CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT

18/02/2021

Organization behavior: is the study of individual behaviors and group behaviors in the work place.
At a greater level of analysis also the behavior of the organizations.
Knowledge in terms of working situations that involves different background.
We have many contemporary challenges that underline how important multicultural environment is.
Today, due to globalization, we are more interconnected on economic, social and individual level.
Organizations increasing multicultural activities and individuals are more able to move from one
place to another. Thanks to technology people can work with people from other parts of the world
without moving from their home.
Culture: beliefs, values but also behavioral norms. The system of value, norms, attitudes shared by
members of social group. They are shared; they are learned from previous generations; we socialize
with the culture, if we born and raise in society we acquire the same norms, values etc. To adjust to
different context, we can also acquire different values, beliefs of another culture. Culture is not the
only filter with which we make sense of reality. We have 3 levels: human nature, culture,
personality (specific to individuals). There are individual’s differences that determine the specify of
every individual. Cultural models are supported for a first understanding of macroscopic
differences.
Culture can manifest itself according to different levels: artifacts, observable manifestations (visible
elements, like behaviors of individuals). Than we have espoused values, what we consider
important, what we define as a group, is important to have the greater good for the society, the well-
being of the group, what are the prioritizes for each society. In the end, we have basic underlying
assumptions, like time, human nature, that are embedded in the individuals. Emphasis of finding
balance among members of a society. There is different approach for describe national cultures.
One of these, is the Hofstede model. There are 5 points; Individualism vs collectivism, power
distance, masculinity vs femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation and Indulgence vs
restraint. Power distance: This dimension expresses the degree to which the less powerful
members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The fundamental issue
here is how a society handles inequalities among people. In societies with low Power Distance,
people strive to equalize the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of
power.
Individualism: the priority is the well-being of single individuals, they have to take care of
themselves, individual agencies. Collectivism: the well-being of the society/group.
Masculinity: represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and
material rewards for success. Society at large is more competitive.
Femininity: stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of
life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented.
Uncertainty avoidance: the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with
uncertainty and ambiguity. Countries exhibiting strong UAV maintain rigid codes of belief and
behavior, and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas. Weak UAV societies maintain a
more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles.
Long term orientation: describes the temporal horizon of a society.
Issue with Hofstede model: Hofstede assumes value homogeneity within cultures, but research
finds value heterogeneity.
Words like authority, control, sociability, leadership are perceived and interpreted differently in
different cultures. For ex leadership behaviors is perceived in different ways by different culture,
there is no universal leadership style. Cultures evolving due to the forces of globalization. We are
blending; cultures are alive and they constantly evolve because the people that represent them
evolve and changes. Theory of the tree. One important is that there are several levels of cultures that
somehow interact. There are regional differences within and between countries, you can find more
similarities between two countries in term of language than within the country. We will also discuss
about relative strength of the country culture and the organizational culture. The difference is that in
the organizational culture we have only partially involved while in the country culture we are totally
immerged, we are a part of it.
Culture differences have mostly to do with national values: Hofstede or globe project are the most
important models for the analysis. Hofstede starting with 5 dimensions to describe culture: 1) power
distance, the degree to which people accept that there is hierarchical distance in a society,
differences in terms of power between individuals, different relationships in the workplace, people
that have more power than other in the decision-making process. People deeply believe that are
differences in workplace, in terms of roles, so don’t have all the same power or impact in the
workplace. 2) individualism vs collectivism, collectivism refers to closer group like family, group
of work.
3) Indulgence versus restraint refers to the extent to which societies are more open and pursue more
the satisfaction of certain needs and pleasure. The idea is that a very indulgence society is that in
which people are gratified. 4) Masculinity vs Femininity: refers to how much culture accept the
traditional gender roles and also to whore extent they accept the emotional roles. In masculinity
society members prefers traditional division of roles, more competitive and conflictual society.5)
Uncertainty avoidance: the degree to which the member…
6) long term orientation: relationships that society have with time. Are much more tied with
tradition, continuity with the past than openness to the future.
Performance orientation: how people are oriented towards their goals, how people managed their
time, how are deal with deadlines and so on.
We compare culture along dimensions, depend on the model that we choose. Some authors are also
proposed the concept of cultural distance: smaller it is, greater is the similarity. È molto
semplificante non mostre tutte le differenze che ci sono tra le culture. Is not the best solution to
describe the differences between culture?

24/02/2021

Culture is a complex concept, multidimensional in terms of the variety of components that we can
find in culture, such as norms, values, beliefs accepted by members of a society and imbedded
institutions. Culture has different layers.
Core issue: why is culture relevant at work? People develop different perception regarded what
hirearchy is, what buroucracy is.
Link between national culture and organizational culture. In order to analyze culture, we have 2
models: hofstede model and globe model. Hofstede is the most universally known, the globe model
added the number of dimensions.

Examine the cultural differences between america and france according to hofstede model. What
factors would you focus on? Discuss how each factor differs between the two cultures.

That french culture required a big cultural adjustment to work in French. North Americans have
been characterized as having a "monochronic" culture based on a high degree of scheduling and an
elaborate code of behavior built around promptness in meeting obligations and appointments." In
contrast, fhe French were "polychronic," valuing human relationships and interactions over
arbitrary schedules and appointments. An example of differences in employee-manager
relationships can be found in fhe French managerial practice of being extremely cautious in
providing employee feedback to the degree that, according fo Four Seasons' managers, the practice
is unusual. In contrast, Four Seasons management practice involved a great deal of communication,
including feedback on an individual employee's performance, which managers believed
critical to solving problems and delivering superior service

American monhocronic culture: Do one thing at a time

Concentrate on the job
Take time commitments (deadlines, schedules) seriously
Are low-context and need information
Are committed to the job
Are accustomed to short-term relationships

Polycronic people: Do many things at once

Can be easily distracted and manage interruptions well
Consider an objective to be achieved, if possible
Are high-context and already have information
Are committed to people and human relationships Change plans often and easily
Have strong tendency to build lifetime relationships

Managing differing perceptions of time

You can’t change elements of other cultures. Adapt to local cultures, adapt to local needs.
Consistent cultural elements across borders

25/02/2021

10x thinking: think incrementally, remove all barriers, thinking about change, an emotional
connection. Huge problem-breakthrough technology-radical solution: three main elements of 10x
thinking. When you have a big problem, think 10x, a different way of tinking.
Purpose-accountability-culture (enviroment for the team).
Purpose: bring partners to the future.

