The present study investigates the phenomenon of organisational acculturation of Egyptian Host Country National middle managers working in three foreign subsidiaries of US, UK, and Swedish MNCs. Host Country National staff (HCNs) are those who work in foreign subsidiaries established in their own countries. HCNs are exposed to the organisational culture of the MNC which is affected by the national culture of the parent company. Accordingly, the concept of cultural adaptation, or organisational acculturation, has been stressed as an essential process for MNCs to deal with problems arising from cultural differences and achieve cross-cultural effectiveness. The topic of the present study is an understudied topic and only few studies addressed the acculturation of HCNs, most of which within the context of Asian-only cultures. The study used a multiple case design and the data were collected using a mixed methods design in which both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The study was conducted in two phases; the first phase was to compare the work values of the Egyptian middle managers and their UK, US, and Swedish expatriates using a questionnaire on work values, in order to find similarities or differences in work values between the Egyptian managers and their expatriates. To measure the work values of the host national culture, the study used a comparison group of Egyptian middle managers in three local Egyptian firms. In the second phase, in-depth interviews and observation were conducted with a number of Egyptian middle managers who were found to have work values significantly similar to or different from their expatriates work values in the three subsidiaries. This phase was conducted in order to further examine the acculturation phenomenon, and to understand the influence of the Egyptian national culture and the type of control mechanisms used by MNCs on the acculturation process. The results showed that some acculturation effects might have occurred in some work values of Egyptian managers, while other work values might have not been influenced due to the strong effect of the Egyptian national culture. Also, the study found that Egyptians needed both formal bureaucratic and informal cultural mechanisms of control, though with more stress on the formal bureaucratic ones.

Managers have an important role to companies’ globalization process and success. Leading organizations across national borders is a huge challenge due to different cultures requires different leadership styles. Culture is the most underrated external factor affecting the leadership. A great cultural distance between two countries, such as India and Sweden, can result in greater differences in organizational attributes. The purpose of this paper is to understand from female managers’ perspective how Indian and Swedish cultural aspects affect their leadership style towards their subordinates. To fulfill the purpose the authors have chosen to use and deductive approach in order to do a qualitative study. The authors interviewed eight Swedish female managers in India and two Indian female managers in Sweden. The theoretical framework is structured upon main themes including; leadership, cross-cultural management, culture, cross-cultural between India and Sweden and previous research. The theory chapter is followed with the empirical data and an analysis chapter where the authors analyzed the results based on the theories and previous research. In conclusion, there are common differences and challenges between Indian and Swedish managers. The managers received respect because of their title. Furthermore, the authors can conclude that Indians are more flexible with the time, while Swedes are the opposite, everything has to be planned. All the managers highlighted the importance of giving feedback to subordinates to improve the performance. Finally, preparation and collecting information about the host country's culture can never be too much.

Organisations today are investing in the efficient management of their talented workforce, known as talent management (TM) in order to bear fruitful outcomes in terms of corporate sustainability. Some businesses choose to include all employees in their TM strategy-inclusive TM-whilst others only include the highest-performing employees-exclusive TM. It has been suggested that no matter which TM strategy they implement, contextual factors such as culture seem to drive the degree of their application. Thus, the rationale for this research is in determining the cultural factors that trigger the exercise of TM.This study's aim is to analyse the extent to which TM strategies are impacted by national and organisational culture. In addition, it seeks the critical exploration of TM in the context of key human resource practices (HRPs); the critical investigation of TM's application; the critical examination of national and organisational culture; and finally, the degree to which both types of culture affect TM's application. This study follows a conceptual framework which sets national culture as the independent variable, organisational culture as the mediating variable, and TM as the dependent variable. The body of theory overviewed is relevant to TM's concepts and its interrelation to both human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD). Predominant national and organisational cultural frameworks are also overviewed. This research's sample includes six case studies from northern, central and southern Greece and adopts a mixed-methods approach using primary data collected through questionnaires and interviews, and analysed through SPSS and thematic analysis. Among the key findings is that national culture indirectly drives the adoption of specific TM modes through the development of certain corporate cultures. Additional findings shed light on the contemporary conception of 'talent' and 'TM,' as well as on the association between national and corporate culture. This study significantly contributes to knowledge by bringing in evidence from the business environment while also discussing implications for practitioners regarding the parameters that influence both their decisions and actions.

