There is a wealth of studies which suggest that manager's positive perceptions/expectations can considerably influence organisational performance; unfortunately, little empirical evidence has been obtained from development studies. This first time research explores how Japanese aid workers' perceptions towards the local staff affects their behaviour and performance in cross-cultural project settings. Moreover, this research focuses on the perceptual and behavioural trait differences of successful and unsuccessful aid workers. With cooperation from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), 244 valid responses were obtained from the aid workers (managers) through a webbased survey. As a result of statistical analysis, positive causal relationships were confirmed between perception related factors and behaviour related factors and the organisational performance variable. These results strongly suggest that aid worker's positive perceptions result in positive behaviour in local colleagues and subsequently higher organisational performance. In addition, it was discovered that the aid workers' positive perception/expectation about work and their local colleagues was related to higher organisational performance, whilst conversely, the negative perception on their part was generally associated with negative behaviour and lower organisational performance.Although the differences in perceptual tendencies suggested by that these findings apply to Japanese aid managers; however, as human nature is universal, positive perception and behaviour should bring out positive output in most organisations. It is recommended that there is a need for people-related and cross-cultural management skills to ensure successful future activities, and stress management competencies to maintain positive managerial perception on the part of aid workers.

Several studies have suggested that the effect of cultural differences among Information Systems (IS) professionals from different nations on the development and implementation of IS could be important. However, IS research has generally not considered culture when investigating the process of systems development. This study examined the relationship between the cultural backgrounds of IS designers and their process-related values with a field survey in Singapore, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Hofstede's (1980) value survey module (i.e., Power Distance (PDI), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), InDiVidualism (IDV) and MASculininity/femininity) and Kumar's (1984) process-related values (i.e., technical, economic, and socio-political) were utilized in the data collection. The hypotheses tested were: whether the IS professionals differed on (H.,) their cultural dimensions based on country of origin, (Hg) their process-related values based on country of origin, and (H3) whether a relationship between their cultural dimensions and their process-related values existed. The countries were significantly different on their PDI, UAI and MAS, but not on their IDV. They significantly differed on their technical and sociopolitical values but not on their economic values. IDV and MAS significantly correlated with the process-related values in Singapore, Taiwan and the United States. In the United Kingdom, UAI significantly correlated with socio-political values; and MAS significantly correlated with technical and socio-political values. In Taiwan, UAI significantly correlated with technical and economic values. PDI did not illustrate any significant correlation with the IS process-related values in all four countries. In Singapore and the United States, UAI did not significantly correlate with any of these values. The results provide evidence that IS professionals differ on most of their cultural dimensions and IS process-related values. While IDV and MAS could be useful for examining the relationship between culture and systems development, research involving PDI and UAI might be of questionable benefit.

by Li Tsui-yan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-105). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter One --- The Dilemma of Liberation and Confinement: Female Subjectivity in Comparative Perspectives --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Deconstructing Patriarchal Discourse: Female Subjectivity in Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook and The Summer Before the Dark --- p.18 / Chapter Chapter Three --- "Resistance to the Stereotypes of Femininity: Female Subjectivity in Zhang Jie's “Love Must Not be Forgotten"" and “The Ark´ح" --- p.50 / Chapter Chapter Four --- The Multiple and the Dynamic: Doris Lessing and Zhang Jie's Strategies in the Construction of Female Subjectivity --- p.73 / Notes --- p.86 / Works Cited --- p.99