03/03/2021
CASE STUDY
Problem: French executives had no idea about the culture of the place where Jianguo was coming
from and he, in turn, had no idea about the values of French culture. French people are very proud
of their culture and, as a result of this, every idea put forward felt like an attack on their existing
base. The response was to alienate Jianguo which decreased his chances of success. His attitude
made him dismissive and difficult to approach. he did not think it vital that he familiarise himself
with French culture. His ideas weren’t necessarily bad, but because he completely lacked
understanding about French culture.

There was no attempt to get to know his colleagues or build a foundation of trust and collaboration.
There was no discussion around existing priorities. There was no attempt to build a team at all; in
fact, feedback was summarily dismissed. receive no input from his colleagues and base his business
decisions on a chat he was having with his niece. he ended up becoming very isolated. Jianguo’s
approach was to continue as he did in China where he did everything himself and took all the credit
himself.
To conclude, global leaders have a responsibility to internalize the principles of intercultural
competence and cultural sensitivity if they wish to be effective in their work.
No idea of french culture. The response was to alientate jianguo.
Other problem was the fact that executives does.
People resist change. So, global leaders must be prepared to face this kind of resistance and have
the skills to turn that resistance into loyalty, creativity, and excitement for all that is to come.
Do things in a completely different way.
Leaders become a model that followers try to imitate (role modelling).
Trust is the glue that keeps all culture values together.

04/03/2021

People in different location, think differently, due to different cultures.

Culture values: assume temporal stability of cultural values in individuals and in cultures, but
research also finds quick changes in both. People are flexible, can assume different values in
different situations.
How we perceive information is influenced by the cultural background.
Schemata: categories, representation of things, relationships, people. Cognitive structure of
organized prior knowledge. Schema guide the processing of new information and the retrieval of
stored information. Different cultures have different norms for what to communicate
and how to communicate in a conversation. These rules impact how we interpret others’ behavior
and which behaviors we choose. They have a very strong impact on teamwork.

10/03/2021
Case study: due to the problem of communication between different cultural teams, we can have
problem like low identification with the team, less creativity and less innovative solutions. lack of
communication openess. Free‐flowing open discussion is less likely to occur in culturally diverse
teams. team members are likely to collectively perceive a barrier to open communication with other
members from diverse cultural backgrounds. Hence, we theorize that members of more culturally
diverse teams would feel less comfortable communicating with each other and would have a more
difficult time understanding each other.
Solution: a leader that encourage members to correct and improve their work, protect subordinates
from getting hurt, provide mentoring and training, and care about.
subordinates' career development. In this way, members are more satisfied with their job and have
higher job performance. A leader can reduce the negative effect of intercultural diversity on
communication openness. more open and frequent communication occurs in a more familial
climate.
Receiver should be an active listener. In this way, potential misunderstanding can be avoided.
Receiver should listen for ideas. Listening for ideas can help people overcome difficulties
attributable to differences between colletivistic and individualistic cultural value orientation.
During the decoding phase, when receiver interpret the message, we have the framing technique:
the ability to empathize with the communicator

11/03/2021
Verbal aspect of communication. Language and culture are interrelated. There are a lot different
ways to addressing people. Concept of false-friend: there are different meanings for the words
friends. Examples of High Context and Low Context: German is a low context culture, where the
messages are spelled out fully, clearly and precisely. Japan, instead, is a high-context culture, in
wich messages are implicit. In high context culture, the context of the message is well understood
by both sender and receiver. Members of low context culture put their thoughts into words. When
messages are explicit, the other side can act upon them. But high context culture relies more on
context, because have less tendency to trus words to communicate. Between people of the same
culture, there are same values, common experiences, and it is more easier interpret the meaning
behind the behavior of each other. Instead people from different cultures have different data bank
categories and the meanings attributed to behaviors are not the same. In order to have good
communication with other cultures, it’s important to understand the meanings in that culture. Good
communications, means good relationships and good relationships mean increased productivity and
profits. Bad communication leads to conflict and loss.
Schemata: mental categories we create in order to make sense out of the world. Among the
schemata are those that categorize what we know about cultures other than our own. More you
understand of another culture, the closer your schema will be to the reality that is the other culture,
and better your communication will be.
GIBSON:
The communication process includes 5 phases: encoding-sending-receiving-decoding-feedback.
Intercultural differences in communication occur due to differences in cognitive style and cultural
values. When the messages are constructed and trasmitted, the intercultural differences are more
evident. These differences can be reconciled during the third, fourth and fifth phases. Intercultural
differences in communication occur due to differences in cognitive styles and cultural values.
Cognitive styles reflect methods of information processing. Cultural values are preferences for
certain modes of behavior.
About the message source: we can have external and internal sources. External include any person
or information located in the external sourroundings. Internal information, instead, consists of
knowledge stored in the communicator’s cognitive schema. The sedner’s use of internal or external
sources is dependent upon his or her level of cognitive differentiation.
Communicators low in differentiation (people from japan, india, china) will use external sources of
information when constructing meesages. Low differentiation refers to people raised in in societies
that emphasize responsibility and obedience and in which there is strong pressure to conform to a
societal norm of conduct. Communicators (people from germany, australia, america) high in
differentiation (people that are independetn, focus on self reliance, tend to be less attentive, will use
internal sources when constructing messages.
Then about the content of the message we can distinguish communal values and agentic values.
Communal values are those about awareness of the feelings of others, emotional expressiveness,
concern for the welfare of other people and these values carachterize people from countries like
China, Indonesia, Israel. Agentic vaules instead, are about ambition, dominance, independence and
carhacterize people from countries like Germany, USA, Switzerland ecc. Communicators who
emphasize communal values will construct messages with more emotional content than rational
content. Communicators who emphasize agentic values will construct messages with more rational
content than emotional content. About the style fo the language of the message, it can be explicit or
implicit. Communicators with collectivistic values, will use an implicit style of communication
(ASIAN PEOPLE). These people tend to avoid negative responses when communicating with
members of their own work-group, in order to preserve a sense of group harmony.
Communicators with individualistic values will use an explicit style of communication (European
people). These people have little concern for preserving group harmony and have a much more
direct style of interpersonal interaction.
About the channles of communication, they can be formal and informal. Formal channels, are
authorized and regulated by the organization and create expectations among group members.
Informal channels develop through typical and customary interpersonal activities of people at work.
They tend to operate among members with an equal status. The choice about formal or informal
depend on the level of power distance. Power distance, reflect the extent to which a society accepts
an unequal distribution of power in organizations. Communicators from high power distance culture
will use formal channels of communication (asian people) while communicators from low power
distance cultures will use informal channels of communication. So, we can have 2 clusters, A and
B; Cluster A with these carhacteristics: external source, emotional, content, implicit style, formal
channel, specific pattern. Cluster B: Internal source, Rational Content, Explicit style, Generalized
pattern, Informal Channel. However, it is not certain that people from Cluster A cannot adopt
characteristics from Cluster B and vice versa. Cluster A is not better than Cluster B. Fewer
communication problems when people come from the same clusters. Reconciliation of cultural
differences can occur after the message has been sent, during the receiving, decoding and feedback
phases of the communication process. Techniques for reconciliation: the receiver should be an
active listener and should be listening for ideas. Active listeners, are aware of cultural differences
and to avoid misunderstanding, they can ask clarification. Listening for ideas can help people
overcome difficulties attributable to differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultural
value orientations. Framing technique during the decoding phase, is the ability to empathize with
the communicator. In the feedback phase, receiver should be use the following-up technique. This
technique involves accurately repeating the communicator’s message. Doing so quickly and without
obvious nervous discomfort appears to be especially effective.
Intercultural communication competence could be considered as the holistic cognitive, affective and
operational ability of an individual’s internal system across all intercultural communication
contexts. However, diversity among the members of a team, can also have some advantages. For
example, can enhance creativity, lead to better decisions and result in more effective performance.

