Download Arab Open University (Bahrain Branch)

Arab Open University
Bahrain Branch
Faculty of Business Studies
T205 – Systems Thinking: Principles and Practice
Culture and globalization
 A key consequence of globalization is that more and more of us are directly
affected by other cultures in our work places
 Multi-nationals often bring in the influences of their country of origin
 To be able to cope with the complexity of the environment, we have no option but
to filter the mass of information it bombards us with. Culture acts as an important
biasing factor in the filter – we tend to adopt the filters we have learned and been
brought up with and that are characteristic of the society we live in
Changing culture
 Changing culture may involve a mixture of many ‘soft’ issues (attitudes, beliefs,
strategies, etc.) and ‘hard’ issues (structures, processes, etc.). it may take a long
time; it may need several change processes going on in parallel, and will need the
full and active support of key people in the organization
 Culture-change can be accessed via:
o Replacement (changing the people)
 Depends heavily on the availability of suitable people within the
organization’s environment
 Using ‘fresh start’ as a chance to build new structures
o Re-education (changing the way the people operate)
 Through training, workshop programmes, etc.
o Re-design (changing organizational systems: reward, appraisal, etc.)
 Tend to depend on the organization’s environment, since they
usually have to draw on the ideas and techniques that
organizational gurus and consultants are currently offering
Dimensions of national culture: Hofstede’s studies
Hofstede identified four basic dimensions along which the cultures of different nations
could be arranged. The four dimensions provide a useful insight into the ways in which
patterns of values and attitudes can vary in quite systematic ways between nations.
 High vs. low power-distance
o This dimension is concerned with how far the culture encourages superiors
to exercise and display power
o In high power-distance cultures
 the exercise of power is what being a boss means

Working relationships are based on having power over someone,
or being dependent on someone
 Employees are frequently afraid to express disagreement, and
prefer to work for managers who take decisions (and
responsibility) and tell them what to do
o In low power-distance cultures
 Superiors and subordinates consider each other to be colleagues
and have values that mean that inequality in society should be
minimized
 Superiors are accessible because organization members are
interdependent
 Employees are seldom afraid to disagree, and expect to be
consulted before decisions are made
 High vs. low uncertainty-avoidance
o This dimension concerns the degree to which the culture encourages risktaking
o In strong uncertainty-avoidance cultures
 People feel threatened by uncertain situations, and experience
greater anxiety and stress from them. This is countered by hard
work, career stability and intolerance of deviancy
 There is a search for ultimate values and a great respect for age
 Employees agree that rules should not be broken and look forward
to staying with the firm until they retire
o In weak uncertainty-avoidance cultures
 Life’s inherent uncertainty is more easily accepted. Each day is
taken as it comes and so people experience less stress
 There is less need for rules, and people take a very pragmatic view
of keeping or changing the existing rules
 Individualism vs. collectivism
o This dimension concerns the degree to which the culture encourages
individual, as opposed to collectivist or group, concerns
o In an individualist culture
 Identity is based on the individual. The emphasis is on individual
initiative or achievement and everyone is supposed to take care of
themselves plus only their immediate family
 Everybody has the right to a private life and opinion, and may well
have only a calculated involvement with the work organization
 Very important to have time for personal and family life
 Job training carries much less value, since it increases commitment
to the company
o In a collectivist culture
 A much tighter societal framework, where people are members of
extended families or clans which protect them and which, in return,
expect loyalty from them
 The emphasis is on belonging and the aim is to be a good member
 There is a belief in the value of group decisions
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
The value standards applied to members of one’s own group, clan
or organization can differ considerably from those applied to
others
 Employees value good physical working conditions, while
personal challenge in work is of little importance
 Masculinity vs. femininity
o This dimension is based on a form of gender stereotype
o In masculine cultures
 Performance is what counts, ambition is the driving force, and high
earnings, money, material standards and the opportunity to achieve
are valued
 Big and fast are beautiful, ‘machismo’ is admired
 The manager is assertive, decisive, slightly macho and ‘aggressive’
 A lonely decision-maker looking for facts rather than a group
discussion leader
 The sex roles tend to be clearly differentiated, with men expected
to be assertive and dominating, and women to be caring and
nurturing
 A dominant woman is regarded as unfeminine – although she is
allowed to be manipulative in the background
o In feminine cultures
 It is the quality of life that matters. People and the environment are
