Carlos J. Sanchez-Runde

Introduction: multinationals and the multilevel politics of cross-national diffusion.

Over the last decade or two, scholars in the fields of international employment relations and organizational behaviour have devoted considerable energies to arguing that systematic differences in the behaviour of multinational companies (MNCs) are significantly shaped by their embeddedness in distinctive national-institutional complexes, both of their country of origin and of the host business systems in which their subsidiaries operate. More recent analyses have explored MNCs’ behaviour as the complex outcome of the interaction between influences from the parent national business system (NBS) and those deriving from the host NBS. Such work has drawn heavily on the comparative institutionalist perspective whose variants include the ‘societal effects’ school (e.g. Maurice and Sellier, 1986), national business systems theory (e.g. Whitley, 1992), and the ‘varieties of capitalism’ approach (Hall and Soskice, 2001a).

Culture, cognition, and managerial leadership

Much of the research on global leadership focuses on specific traits that managers and leaders should possess. While the literature acknowledges the importance of cultural differences in influencing both leadership and followership, it largely ignores differences in cognitive processes that can influence how attitudes are developed and behaviours are manifested in local environments as they relate to leadership. With this in mind, this paper examines the role of culture and cognitive processes in leader behaviour, and works to explain why such differences exist across regions. The example of China is used to illustrate the validity of this approach. Implications for research, theory development, and management practice are discussed.

Towards an holistic understanding of management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue and to point at how much in the current economic and social crisis has to do with having lost an integrative, holistic and humanistic approach to management and organizations.Design/methodology/approach – Following a brief introduction of the current context, this piece summarizes the main points of the six papers selected for inclusion in this special issue. These papers were selected from among the more than 80 presented at an International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society hosted by IESE Business School in Barcelona in May 2010.Findings – The main contributions from the papers in this special issue include conceptual elaborations on the conditions for work, that is, meaningful, holistic management delivered through management education programs, the interface between ethical values/responsibility and firm strategy, corporate community involvement, gift and gratuity dimensions of organizational analysis, and developing trust t...

Cambridge Handbook of Culture, Organizations, and Work: Cultural drivers of work behavior: personal values, motivation, and job attitudes

In his classic study of bureaucracy, French sociologist Michael Crozier observed long ago that while managers have long understood that organization structures, attitudes, and behaviors differ across cultures, “social scientists have seldom been concerned with such comparisons” (1964, p. 210). Unfortunately, many organizational researches continue to share this view today and all too frequently assume explicitly or implicitly – and in both cases, incorrectly – that relationships found between variables in one culture will likely transcend others. This viewpoint is easily understood. Culture is a difficult variable to define or measure. Data collection is often difficult and expensive. Translation problems complicate both measurement and analysis. Personal biases, however unintentional, frequently cloud both the choice and location of a research topic and the interpretation of results. Causal relationships are problematic. Intercultural sensitivities often impose self-censorship on dialog and debate. And everything takes more time than originally planned. As a result, serious study of the relationship between culture and behavior presents researchers with a complex puzzle that is not easily understood. Even so, being difficult, expensive, complex, imprecise, sensitive, time-consuming, and risky does not excuse or justify ignoring what is clearly one of the most important variables in the study of human behavior in organizations: culture. Fortunately, the omission of cultural perspectives in organizational research has been increasingly redressed in recent years such that there is now a reasonably solid body of research focusing on various aspects of organizations and management practice as they relate to employee motivation and work behavior (Latham and Pinder, 2005; Porter, Bigley, and Steers, 2003; Erez, Kleinbeck, and thierry, 2001; Leung et al ., 2005; Bhagat et al ., 2007).