17/03/2021

There are many issues for managing a global business team in an efficient way. One of these, is the
geograaphic dispersion. Due to this problem, the misunderstanding among the team members
increase, there is lack of mutual knowledge among them, and as a result of this, we have disrupted
communication and trust decrease. Due to cultural diversity, we have also attitudinal problems, that
results in the unit’s inability to take concerted action or to be productive. Managers today, must
recognize the principal challenges facing such teams, including how to manage both tasks and
processes. Then, they need to understand what they can do to facilitate team performance. In order
to create an effective team, three questions are essentials: What is the principal goal of this team?
Who can best facilitate this goal? Who is best qualified to organize and supervise this team through
goal accomplishment?

18/03/2021

Leadership in global context

How to motivate individuals from different cultures? Organizations are made of individuals.
Motivation is at the core of management. Leadership is crucial in cross cultural management.
Motivation issue: individual willingness to exert effort toward a goal. extra role behaviors.
Content theories: what motivates people? Look at motivation as the need people seek to satisfy.
Motivation to eat when we need food. Needs that are not satisifed creat tension that individuals are
motivated to reduce. Maslow’s theory: there is a pyramid. Physiological needs at the bottom. Needs
motivate people in a sequence of hierarchy. Only when individual satisfied their needs, then they
pass to the next one. Self-actualization and esteem are the higher levels. There is a large debate on
the effectiviness of this theory. Has a number of limits. For example, individual’s needs that are at
the bottom, are predominant while the relational needs are less important and in the maslow theory,
these needs are in the highest level. This pyramid cannot apply to every society, due to cultural
differences.

McClelland’s theory: What are the needs that motivate people to do something? Focus on three
needs: achievement, affilation (sense of belonginess) and power (sense of dominance). People that
tend to influence the people around them, so power, sense of dominance, are the most successfully
leaders in the US. High levels of achievement are able to drive, affect the economic growth of a
country. McClelland is better than Maslow. McClelland theory is more focus on the highest needs
while Maslow theory is more focus on the lowest needs for people.
Process theories: behaviorual and pyhsicological process that motivate people to act in a certain
way. Explain the choices of why people si comportano in un determinato modo.
3 theories: Equity-Goal Setting-Expectancy
Equity theory: argues that every individual tends to be aware on the fact if she/he contributes and
what he/she receives in returns. Ratio on how we contribute and what we get in return from our
roles in work and in life. This ratio is compare with the ratio of others. If we perceive inequity
between our ratio and the ratio of others, this may lead to some motivational consequences, for
example I reduce my level of productivity. Equality over equity. Some individuals are more
sensitive than others. Equity sensitives: condition of a balance between input and outcomes they
receive. Difference in equity sensitives are due to cultural differences.
Expectancy theory: motivation result from a combination of 3 elements: expectations of my efforts
are made in the job-instrumental (incentives, bonus, high salaries)-individual tend to value
differently the outcomes that they are offered.
Employees will be only motivated to do something only if they believe if (guardare slide su
expectancy theory). There are some limitations: some of the main assumptions are not easy
applicable to all cultures. The employees have always the ability to identify and to provide most
valuable rewards (limitation).
Goal setting theory: focus is considering the way individual react to exsistence of goal that can be
achieved and the way in which they are set. The main principles: specific but difficult goals, tend to
lead to better, higher performance than sepcific but easy goals. Goals need to be specific. A second
principle suggest that setting the goal is most effective when there is feedback showing progress
toward the goal. take part in goal setting is important, you can shape the goal through your
personality, ambitions.
Reasons of why people work and what do they value the most in their work. People work to get
money, self realization, to gain power, to achieve something.
Increase the fit between employees and work environment. Managers have to design jobs, means to
ground on a number of tools, that make the jobs more fitted with the work goals that are different
across cultures. Try do design job that motivated employees.
Leadership: people have to be lead by a boss, leader that needs to understand their motivations.
Leaders are those able to influence the others.
Trait theory-Behavioral Theory-Implicit theory-Contingency theory. Applies to western societies.
Trait theory: is focus on the personality trait that distinguish successful leaders across cultures.
Limitations: contingency.
Behavioral theory: what the successful leaders actually do. 2 set of leader behaviors: initiating
structure: assigning task. Consideration behavior: respecting ideas of employees, involve them in
make a decision. Both dimensions matter.
Contingency theory: Fiedler’s contingency model. He suggests that leaders’ personality influences
the leader’s behavior style.
Implicit theory: the way in which subordinates percieve and react to a leader. What the leader
should like. Certain leader behaviors don’t make he or she a leader. Individuals coming from
different cultures can have different leader prototypes and which behaviors the leader should be
assumed. What distinguish french leader prototype and chinese prototype.

SUN MICROSYSTEM CASE

Solutions: Diversify communication style on the base of different cultural dimensions.
Change conference call agenda giving priority to India and UAE teams who could not stay up too
late because of the time gap. they had to attend the meeting after a whole-day hard work.
With no idea about how to recruit new hires in the foreign countries, he recruited the whole team by
his own criteria veryquickly. Not considering the cultural needs in different regions was another
problem for James to build the global team. It directly led to the tension between teams in different
countries and influenced their cooperation in the daily work. The bad relationship made the
communication inefficient when the accident happened. There was miscommunication between
team. Bad communication leads to conflict and loss. The main problems in the global team were
caused by the lack of face-to-face interaction, so the open work would not work well for the global
team of James. He should find a good way to increase the face-to-face interaction with the foreign
teams and appropriately arrange the working tasks based on the specialties of each team.

