Written by As we discussed in a previous post, individualist motivational management is obviously very much centered around the individual.
Praise for outstanding work, recognition, both material and immaterial. “Employee of the Month” springs to mind.
For individualist cultures, being recognized for individual achievement means you are succeeding in your career – and at life.
But these same tactics do not always work in other cultures.
So, what does work?
Translating Cultural Dimensions into Workplace Management
In order to discover what works in managerially motivating across cultures, you must identify the in-group.
Last week, we talked about how economic success does not depend wholly on whether a culture is individualistic or collectivistic.
Rather, the in-group is what matters.
Whether company or country, in-groups are the primary drivers of workplace motivation.
Loyalty to groups is key to economic growth, and identifying the culture’s in-group can help you adapt your management style to the culture’s values.
In many collectivist cultures, the in-group is the family or the clan. The fact that it isn’t the company or oneself creates motivational differences from individualist cultures.
Learn Some Cultural Motivations
Diplomas – Diplomas are a way to climb the status ladder in collectivist cultures. Rather than seeing diplomas as paving the way toward the career ladder of better opportunities, diplomas are a door opening to a higher status group.
Because of this cultural perspective, diplomas are not sought to increase self-confidence in one’s abilities, but rather primarily to gain status.
Mobility – There are various types of mobility – occupational, geographical, hierarchical, etc. – and they are viewed differently across cultures.
In collectivist cultures, where the in-group is incredibly important, mobility across all types is lower, because it results in a change in one’s in-group.
Why?
If you have geographical mobility, you might leave your family. If you have hierarchical mobility, your in-group must approve of any upward change in position within your company, or this new position must be consistent with the role they’ve bestowed upon you.
An example: becoming the company boss of a clan elder is likely out of the question. The in-group’s hierarchy (which, in this case, is the clan) will always supersede that of a company’s organizational formalities.
Nepotism – Hiring or promoting family members/friends is seen as morally wrong in Western cultures, particularly if that family member has no qualifications for the role.
This is because individualist cultures view employees as “economic persons” who are motivated to pursue the employer’s interests if it aligns with their own self-interest.
Not so much in collectivist cultures.
One’s self-interest – and/or that of one’s employer – is always usurped by that of the in-group.
Therefore, nepotism in a collectivist culture would not only be acceptable, it would be expected.
One example of this in a collectivist culture: Burkina Faso’s former President Blaise Compoare not only hired family members to fill positions in government, but he also built a zoo and an airport in his village and supplied it with electricity (the only village with light for years, at the time).
While this action may have caused an uproar in a Western country, the culture saw Compoare’s actions as morally just. He was caring for his in-group, his people, which is seen as a positive thing in Burkina Faso.
Next week, we’ll talk more about the employer-employee relationship across cultures.
Success Across Cultures 