important, service provides motivation
 Small is beautiful
 The manager is less visible, intuitive rather that decisive, and
accustomed to seeking consensus
 Sex roles in society are more flexible, unisex is attractive, and
there is a belief in equality between the sexes
 Not considered ‘unmusculine’ for a man to take a caring role
 Working co-operatively may well be valued highly
 Living in a pleasant area is important
 There is less value on gaining recognition for a good job done
Hofstede on internal organizational culture
Hofstede argues that national culture is to do with basic values, which are
instilled in individuals through socialization within the family. However,
organizational culture is more to do with the attitudes and orientations associated
with workplace practices. He identified six dimensions of organizational
culture:
 Transformation orientation vs. output orientation
o In transformation-oriented organizations people avoid risks and make
limited efforts in their jobs
o In output-oriented organizations people put in a large effort and are
ready to take on new challenges
 People orientation vs. task orientation
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o A people-oriented culture will encourage concern for personal and
group welfare
o A task-oriented culture will be concerned with getting the job done
 Organizational orientation vs. occupational orientation
o Organizational orientation is where employees identify themselves
primarily as employees of a particular organization
o Occupational orientation is where employees tend to identify
themselves by their job, occupation or profession
 Open vs. closed communication climate
o In an open climate information is easy to find and communication is
clear and straightforward. The organization is accessible to outsiders,
and new people find it easy to settle in
o A closed climate tends to be secretive, with only special people who
have been there a long time, fitting in
 Loose vs. tight internal control structure
o In tight organizations, costs are closely controlled, meetings are
punctual and jokes about the organization are rare
o Loose organizations tend to have a more relaxed atmosphere
 Normative vs. market (i.e. customer) driven orientation
o In normative cultures, complying with organizational procedures and
meeting high standards of honesty and ethics are regarded as crucial
o In the market-driven cultures, priority is given to understanding and
meeting customers’ demands and achieving results, and doing
whatever is needed to achieve this
Hofstede’s analysis of cultural dimensions can serve various practical purposes:
 It can help you, as an individual, to reflect on where you stand on each
dimension
 It can help to describe and explain practices in organizations other than your
own
 It is usually easier to plan changes in ways that are likely to go with the
culture, rather than across it
Knowledge management (four modes of knowledge conversion)
Two types of knowledge
 Tacit knowledge (e.g. intuitions, unarticulated mental models and embodied
technical skills)
 Explicit knowledge (i.e. a meaningful set of information articulated in clear
language, including numbers or diagrams)
These two types of are mutually complementary. They interact with one another
and may be transformed from one type to another through individual or collective
human creative activities
Dynamic theory of organizational knowledge
o ‘New organizational knowledge is created by human interactions among
individuals who have different types (tacit or explicit) of knowledge’
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Tacit
knowledge
Tacit
knowledge
Tacit
knowledge
Tacit
knowledge
Socialization
Externalization
Internalization
Combination
Explicit
knowledge
Explicit
knowledge
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Explicit
knowledge
Explicit
knowledge
Four modes of knowledge conversion
Four modes of knowledge conversion
o Socialization
 Private experiences become shared
 You need to arrange situations where participants share a common
experience at the same time and the same place
 Tacit knowledge has two dimensions
 Technical: young apprentices work with old master
craftsmen, thereby acquiring technical skills through
observation, imitation and practice
 Cognitive: by setting up informal meetings outside the
workplace, where participants chat over a meal. Through
this informal process they create common tacit knowledge
o Externalization
 Tacit, unarticulated knowledge is converted into explicit concepts
by using metaphors, analogies, concepts, hypotheses or models
o Combination
 Isolated bits and pieces of new or existing explicit knowledge
become combined into an integrated and systemic package of
knowledge such as a set of specifications for a new product
prototype
 This mode starts with linking different bodies of previously
independent explicit knowledge. But it can also start from the other
end
o Internalization
 Explicit knowledge is converted into tacit, operational ‘hands-on’
know-how, e.g. from ‘learning by doing’
The knowledge spiral
Organizational knowledge is created through what we call a knowledge spiral across
these four modes of knowledge conversion. A knowledge spiral may start from any
mode, but usually begins with socialization.
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List of readings and resources:
1. Concept file 5 (Networks):
- Readings 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
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