For example, in the USA, respondents’ preferred mode of activity is ‘doing’ on
the same level as ‘thinking’, and ‘being’ comes third by quite a significant
margin. In Taiwan, however, ‘thinking’ comes first with a stronger preference
over ‘doing’, and ‘being’ has a very low rating (Maznevski et al., 1997). The
instrument provides a rank of preferences for each orientation. It enables us to
go beyond a bipolar-based cultural response.
5 SUMMARY
About twenty cultural dimensions have been developed with cross-national com-
parative management research. Similarities between the dimensions enable us to
regroup some of them into categories. Table 6.8 summarizes the fundamental
cultural issues and their resulting cultural dimensions presented in this chapter.
The review of cross-national comparative research shows us that compar-
isons of nations rest on three major themes. First, country-level analyses are used
to study culture. Second, cultural values or meanings provide tangible and mea-
surable cultural dimensions with a limited set of variations. Finally, culture rests
on values or meanings that influence individuals’ behavior and consequently
management practices. These three themes are representative of quantitative
comparative studies in cross-cultural management and are the fundamentals of
the thinking of that strand of research.
6 CONCLUSION
Cultural dimensions give an indication of culture’s consequences, but what is
the actual influence of culture on people’s behavior? It is exercised in inter-
action with other factors, for example employees’ education, their functional
background, the nature of the work they do (very defined task or not, short or
long-term project, etc.). How can we possibly know what is cultural, what is
related to the type of work and what is related to the personalities of the
employees? Cross-cultural management does not aim at identifying purely cul-
tural behavior, it gives an indication of the possible variations in individuals’
cultural background. This knowledge is helpful because it is about implicit
aspects of work. The other aspects are more explicit and consequently may be
easier to identify.
Management in today’s corporations seems to be challenged by the
cultural diversity of their employees. However, is knowledge of the cultural
Culture in Management 161