By path analysis, it was found that only self-efficacy and subjective norm, but not general attitudes, significantly predicted individuals' BID across all samples. Moreover, in contrast to the hypothesis, results showed that after-death anxiety predicted self-efficacy but not attitudes. Low after-death anxiety, accurate knowledge regarding organ donation, and high subjective norm promoted self-efficacy. Altruism was the main determinant of attitudes but its indirect impact on BID was weak. The applicability of the model on all four samples was acceptably high, and the configural invariance of the model was generally supported across three ethnic groups. / Previous studies have shown that the general public exhibits favorable attitudes toward posthumous organ donation, but a low donor card signing rate. Hence, positive attitudes may not be a good predictor of the behavioral commitment to donate organs. This dissertation was a cross-cultural study on the actual behaviors of signing or taking away the donor card (i.e. b&barbelow;ehavioral i&barbelow;ntentions to d&barbelow;onate organs after death (BID). It aimed at proposing an integrative, content-specific but culture-general model for posthumous organ donation. The model was composed of two levels of influences on BID, namely, the proximal level (including self-efficacy toward signing the donor card, general attitudes toward posthumous organ donation, and subjective norm for posthumous organ donation) as well as the distal level (including knowledge regarding posthumous organ donation, altruism, and after-death anxiety). The model was first tested and refined among 517 Chinese college students (Study 1), and was then further validated with 290 Chinese community adults (Study 2) in Hong Kong. The applicability of the model was also examined with a Western control sample of 217 Caucasian American college students (Study 3) and a non-Chinese Asian sample of 670 Japanese college students (Study 4). Psychosocial characteristics of three college samples were then compared, and ethnic differences on predictive values of psychosocial factors on BID were studied (Study 5). / The ANOVA results challenged the old assumption of underlying similarities in psychosocial characteristics across Asian ethnic groups. As expected, Americans were the most likely to show BID, followed by Chinese, while Japanese had the lowest tendency to show BID. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Wu Man Sze Anise. / "May 2005." / Adviser: Catherine S. K. Tang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: B, page: 0604. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-136). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Jag vill undersöka och beskriva tvärkulturell fostran. Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera hur barn formas av att växa upp med två kulturer, det vill säga där barnets/barnens föräldrar kommer från två olika kulturer och den ena kulturen inte är representerad under barnets/barnens uppväxt. Frågeställningarna utifrån detta är; Vad förmedlar föräldern till barnet/barnen av denna kultur? Vilka förhoppningar har föräldern kring innebörd och konsekvenser av den tvärkulturella fostran och uppväxten? Litteraturstudien visar att i en tvärkulturell fostran får man först se vad kulturen bär med sig,vilka kulturtraditioner och förhållningssätt som finns i de respektive kulturerna. Har de exempelvis en grund i grupp- eller individorientering där olika synsätt förespråkas och premieras, och där dessa tar sig olika uttryck i fostran och under uppväxten? Begrepp som innefattar en tvärkulturell fostran är identitet, socialisering, etnicitet och nationalism. Flera studier visar även på språkets betydelse för socialisering och kulturell identitet. Vem man är och vem man blir påverkas av språket och även speglas däri. Resultaten från studiens intervjuundersökning och autoetnografi pekar bland annat på betydelsen av kontakter med familj och släkt genom audiovisuella hjälpmedel via internet, att hålla en positiv bild av den andra föräldern, samt att visualisera kulturen genom fotografier och föremål. / My aim of this study is to investigate and describe cross-cultural upbringing. The purpose of the essay is to study how children are formed by growing up with two cultures, ie where the child's/children's parents come from two different cultures and one culture is not represented during the child's/children's upbringing. The issues from this are; What does the parent convey to the child/children of this culture? What hopes does the parent have regarding the meaning and consequences of the cross-cultural upbringing? The literature study shows that in a cross-cultural upbringing one must first see what the culture carries with it, which cultural traditions and attitudes that exist in the respective cultures. Do they, for example, have a foundation in group or individual orientation where different views are advocated and rewarded, and where these take different forms in parents’ views and during the children’s upbringing? Concepts that involve cross-cultural upbringing are identity, socialization, ethnicity and nationalism. Several studies also show the importance of language for socialization and cultural identity. Who you are and who you become are affected by language and also reflected in the language. The results of the study's interview survey and auto-ethnography point to, among other things, the importance of contacts with family and relatives through audiovisual aids via the internet, to keep a positive image of the other parent, and to visualize the culture through photographs and objects.

International assignment failures cost an organization roughly 3 to 4 times an expatriate's annual salary with the most expatriate failures cited for work assignments in China. Previous scholarly research identified cultural intelligence (CQ) as being influential to expatriate work outcomes. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships among a subset of CQ predictor variables and work outcome related dependent variables. Quantitative analysis regarding the relationship between CQ and work outcomes for U.S. nationals working in China does not currently exist in the scholarly research. Improvement of expatriate work outcomes and reduction of failed assignment costs is the intention. The study included self-reported measurements collected via online surveys from 88 U.S. nationals with work experience in China. Pearson correlation test results and multiple linear regression analysis indicated significant predictive relationships between CQ and work performance (F(4, 83) = 8.202, p < .001, adjusted R2 = .249) and between CQ and job satisfaction (F(4, 83) = 3.522, p < .05, adjusted R2 = .104). Motivational CQ had a statistically significant predictive power for work performance and job satisfaction. These findings suggest that the CQ construct may help to assess expatriate assignment readiness. The social change implications of this study include the utilization of CQ in better identification, selection, and training of employees for international assignments; improvement of expatriate work outcomes; reduction of expatriate turnover; and reduction of expatriate assignment costs.

