Abstract Title: The impact of national culture on the organizational culture: Multinational companies doing businesses in developing countries Level: Final assignment for Master Degree in Business Administration (MBA) Author: Md. Mahbub Alam Supervisor: Dr. Ehsanul Huda Chowdhury Examiner: Dr. Maria Fregidou-Malama Day: 2017- May Aim: The aim of the study is to understand how national culture of Bangladesh is affecting the organizational culture of the multinational firms operating in Bangladesh. To understand the issue, Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions are regarded as benchmark for analysis. Method: Qualitative study has been conducted whereby both primary and secondary data are used. Hereby, primary data have been gathered from ten employees of Grameen Phone a multinational working in Bangladesh. To collect data, face to face interviews has been conducted using Skype. Results & Conclusions:  Finding of the study is the MNCs integration with national culture with the view to sustainable business operation. It has been demonstrated that national culture affects the organizational culture in the form of employee participation, collective working environment, collaborative work efforts, and knowledge sharing through continuous communication. Suggestions for future research: Further investigations on national culture’s impact on organizational culture can be undertaken by making a comparison between MNC and a purely local firm. Additionally, an analysis on a large number of MNCs operating in host country can add value for further researches. Contribution of the thesis: To the theoretical model, this study makes contribution on the ground of understanding how MNC adapt their business with local culture where cultural sensitiveness is high. Managerial implications: MNCs can ensure collaboration, support, and teamwork among employees as part of their attempt to integrate with local culture. This study reveals that local employees can be used as means of cultural carriers by managers which can promptly address the cultural differences to be mitigated. Keywords: Multi-national Corporations (MNCs), National Culture, Organizational Culture, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism vs. Collectivism, Power Distance

The purpose of this study is to explore the representation of national political freedom on web interface design by using power distance, one of the culture dimensions identified by Geert Hofstede, as a measurement. This study also aims to determine if there are any differences between government-based websites and business-oriented websites in representing national political freedom. A pilot study was conducted to validate ten power distance indicators identified from previous research on cultural dimensions with the intent of establishing a measurement for determining a country's national political freedom on web content and interface design. The result showed that six out of ten proposed indicators are valid power distance indicators. The seventh indicator, symmetric layout, demonstrated that its Web representation correlates with national political freedom level. Consequently, the principal research applied these seven indicators in coding 312 websites selected from 39 countries and analyzed national political freedom represented on these websites with content analysis method. The result of two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that large differences exist in web interface design, which in turn reflects the aforementioned national political freedom. The research showed that the mean effect of freedom level between free-country group, partly-free-country group and not-free-country group was statistically significant (p = .003). So was the mean effect of website type between government-based and business-oriented websites (p = .000). Furthermore, the interaction between the freedom level and website type was also significant (p = .041). Therefore, we conclude that web interface design represents a country's political freedom and government-based websites embody more of a nation's authority and supremacy than business-oriented websites do. It is expected that this study furthers our exploration in culture dimensions on web interface design and advances our knowledge in sociological and cultural studies of the web.

Aim: This study aims to investigate the factors that affect the practices of effective knowledge sharing in the Middle East region. Method: The research paper is based on a single case study about the internal audit department in a commercial Lebanese bank. Qualitative research methods have been applied which included semi-structured interviews. Results & Conclusion: The research results suggest that organizational, individual and IT are the factors affecting knowledge sharing practices at the bank. However, one of the main issues is related to the national cultural and more specifically to how power distance, individualism, and masculinity are spread throughout the IA department and proving a moderating effect towards organizational, individual and IT factors. This research paper shows that power distance is one of the main contributing factors concerning knowledge sharing. Barriers such as trust, lack of reward system, and centralized organizational structure and lack of information technology infrastructure are regarded as problems in knowledge sharing. However, the empirical results show that the principal issue lies in the power distance. Suggestions for future researches: Suggestions for further researches would be to get the perspectives from an internal audit department at another organization in the Middle East that is following a decentralized organizational structure, having advanced IT infrastructures, along with reward system, in order to compare it with the results given in this study. Furthermore, it would be interesting to make observations at the organization in order to deeply understand how knowledge is being shared at the field. Contribution of the study: This study shows that organizations that are identified with centralized organizational structure, lack of trust, lack of IT support and special rewards system entail different issues with individuals’ knowledge sharing practices. Besides, this research paper provides the organization with insights into what thoughts its employees have when it comes to knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this provides the literature about knowledge sharing in the Middle East with a new model showing the impact of national culture over the factors that affect knowledge sharing practices in the Middle East.

