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ENG 192: SeminarBorderless Engineering
Cross Cultural Leadership and Communication October 14, 2008
LuAnn Piccard [email protected]
ENG 192: SeminarBorderless Engineering
Cross Cultural Leadership and Communication October 14, 2008
LuAnn Piccard [email protected]
LuAnn Piccard, PMP
Instructor Engineering, Science & Project Management
(ESPM) Graduate Department at UAA
LuAnn Piccard, PMP
Instructor Engineering, Science & Project Management
(ESPM) Graduate Department at UAA
• BS and MS in Engineering, Stanford University
• 22 years professional experience at Hewlett Packard, Agilent Technologies and Advanced Energy Industries
– R&D– Strategic Marketing– Strategic Alliance Management– Professional Services– Operations– General and Executive Management
• Teaching– ESM 613 Managing Technical People– PM 622 Project Communications Management– PM 601 Project Management Fundamentals– PM 610 Project Scope Management– PM 612 Project Time Management (Guest)– PMPP Scope and Integration Modules
OutlineOutline• Culture Quiz• Definition of Culture• Aspects of Cultural Differences• Dimensions of National Cultures• Examples of National Culture Rankings• Culture Quiz Answers
Culture QuizCulture Quiz• Is it important to be on-time for a meeting in China?• In Turkey, what does a hand-shake signify?• Is the gift of a clock appropriate in Japan?• Should you pat a child’s head in India?• Where is a “thumbs-up” gesture considered offensive? • Should you show the soles of your shoes in Russia?• Should you eat all of the food on your plate in Indonesia? • Where does the largest population of Japanese people
live outside of Japan?• In Great Britain, what does tapping the side of your nose
signify?• In France, what does twisting your hand around your
nose signify?
Definition of CultureDefinition of Culture
“The collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.” *
– Culture is learned, not innate
– Derived from one’s social environment
• “Cultural Relativism affirms that one culture has no absolute criteria for judging the activities of another culture as “low” or “noble”. However, every culture can and should apply such judgment to its own activities because its members are actors as well as observers.” -Claude Levi-Strauss, French Anthropologist
*Geert Hofstede, “Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind”
Attributes of CultureAttributes of Culture
Symbols
Heroes
Rituals
Practices
Values
*Geert Hofstede, “Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind”
“Visibility”
Layers of CultureLayers of Culture
• National level
• Regional, ethnic, religious, linguistic
• Gender
• Generational
• Social Class
• Work organization
Dimensions of National CulturesDimensions of National Cultures
• Power distance: equality vs. inequality
• Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Masculinity vs. Femininity
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Long-term orientation
Dimensions of National CulturesPower Distance
Dimensions of National CulturesPower Distance
• Degree of equality or inequality between people in a society
– High Power Distance:• Inequalities of power and wealth• Likely to follow a caste system• Does not allow for significant upward mobility of citizens
– Low Power Distance:• De-emphasizes differences in power and wealth• Equality and opportunity for everyone is stressed
Dimensions of National CulturesIndividualism vs. Collectivism
Dimensions of National CulturesIndividualism vs. Collectivism
• Degree to which the society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships
– Individualism:• Individuality and individual rights are paramount in society• Individuals may tend to for a large number of looser
relationships– Collectivism:
• Close ties between individuals• Reinforce extended families and collectives• Everyone takes responsibility for fellow members in group
Dimensions of National CulturesMasculinity vs. Femininity
Dimensions of National CulturesMasculinity vs. Femininity
• Degree to which the society reinforces or does not reinforce traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control and power
– High Masculinity:
• High degree of gender differentiation• Males dominate large portion of society and power structure
– Low Masculinity:• Low level of gender differentiation and discrimination between
genders• Females and males treated equally in all aspects of society
Dimensions of National CulturesUncertainty Avoidance
Dimensions of National CulturesUncertainty Avoidance
• Degree of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity in society (unstructured situations)
• High Uncertainty Avoidance: – Low tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity– Rule orientation: laws, rules, regulations
and controls
• Low Uncertainty Avoidance:– Less concern about ambiguity– Tolerance for variety of opinions– Readily accepts change, takes more and
greater risks
Dimensions of National CulturesLong Term Orientation
Dimensions of National CulturesLong Term Orientation
• Degree to which society embraces or does not embrace long-term devotion to traditional forward thinking values.
• High Long-term orientation: – Values long-term commitments and respect for
tradition– Strong work ethic where long-term rewards are
expected as a result of today’s hard work– Business may take longer to develop for “outsiders”
• Low Long-term orientation::– Does not reinforce long-term traditional orientation– Change occurs rapidly; long-term traditions and
commitments are not impediments to change
National Culture RankingsWorld Average
National Culture RankingsWorld Average
http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
National Culture Rankings: ChinaNational Culture Rankings: China
High Power Distance:High level of power andwealth inequality
Low individualism:Close “member group”
High LTO: Perseverance willovercome obstacles
National Culture Rankings: IndiaNational Culture Rankings: India
High Power Distance:Highest level of all cultures;Accepted cultural norm
High masculinity:Third highest
Low uncertainty avoidance:Open to unstructured ideas
High LTO: Perseverance willovercome obstacles
National Culture Rankings: United StatesNational Culture Rankings: United States
Low Power DistanceFocus on equality
High Individualism:Highest of all attributesIndividualistic, self-reliant
High masculinity:Women shift towards male traits
Low uncertainty avoidance:Few rules, flexibility
Low LTO:Meet obligations
National Culture RankingArab Region
National Culture RankingArab Region
High Power DistanceHigh level of inequality;Cultural norm
Low Individualism:Highly collective memberGroup; look out for members
High uncertainty avoidance:Rules/laws to eliminate or avoid unexpected
National Culture Rankings:Israel
National Culture Rankings:Israel
Low Power DistanceEgalitarian
High Individualism:Independence
High uncertainty avoidance:Rules/laws to eliminate or avoid unexpected
National Culture Rankings: Mexico
National Culture Rankings: Mexico
High Power DistancePower and wealth differentiation
Low Individualism:Strong extended familystructure
Low uncertainty avoidance:Rules/laws to eliminate or avoid unexpected. Risk Averse.
National Culture RankingsScandinavian Countries
National Culture RankingsScandinavian Countries
Low Power DistanceEgalitarian
High Individualism:Independence
Low masculinity:Sexual equality
Low uncertainty avoidance:Flexible, risk taking
National Culture RankingPhilippines
National Culture RankingPhilippines
High Power DistanceHigh level of inequality;Cultural norm
Low IndividualismCollectivism
Low uncertainty avoidance:Flexible, risk taking
Low long-term orientationNot bound by tradition
National Culture RankingJapan
National Culture RankingJapan
High Masculinity
High Uncertainty Avoidance
High Long-term Orientation
United States-Japan ComparisonUnited States-Japan Comparison
Culture and TeamworkCulture and Teamwork
• No “wrong or right”
• Build understanding
• Respect different perspectives
• Value differences
• Use unique attributes to enhance problem solving
Why is this important?Why is this important?
• Customers are diverse• Teams are diverse• Cross-border engineering becoming norm• Global economy• Understanding can improve and accelerate
results• Understanding can help avoid conflicts
