Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt
International Tourism Management

 

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ITM Master 3. Sem.
8103: International Management III
           

 

International Management in a globalized world is faced with the task of successful "Diversity Management". It has to take into account that no longer simple "intercultural" concepts are working, as almost no country has a "pure" national culture without strong outside influences, as more and more staff members, customers, business partners are not rooted in just one culture. Still, management without careful tuning to cultural influences is bound to fail.

 

Do you agree? What are your experiences with "intercultural" encounters while working or studying (or travelling)?

 

First definition:

“Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values.” -- Geert Hofstede

 

CULTURE AS AN ICEBERG

 

Many intercultural trainings concentrate on the "Do's and Don'ts" of different cultures:

 - Give and receive a namecard to a Chinese persons always with both hands

 - Avoid the number 13 in western countries

 - Do not give knifes or scissors as a present in China

 - Do not slap a German person on the shoulder as a greeting

 - Do not give money as a gift in Bulgaria ... etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two arguments against such superficial approaches:

a) For an internationally active manager, it is impossible to know the "Do's and Don'ts" of all cultures and sub-cultures (always use a 100 US$ bill when snorting cocaine at a Manhattan party...) in the world.

 

b) Reducing the cultural differences to "above the sea-level" features will not help you to understand the underlying differences and will not help you to understand the relativeness of your own cultural behaviour.

 

 

 

 

 Let us try to understand the "Why?" behind some different behaviours and customs for some typical occurences:

Examples

 - telling the truth / being polite

 - punctuality / flexibility

 - quoting sources / following mainstream

 - learning from theories / learning from examples

 

 

Please form four groups and develop a list of 5 Do's and 5 Don't for Germany and for another country of your choice. Try to analyse the cultural reasons behind the behaviour using your background knowledge (including Hofstede).

After 20 minutes each group should present the list and the explanations.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Culture is - according to Hofstede - acquired through “mental programming”, learned patterns of thinking, feeling and potential acting.

 

Three level of uniqueness are distinguished:

- The inherited universal human nature,

- the learned culture specific to certain societies or groups within a society, and

- the inherited and learned individual personality.

 

 

Example: Slicing the meat

 

Presentations: "How to do business with country xxx"

Possible starting point for sources:  http://www.kwintessential.co.uk
 

 

  Contact: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt FRGS
Bachelor and Master Program International Tourism Management
arlt@fh-westkueste.de, Office 2.018, Tel. 0481 8555-513
Consultation hours (during lecture period): Monday 16.00 - 17.00 h
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