Globalization and international business increasingly require the services of skilled expatriates in overseas offices. Over the past 50 years, numerous studies have focused on various factors affecting expatriate adjustment, primarily through quantitative research, reaching no conclusions on what factors in cross-cultural training would guarantee expatriate success. Expatriate failure has high personal and organizational costs. The purpose of this study was to use the qualitative methodology of narrative inquiry to investigate the adjustment, transition, and repatriation experience as a holistic process. Two theoretical constructions, Bandura's social learning theory, applied to the learning process in an international assignment, and social identity theory, represented key factors in the expatriate experience. The overarching research question investigated the distinct factors that contributed to the overall success or failure of an expatriate. Narrative inquiry, and open-ended questions, allowed the participants to reveal their stories. Participants (N = 14) were selected using criterion and convenience sampling. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded into themes using an iterative process. Results established weak organizational support in the preparation and repatriation stages. Participants considered their assignments a success and exhibited strong self-efficacy and internal locus of control. The need for successful expatriate performance will continue to increase with globalization; findings in this study can contribute to the training, support, and repatriation of employees. The potential for social change includes the improvement in global business functioning and international understanding.

This research mainly examines the superior-subordinate relationship between Japanese managers and Thai subordinates working in joint ventures in Thailand, especially the management style of the Japanese and the reactions of the Thais, Cultural adaptation of Japanese expatriates and Thai subordinates is also explored. Through this study, we gain better understanding of the Japanese-Thai interpersonal relationships, communication patterns, work ethics, and other cultural values with particular emphasis on recurring themes such as concepts about work, vertical relationship, authority and supervision style, and gender issues. The in-depth interviews were conducted with ten Japanese managers, six Thai managers, and 12 Thai subordinates in Thailand in 2001. Findings show that although there are some similarities in Japanese and Thai cultural values at work, conflicts, frictions, and misunderstandings still exist between Japanese superiors and Thai subordinates because of their cultural differences. Both parties also have some stereotypes and negative myths of the other party. Concerning concepts about work, Japanese superiors prefer immediate actions from their Thai subordinates when problems arise whereas when the Thais encounter some difficulties in solving problems, they hesitate to inform their superiors. Since there is no clear job description in Japan, the Thais often feel uncomfortable when their job responsibilities overlap with their colleagues. Moreover, unlike Japanese people, Thai employees do not have a strong commitment to the company. Vertical relationship explores how the Japanese and the Thais build and maintain their relationships at work and after work hours. The Japanese believe that relationships should follow job accomplishment while the Thais think that good relationships should be established before working. After-hour activities are suggested as means to strengthen relationships between superiors and subordinates. Furthermore, Japanese superiors tend to use different strategies to supervise their Thai subordinates; those strategies include scolding, expecting expression of opinions, information sharing, and delegation of authority in decision making processes. However, the strategies seem not to work properly in Japanese-Thai joint ventures due to cultural differences at work. Although gender can be a barrier in career advancement in Japan, Japanese expatriates do not see this as the case in Thailand. However, most of the Thai female subordinates complained that women were less likely to get promotions while Thai male subordinates thought that career advancement was blocked because managerial positions were occupied by and reserved for Japanese expatriates. At the end, three cases are presented to illustrate how Japanese superiors and Thai subordinates adjust in intercultural work settings. Each case consists of two individuals' work experience and adaptability. We can see the importance of individual differences as some Japanese superiors and Thai subordinates realize cultural differences and try to adjust to the intercultural work settings while others hold back and, finally, resign from the company. To avoid conflicts and misunderstandings, and to work together effectively, Japanese managers and Thai subordinates should realize their cultural differences and learn the other's culture. If problems arise, they should be open-minded and willing to help each other solve the problems. / Graduation date: 2004

