Organizational behavior & National and organizational culture

Culture may be understood as a group of values and assumptions shared by a group of individuals, which are learned and passed on to the next members of that community. These elements shape the conducts and attributes that will determine the norms of behavior. However, as Hofstede stated, culture goes beyond this simple definition as it is consists of different elements that go from the most evident (e.g symbols) to the most deeply rooted (e.g values).

Normally, culture is seen in global terms, that is to say that culture is perceived as country or a territory inhabited, nevertheless within the national culture we can find several kinds of cultures like the organizational culture among others. As Edgar H. Schein defined it, organizational culture is “a set of beliefs and values shared by members of the same organization, which influence their behaviors” [1] In other words; organizations are entities which depend on how homogenous its members are according to the way how they see the world and the company itself.

Companies, as formed by individuals with their own individual behavior shaped by their cultural background, also have their own behavior. In the same way people has internal perspectives (thoughts, feelings, needs) and external perspectives (environment and external events), companies held a formal and an informal organization.

• Formal organization: it is the organization as we know it, is the visible entity and the formal one.
• Informal organization: it is not so noticeable since it is no official, so it is less obvious.

According to these elements, and given the varied nature of companies, organizational behavior must be studied from different perspectives for its understanding, such as:

• Psychology (Human Behavior)
• Sociology (Group and intergroup dynamics)
• Engineering (Design of work)
• Anthropology (Human learned behavior)
• Management (design, implement and supervise activities)
• Medicine: (Treatment of diseases)

As we see, organizations are groups of individuals that have to work together in order to achieve common goals and objectives, even in the last decade this trend has become more popular due to internationalization processes and the globalization which force companies to be adaptable and concerned about the importance of managing national and organizational cultural in the most appropriate way.


1. Find and explain in your blog two real life examples about the business implications of national and organizational culture. You may not use examples or situations already discussed in class or in the recommended readings.

Ex 1. Starbucks in India.

Starbucks experienced something totally new when the company entered the Chinese market. Being the most famous coffee seller in the world didn’t mean it would be easy to attract consumers in a country where tea is the most popular drink. For that reason, Starbucks had to figure out the best way to get the attention of the Chinese customer, very well know for not being the most loyal one, however the company designed an strategy based on the location of the business in order to look attractive since in China most of the houses are very small so the idea was not to modify the urban landscape.

Despite being so focused on providing high quality customer service offering a wide range of tea-based products, it has not been easy for Starbucks to make Chinese people conscious about the properties and benefits that coffee has even though they love the brand. That is why the company is still working on it by means of a different approaches more related to the market without leaving their philosophy and their organizational culture so they can promote some kind of loyalty inside that market where dealing with national culture is not simple.

Ex 2. Staples in China and India.

Staples is a company characterized by adapting to new cultures instead of focusing just in selling what they offer in other countries. For instance, in China it has become very popular to pay by credit, even in the furniture industry where products used to be paid in cash. For that reason, the company decided to offer a credit card to its customers and that really made a differentiation with regard to the competitors.

In India, because of all the normative about FDI, Staples decided to set a joint venture with the Future Group to commercialize furniture and technology in a segment which was unknown in the country and that now represents a very interesting market that allows the company to change continually and find out the ways to fill the gaps present in that specific market.

Source: http://mba.americaeconomia.com/articulos/reportajes/multinacionales-se-adaptan-para-conquistar-china-e-india

2. Write a short essay considering the following questions: (500 words)

-Do you think there is a corporate culture in every organization?
-If we assume there is: Can it be modified?

I think there is a culture in every organization, even in those which are not necessary profit-seekers like the religious organizations. It’s important to be conscious about culture because “knowing the various aspects of your culture can clearly guide you and your employees to a better understanding of your goals, visions, and approaches to increased productivity, perhaps with the use of valuable technology” [1].

In the same way a national culture has its own fundamental elements; corporate culture has attributes that should be considered:

• The beliefs, stories and past experiences that have to do with the organization and the people who shape it.
• The goals, the norms and the history so those who aspire to work in the organization know to where they are going.
• Symbols, values and the rituals; unique in every organization and helpful to know the organization deeper, basically because most of this attributes are unwritten.

It might be modified because a company which does not adapt to continuous changes is condemned to remain back its competitors. Globalization and diversity of work forces demand from managers who are able to design adaptable strategies to avoid potential threats from the competitors that will take any advantage from the market, even more if it is changing.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/humanresources/employeemanagementcolumnistdavidjavitch/article204890.html