Strategies:
Training on tech use and cultural sensivity, setting clear expectations, measures, goal and
rewards.
 
Task appropriated for virtual work. Dissseminate information among members.
 
Periodic face-to-face meetings whent possible.
Allow time for information sharing in video-tele conferences.
Intercultural communication training
 
Building mutual trust:
Countreis differs a lot in attitude in trusting people. People from some cultures are also more
trusted than others.
In order to develop mutual trust you need to have a good idea on trust expectations, then
arriving to judgement with observation, then the trust behaviour and then outcome.
 
Leaders --> need to understand team’s different composition. Synergies between people.
Create a common team interaction approach -> creating culture internally. Through that
process, memebership can forge successful leadership behaviours.

25/03/2021
GLOBAL TEAMWORK
Global team are constiuted by members that have different cultural background and are globally
distributed. We have some advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of diversity is that
enhance creativity, lead to better decisions, and result in more effective and productive
performance. Leading a global team require more flexibility.

Building an effective global business team

Global business team: a cross-boarder team of individuals of different nationalities, working in

different cultures, business and functions, who come together to coordinate some aspect of the
multinational operation on global basis.
Teams can fail when they are unable to cultivate trust among their members or when they cannot
break down communication barriers.
The challenge of managing global team:
 cultivating trust among team mebers: is critical to the success of the team. Each memebrs
of the team brings a unique cognitive lens to the group. Without mutual trust, team members
may shy away from revealing their true beliefs. Three important factors determine how
much trust people feel. They are: individual characteristics, quality of communication and
 the broader institutional context. Usually people trust one another more when they share
similarities, communicate frequently and operate in a common cultural context.
 Hindrances to communication: Communication barriers resulting from differences in
geography, language and culture. Geographical barriers occur when members living in
different countries, separated by time zones. Technology can help to solve this problem, but
should be viewed as a complement to team meeting not a substitute. When members cannot
see face to face the other members and experience one another’s reactions, the emotional
dimension critical for the success of the team, suffers. About the language barriers, we can
say that the inability to understand what another person is saying is always a potential
barrier to communication. A team with all members that speak different languages, require
interpreters who may not capture the full richness of the communication. Cultural barriers
instead occur when people have different values, norms, assumptions and patterns of
behavior to the group. For ex individualistci and colletivistic norms.
Other challenges are aligning goals of individual team members and ensuring that the team
possesses necessary knowledge and skills.
Another key aspect for the success of the team is the structure of the team charter. The agenda must
be defined clearly and correctly. Another problem is that global teams have members from different
subsidiaries that typically compete with one another for scarce corporate resources and tend to have
a high degree of internal conflict. In this case is best to frame the team’s charter in terms of the
company’s position vis-à-vis the external market place instead of emphasizing internal dynamics.
Due to communication problems in the business team, members need to understand the specifics of
the charter, in particular the scope of the project, the timeline amd the expected deliverables.
Another key to creating a successful global business team is choosing the right team members.
Global teams have a high level of diversity. Members come from different cultural and national
backgrounds. Then, members often represent subsidiaries whose agendas may not be congruent.
Their priorities and perspectives may differ because they represent different functional units. If
diversity can be a good or bad thing depend on the fact if diversity is cognitive or behavioral.
Cognitive diversity refers to differences in the substantive content of how members perceive the
team’s challenges and opportunities. Is almost always a source of strenght because divergent
perspectives foster creativity and a more comprehensive search for and assessment of options.
Behavioral diversity, instead, refers to differences in language as well as culture-driven norms of
behavior. Is regared as a necessary evil, because is something that no global team can avoid but the
effects of which the team must attempt to minimize through language training and cultural
sensitization.
About the ideal size of the team, the optimal size is one that can be ensured the required knowledge
and skill base with the smallest number of people.
About the selection of team leadership, we have three roles: the team leader, the external coach and
the internal sponsor. The team leader has a key role in the global team because must manage the
organizational, linguistic, cultural distances that separate memebrs, break down communication
barriers and try to aovid to the misalignment of members’ goal. Are those with the biggest stake in
the outcome of the project.
An external coach serves as an ad hoc member of the team and is an expert in process rather than
content. The need for this role is high when the process-management task is complex and the
process management skills of the best available team leader are inadequate.
The primary goals of an affective team process are to facilitate open and rich communication
among the team members and to cultivate a culture of trust. To overcome the communication
barriers, we have different mechanism. One of these is to invest in language education and cross-
cultural training. Another mechanism is to estabilish ground rules that reflect desired norms of
behavior. Another mechanism to enrich the cognitive base of the team is rotate the location of team
meetings to different parts of the world.
About the process of cultivating a culture of trust we have different mechanisms to break down
barriers and improve the communication. One of these are the face to face meetings. At the start of
the team process, you have got to get the group together to know each other and get a level of
comfort and trust with one another.

Managing dispersed global teams: often need more informations, but they usually share less.
They don't realize what information is important, take their own context for granted, assume
similarities between locations, difficult time managing.
 
Main challenges:
Geo dispersion: misunderstandings, lack of mutual knowledge, communication differences
which can create conflicts and lead to less trust.
Another challenge so is the cultural diversity. This can create attitudinal problems which drives
to lack of cohesion, or perceptual problems just as stereotypes and inaccurate bias, and
communication and decrase of trust (is a very challenge in global teams).
 
The advantages relie on diversity: you can pull on talent all around the world and special
experties. It is a better chance to find unique solutions. Moreover, the diversity can prevent
groupthinkig, with more debate and challenging each other. Under the right condition these
kind of teams can be very effective.
 
Culture and Global Teams:
        In order to arrive at the solution in Sweden they use many meetings and lenghty consensus
        In france they ususally a lot of debate and confrontation which are necessary
        US they solicit an input from a team, choose a direction and make adjustments
        In japan decision are made in informal one to one discussion before a formal group meeting
 
Very different ways of decision making and consensus building. So, people can have different
expectation on how decision making is done.
 
Questions:
Implications for Global Managers?
Specific trust building, not necessairly work-related activities.
Engage some esplicit norm building for the team. A script for our team.
Builfding a course of actions --> become predictable.
Building structures, becomes rigid, but at the very beginning is a good way to do things.
And for Global Subordinates?
 
 
Teamwork Metaphors:
Different cultures -> different expectations of teamwork. This because it becomes
from metaphors such as family, sports, the community, associates, military.
Metaphors convey expectations from the team roles, scope and objectives.
 
