The values, norms, and beliefs of a company may also be at least
partially imposed by the national culture. When an entrepreneur
establishes an organization, the values transmitted to the
organization may be because of the cultural values of the founder
and the overall society. If the national culture in general
emphasizes competitiveness, a large number of the companies
operating in this context may also be competitive. In countries
emphasizing harmony and conflict resolution, a team-oriented
culture may more easily take root. For example, one study comparing
universities in Arab countries and Japan found that the Japanese
universities were characterized by modesty and frugality,
potentially reflecting elements of the Japanese culture. The study
also found that the Arab universities had buildings that were
designed to impress and had restricted access, which may be a
reflection of the relatively high power distance of the Arab
cultures. Similarly, another study found that elements of Brazilian
culture such as relationships being more important than jobs,
tendency toward hierarchy, and flexibility were reflected in
organizational culture values such as being hierarchical and
emphasizing relational networks (Dedoussis, 2004; Garibaldi de
Hilal, 2006). It is important for managers to know the relationship
between national culture and company culture, because the
relationship explains why it would sometimes be challenging to
create the same company culture globally.
References
Dedoussis, E. (2004). A cross-cultural comparison of
organizational culture: Evidence from universities in the Arab
world and Japan. Cross Cultural
Management, 11, 15–34.
Garibaldi de Hilal, A. (2006). Brazilian national culture,
organizational culture and cultural agreement: Findings from a
multinational company. International Journal
of Cross Cultural Management, 6,
139–167.
Gebler, D. (2006, May). Creating an ethical culture. Strategic Finance, 87,
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Heineman, B. W., Jr. (2007, April). Avoiding integrity land
mines. Harvard Business Review,
85, 100–108.
Schweitzer, M., Ordonez, L., & Douma, B. (2004). The role of
goal setting in motivating unethical behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 422–432.
Watkins, S. (2003, November). Former Enron vice president
Sherron Watkins on the Enron collapse. Academy
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