Management Across Cultures: Living and working globally

Management challenge Living and working globally is both exciting and routine. It is both easy and difficult. Why? Because some people initially bring more skills to global assignments than others – that is, some have less to learn – and because some foreign locations are more comfortable or familiar than others. For example, a manager from Singapore would likely have an easier time moving to the United States or United Kingdom than Ecuador or Peru, because more Singaporeans speak English than Spanish. This does not suggest that they should avoid South America; they just have to work harder, as the territory is less familiar. Moving overseas brings with it a number of challenges, including both psychological and socio-cultural adjustments. In addition, there are personal, time, family, and career considerations. There is also the problem of returning home following the assignment. All of this is doable, of course, but it is made much easier to the extent that managers can develop and enhance their multicultural competence. Chapter outline Global assignments page 366 Challenges of living and working globally 373 Adapting to local cultures 379 Managing repatriation 394 Manager’s notebook: Living and working globally 396 Summary points 401 Applications 11.1 Global assignments at Shell 370 11.2 Wei Hopeman, Citi Ventures 374 11.3 Preparing for global assignments 378 11.4 Dining out in Luogang 380 11.5 Mr. Smith and Mr. Zhang 392 11.6 Andrea Walker, returning home 395 There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign. Robert Louis Stevenson Poet and novelist, Scotland Everyone thinks in terms of changing the world, but no one thinks in terms of changing himself. Leo Tolstoy Poet and novelist, Russia

Management Across Cultures: The organizational environment

Management challenge As discussed in the previous chapter, the external environment exerts a variety of pressures on organizations and their managers. Chapter 3 explored the cultural environment. In this chapter, we examine a second major area in which global awareness and understanding are critical for managers: the organizational environment. Organizations come in many shapes, sizes, and forms. Nothing is simple. Some organizations adapt, some resist, and many find their own creative solutions for dealing with local pressures. Managers need to understand the type of organizations they are working with, the types of solutions they have found to deal with their environments, and the implications of these solutions for managers. In other words, organizations themselves put pressures on managers by defining what is expected or required. Some of the more common challenges managers face with regard to the organization concern the organization’s global strategy, organization design, control and decision-making processes, and organizational culture. These topics are discussed in this chapter, along with the implications for the managers, who are often caught in the middle. Chapter outline ▪ Global strategy and structure page 110 ▪ Regional models of organization 119 ▪ Control, participation, and decision making 132 ▪ Organizational culture 136 ▪ Manager’s notebook: The organizational environment 141 ▪ Summary points 145 Applications 4.1 Adaptation strategy at Unilever 112 4.2 Aggregation strategy at Playmobil 114 4.3 Arbitrage strategy at Ford 115 4.4 Global cultures at GE and Wal-Mart 138 4.5 Core values at Alibaba 138

Management Across Cultures: Communicating across cultures

MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE People have often observed that communication is the essence of good management. It lies at the heart of effective organizations. In view of this, it is surprising how difficult it can be communicating with others, especially across cultures. We may unintentionally come across as impatient, condescending, and sometimes just rude. From a managerial standpoint, such behavior serves only to erect barriers to organizational success. To communicate effectively across cultures, managers need to understand the fundamental influences on both effective and ineffective communication, as well as strategies for reaching a higher level of mutual understanding between people. Chapter outline ▪ Interpersonal communication page 191 ▪ Cultural screens on interpersonal communication 195 ▪ Cognition and communication 196 ▪ Communication protocols 206 ▪ Manager’s notebook: Communicating across cultures 215 ▪ Summary points 221 Applications 6.1 Dinner in Prague 191 6.2 The fourth floor 199 6.3 Native speakers 201 6.4 Offensive behavior at Ain Shams 202 6.5 Scheduling appointments 205 6.6 Privacy and taxes 208 6.7 Nigerian communities 210 6.8 Making apologies 212 6.9 Emotional displays 213 A different language is not just a dictionary of words, sounds, and syntax. It is a different way of interpreting reality, refined by the generations that developed the language. Federico Fellini Filmmaker and director, Italy Whatever the culture, there’s a tongue in our head. Some use it, some hold it, and some bite it. For the French it is a rapier, thrusting in attack; the English, using it defensively, mumble a vague and confusing reply; for Italians and Spaniards it is an instrument of eloquence; Finns and East Asians throw you with their constructive silence. Silence is a form of speech, so don’t interrupt it. Richard D. Lewis Communication consultant, United Kingdom