 
Leading global teams:
Not only is about the difference preferences of the leaders on how to lead, but also team
members have different vision on how the leader should work--> different expectations.
Knowing what is might preferred of leading and if it fits with the context or not.
 
Couple of critical things to think about:  how to manage tasks and processes.
Manager shoulde understand that principal challenge is about tasks and processes and that
they can facilitate team performances and how to do it.
 
To create a good team, we have to think to the goal: not just about qualifications. Who is good
at leading other team members, the social glue which can provide good context?
 

15/04/2021

What is a team? In a larger group, there are phenomena like diffusion of responsibility. There are
different definitions.
Lewin: Set of people who are interdependent of one another;
Shaw: Interactions among members and reciprocal influence;
Brown: The individuals define themselves as members
So, a team is composed by individuals who interact with one another, who hold specific role and
status, who share a common situation and are connected by interdependent links.

Different typology of groups like formal/informal, group of belonging/group of reference. Formal

when it is legitimate by outside. Informal group when there is unspoken level, groups of power not
necessarily formally recognized, for ex when people launch together ecc.
Primary/secondary group refers to degree of intimacy among the memebrs. Primary like family and
secondary like the group of friends, less power on influence our bheavior.
Small/large groups are about the possible interactions possibles.
Group of belonging/ group of reference.
We need to organize the structure of the groups to limit misunderstanding and facilitate interactions.
Groups and teams are different. In terms of teams, the distincitve charachteristics is the fact that
members are committed to a common purpose for which everyone is accountable. Evereyone has
complementary skills. The most important characteristic of a team is "synergy," meaning the team
can achieve much more as members can achieve individually. The three key characteristics of team
functioning are:
Cohesion
Comparison
Collaboration
The group has common rules and is evaluated as a team for their final goal, but is not evalueted by
the personal contributions of each members. Members are not necessarily complemented and
activities are just simple task and members can be easily substituted. Not complementary skills. The
product is the combination of everyone. Group members do not share responsibility, but team
members share responsibility. Group members are independent. Unlike a group, team members are
interdependent.
There are specific types of tasks for teamwork. Highly interdependent tasks. Tasks that require a
great deal of creativity and highly complex tasks, that require complementary skills.
IPO model: in order to achieve team effectiviness we need to take care of the elements that input in.
In terms of inputs, we have individual carhacteristics, in terms of technical background of different
members, we have team charachteristics, like the role structures, and then there are organizational
inputs, every type of practices to manage. In terms of inputs what is relevant from multicultural
prosepctive: concept of diversity, organizational practices for cultural diversity. Diversity
frameworks are two: information/decision making model that emphasize that people with
different views will positively influence the group outcomes. The opposite social categorization
model emphasizes that more diversity withing the group will perform worse as members will more
likely engage in conflicts.
Deep level diversity refers to attributes that are not immediately visible. Surface attributes of.
diversity, instead are immediately visible, like nationality.
Group processes: every sort of interaction, the way they (members) coordinate each other for
achieve goals and how they communicate. Communication is the core of every social interactions.
The outputs: different types. Decision making, creativity or innovation. In terms of creativity or
innovation, you don’t have clear standards. This is way different group types can be more or less
effective.
Tuckman’s 5 stage model. 1) Forming: people try to get to know each other and estabilish a
common understanding. 2) Storming: phase where a lot of conflicts start to emerge between the
members of thr groups. 3) Norming: group members develop close ties, feelings of friendship and
camaraderie abound, and group members share a common purpose. 4) performing: groups
members work together to achieve their goals. 5) Adjourning: the group disbands once its goal has
been achieved.
The opinions, behaviors, etc., of individuals tend to come closer and closer to the opinions and
behaviors that are commonplace and strongly desirable for all members of the group, so they
acquire the value of rules. The norms of a group are most often implicit, that is they are
Subconscious.
People conform when they feel insecure and when group pressure is intense. large groups are less
influential than smaller groups.
Polarization in the group: Accentuation of the initially dominant trend in the group.
Being part of a group can diminish the motivation and sense of urgency to take responsibility and
act.

You maximize the differences between italian and german people while minimize the differences
between people that belong to the same group.
Stereotypes are beliefs concerning characteristics of the members of a group and generalized to all
the members. Are not necessarily negative; they can be also positive or neutral. Prejudice:
extrapolate one characteristic of a member and generalize to all members of the group.
Prejudice: due to thise, you adopt a negative bheavior toward the group.
Three elements of bennett: mindset (the recognition of cultural differences and the maintenance of a
positive attitude toward them). Skillset (cultural value-based frameworks can help). Sensitivity (the
ability of experience cultural difference).
Culturally aware --> the culture influences the intepretation of reality and actions.

We should question about all thew things we do, because it isn't right or not, but perceived
different.
There can be obstacles to a correct understanding of others: we have 3 phases of social
communication
 Perception --> how i judge, if i look a 6 or a 9 from opposite views i'll see different. If i live in a
context, i'll see the world differently: people around me will see the world at the same way -->
limited perception. You might not imagine that there is another point of view.
Interpretation: it states for categorization. How do we interpret the figures? How we re-concive
them --> usaing our memory. The categories in my mind will influence how we intepret the world.
Social Categorization --> cognitive process that allows to classify and order our physical and
social environment. It minimizes difference within the groups and exagerate difference between two
different groups.

These are the basis for stereotyopes and prejudice.

Stereotypes --> beliefs concerning characteristics of some members of a group and generalize to
everybody in that group. We assume that members of one group share the personality with other
members of the same group. Stereoptypes are not necessary negative! They can be neutral.
Prejudice: Estrapolate one characteristic of one member and then generalizing to all the group.
There is an attitude to adopt a negative behaviour towards a group which rests on an incorrect
generalization.

We have to be more cross-cultural aware:

The first thing is that we have to identify the National stereotypes which can be developed. It can be
used as first bst guess --> not necessarly identify the specific behaviour, we can start from the
general values to try to predict.

Stereotypes tend to be self-perpetuating. The idea is that you just to need to have more contact to
reduce stereotypes, geenrally is true but not sufficient --> the more you get close the social group
the more you'll know it.

We also need to become culturally self aware:

· Realize that there are cultural blinders: by being exposed to different cultures, we may open the
blinders. The more difficult thing is that many behavioures are not necessarly shared anywhere.
We'll be exposed on how others see us, startin g reflecting to our own culture. Nobody ever told us
to do some things --> habits. But they can change according to place to place. We so also need to
make a conscious effort to be a culturally sensitive person.

