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Exhibit 3-2 Examples of National
Cultural ValuesCanadian Social Values
• The
Elders
– Those over 50
– Core Values: Belief
in order, authority, discipline, and the Golden Rule
•
The Boomers
– Born mid-1940s to
mid-1960s
– Autonomous rebels,
anxious communitarians, connected enthusiasts, disengaged
Darwinists
Canadian Social Values
•
Generation X
– Born mid-1960s to
early 1980s
– Thrill-seeking materialists,
aimless dependents, social hedonists, new Aquarians, autonomous
post-materialists
• The
Ne(x)t Generation
– Born between 1977
and 1997
– “Creators,
not recipients”
– Curious, contrarian,
flexible, collaborative, high in self-esteem
Francophone and Anglophone Values
• Francophone
Values
– More collectivist
or group-oriented
– Greater need for
achievement
– Concerned with interpersonal
aspects of workplace
– Value affiliation
• Anglophone Values
– Individualist or
I-centred
– More task-centred
– Take more risks
– Value autonomy
Canadian Aboriginal Values
–
More collectivist in orientation
– More likely to reflect
and advance the goals of the community
– Greater sense of
family in the workplace
– Greater affiliation
and loyalty
– Power distance lower
than non-Aboriginal culture of Canada and the U.S.
– Greater emphasis
on consensual decision-making
Exhibit 3-3 Ground Rules for Aboriginal Partnerships
• Modify management
operations to reduce negative impact to wildlife species
• Modify operations
to ensure community access to lands and resources
• Protect all those
areas identified by community members as having biological,
cultural and historical
significance
• Recognize and protect
aboriginal and treaty rights to hunting, fishing, trapping
and gathering activities
• Increase forest-based
economic opportunities for community members
• Increase the
involvement of community members in decision-making
Canadian and American Values
• Canadian
Values
– Protectionist business
environment
– Personality: more
shy and deferential, less violent, more courteous
– More rule-oriented
– Peace, order, equality
– Uncomfortable celebrating
success, play it down
• American Values
– Greater faith in
the family, the state, religion, and the market
– More comfortable
with big business
– Intense competition
in business
– Individuality and
freedom
– More comfortable
with the unknown and taking risks
Canada, the US and Mexico
• Canada
and the US
– Lower power distance
– More likely to tolerate
abrasiveness and insensitivity by managers
– Lower risk takers
– More individualistic
– Less agreeable to
teamwork
• Mexico
– Higher power distance
– Managers more autocratic
and paternalistic
– Employees defer
more to managers
– Greater uncertainty
avoidance
– Managers are greater
risk takers
– Greater reliance
on networks and relationships
East and Southeast Asian Values
• North
America
– Networked relations:
based on self-interest
– Relationships viewed
with immediate gains
– Enforcement relies
on institutional law
– Governed by guilt
(internal pressures on performance)
• East
and Southeast Asia
– Guanxi relations:
based on reciprocation
– Relationships meant
to be long-term and enduring
– Enforcement relies
on personal power and authority
– Governed by shame
(external pressures on performance)
Attitudes
•
Positive or negative feelings concerning objects, people,
or events.
• Less stable than
values
Types of Attitudes
• Job
Involvement
– . . . measures the
degree to which a person identifies psychologically with
his or her job and considers his
or her perceived performance level important to self-worth.
•
Organizational Commitment
– . . . a state in
which an employee identifies with a particular organization
and its goals, and wishes
to maintain membership in the organization.
•
Job Satisfaction
– . . . refers to
an individual’s general attitude toward his or her
job.
Canadian Job Satisfaction
• In 1991, 62 per cent of
employees reported they were highly satisfied with their
jobs, compared to just 45 per cent in 2001.
• Almost 40 percent of employees
would not recommend their company as a good place to work.
• 40 percent believe they
never see any of the benefits of their company making
money.
• Almost 40 percent reported that red tape and bureaucracy
are among the biggest barriers to job satisfaction.
• 55 percent reported that
they felt the “pressure of having too much to do.”
Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance
• Satisfaction
Affects
– Individual
Productivity
– Organizational Productivity
– Absenteeism
– Turnover
– Organizational Citizenship
Behaviour
Expressing Dissatisfaction
• Exit
• Voice
• Loyalty
• Neglect
Summary and Implications
•
Values strongly influence a person’s attitudes.
• An employee’s performance
and satisfaction are likely to be higher if his or her
values fit well with the organization.
• Managers should be interested
in their employees’ attitudes because attitudes
give warning signs of potential problems and because they
influence behaviour.
OB at Work
For Review
1. What are Hofstede’s five value dimensions
of national culture?
2. How might differences in generational values
affect the workplace?
3. Compare Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal values.
4. How can managers get employees to more readily
accept working with colleagues who are different from
themselves?
5. Describe three job-related attitudes. What is
their relevance to the workplace?
6. Are happy workers productive workers?
7. What is the relationship between job satisfaction
and absenteeism? Job satisfaction and turnover? Which
is the stronger relationship?
For Critical Thinking
1. “Thirty-five years
ago, young employees we hired were ambitious, conscientious,
hard-working, and honest. Today’s young workers
don’t have the same values.” Do you agree
or disagree with this manager’s comments? Support
your position.
2. Do you think there might be any positive and significant
relationship between the possession of certain personal
values and successful career progression in organizations
such as Merrill Lynch, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers
(CUPW), and the City of Regina’s police department?
Discuss.
For Critical Thinking
3. “Managers
should do everything they can to enhance the job satisfaction
of their employees.” Do you agree or disagree? Support
your position.
4. When employees are asked whether they would again choose
the same work or whether they would want their children
to follow in their footsteps, fewer than half typically
answer in the affirmative. What, if anything, do you think
this implies about employee job satisfaction?
Breakout Group Exercises
Form small groups to discuss
the following topics. Each person in the group should first
identify 3 to 5 key personal values.
1. Identify the extent to which
values overlap in your group.
2. Try to uncover with your group members the source of
some of your key values (e.g., parents, peer group, teachers,
church).
3. What kind of workplace would be most suitable for the
values that you hold most closely?
Working With Others Exercise
Understanding cultural values
• Break into groups of 5-6. Pretend that half of you
have been raised in Canadian culture, and half of you have
been raised in another culture assigned by your instructor
– Consider the differences in the two cultures for:
power distance, individualism, and uncertainty avoidance
– What challenges will you face working together?
– What steps could be taken to work together more
effectively?
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