Socio Cultural Influences

							Socio Cultural Influences
  Global Entrepreneurship Seminar
           Dr. Balbir Bhasin
       What is Culture?

 Set of commonly held values
 A way of life of a group of people
 Includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
 law, customs and habits
 Everything that people have, think and do
 as members of their society
        “An integrated system of learned
     behavior patterns that are characteristic
      of the members of any given society”
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        US & Alternative Values
 Beliefs - control vs. destiny
 Change - action vs. accept
 Attitude - practical vs. dreams aspirations
 Approach/work ethic - hard work vs. luck
 Promises - keep vs. perhaps
 Time - depends on priorities
 Obligation -company or family
 Employment - short term vs. lifelong
 Meritocracy - best person vs.
 Other considerations
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            Stereotypical American – as seen
            by other countries
   Inconsiderate of other people’s cultures
   Racially prejudices
   Ignorant of other countries
   Shallow, immature, naïve
   Violent, aggressive
   Generous, forgiving
   Always in a hurry
   Outgoing, friendly
   Informal
   Loud, rude, boastful
   Hard working
   Arrogant, proud, insensitive
   Innovative
   Extravagant, wasteful,
   Confident they have all the answers
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           Hofstede’s Value Dimensions


   Power distance - extent to which subordinates
    accept authority
   Uncertainty avoidance - threatened by
    ambiguous situations, prefer formal structure,
    feel safe and secure
   Individualism versus collectivism
   Masculinity - assertiveness, materialism
   Femininity - concern for society, others
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         Trompenaar’s Findings


 Obligation - universalism, pluralism
 Emotional in relationship - neutral, affective
 Involvement in relationship - specific, diffuse
 Legitimization of power and status -based on
  achievement and competency or based on
  position, age or education

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            Ethnocentrism

    “Tendency for people to judge
     behavior by their own standards”

   The belief that own culture is superior
   All people in all societies are ethnocentric
    to some degree
   Ethnocentrism can contribute to prejudice

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           Cross Cultural Communications

   “Process of sharing meaning by transmitting
    messages - words and behavior”
   Critical factor in cross cultural management
   Need for effective communication to: give
    information, share ideas, give orders, and to
    motivate
   Interpersonal issues: leadership, motivation,
    group interaction, negotiation

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         Barriers to Effective
         Communication

 Semantics - different words have different
  meaning to different people: fix, fag, shag
 Jargon - technical terms
 Acronyms and Abbreviations - culture, military
 Perception - interpreting information,
  distortion
 Emotions - breakdown in communication

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             Cultural Variables in
             Communications

   Stereotyping - assuming that all have same attributes
   Language - literal or poor understanding
   Kinesic behavior - posture, gesture, facial expression,
    eye contact
   Oculesics - behavior of the eye during communication
   Proxemics - effect of proximity and space
   Paralanguage - how something is said
   Time – mono-chronic or poly-chronic
   Context - in which the communication takes place

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            How to manage communications
            effectively


   Develop cultural sensitivity - be aware of self and
    the other!
   Careful encoding - use proper words, gestures
   Selective transmission - use proper medium
   Careful decoding of feedback - careful interpretation
    of message
   Seek feedback - ask, verify, follow-up

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         Fundamentals of Negotiations

    “a process between two or more parties
              aimed at reaching a
        mutually acceptable agreement”
 Goal: to bring about a win-win situation
  where all parties benefit
 Process: preparation, relationship building,
  exchange of task related information,
  persuasion, concession and agreement.
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            Variables in the negotiations
            process

   Competitive process or problem solving approach
   How negotiators are selected - best qualified?
   How are persuasive arguments presented? Rational or
    emotional?
   Motivations? Personal, family, company, country?
   Ability to take risk
   Decision making process - individual or collective
   Trust - handshake or legal document?


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