Brent MacNab

Cultural Intelligence: Understanding Behaviors that Serve People’s Goals

Cultural intelligence has various meanings that can be looked on as complementary. On one hand, it refers to behaviors that are considered intelligent from the point of view of people in specific cultures. Such behaviors can include quick application of previously learned information in some cultures, getting along with kin in other cultures, and slow and deliberate consideration of alternative courses of action in still other cultures. On the other hand, cultural intelligence can also refer to the traits and skills of people who adjust quickly, with minimal stress, when they interact extensively in cultures other than the ones where they were socialized. The two uses of the term are related because people who want to be sensitive to other scan examine intelligence as it is defined and demonstrated in other cultures and can make adjustments in their own behaviors during their cross-cultural experiences.

An Experiential Approach to Cultural Intelligence Education

Cultural intelligence (CQ) represents a promising advancement in the area of cross-cultural training and management. Experiential approaches for CQ development have been proposed as highly effective; however, there is a lack of CQ-specific approaches in the management literature. This work overviews the concept of cultural intelligence and its relevance to management then highlights an experiential CQ education process and framework. The process, designed to increase CQ capacity by engaging in a new cultural contact experience, was initially developed with two cohorts that included a total of 743 management education participants. Details of the process, supporting theory, related teaching materials, participant evaluation, and participant CQ development indicators are presented and future research directions are discussed.

Evolving Perceptions of Japanese Workplace Motivation An Employee-Manager Comparison

This research effort specifically examines perceptions of workplace motivation in Japan between employees and managers while highlighting results that are somewhat counterintuitive to the traditional western perception of Japanese ethnography. Specifically, we find some evidence for a potentially shifting movement toward a self-orientation with more emphasis on lifetime employability over lifetime employment. During a period when incremental efficiencies are arguably more important than ever for the Japanese economy, practitioners therein stand to maintain the highest level of productivity by better understanding exactly how workforce motivation is currently evolving rather than relying on potentially dated assumptions. Specifically this effort advances cross cultural management studies by blending insight from past American research and theory with current research on Japan - which allows the additional benefit of comparing traditional Japanese cultural platforms to potentially more modern, dynamic realities. In partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Human Resource Solutions, a survey was undertaken in the metropolitan Tokyo area that examined motivation of the Japanese worker using the two-factor Herzberg model, which seems to be valid in Japan. The study indicates that there has been a movement from a more traditional, collective/company orientation toward more self-orientation. The study also demonstrates that Japanese managers seem to have an acceptable understanding of what motivates employees but that there is still room for improvement.

Culture and Ethics Management Whistle-blowing and Internal Reporting within a NAFTA Country Context

This article examines the relation of culture to the propensity for, and potential effectiveness of, both internal reporting and whistle-blowing as ethics management tools within a North American context. Samples from a total of 10 regions in the US, Canada and Mexico increased the accuracy and meaningfulness of the findings. Hofstedes cultural dimensions uncertainty avoidance and power distance had the most consistent and significant relationship to propensity for both whistle-blowing and internal reporting, while collectivism was not found to be significantly related to either ethics management tool. Managers who better understand the cultural links to ethics management are more likely to craft the most effective organizational ethics strategies. Researchers can gain from increased insight, allowing departure from assumptions to an empirically based examination of how cultural dimensions might influence ethics management instruments.

Experiential cultural intelligence development: context and individual attributes

Cultural intelligence (CQ) represents advancement in the area of international human resources management and cross-cultural training. An experiential approach to CQ training is developed and analyzed. A diverse, multicultural group of over 370 participated. General self-efficacy and contextual aspects related to Contact Theory were found to be significant to training outcomes in CQ development. In crafting the most effective CQ training and education, organizations and international human resources staff can benefit from understanding individual and contextual influences. Our experiential approach to CQ education appears to hold promise and adds to the literature by producing a specific approach.

