Nonverbal communication and culture. Identity, stereotypes and prejudices, страница 51

Asian Management Cultures. The management cultures found in Asia differ considerably from those based on European elitism. Asian cultures stress collectivism and harmony, and these characteristics are reflected in their organizational cultures.

Chinese business values have been strongly influenced by Confucianism. Hofstede (1993: 86) summarizes the Chinese view:

Overseas Chinese American enterprises lack almost all characteristics of modern management. They tend to be small, cooperating for essential functions with other small organizations through networks based on personal relations. They are family owned, without the separation between ownership and management typical in the West, or even in Japan and Korea .... Decision making is centralized in the hands of one dominant family member, but other family members may be given new ventures to try their skill on. They are low-profile and extremely cost-conscious, applying Confucian virtues of thrift and persistence. Their size is kept small by the assumed lack of loyalty of non-family employees, who, if they are any good, will just wait and save until they can start their own family business.

To the Chinese, harmony is the ultimate goal of human interaction. Harmony is the axis of social interaction; it is seen as the end goal of all human communication. Additionally, kinship, interpersonal connections, face, and power are major factors dominating Chinese management practices. Power is the ultimate determinant influencing Chinese social interaction. In Confucian-influenced cultures, seniority is the main source of power. In China, as well as most Asian nations, seniority derives from age and length of service in an organization. Seniority not only commands respect, it disarms criticism in the Chinese society.

The Japanese, as was the case with the Germans, do not share a strong sense of management. A characteristic feature of Japanese management style is the high value that it places on the harmonious integration of all members of the organization into the corporate structure. Japanese managers typically view their organization as a large extended family. Managers – section chiefs or department heads – value groupism, harmony, acceptance of hierarchy in work relationships, sense of obligation, and debt of lower level personnel to superiors, and consensual decision making. (Peterson, 1993: 410). While American managers emphasize supervisory style, decision making, and control mechanism, the Japanese are more concerned with communication processes, interdepartmental relations, and a paternalistic approach.

The Japanese language is capable of delicate nuances of states of mind and relationships. Indirect and vague communication is more acceptable than direct and specific orders. Sentences are frequently left unfinished so that the other person may reach the desired conclusion. Japanese dress and appearance are neat, orderly, and conservative for managers. Workers and students frequently wear a distinctive uniform and frequently a company pin.

Latin American Management Cultures. We see yet another difference in managerial approaches when we look at Latin America. You should recognize that Latin America contains a rich number of cultures that exist in a widespread area that includes Mexico as well as the regions of Central and South America. Global managers have discovered that all countries south of the U.S. border are not the same. The languages (Spanish, Portuguese, and Native Indian), food, music, and ethnicity (European, Indian, African, and Mestizo) vary among countries and even within countries. For the most part, however, the power, politics, economics, and business continue to be dominated by people living in a culture that has evolved from earlier Spanish and Portuguese colonial cultures (Marquardt & Engle, 1993).