Acceso al Conocimiento Colectivo Los estudios con fines científicos que involucren

Culture affects and governs all facets of life by influencing the values, attitudes, and behaviors of a society. An individual is affected and engrained with his or her cultural society of origin. There are a number of approaches to defining cul- ture. Culture can be examined as artifacts and behaviors (such as food, dress, and dance), deep cognitive structures (beliefs and values, the way group members

tend to process information), or both: Culture has both behavioral and cognitive components. “Culture is defined as the socially transmitted behavior patterns, norms, beliefs and values of a given community.”2 _{People from the same com-} munity use the elements of their culture to interpret their surroundings and guide their interactions with other persons. Furthermore, culture is a phenomenon de- rived from an interaction of psychological and social factors; individuals inter- nalize messages about rules, beliefs, values, preferences, and expectations from the social environment. Avruch notes, “Culture is a derivative of individual ex- perience, something learned or created by individuals themselves or passed on to them socially by contemporaries or ancestors.”3 _{Similarly, Hall defines culture} as “a pattern of behavior transmitted to members of a group from previous gen- erations of the same group.”4

It should be noted that culture is not just a national phenomenon. The preceding definition of culture involving common experience shared among members of a community also can extend to “communities” of age groups (for example, retired persons), disabled persons (for example, the legally blind), individuals holding similar religious beliefs, and work professions. For example, people sharing simi- lar working conditions and job tasks, such as in information systems networking, can develop similar beliefs and priorities that influence their behavior. Closer to the concept of national culture are regional and local cultures, especially impor- tant for countries—geographically large and small—of significant social and eth- nic diversity where there may be quite different subcultures from one region and location of a country to another. The concept of culture can also extend to indi- vidual organizations, as communities, that through common experience over time develop their own distinct set of values, norms, priorities, and beliefs—“the way we do things in our organization.” In fact, many MNCs strive to develop a com- mon cultural identity of the organization that transcends the traditional influence of national culture. The understanding of national culture, organizational culture, and local culture is particularly relevant to our study of global workforce manage- ment, and these different cultural contexts will be examined throughout this book. However, in this chapter we will focus primarily on general characteristics of na- tional culture.

Culture encompasses information and assumptions that allow us to interpret each other’s statements, actions, and intentions. For example, when people from different cultures begin to interact, they often lack a “common pool of information and as- sumptions.”5 _{Typical approaches to international management attempt to promote} awareness of and sensitivity to national and ethnic culture to enhance one’s ability to avoid misunderstanding and to better understand and predict the behavior of people from other cultures. And in many cases the study of culture is very helpful to guide the modification of one’s own behavior to better fit in with predominant cultural expectations, such as “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” With particular regard to managing a global workforce, the more familiar one is with the cultural values and norms of a country, the more likely one can best interact with, understand, and manage its people.

eral cultural patterns and stereotypes. When we learn about general cultural charac- teristics and differences between cultures, we are merely dealing with general pat- terns. We must remember that there can be considerable variation within cultures, and we must not expect every individual to behave in a manner consistent with gen- eral cultural characteristics in every situation. Also, even though a general cultural characteristic may be accurate for individuals in most situations, they are also able to adapt their behaviors to the needs of a particular situation. Although there is value in learning about general cultural characteristics and tendencies to help guide our mak- ing sense of otherwise puzzling or even offensive behaviors we encounter, we also must be careful not to form rigid perceptions and fall into the mistake of simply relying on stereotypes. Group stereotypes, which can be positive or negative, are based on the assumption that all individuals in a certain group have the same charac- teristics. Decisions based on stereotypes risk being inaccurate, not to mention unfair, when individuals at the focus of the decisions do not conform to the stereotype, as may often be the case. Although general cultural patterns may be useful, especially in first learning and gaining insights about a given culture, these patterns must be challenged and refined continually. Ultimately, to be effective in managing human resources at home and abroad, we must get to know, manage, and assess employees on an individual level.