Culture has more than a symbolic meaning.

 

 

 

I would say culture has more than a symbolic meaning. In practical terms, cultural differences are often defined and fixated based on cultural stereotypes we all share. In order for a manager to fully understand the cultural aspects of management practices, the first step should be to guard oneself from relying too much on cultural stereotypes.

 

To some extent, we are all ethnocentric, and our perspectives on cultures are shaped by our own cultural experience and upbringing. Each of us would take our own culture as an anchor to reflect on ourselves in comparison to people from other cultures especially when interacting with them in a business context. According to Shenkar and Luo (2008, p. 177), ‘stereotypes’ are our beliefs about others whereas ‘auto-stereotypes’ are how we see ourselves as a group distinguished from others.

 

Although one would argue understanding cultures begins with cultural stereotypes, I see it as rather a misleading concept for managers who are considering cultural management. Cultural stereotypes give rise to misinterpretation and ignore individual creativity and distinctiveness. Managers who evaluate fellow employees or subordinates based on cultural stereotypes can delegate a wrong person to a wrong position, and such misjudgment that ignores individualism can be detrimental as far as efficiency, productivity and costs are concerned.

 

Hofstede et al. (1990) for example define Americans as “Westerners, busy folks who like competition in business, who see dollars as a common goal, and enter and exit human relations quickly.” If a manager perceives other American employees based on these stereotypes, for example, individual distinctiveness and characteristics would be easily disguised and ignored in the presence of strong cultural stereotypes. In the worst case scenario, cultural stereotypes would breed cultural imperialism and discrimination.

 

References:

Hofstede, B., Neuijen, D. D. Ohayv and G. Sanders. (1990) ‘Measuring organizational cultures: a qualitative and quantitative study across twenty cases’ Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), pp. 286-316.

Shenkar, O. and Luo, Y. (2008) International Business. 2^nd ed. California: Sage.

 

 

- by Jules Lee