Management Across Cultures: The situational environment

MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE In Chapter 3 we discussed how the cultural environment exerts pressures on individuals and organizations. In Chapter 4 we discussed how the organizational environment can also influence managerial behavior. In this chapter we explore the third environment influencing managerial success or failure: the situation. This environment consists of a combination of individual differences and contextual factors that collectively define the situation in which managers find themselves. The challenge for managers is that they typically face different situations every time they go out into the field. These differences may be as simple as working with people with different personalities or as complicated as attempting to meet their responsibilities or goals in a highly competitive environment. In all cases, the challenge is to understand the particular situation in which managers are working and how the present situation may differ from the previous ones. Once this is understood, the challenge is to develop a model that integrates these three factors – cultures, organizations, and situations – in way that helps managers better understand their options and opportunities. Chapter outline ▪ People, cognition, and behavior page 153 ▪ Goals and plans 168 ▪ Individual roles and responsibilities 170 ▪ Location, location, location 174 ▪ Manager’s notebook: The situational environment 177 ▪ Choices for the manager: putting it all together 180 ▪ Summary points 182 Applications 5.1 Carlos Ghosn 156 5.2 Symbolism of chairs 160 5.3 Interpreting messages 161 5.4 What is a supervisor? 163 5.5 Customer service 167 5.6 Work rules at Air France 169 5.7 Perils of being a junior manager 172 5.8 Tata’s new factory 175 5.9 Rethinking the BP–Rosneft partnership 176

Accounting for Culture in the Development of Global Leaders

Understanding why organizations fail or succeed typically requires, among other things, an assessment of leadership behaviors and contexts. Some experts, mostly those with a stronger psychological inclination, emphasize the figure of those in charge, their personality traits and habits, their charisma and style, their personal or task orientations, and so on. It is then the behavior displayed by specific individuals, particularly those at the top, which accounts for the performance of the firm. Other pundits, however, favor a sociological bias and explain performance less in terms of the behavior of the leader, and more as a function of the organizational leadership context, including here processes and systems, policies and practises orienting the final behavior of people in the organization. Of course, nobody will seriously disregard that both context and behaviors matter, but the fact is that scholars have traditionally felt more comfortable choosing one alternative viewpoint than trying to integrate both of them. As a result, traditional approaches to leadership in organizations suffer from partiality and excessive simplification. Consider the following scenario.

Leading global organizations

Management Challenge Despite the plethora of books on leadership, we still know very little about how or why leadership efforts succeed or fail. And we know even less about how to train leaders, global or otherwise, despite the innumerable training programs available. One thing is clear, however: leadership is not a quality or skill that can be easily replicated around the world. Leadership in Singapore, for example, is based on fundamentally different traditions and assumptions from those in the Netherlands, and these differences cannot be ignored. As a result, the challenge for global managers is to develop a sensitivity and understanding of how leadership efforts play out across countries and cultures, as well as how to behave when placed in or near such responsibilities. We explore this topic in this chapter, looking at the topic from different angles. We also discuss what is probably the most comprehensive study of global leadership (called GLOBE). Throughout, examples are used to illustrate the different faces of leadership across both cultures and organizations. CHAPTER OUTLINE • Dimensions of organizational leadership page 162 • Contemporary approaches to cross-cultural leadership 164 • Limitations on contemporary approaches 171 • GLOBE leadership study 174 • Women leaders: challenges and opportunities 179 • Leadership in China and the West 182 • MANAGERs NOTEBOOK: Leading global organizations 185 • Key terms 188 • Discussion questions 188 • Case: Emerson Electric – Suzhou 190 APPLICATIONS 6.1 Carlos Ghosn, Nissan page 166 6.2 Heroines of Reykjavik 168 6.3 Masataka Shimizu, TEPCO 170 6.4 Patronage and pok chow in Malaysia 173 6.5 Jogo de cintura, Brazil 178 6.6 Women leaders in India 181 A recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, brought together over 1,000 corporate executives, 50 heads of state, and 300 cabinet ministers to discuss world challenges ranging from deficits to competitiveness to deadly diseases. At the conclusion of the conference, an observer from The Economist characterized the meeting as having one overriding theme: the importance of developing global leaders – in corporations, nation states, and NGOs. “The two most popular words in the business lexicon today are ‘global’ and ‘leadership.’ Put them together and people in suits start to salivate.” Indeed, global leadership is both an important topic and a topic about which we understand far less than we pretend.