National Culture and Management Behavior

Table of Contents

Introduction3

National Cultures, Organizational Cultures and the Role of Management4

Impact of National Culture on Organizational Culture6

National Characteristics of Organizational Cultures7

National Culture and Cultural Variables9

Conclusion11

References14

National Culture and Management Behavior

Introduction

The aim of this research paper is to discuss the National Culture and Management Behavior. National cultures should be taken into account if we want to make reasonable predictions about organizational behavior in different countries. National culture nullifies the organizational culture. Culture is a learned behavior, it is a set of beliefs, habits and traditions shared by a group of people and assimilate people coming into this society. Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group of people from another culture, in this sense it includes systems of values.

National cultures differ from one another with respect to values, while organizational cultures differ from each other according to their symbols, heroes and rituals. The dimensions are a conceptual way of dividing the complex realities in independent basic elements (Dubinsky, 1992). National culture is a collective programming of the mind that creates the effect of education and growing in a particular country. National culture and the collective memory is the national carrier of cultural tradition. Factors that strongly influence the programming of the mind to all citizens include the language of the state, the political system, the state education system, the media, etc.

One of the features of the global development process is the multiplicity of existing national cultures, the extraordinary diversity and manifold scale of values. Today there are about three thousand two hundred nations and sovereign states. For each ethnic group, the state, the people, the nation is characterized by its historical and economic development path, its own culture, and their behavior. Meanwhile, the feature of the modern world has increased globalization. Interdependence of transportation, distribution, communications, and economic networks leads to the creation of global organizations. However, to control the behavior of the international organization, it is important to understand the national mentality (Tayeb, 1988).

National Cultures, Organizational Cultures and the Role of Management

National cultures differ from each other mainly in regard to values, while organizational cultures differ from each other according to their most superficial practices: symbols, heroes and rituals. Therefore, differences between national cultures are rooted in values acquired before the age of ten, and the children learn from their parents, who, in turn, acquired before the age of ten. These values are quite stable and slow to change several generations. Organizational cultures are based on practices learned at work and can change much more quickly. The process orientation versus the results is related to the material-intensive versus intensive labor, greater absenteeism and more hierarchical structure. The employee orientation versus job orientation is related to increased capital investment, younger labor and more educated executives. The parish culture versus professionalism relates to public ownership, smaller size, greater unionization and fewer meetings. The open systems versus closed related to a higher percentage of female staff increased average age of employees, less formal organization, greater ...