Organizational culture& the international business

Also known as “corporate culture” a pattern of basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered solid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.

In accordance with this definition, values that enhance the organization’s capacity for internal integration and external adaptation should be useful for the firm.

Why is it a pattern?

Why is it made of assumptions?

O’Reilly explains seven dimensions of organizational culture,

1. innovation2. outcome

orientation 3. respect for people4. team orientation5. Stability6. aggressiveness 7. attention to detail.

When talking about organizational culture in the international business it is better to analyze it by dimensions.

Different authors have different theories. The 3 most prominent are:

Denison and Mishra identified three dimensions of culture:

1. Adaptability of the organization

2. mission/goal orientation

3. employee involvement and participation.

Hofstede established six dimensions:

1. Process oriented Vsresults oriented

2. employee oriented Vsjob oriented

3. parochial Vsprofessional

4. open system Vsclosed system

5. loose control Vs tight control

6. normative Vspragmatic.

No matter what approach an organization takes, there are four global forces that will shape organizational culture for the next 50 years:

a) Advances in Science and Technology

b) Global Redistribution of Knowledge, Power, and Wealth

c) Competing Political, Cultural, and Religious Ideologies

d) Sustainability of the Physical Environment.

The organization that doesn’t adapt to these forces won’t be able to perform in the global market.

Organizational culture could be transferred from one country to another by simply transferring leaders who have been exposed for a prolonged period of time to the ways the organization deals does business

Organizational subcultures

• Dominant Culture: The values and assumptions shared most widely by people throughout the organization.

• Organizations have subcultures located throughout their various divisions, geographic regions, and occupational groups.

• Some subcultures enhance the dominant culture by espousing parallel assumptions, values, and beliefs.

• Other subcultures are called countercultures because they directly oppose the organization’s core values.