People from different countries as
well as regions inside them often do things in different ways. One way to explain
variations in behavior is the idea of culture. There are so many definitions of
culture because the concept is complex. According to Hofstede (1997), culture
is the software of the mind, similar to a computer program that controls behavior.
According to Sathe (1985), culture is a series of important values and beliefs
that are characteristic for the members of a particular society and are
relevant to their view of the world as well as to the ideals worth to strive
for. however the culture can’t readily be expressed directly. The impact of
culture in an organization can be look at in several aspects.
1, the impact of culture on
motivation
The culture of a country or region in
which the organizations function influences the way of motivating employees a
great deal. In collective countries, such as Japan, giving an individual reward
to an employee could embarrass the recipient and thus be de-motivating. Offering
rewards for individual behavior that runs counter to group norms is unlikely to
have a positive influence on motivation. People prefer to receive money,
titles, or other materialistic or status-oriented rewards. (Hofstede, 1997).
2, the impact of culture on communication
People in different cultures
communicate among themselves differently. There are major differences in language
usage, verbal style, and nonverbal communication. Verbal communication styles
are vary in different cultures and their communication patterns. Also culture
has quite a strong impact on nonverbal communication which may be expressed
through facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and posture. Greeting
gestures has significant identifications. For an example, in a business
situation, North Americans shake hands, Japanese bow, and Middle Easterners of
the same sex kiss on the cheek (Abbasi and Holman, 1993).
3, the impact of culture on conflict
resolution
The way people sense conflicts
varies widely with culture. Intercultural communications expert Stella Ting-Toomey
has developed a theory of culture and conflict that explains cultural
differences using Hall's low and high context framework (Gundykunst and Ting-Toomey,
1988). According to this theory, people in low-context cultures see conflict as
instrumentally oriented. Conflict often arises because one party violates the
other's expectations. People are oriented toward action. This results in a
direct, confrontational response to conflict, with all parties wanting a quick
resolution. In the high-context culture, which has more specific rules of behavior,
conflict usually occurs when a person violates cultural expectations. This
often results in avoiding or ignoring the conflict.
References
1. Abbasi, S. M. and Hollman, K. W.
(1993) ‘Business Success in the Middle
East, Management Decision’, 31(1), pp. 55-59.
2. Gunykunst, W. B. and Ting-Toomey,
S. (1988) Culture and Interpersonal Communication.
California: Sage.
3. Hofstede, G. (1997) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the
mind. London: McGraw-Hill.
4. Sathe, V. (1985) Culture and Related Corporate Realities.
New York: Irwin.
