Managing Corporate Values in Diverse National Cultures: The Challenge of Differences

by d'Iribarne; Philippe

• ISBN13: 9780415504638
• ISBN10: 0415504635
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-06-20
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

How should a Western company manage cross-culturally corporate values in its foreign subsidiaries? Do these values make sense everywhere and can they assumed to be universal or, on the contrary, are they culturally Western specific? Philippe d'Iribarne provides answers to these timely and urgent questions, based on research carried out in the subsidiaries of a leading global company, Lafarge, in the contrasting cultural environments of China, the United States, France and Jordan. It appears that, in a large part of the world, people's expectations are similar; they expect from a good employer clear and decisive leadership, and fair and compassionate treatment, helping them to live a good life. But treating these expectations as the 'same' could be misleading. Western companies with a humanistic orientation are well positioned to fulfil them, provided they are willing, in each and every geography, to take into account the local vision of the right way to achieve a good life. By following the example presented in this book, companies who care can deliver economic efficiency as well as progressive people management in the countries in which they operate.

Author Biography

Philippe d'Iribarne is Managing Director of Gestion et Socit (Management and Society), at CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) in Paris, France.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Notes	p. 5
France and the United States: two sets for a single scene	p. 7
The company as part of society	p. 8
The company and its employees	p. 13
Likely cross-influences	p. 20
Conclusion	p. 22
Notes	p. 23
China: between guanxi and celestial bureaucracy	p. 27
A Chinese view of power	p. 27
A just and nurturing order	p. 35
The potentiality of a culture	p. 42
Conclusion	p. 45
Notes	p. 46
Unity and tribalism in Jordan	p. 47
A large gap between the ideal of unity and actual experience	p. 48
Accommodating foreign management	p. 54
A cultural setting	p. 62
Conclusion	p. 65
Notes	p. 65
Local forms of support in all their diversity: a comparative survey	p. 67
Employee support for the company and its policies: cultural logics	p. 68
Culture, social climate, and relations with the company	p. 74
Reactions to the L.F. T. program: a French singularity	p. 78
Conclusion	p. 81
Notes	p. 82
Values materialize in harmony with individual cultures	p. 85
Values and cultures	p. 85
From the corporate world to the world at large	p. 93
Notes	p. 101
Conclusion	p. 103
Appendix: national cultures and management: an interpretative approach	p. 107
References	p. 115
Index	p. 119
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