· Projecting similarity: we hav ethis tendency to assimilate others to us. How do we try to reach this
--> not assuming anything for granted. Going away from an ethnocentric view. Going thorught he
Pariochalism --> thinking our view of the world is the ONE.

Read other's behaviours --> we have to be aware of our cultures also for our own interpratation of
others behaviour to know how we are proceeding. Also means so studying how reactions are
culturally situated.

Intercultural compentence have to be developed because there is a double layer

· Individual perspective --> Reflect on expereinces. Keeping an open mindset

· Orgnaizational perspective --> Training, Int Assignment, Diversity Management. In particular in

the management of expatriation. The diversity management
Intercultural mindset: We need to maintain a positive attitude towards cultural differences --> it is
a different approach than when in rome do as the Romans do. Which implication for the HRM -->
in most cases you need to make local adjustments. Choosing a country national which is able to
operate the translation, keeping the same identity in local customes.

Skillset: learning how to deal with different culture. It's impossible to become an expert in all the
cultures. We might use the frameworks to start to understand the general differences across
countries. It is a strong generalization, but a good starting point. These frameworks can be used as a
tool --> learn how to learn a new culture. These kinds of tools are indications.

Sensitivity: ability to really experience cultural differences. We experience that with the reflection
and consiciusness of it. We need reflexivity to reach it.

It goes through different stages: from Denial = their way to see things is the one valid, Defense =
seeing that that are other views, but i need to protect mine, Minimization = other cultures have
somehow seen, but the difference are minimized (is more or less the same), or they are romanticised
(ethnocentric); then Acceptance, Adaptation, Integration.<
INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE FOR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

Intercultural mindset: the recognition of cultural differences and the maintenance of a positive
attitude toward them.
intercultural skillset: the ability to use learning-to-learn frameworks to identify potential areas of
misunderstanding and to choose behavior appropriately.
Intercultural sensitivity: the ability to experience cultural difference in sophisticated ways.
INTERCULTURAL MINDSET
Competitive edge in the 21st century will not derive from simple technological dominance; rather, it
will accrue to those organizations that can deploy their global human resources effectively.
What needs to happen is that everyone attempts to adapt to everyone else. The result of this effort is
not chaos. Rather, a “virtual third culture” is generated, which becomes the dominant culture for the
working life of that particular group. Leaders with an intercultural mindset recognize that a
competent global organization must be able to intentionally generate and manage these third
cultures.
The multicultural workforce of global corporations does not just consist of international cultural
diversity. Cultural diversity also includes domestic differences in ethnic or national heritage,
gender, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, and professional group. The goal for
organizations is to create a climate of respect for diversity.
What we have learned is that knowledge does not equal competence. Knowledge of objective
culture is necessary but insufficient for developing and maintaining intercultural relations.
seem patronizing to minority groups. The real crux of creating a climate of respect for diversity is
demonstrating support for the different beliefs, behaviors, and values of varying subjective cultures.
It is these latter aspects of culture that generate creativity of perspective and thus, competitive
advantage. In business terms, the combination of acknowledgment and respect is the best bet for
avoiding intercultural problems and creating intercultural advantage.
It is more useful to avoid cultural stereotypes with accurate cultural generalizations.
Good cultural generalizations are based on systematic cross-cultural research. They refer to
predominant tendencies among groups of people, so they are not labels for individuals. A given
individual may exhibit the predominant group tendency a lot, a little, or not at all. So, cultural
generalizations must be applied to individuals as tentative hypotheses, open to verification.
INTERCULTURAL SKILLSET
how can we have general intercultural competence without specific cultural expertise? The key is to
use a set of culture-general frameworks. By identifying where one’s own and a particular other
culture lies on the continua of contrasts, the user can create a broad picture of the other culture and
how it differs from his or her own. These culture-general frameworks are also learning-to-learn
techniques, since they call attention to the areas of difference that are most important to consider
when first encountering another culture. By initially identifying general cultural differences, a
newcomer to the culture can avoid obvious misunderstandings and move more quickly towards
learning relevant culture- specific knowledge.
Developing Intercultural Sensitivity
This factor is the most important in acquiring intercultural competence. This kind of sensitivity is
not simply a positive attitude toward cultural difference or a desire to relate well to others. Rather, it
is the ability to experience cultural difference. The DMIS (development model of intercultural
sensitivity) refers to worldview conditions, or orientations, that enable people to experience cultural
difference in a certain way. experience cultural difference in a certain way. The more sophisticated
(complex) their worldview constructions of cultural difference, the more interculturally sensitive
they become. Once a more sophisticated experience of cultural difference is achieved, that
worldview state is applied to any phenomenon that fits the category “culture”; in other words, the
skills at each stage are generalizable to any kind of cultural difference.
The DMIS is divided into two sets of stages, Ethnocentric and Ethnorelative. In Ethnocentrism,
people unconsciously experience their own cultures as “central to reality.” They therefore avoid the
idea of cultural difference as an implicit or explicit threat to the reality of their own cultural
experience. In Ethnorelativism, people consciously recognize that all behavior exists in cultural
context, including their own.
In the first stage of Ethnocentrism, Denial, people have not yet constructed the category of
“cultural difference.” To them, the world is completely their current experience of it, and
alternatives to that experience are literally unimaginable. They can maintain this state by living in
total isolation from people who are culturally different or, as is more common, by maintaining
separation from difference through artificial means such as apartheid. An organization characterized
by Denial is basically ignorant about cultural issues, even though it may be quite sophisticated in its
technical business Needless to say, this kind of organization does not have access to cultural
diversity as a resource, either internationally or domestically.
In the second stage of Ethnocentrism, Defense, people have become more adept at perceiving
cultural difference. Because one’s own culture is still experienced as the only true reality, the
existence of the other cultures is threatening to that reality. To counter the threat, the world is
organized into “us and them” associated with the denigration of “them” and the superiority of “us.
People with a Defense worldview tend to polarize any discussion of cultural difference.
Organizations characterized by Defense may be overconfident or arrogant, leading to mistakes in
product design and marketing. Cultural difference is seen as an obstacle to be avoided, and
combativeness may damage valuable international partnerships.
In the third and final stage of Ethnocentrism, Minimization, the threat of Defense has been resolved
by assuming a basic similarity among all human beings. Differences that were threatening in
Defense are subsumed into already-existing, familiar categories. These categories are of two types:
physical universalism, wherein, for instance, all human beings have the same needs; and
transcendent universalism wherein, for instance, everyone is subject to the same spiritual principles,
whether they know it or not. People in Minimization recognize cultural variation in institutions and
customs (objective culture) and may be quite interested in those kinds of differences. People with a
Minimization worldview are “nice.” They make statements such as “we are all one under the sun,”
and they may be sincerely motivated to include people from other cultures into their activities.
Organizations characterized by Minimization may overstate their sensitivity to diversity issues,
claiming to be “tolerant” and “colorblind.” This leads to poor retention of cultural diversity, since
people from non-dominant cultural groups often interpret these claims as hypocritical.
In the first stage of Ethnorelativism, Acceptance, people have discovered their own cultural
context, and therefore they can accept the existence of different cultural contexts. People at this
stage can construct the culture-general frameworks that allow them to generate a range of relevant
cultural contrasts among many cultures. Acceptance does not mean agreement—some cultural
difference may be judged negatively—but the judgment is not ethnocentric in the sense of
withholding equal humanity. People at Acceptance first attain respect for behavioral differences,
which involves only the more tangible aspects of subjective culture such as language use, nonverbal
behavior, communication style, and cognitive style. Respect for value differences follows, wherein
people experience their own values as but one good way of organizing the ethical dimension of
reality. People with an Acceptance worldview are able to see their own behavior in cultural context.
Consequently, they tend to use self-referential statements such as “As a person with German
background, I am inclined to believe that...” or “This may be mainly an American tendency, but....”
They are likely to be curious about cultural differences, seeking out information about the
subjective cultural behavior and values of other groups and initiating contrasts with their own
cultures. In the early form of this stage, managers may overcompensate for their previous
ethnocentrism and become overly tolerant of all “cultural” behaviors, even those that are
unproductive or deviant in their home cultural contexts.
In the second stage of Ethnorelativism, Adaptation, people are able to shift their cultural frames of
reference; that is, they are able to look at the world “through different eyes” and intentionally
change their behavior to communicate more effectively in another culture. This is a conscious act,
necessitating an awareness of one’s own culture and a set of contrasts to the target culture. Shifting
cultural frames of reference can be thought of as intercultural empathy, which involves temporarily
setting aside one’s own worldview assumptions and intentionally taking on a specific, different set
of beliefs. People with an Adaptation worldview are able to interpret and evaluate situations from
more than one cultural perspective. They are likely to initiate statements such as, “I think a Japanese
view of this situation would be...”. Managers at this stage are often those who seek out contact with
cultural difference, and they are notable in their ability to change behavior in different cultural
contexts. Managers also may act as cultural liaisons between two cultural groups that they know
well. A strong climate of respect for diversity leads to high retention of diversity in the workforce.
Both domestic and international cultural differences are routinely used as resources in multicultural
teams.
In the last stage of Ethnorelativism, Integration, people extend their ability to perceive events in
cultural context to include their own definitions of identity. For these people, the process of shifting
cultural perspective becomes a normal part of self, and so identity itself becomes a more fluid
notion. Integration is not necessarily better than Adaptation in most situations demanding
intercultural competence, but it is descriptive of a substantial number of non-dominant minority
group members, long-term expatriates, “global nomads,” and other people who may see themselves
as “citizens of the world.”
People in the encapsulated marginality form of Integration are likely to appear self- centered,
alienated, and unsure of their values, while at the same time exhibiting a high degree of knowledge
and competence regarding other cultures. Organizations characterized by Integration are truly
global. Every policy, issue, and action is examined in its cultural context and assessed for its
strengths and limits. There is little emphasis on the ethnic of national identity of the organization,
although its cultural roots and influences are recognized.