<p>Vi strävar alltid efter att förstå det som sker i den värld vi lever i. Till vår hjälp har vi olika referenser och kunskaper som vi har lärt oss under våra liv. Dessa referenser och kunskaper förenklar och förklarar våra upplevelser och sätter in dem i ett sammanhang. Utan detta sammanhang blir enskilda händelser omöjliga att förstå och vi tvingas navigera oss fram med förbundna ögon. Kultur är ett av de verktyg vi människor använder för att förklara den verklighet vi lever i. Vi omges ständigt av en mängd olika kulturella kontexter med sina egna koder och sammanhang. För att kunna interagera med dessa kulturer måste vi ha en förståelse för vad kultur är och hur det påverkar våra handlingar och tankar. För en soldat eller officer som skall operera i en internationell miljö blir denna kunskap ännu viktigare, då det kulturella avståndet mellan människor tenderar att växa exponentiellt i förhållande till det geografiska avståndet. Detta är en av de viktigaste erfarenheter som man dragit under 2000-talets internationella konflikter. Till följd av detta så har institutioner över hela världen startat projekt i syfte att utveckla utbildningar och träningsprogram som skall öka förmågan att hantera kultur och kulturell problematik vid militära insatser. Denna uppsats huvudsyfte är att med hjälp av Brian A. Selmeskis 3C koncept undersöka hur den svenska Försvarsmakten och Försvarshögskolan hanterar kultur och kulturell problematik i sin utbildning. Målet med uppsatsen är att identifiera områden som kan utvecklas i syfte att utveckla Cross Cultural Competence.</p> / <p>We always try to make sense of the things that happens in the world we live in. To our help we have different references and knowledge that we have learned during our life. These references and knowledge simplifies and explains our experiences and put them in to context. Without this context single events becomes impossible to understand and we are forced to navigate with our eyes bound. Culture is one of the tools, we humans use to explain the reality we live in. We are constantly surrounded by a wide range of different cultural contexts with there own codes and conducts. To be able to interact with these cultures we must have a understanding for what culture is and how it affect our actions. For soldier or an officer that will operate in an international environment, this knowledge becomes even more important cause the cultural distance between people tend to grow exponentially in relations to the geographical distance. This is one of the most important experiences from the 21 st century’s international conflicts. As a result of this, institutions all over the world have started projects with the purpose to develop educations and training programs that will increase the ability to manage culture and cultural problems. This essays main purpose it to with the help of Brian A. Selmeskis 3C concept study how the Swedish Defence and the Swedish National Defence Collage handles culture and cultural problems in their education. The goal with the essay is to identify areas that can be developed with the purpose to evolve Cross Cultural Competence.<strong><em></em></strong></p>

Vi strävar alltid efter att förstå det som sker i den värld vi lever i. Till vår hjälp har vi olika referenser och kunskaper som vi har lärt oss under våra liv. Dessa referenser och kunskaper förenklar och förklarar våra upplevelser och sätter in dem i ett sammanhang. Utan detta sammanhang blir enskilda händelser omöjliga att förstå och vi tvingas navigera oss fram med förbundna ögon. Kultur är ett av de verktyg vi människor använder för att förklara den verklighet vi lever i. Vi omges ständigt av en mängd olika kulturella kontexter med sina egna koder och sammanhang. För att kunna interagera med dessa kulturer måste vi ha en förståelse för vad kultur är och hur det påverkar våra handlingar och tankar. För en soldat eller officer som skall operera i en internationell miljö blir denna kunskap ännu viktigare, då det kulturella avståndet mellan människor tenderar att växa exponentiellt i förhållande till det geografiska avståndet. Detta är en av de viktigaste erfarenheter som man dragit under 2000-talets internationella konflikter. Till följd av detta så har institutioner över hela världen startat projekt i syfte att utveckla utbildningar och träningsprogram som skall öka förmågan att hantera kultur och kulturell problematik vid militära insatser. Denna uppsats huvudsyfte är att med hjälp av Brian A. Selmeskis 3C koncept undersöka hur den svenska Försvarsmakten och Försvarshögskolan hanterar kultur och kulturell problematik i sin utbildning. Målet med uppsatsen är att identifiera områden som kan utvecklas i syfte att utveckla Cross Cultural Competence. / We always try to make sense of the things that happens in the world we live in. To our help we have different references and knowledge that we have learned during our life. These references and knowledge simplifies and explains our experiences and put them in to context. Without this context single events becomes impossible to understand and we are forced to navigate with our eyes bound. Culture is one of the tools, we humans use to explain the reality we live in. We are constantly surrounded by a wide range of different cultural contexts with there own codes and conducts. To be able to interact with these cultures we must have a understanding for what culture is and how it affect our actions. For soldier or an officer that will operate in an international environment, this knowledge becomes even more important cause the cultural distance between people tend to grow exponentially in relations to the geographical distance. This is one of the most important experiences from the 21 st century’s international conflicts. As a result of this, institutions all over the world have started projects with the purpose to develop educations and training programs that will increase the ability to manage culture and cultural problems. This essays main purpose it to with the help of Brian A. Selmeskis 3C concept study how the Swedish Defence and the Swedish National Defence Collage handles culture and cultural problems in their education. The goal with the essay is to identify areas that can be developed with the purpose to evolve Cross Cultural Competence.