Despite the ubiquity of the term ‘organisational culture’ in both popular and scholarly management literature, it remains an ambiguous concept, whose practical application is recognised as being far from universally successful. Models which seem to be preferred by practitioners are often criticised as being static or mechanistic, while more dynamic scholarly approaches tend to discount the possibility of deliberately influencing organisations at the cultural level. This dissertation, instead of focussing on culture as some sort of objective or unchanging attribute of an organisation, treats it as a phenomenon emerging from social interaction and individual sense-making. It draws on, and extends, George Kelly’s Personal Construct Psychology to build a framework for understanding the production of meaning by individuals in their social context, and how this contributes to the establishment of the collective boundaries between which cultural effects are observed. This framework is applied to the case of a business school attached to a large university, which is first absorbed into its Commerce Faculty, and then dissolved into a new Department, as the overall university structure is modified. Grounded Theory methodology is used to develop an approach to the description of the cultural interaction and changes that occur, and to generate theory that goes some way to explaining how and why they do. The theory gives insight into how latent cultural distinctions become, or are made, salient and the different means by which divisions may be resolved or superseded, sometimes resulting in conflict. Implications are explored for the management of organisations undergoing change, particularly where this involves merging or restructuring organisational units, and for the training and development of managers who are to be involved in such activities. ¶ At a theoretical level, building on a constructivist and processual ontological base, the dissertation makes contributions to the understanding of behaviour in organisations and draws on pragmatic epistemologies such as those advanced by George Herbert Mead. It brings concepts from psychology, sociology and management disciplines to bear on the problem of cultural interaction, and suggests that integrating them in this way may enhance their value in this context. ¶ By focussing on culture as a phenomenon produced at the interface of collective constructions, the dissertation proposes that it be viewed as fundamentally dynamic once eloquently described as ‘multiple cross-cutting contexts’ – but, nevertheless, explains how it may be recognised more through its apparent intractability than its fluidity. Whilst rejecting managerialist approaches which would suggest that culture and, through it, people, can be manipulated at will to reliably produce desired effects, the dissertation suggests ways in which insight into cultural interactions might be generated for those who are participating in them, and options developed to influence these interactions that might otherwise not have been available. It therefore has potentially valuable implications for management practice.

<p>Today, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is a fast growing economy, which is still in a developing phase. According to this fact, many Western companies are expanding and establishing in China nowadays. When expanding to foreign markets and foreign cultures, adapting to the local values is something which needs to be considered by foreign managers. A vital aspect is how to motivate the employees. The way employees want to be motivated may differ a lot from one country to another due to cultural differences. Since not much research has been performed on Swedish companies established in China and how they motivate their Chinese employees, this dissertation tries to fill that gap.The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the gap between Western management practices and motivation of Eastern employees. To find out if there are different needs and wants of employees in developing countries as opposed to developed ones. A deductive research approach is used in this dissertation.A two perspective study has been performed, qualitative case studies and a quantitative survey. On one side, Western managers views on how to motivate their Eastern employees as case studies. On the other side, a survey performed on a Chinese population and their view of important motivation factors. Some concepts were tested in order to investigate if the Western managers and the Chinese population have the same views on motivation and how to overcome cultural differences. First, results have shown that the “third culture” as a management tool will have an influence on employee motivation. Second, clear goals and rules will have an influence on employee motivation. However, the use of cooperative goals for Eastern employees was not confirmed to be useful, according to the results of this study. As a conclusion, the findings from this study indicate that there is a gap between Western managers and Eastern employees’ beliefs regarding motivation. However, to overcome cultural differences when operating in cross-cultural settings it is necessary to create a “third culture”. This study has strengthened the theory of the “third culture”.Analysis and conclusions from this dissertation may be of some value for Swedish managers. The value in this dissertation lies in that it can give a “hint” regarding motivation to managers of companies which operate in China. Some theories studied in this dissertation have not been confirmed. Therefore, managers should consider theories, but also try to adjust them in order to make them fit to their specific business.</p>

<p>This study is based upon the double proposition that a transfer of modern management knowledge is an important component of the development assistance given to Third World countries and that this knowledge has a cultural basis that</p><p>restricts its transferability. The very essence of the cultural basis is thought to consist of culture contingent implicit assumptions about phenomena in the reality. Problems experienced in five cases of transfer of management knowledge are analysed in search for such implicit assumptions questioned. A paradigm comprising fifteen basic assumptions attached to the images of different management relevant phenomena is identified in the analysis carried out. Different corroborating conditions that make experiences from management-inaction corroborate the validity of the basic assumptions are also identified. The recognition of the relationships between basic assumptions and environmental conditions is held to be crucial to the understanding of how and why the cultural basis of modern management knowledge makes its transfer difficult. The identified relationships between basic assumptions and corroborating conditions has implications for two major issues discussed in cross-cultural management research: (i) it supports the convergence hypothesis, and (ii) it can be concluded that the perceived appropriateness of the “modern” delegativeparticipative management style hinges on the “industrialising” of environmental conditions. In addition to the implications for the cross-cultural management discourse, it is found that the perspective developed has implications for the institutionalism approach to management. In particular, it points to the importance of normative messages and collectively shared perceptions as isomorphic forces. It also points to important mechanisms behind institutional variability and change. The relationship between basic assumptions and environmental conditions is central to a strategy for transfer of modern management knowledge that is discussed in the end of the study. The importance of a cognitive transformation is emphasised as a prerequisite for a long-term success of such a transfer.</p>

