Three decades of research on national culture in the workplace: Do the differences still make a difference?
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Vasyl Taras, Associate Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: At one time, national culture was primarily the concern of tourists and diplomats, having little to do with the workplace. In the latter part of the 20th century, there were a series of international policy changes in many Asian and Eastern European countries that enabled a tidal wave of international joint ventures and outsourcing. Quickly, business partners realized that making these relationships successful required attending to national cultural differences. In particular, it did not take a long while to learn that the Japanese way and the American way were radically different. In 1986, for example, a popular film by Ron Howard, “Gung Ho,” was based on the theme that you couldn’t easily transplant these management styles across borders. Some would now argue that the needs for such cultural lessons are fading away, perhaps permanently. The breakthroughs in communication technology, increased travel, and the Westernization of some business practices around the world have shifted the focus from local differences to more global consistency. With the increase in global production, global employment, and global brands, are we also entering an era of global culture? Is the world now officially “flat?” Or is it just slightly flatter?
Three decades of research on national culture in the workplace: Do the differences still make a difference?
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Created on 2/5/2015
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Organizational Dynamics, 40(3), 189-198.
- Language: English
- Date: 2011
- Keywords
- Management, Cultural Differences, International Business