Previous cross-cultural research in nonverbal immediacy indicates that nonverbal immediacy behavior varies across cultures, and some researchers have suggested that power distance might serve as a moderating variable, however no research has systematically set out to determine whether that is the case. This study assessed the perceived use of nonverbal immediacy under symmetric and asymmetric power conditions, as well as gender, in three cultures: Brazil, Kenya, and the United States. Quantitative data was collected from 527 participants who completed a nonverbal immediacy measure and an individual power distance measure under either a symmetric or an asymmetric power condition. Results related to power distance partially supported the idea that cultural power distance may act as a moderating variable with regard to the use of nonverbal immediacy behaviors. Related to gender, results revealed that: (a) female participants perceived more nonverbal immediacy behaviors than males, (b) under symmetric power conditions females were perceived to use more nonverbal immediacy than males, and (c) under asymmetric power conditions there was no statistically significant difference between use of nonverbal immediacy behaviors between females and males. Implications of results, limitations, and suggestions for future research are presented.

In this research, I examine the pay equity dilemma women face around the world and how it is different in various regions of the world. My research question focuses on “how a nation’s cultural characteristics affect pay equity?” It is already documented that men are paid more than women. The goal of this study is to explain how individual characteristics of national culture (such as masculinity, individualism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance) impacts this inequality. By increasing the understanding of pay inequality, changes can be made that will improve the lives of not just women but the families of those women and the world overall. We use data from Geert Hofstede's national culture dimensions and the Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum. Our results suggest that gender gap reduces in low power distance cultures, in high individualistic cultures, in low masculine cultures, and in low uncertainty avoidance cultures. Our results provide evidence that the economic prosperity of women around the world is significantly impacted by cultural dimensions.

Submitted by Robson Campos (rcampos@uol.com.br) on 2016-02-22T12:19:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Master's Thesis_CIM2_RobsonCampos_Final Version_uploaded281215.pdf: 956324 bytes, checksum: efa8185ebe5e8bc92dbd2d369654082e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2016-02-25T14:14:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Master's Thesis_CIM2_RobsonCampos_Final Version_uploaded281215.pdf: 956324 bytes, checksum: efa8185ebe5e8bc92dbd2d369654082e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2016-02-29T12:18:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Master's Thesis_CIM2_RobsonCampos_Final Version_uploaded281215.pdf: 956324 bytes, checksum: efa8185ebe5e8bc92dbd2d369654082e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-29T12:19:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Master's Thesis_CIM2_RobsonCampos_Final Version_uploaded281215.pdf: 956324 bytes, checksum: efa8185ebe5e8bc92dbd2d369654082e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-28 / One of the challenges presented by the current conjecture in Global Companies is to recognize and understand that the culture and levels in structure of the Power Distance in Organizations in different countries contribute, significantly, toward the failure or success of their strategies. The alignment between the implementation and execution of new strategies for projects intended for the success of the Organization as a whole, rather than as an individual part thereof, is an important step towards reducing the impacts of Power Distance (PDI) on the success of business strategies. A position at odds with this understanding by Companies creates boundaries that increase organizational chasms, also taking into consideration relevant aspects such as, FSAs (Firm-Specific Advantages) and CSAs (Country-Specific Advantages). It is also important that the Organizations based in countries or regions of low Power Distance (PDI) between its individuals be more flexible and prepared to ask and to hear the suggestions from Regional and Local Offices. Thus, the purpose of this study is to highlight the elements of effective strategy implementation considering the relevant aspects at all levels of global corporate culture that justify the influences of power distance when implementing new strategies and also to minimize the impacts of this internal business relationship. This study also recognizes that other corporate and cultural aspects are relevant for the success of business strategies so consider, for instance, the lack of alignment between global and regional/local organizations, the need for competent leadership resources, as well as the challenges that indicate the distance between the hierarchical levels ─ Headquarters and Regional Office ─ as some of the various causes that prevent the successful execution of global strategies. Finally, we show that the execution of the strategy cannot be treated as a construction solely created by the Headquarters or by only one Board and that it needs to be understood as a system aimed at interacting with the surroundings.

När sjömän från olika länder arbetar tillsammans finns alltid risk för missförstånd. Detta påverkar säkerheten ombord på fartyg. Syftet med studien var att utreda om det finns någon ökad säkerhetsrisk på fartyg då den kulturella aspekten hög maktdistans hamnar i konflikt med högt säkerhetstänk. Detta gjordes med en systematisk litteraturstudie med inriktning på kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Resultateten visar att nationell kultur starkt påverkar till mänskliga fel, även däcksbefäls säkerhetsbeteenden. Vidare så visar studien att befälhavares ledarskap har en stor påverkan på däcksbefälens säkerhetsbeteende och säkerhetsattityder. Auktoritära, respektlöst och oärligt ledarskap är inget bra för däcksbefäl från länder med hög maktdistans, ej heller för multinationella däcksbefäl som arbetar tillsammans. Dessutom visar studien att Crew Resource Management inte alltid fungerar på däcksbefäl från länder med hög maktdistans. / When seamen from different countries work together there is always a risk of misunderstanding. This affects safety aboard ships. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is any increased safety risk to ships where the cultural aspect high power distance conflicts with high safety approach. This was done with a systematic literature study with focus on qualitative research methodology. The result shows that national culture strongly influences human error, including safety behaviors. Furthermore, the study shows that masters leadership has a major impact on the deck officer's safety behavior and safety attitudes. Authoritarian, disrespectful and dishonest leadership is not beneficial for deck officers from countries with high power distances, nor for multinational deck officers working together. In addition, the study shows that Crew Resource Management does not always work on deck officers from countries with high power distances.