22/04/2021

two types of negotiation: distributive and integrative.

We need to be able to engage in affective questioning and listening. In this way, we can be able to
see windows of opportunity.
Negotiation: Is the process of maximize value through interpersonal decision making in situations
where outcomes for each party are interdependent. It is about persuading others to reach agreement
on a mutually acceptable basis. Can help address conflict, but conflict frequently arise in
negotiations (could make negotiation worse). An attempt to influence another individual to offer
more than initially proposed, in relation to something valued or sought. With integrative
negotiation, we can reach an greement that satisifed each other.
Distributive negotiation: more you get, more the other part loose.
Integrative negotiation: we could be able to identify course of action from which can benefit both of
us.
Integrative approach: value creation when increase the total value available to the parties.
Integrative solution is a combination of solution for each party that exceed the total benefits
available for claiming from purely distributive compromise. Logrolling when share agree on trading
different interest.
Distributive and integrative are strategies.
Negotiation tactics: probing refers to getting information without giving info. Good guy/bad guy
when you involve other people in the negotiation. Poker face: Managing the minutes means that you
secure yourself by controlling the written documents to produce and hence the language to use.
Understanding not agreement, when the other part refuse at last minute.
Win-win tactics: sharing information, building trust, asking questions to determine the other parties
interests and any relevant differences. Separating discussion and exploration from decision making
about issues.
Principled negotiations: separate people from the problem; focus on interests, not positions; invent
option for mutual gain; insist on “objective” criteria.
Formal negotiation: where contracts are negotiated; contracts with employees for example.
Formal and regular negotiation: when certain events happen; annual negotiation with employees
over pay rises or other changes to the terms and conditions of employment.
Outcomes of negotiation: you can have an agreement like multi employer or single employer
agreement or have an Impasse, like the paralization of the working activity. On behalf of the
management: lockout
Different types of third parties for conflict resolution like conciliators, mediators and arbitrators.
Conciliators are experts of the specific content that two parties are discussed and can suggest
agreement options. Mediators are facilitators that should have the task to improve the
communication between parties, are experts in negotiation process. Arbitrators are indipendent
parties that can impose binding agreements on the parties involved. Is the last resort and the parties
are obliged to follow what the arbitrator has decide.

Four-stage model: nontask sounding or relationship building. Task-related information exchange,

when you exchange information. Persuasion/Interest sharing. Making concessions and reaching
agreement/Value creation and reach an agreement. This kind of model also mirror the principles of
negotiation.
There different elements that affects negotiation, like gender, personality, ability, diversity, emotion
and culture.
Cultural differences can make certain tactics unacceptable, create communication difficulties, and
engender a great degree of uncertainty.