<p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 1990</p>

This study is based upon the double proposition that a transfer of modern management knowledge is an important component of the development assistance given to Third World countries and that this knowledge has a cultural basis that restricts its transferability. The very essence of the cultural basis is thought to consist of culture contingent implicit assumptions about phenomena in the reality. Problems experienced in five cases of transfer of management knowledge are analysed in search for such implicit assumptions questioned. A paradigm comprising fifteen basic assumptions attached to the images of different management relevant phenomena is identified in the analysis carried out. Different corroborating conditions that make experiences from management-inaction corroborate the validity of the basic assumptions are also identified. The recognition of the relationships between basic assumptions and environmental conditions is held to be crucial to the understanding of how and why the cultural basis of modern management knowledge makes its transfer difficult. The identified relationships between basic assumptions and corroborating conditions has implications for two major issues discussed in cross-cultural management research: (i) it supports the convergence hypothesis, and (ii) it can be concluded that the perceived appropriateness of the “modern” delegativeparticipative management style hinges on the “industrialising” of environmental conditions. In addition to the implications for the cross-cultural management discourse, it is found that the perspective developed has implications for the institutionalism approach to management. In particular, it points to the importance of normative messages and collectively shared perceptions as isomorphic forces. It also points to important mechanisms behind institutional variability and change. The relationship between basic assumptions and environmental conditions is central to a strategy for transfer of modern management knowledge that is discussed in the end of the study. The importance of a cognitive transformation is emphasised as a prerequisite for a long-term success of such a transfer.

Today, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is a fast growing economy, which is still in a developing phase. According to this fact, many Western companies are expanding and establishing in China nowadays. When expanding to foreign markets and foreign cultures, adapting to the local values is something which needs to be considered by foreign managers. A vital aspect is how to motivate the employees. The way employees want to be motivated may differ a lot from one country to another due to cultural differences. Since not much research has been performed on Swedish companies established in China and how they motivate their Chinese employees, this dissertation tries to fill that gap.The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the gap between Western management practices and motivation of Eastern employees. To find out if there are different needs and wants of employees in developing countries as opposed to developed ones. A deductive research approach is used in this dissertation.A two perspective study has been performed, qualitative case studies and a quantitative survey. On one side, Western managers views on how to motivate their Eastern employees as case studies. On the other side, a survey performed on a Chinese population and their view of important motivation factors. Some concepts were tested in order to investigate if the Western managers and the Chinese population have the same views on motivation and how to overcome cultural differences. First, results have shown that the “third culture” as a management tool will have an influence on employee motivation. Second, clear goals and rules will have an influence on employee motivation. However, the use of cooperative goals for Eastern employees was not confirmed to be useful, according to the results of this study. As a conclusion, the findings from this study indicate that there is a gap between Western managers and Eastern employees’ beliefs regarding motivation. However, to overcome cultural differences when operating in cross-cultural settings it is necessary to create a “third culture”. This study has strengthened the theory of the “third culture”.Analysis and conclusions from this dissertation may be of some value for Swedish managers. The value in this dissertation lies in that it can give a “hint” regarding motivation to managers of companies which operate in China. Some theories studied in this dissertation have not been confirmed. Therefore, managers should consider theories, but also try to adjust them in order to make them fit to their specific business.

Managing a diverse workforce has become a growing challenge for leaders, due to increased globalization and demographic changes. As a result, leaders that can handle those challenges become important for successful business across borders. With respect to this, the complexities of leadership in Russia is an under-researched and increasingly important research area, due to the rapid changes that have occurred in the country the last 25 years. This study explores the challenges that Swedish expatriate leaders face whilst operating in Russia and, furthermore, how they tackle them. The study is of explorative character, with a qualitative research methodology, and is based on 17 interviews with different Swedish leaders across various industries. The findings show that Swedish leaders experience challenges with the following: involving employees in decision making processes; handling steep hierarchies; finding the right people in the dynamic Russian labour market; comprehending the idiosyncrasies of Russian culture. In conclusion, the study shows that Swedish leaders are keen to implement a Swedish company culture based on empowerment, although the specificities of being an expatriate leader in Russia makes it necessary to adapt to some of the conflicting expectations of the Russian employees.