Cultural Change and Marketing

ABSTRACT The results of this study suggest that marketing strategies need to be adjusted to changing cultures. Culture affects marketing decisions regarding product, price, promotion and place (the 4 Ps). Many marketing studies have been reported based on Hofstedes seminal work on national culture (1980). Marketing managers need to be cautious about assuming the validity of the Anglo cluster equating the cultures of the United States (U.S.) and Canada. We should recognize that national cultures are changing in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as most other countries in the world. Our findings for a very recent sample of people attending executive and MBA programs would seem to apply to the upwardly-mobile business class. Contrary to the ubiquitous Hofstede data found in textbooks, we found no significant differences in Power Distance between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Our findings regarding differences in Uncertainty Avoidance show that Mexico did not have a significantly higher mean than the U.S., but that the U.S. had a higher mean than Canada. The U.S. and Canada did not differ significantly on Individualism/Collectivism. Our results suggest that caution should be taken in automatically assuming cultural parity between the U.S. and Canada and that established cultural positions between the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) member nations may be changing.

Stereotype awareness development and effective cross-cultural management An experiential approach

Cross-cultural managers who are unaware of their stereotypes risk operating from potentially inaccurate and ineffective cognitive platforms, yet there is a need for more education and training approaches in the area of stereotype awareness. Experiential approaches to social learning that have been proposed as holding high effectiveness and dialectic logic provide a specific avenue for altering perceptions. An experiential approach to stereotype awareness is developed with a multicultural group of over 370 participants. Context influenced participant outcomes in stereotype awareness development indicators and was more significant than individual traits. Participant self-efficacy was found to demonstrate a slight positive moderating influence. Stereotype awareness is established as an important trait for cross-cultural managers; the described experiential approach should be considered as a possible avenue in developing greater effectiveness for managers dealing with diverse groups and cultures. Organizations that can better educate and train people in developing personal stereotype awareness stand to ultimately advance effectiveness in cross-cultural and diversity management.

Culture Typing versus Sample Specific Accuracy: An Examination of Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, and Individualism for Business Professionals in the U.S. and Canada.

Comparative cultural closeness between Canada and the U.S. established in part by the Hofstede (1980) study continues to influence some business research efforts that assume cultural parity between the two nations. Sampling business professionals, evidence emerges that cautions assuming cultural parity between Canada and the U.S. based on typical and selected Anglo culture type dimensions. Contributing as an updated empirical test of the Anglo culture type assumption between the two nations, uncertainty avoidance was higher in the U.S. sample and varied more by country than by individual characteristics or by an indication of professional discipline type.

Regional Cultural Differences and Ethical Perspectives within the United States: Avoiding Pseudo-Emic Ethics Research

National cultures are often described as if they were homogeneous in spite of notable regional differences. As one example, there are significant differences between two distinct regions of the United States, Hawaii and Florida. This study provides a platform to exemplify a more regionally aware position for cultural and ethics research. Using select Hofstede cultural dimensions, regional differences were found in relation to both collectivism/individualism and uncertainty avoidance. The Hawaii sample had higher levels of collectivism and uncertainty avoidance, demonstrating unique regional-cultural patterns within the United States. Regional samples were examined for potential differences in their general perception of what constitutes ethical business practice. While honesty appeared as a key trait across samples, significant differences emerged in the magnitude of importance between samples for integrity (which was more significant for the Hawaii sample) and loyalty (which was more significant for the Florida sample).

ADAPTABILITY AND CHANGE IN JAPANESE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE: A LONGITUDINAL INQUIRY INTO THE BANKING INDUSTRY – THROUGH THE BUBBLE ECONOMY AND BEYOND

Japanese organizations have been forced to re-evaluate their management systems in light of recent economic and competitive pressures. Much can be learned about the adjustments of the Japanese management mindset, and a more competitive Japan may emerge as a result of successful adaptation. This study makes a longitudinal examination of the dynamic nature of management practices and thinking in the Japanese banking industry. Pressures on key industries in Japan during this time, e.g. the financial sector, provide insight into how adaptable Japanese institutions might be. The study finds important areas of meaningful change, supporting a crossvergence approach.