29/04/2021
Conflict management across cultures

Conflict: a natural occurrence in social situations. Refers to circumstances in which the two or more
parties involved have differents interests that are not aligned, which can lead to open hostilities. We
have different types of conflict (guardare slide). Latent conflict: interests of interacting parties are
not aligned, but this is not visible to the parties. Perceived conflict: opposing interests and positions
are perceived but may not be there. It would result from misunderstandings of each other’s
positions. Felt conflict: people are emotionally affected. They might experience negative emotions.
Two main categories: the substantive conflict, typically disagreement about the content of the task
performed, including differences in ideas and opinions. Emotional conflict:
Different levels of conflict: interpersonal, intrapersonal (related to the workplace, demands
impossible to satisfy), intragroup and intergroup (involve multiple people, two different groups),
intraorganizational and interorganizational. In the intragroup, we have struggle for power, people
compete for leadership, informal leader that people recognized for his expertise. Intrapersonal:
conflict if I dedicated more time to the work and less to my family and viceversa. Conflict between
expectations, ambition and individual values. Interpersonal: involve other people, for example
contrast in the project works. Personal differences, role or responsibility overlaps, not having clear
responsible people for part of the work. Intergroup: involve multiple people. Situations where
status is a stake. Intergroup: scarce resources
Antecedents: pre-existing factors that have triggered the conflict.
Different sources of organizational conflict like hierarchy, ownership, resource restriction, structure
(unclear job description), status/reward.
Group decision making activity: people with different characteristics, knowledge, expertise, views.
This influence how people interact, the outcome of their activities.
Conflcit handling strategies
Conflict prevention: any kind of arrangement that reduce the risk of mainfest conflict.
Conflict management: any activity that aims at reducing, increasing or solving conflict to achieve
an appropriate level of conflict.
Conflict resolution: any attempt to lower the level of conflict by reducing the source or
consequence of differences in interests between conflicting parties.
Dual concern model: people tend to address conflict by using 2 dimensions: concern for self and
concern for others.
When you have a high concern for self you have a competing strategy. When you have high
concern for self and for others you have the collaborating strategy. When you have a high concern
for others you have accomodating strategy. Then, when you have low concern for self and for
others you have avoiding strategy.
The consequences of conflict can be affective like anxiety, stress, negative emotions or cognitive,
like stereotypes, watchfulness. Then we also have behavioral consequnces like bureaucratization
and emphasis on procedures, low performance and low productivity, quality. However, there are
possibilities to change and improve. You can improve behavior, improve the relationship (clarify
expectations and make explicit our frames of reference), improve the management of one’s work-
life intersection.
Culture affect the way of expressing our disagreement. Different preferred conflict management
style may collide.

05/05/2021

Case study HerbalCeuticals

The mode of cultural and logistical preparation carried out pre-departure included:
participating in online blogs and social media discussion groups dedicated to expatriates living in
the host country; researching various websites and reading print material; watching videos and
listening to culture specific audio, utilising application software (apps) on smart devices; and
conversing with Australian and host country nationals who had, or were currently living, abroad.
On-arrival preparation comprised of: attending social and professional events; establishing informal
networks of support people on arrival including other Australians, host country nationals and
expatriates from other countries; attending language classes; and, joining expatriate, cultural or
sporting groups. language and cultural preparation.
cross-cultural difficulties encountered included: interactional and language barriers; navigating
bureaucratic, rigid and structured workplace contexts; interacting and forming friendships with
locals; and adjusting to patriarchal and hierarchical societal expectations – all contributing towards
feelings of “frustration”, “helplessness”, “homesickness” and “unease”.
Another common theme which emerged was that SIEs felt motivated to expatriate for such reasons
as: career (ease of finding work, increased future employability, skills development); desire for new
experiences (challenge, different lifestyle, a desire to escape from a current way of life); desire for
travel; cultural affinity; family factors; and, a combination of serendipity, love or chance
encounters.
modes of informing their overall predeparture self-preparation included researching websites,
reading print material, participating in online blogs and social media discussion groups dedicated to
expatriates living in the host country, watching videos/listening to audio, utilising application
software (apps) on smart devices; and conversing with Australian and host country nationals who
had or were currently living abroad.
cross-cultural and logistical preparation is important for adjustment to life in a foreign context in the
absence of organisationally-provided training
Application of cross cultural management (CCM) in organizations.

1) Unsuccesful expats due to insufficient preparation of mila. Problems in adapating at work and in
private life. Feeling isolated. Cultural shock. Low performance. Work-life balance, no much time to
spend with his boyfriend.

2) Problem with winter, because they not have yet the clothes that have been shipped from australia.
The food was unfamiliar. Living in a non-English speaking environment was a daily challenge.
Simple tasks such as shopping for groceries and asking for directions became hard tasks. Despite
the enormous number of people surrounding her, she felt isolated. Mila had also intended to attend
language classes and make friends through various expatriate groups; however, she found she just
didn’t have the time. She felt she wasn’t being taken seriously or treated professionally because of
her young age and gender. She found that communicating with Korean colleagues was difficult and
she could never accurately gauge what they were thinking. She wondered whether her Korean male
colleagues expected her to be more reserved, timid and submissive in her business dealings. To
Mila it felt that living and working in Korea was like being on another planet. Mila was beginning
to feel homesick and was missing being around her friends and family in Brisbane.
3) the role that the company could have taken, was to provide cross-cultural and logistical
preparation for adjustment to life in a foreign context. make mila understand that in korea there are
different practices. Language training. Mentoring. Work related specific support. Parent-country
national: send some managers from the same country of the company is not alaways a good idea.
Sometimes is better people that have tha same nationality of the host country.
Assigned vs self initiated expats. These latter are not assigned but they decide themselves,
voluntarily, where to go to work in a subsidiary of the company.

6/05/2021

Advantages to be in a leadership position when you are an expat: you can give your imprinting,
exporting the same values of the organization.
Disadvantages to be in a leadership position when you are an expat:
How apply cross cultural management concept in organizations: three areas. Multinationals expat
management, multinational or national firms have to manage an international workforce,
multinational and national firms dealing with clients, providers from all the world.
Expatriates management: indentification of best candidates for expat assignment, training,
preparation and assistance, repatriation.
Advanatage of hiring third or host country national: same values of the employees of the country.
Advantage of hiring parent country national: embody the values of the company.
Invest in training, preparaing and assisitng people that company send abroad.
Dealing with customers/partners: getting ready to start operations in a specific country. Try to have
a clear communication, break down language barriers. Then also about negotiation, try to have a
conflict management strategy and a win-win solution. Then there are istitutional issues, like
different regulation about the country in wich you will go to work.
Manage international workforce is not simple. Increasing international diversity not only in MNCs
but also in national firms. Difference in cultural sensitivity between self-initiated and assigned
expats.
13/05/2021

schema: representation of individuals, like a picture. Schema and scripts are cognitive
representation, idea, categories, that people develop and apply. Often, they are implicit. Are hard to
generalize and hard to get to know.