1

Chapter 13

International Human Relations

2

Learning Objectives

Define the term multinational enterprise and discuss four major reasons why companies become multinational enterprises.

Identify the term culture and relate four basic dimensions of international culture.

Discuss the value of country clusters in understanding the impact of culture in the

international arena.

3

Learning Objectives (contd.)

Relate the ways in which culture affects work attitudes, motivation, and how people deal with time.

Describe the ways in which cross-cultural training is used to prepare personnel to deal with international cultures.

4

Multinational Enterprise

… is a company headquartered in one country but having operations in two or more countries

5

Table 13.1 The World’s Most Admired Companies(Top Ten)

Rank Company Industry

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

General Electric

Cisco Systems

Microsoft

Intel

Wal-Mart Stores

Sony

Dell Computer

Nokia

Home Depot

Toyota Motor

Electronics, elec. equipment

Network comm., Internet tech.

Computer hardware, software

Computer hardware, software

Retail: general and specialty

Electronics, elec. equipment

Computer hardware, software

Network comm., Internet tech.

Retail: general, specialty

Motor vehicles

6

Table 13.2 World’s Largest MNEs for 2002(Adapted, Top Ten)

Rank Company Revenue ($ in millions)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Wal-Mart

Exxon Mobil

General Motors

BP

Ford Motor

Enron

DaimlerChrysler

Royal Dutch/Shell Group

General Electric

Toyota Motor

219,812.0

191,581.0

177,260.0

174,218.0

162,412.0

138,718.0

136,897.3

135,211.0

125,913.0

120,814.4

7

Culture

Culture is the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and to generate social behavior

8

Ethnocentrism

… is the belief that one’s way of doing things is superior to that of others

9

Table 13.3 Comparison of Cultural Values by Priority

Americans Japanese ArabsFreedom

Independence

Self-reliance

Equality

Individualism

Competition

Efficiency

Time

Directness

Openness

Belonging

Group harmony

Collectivity

Age/seniority

Group consensus

Cooperation

Quality

Patience

Indirectness

Go-between

Family security

Family harmony

Parental guidance

Age

Authority

Compromise

Devotion

Patience

Indirectness

Hospitality

10

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Power distance is the degree to which less powerful members of the society accept the fact that power is not distributed equally

Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have created institutions for minimizing or avoiding these uncertainties

11

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (contd.)

Individualism is the tendency of people to look after themselves and their immediate family only

Collectivism is the tendency of people to belong to groups that look after each other in exchange for loyalty

12

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (contd.)

Masculinity is the degree to which the dominant values of a society are success, money, and material things

Femininity is the degree to which the dominant values of a society focus on caring for others and on the quality of life

13

Selection Criteria to Fill Overseas Positions

1. The ability to adapt personally to an overseas assignment

2. Technical competence

3. The ability of one’s family to adapt

4. Human relations skills

5. Previous overseas experience

14

Cultural Assimilator

A cultural assimilator is a programmed learning technique that is designed to expose members of one culture to the values of another culture

15

Key Terms in the Chapter

Multinational enterprise

Culture Ethnocentrism Power distance Uncertainty

avoidance

Individualism Collectivism Masculinity Femininity Cultural assimilator