

Ireland

Europe

Belgium

Luxembourg

UK

Netherlands

Germany

Denmark 33

35

45

46

50

52

55

57

58

67

73

81

88

0 50 100 150 200Source: Grant Thornton 1999

Greece

Italy

Spain

Portugal

France

Ireland

Europe

Belgium

Luxembourg

UK

Netherlands

Germany

Denmark

Average Payment Periods 1999

RULES

application of rules

(one-law-for-all principle)

CONSISTENT

OBJECTIVE

PREDICTABLE

FAIR

CONSISTENCY

RELATIONSHIPS

application of rules

(case-by-case principle)

UNIQUE

PERSONAL

FLEXIBLE

FAIR

DISCRETION

THE FAVOUR BANK

FIXED-TIME cultures- Time is divided into units so it can be measured and tracked

accurately

- Time is a straight line

- Order, precision, detail, agendas, deadlines, structure, action plans, predictability, budgets, reliability, process, systems

- Business interactions focus on task details rather than the relationship with the person you are working

Typical Examples of

FIXED-TIME Cultures

Finland

Germany

Hong Kong

Netherlands

Norway

Sweden

USA

UK

Japan

FLUID TIME cultures

- More “relaxed attitude” to time – loose and flexible schedules

- Time is fluid, cyclical

- Focus is on relationship building as well as tasks and deadlines

- Interruptions and “distractions” can be common during meetings

- It is often disrespectful not to "spend" time with people

Typical Examples of

FLUID-TIME Cultures

Brazil

China

France

India

Indonesia

Italy

Mexico

Philippines

Saudi Arabia

Vietnam

JapanSingapore

Algeria

BELGIUM

Switzerland

Denmark

USA

Netherlands

France

Russia

ItalyGreece

Venezuela

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

INDIA

Philippines

Korea

China

Vietnam

FinlandUK

Germany

Sweden Hong Kong

BASED ON A MODEL BY RICHARD LEWIS

Angola

Bangladesh

CANADA

Typical Anglo-Saxon Meeting

Segmentation of issues (tasks)

Discussion

Solutions

Fixed

Agenda

Typical Latin Meeting

In random order

Preliminary

discussion of issues

Wide-ranging,

all-embracing discussion

Inter-related

issues / tasks

Extensive

small talk

Looking for

some support

Meetings in YELLOW Cultures

Opposing Converging Closing Merging