BEHAVIORAL ATTRIBUTES
BEHAVIORAL ATTRIBUTES
Culture consists of specific learned norms based on attitudes, values, and
beliefs, which exist in every society. Visitors remark on differences; experts
write about them; and people managing affairs across countries find that results cannot be fully explained by economic models. Great controversy surrounds these differences because there is an acknowledged problem of measuring variances. Culture cannot be isolated easily from such factors as economic and political conditions and institutions. An opinion survey, for example, may reflect a short-term response to temporary economic conditions rather than the basic values and beliefs that will have longer-term effects on how business can be managed. Different cultures may share values, but may order them differently if it becomes necessary to trade off the achievement of one for another. This is illustrated by a question posed to groups of Asian and U.S. businessmen: "If you were on a sinking ship with your wife, your child, and your mother who could not swim, which one would you save if you could rescue only one?" In the United States about 60 percent chose the child and about 40 percent the wife, with none choosing the mother. All ., of the Asians chose the mother.11 Although this example is outside the realm of business, it illustrates that different nationalities may prioritize objectives jjjffgjeBtly. Businesspeople must^be very tentative about proclaiming existing differences and appropriate reactions.
Despite these problems, considerable research conducted in recent years indicates that some aspects of culture are significantly different across national borders and have a substantial impact on how business is conducted normally in different countries. There recently has been an upsurge in studies
comparing business operations in industrial countries, whereas previously most interest was in primitive areas where little international business occurs. One of the common means of research has been the reliance on trained experts, usually cultural anthropologists, to relay their observations of a national character. This method was used extensively during World War II, for example, to predict how the enemy would react to different situations. Another method is to compare carefully paired samples of organizational practices from two or more countries. The following discussion highlights some of the major findings of such research.
Culture consists of specific learned norms based on attitudes, values, and
beliefs, which exist in every society. Visitors remark on differences; experts
write about them; and people managing affairs across countries find that results cannot be fully explained by economic models. Great controversy surrounds these differences because there is an acknowledged problem of measuring variances. Culture cannot be isolated easily from such factors as economic and political conditions and institutions. An opinion survey, for example, may reflect a short-term response to temporary economic conditions rather than the basic values and beliefs that will have longer-term effects on how business can be managed. Different cultures may share values, but may order them differently if it becomes necessary to trade off the achievement of one for another. This is illustrated by a question posed to groups of Asian and U.S. businessmen: "If you were on a sinking ship with your wife, your child, and your mother who could not swim, which one would you save if you could rescue only one?" In the United States about 60 percent chose the child and about 40 percent the wife, with none choosing the mother. All ., of the Asians chose the mother.11 Although this example is outside the realm of business, it illustrates that different nationalities may prioritize objectives jjjffgjeBtly. Businesspeople must^be very tentative about proclaiming existing differences and appropriate reactions.
Despite these problems, considerable research conducted in recent years indicates that some aspects of culture are significantly different across national borders and have a substantial impact on how business is conducted normally in different countries. There recently has been an upsurge in studies
comparing business operations in industrial countries, whereas previously most interest was in primitive areas where little international business occurs. One of the common means of research has been the reliance on trained experts, usually cultural anthropologists, to relay their observations of a national character. This method was used extensively during World War II, for example, to predict how the enemy would react to different situations. Another method is to compare carefully paired samples of organizational practices from two or more countries. The following discussion highlights some of the major findings of such research.
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