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Problem: Kvinnor har länge varit underrepresenterade i styrelsesammansättningar runt om i världen. Sverige är ett land som främjar likvärdighet och anses därför vara ett av världens mest jämställda länder. Andelen kvinnor i svenska styrelser har ökat under de senaste årtiondena, men trots detta är de svenska bolagsstyrelserna inte jämställda. Ibland används argumenten att fler kvinnor i styrelsen ökar lönsamheten och effektiviteten i bolaget i syfte att öka kvinnoandelen. Till följd av detta har det internationellt genomförts många studier för att undersöka om bolag med heterogena styrelser har bättre lönsamhet än bolag med homogena styrelser. Forskning har visat att heterogena styrelser samvarierar positivt med bolagens lönsamhet. Men det finns även forskning som visat negativa resultat eller ingen samvariation alls mellan heterogena styrelser och bolagens lönsamhet. Syfte: Studiens huvudsyfte är att analysera hur andelen kvinnor i svenska styrelser samvarierar med bolagens lönsamhet. Arbetet omfattar åren 2011, 2012 och 2013 för att visa hur utvecklingen har sett ut över tid. Studien syftar även till att jämföra tidigare internationella studier med svenska förhållanden, där den med hjälp av kulturdimensionsteori som försöker förklara de nationella kulturskillnader som föreligger. Metod: En kvantitativ metod har tillämpats för att studera bolagens lönsamhet med hjälp av finansiella nyckeltal i årsredovisningar. Bolagens lönsamhet har mätts i räntabilitet på totalt kapital och räntabilitet på eget kapital. Vidare har heterogena styrelser och homogena styrelser jämförts genom t-tester och korrelationsanalyser, för att undersöka sambandet mellan variablerna lönsamhet och andelen kvinnor i svenska bolagsstyrelser. Analys och slutsats: Studiens resultat visade att det inte finns något samband mellan heterogena styrelser och lönsamhet i svenska börsbolag. Studien visade även att Sverige har en högre andel kvinnliga styrelsemedlemmar än andra länder i världen. Detta kan förklaras med hjälp av kulturdimensionsteorierna maktdistans samt maskulinitet kontra femininitet som visar nationella kulturskillnader i näringslivet. / Problem: Women have for a long time been underrepresented on corporate boards all around the world. Sweden is a country that promotes equality and is therefore considered as one of the most equal countries. The percentages of women in Swedish boards have increased markedly in recent decades, but they are still far from equal. To increase the percentage of women on boards it is sometimes advocated that more women on boards increases the company’s profitability. As a result of this many international studies have investigated if companies with heterogeneous are more profitable than companies with homogeneous board. Research has shown that heterogeneous boards are positively correlated with firm profitability. Research has also shown negative results or no correlation between heterogeneous boards and firm profitability.  Purpose: This study's main purpose is to examine how the percentage of women in the Swedish boards correlates with the companies' profitability. The study covers the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 to show the development of board members over the years. Furthermore this study aims to compare previous international studies with Swedish conditions by comparing national cultural differences.      Method: A quantitative method has been applied to study the company's profitability with the help of financial ratios in annual reports. The company’s profitability has been measured in return on assets and return on equity. Furthermore heterogeneous boards and homogeneous boards have been compared with statistic t-tests and correlation analyzes to examine the relationship between the variables of profitability and the percentage of women in Swedish company boards. Analysis and conclusion: The results of the study showed that there is no correlation between heterogeneous boards and firm profitability in Swedish listed companies. The study also showed that Sweden has a higher percentage of female board members than other countries in the world. This can be explained by cultural dimension theories, power distance and masculinity versus femininity showing national cultural differences.

在如今高度競爭且變化快速的職場中，僅僅被動接受、完成主管工作指令的部屬，已不足以幫助自己在職涯中取得成功，如何有效的向上影響主管，建立良好的上下互惠關係，已成為所有員工的首要課題，也是支持組織永續發展的關鍵。 有別於傳統以領導者為主軸的管理研究，向上影響研究強調部屬可能反過來管理主管，透過特定手段與策略來改變主管的態度與行為。過去研究已對於向上影響策略的定義與分類建立了初步的共識，與策略效能有關的研究，則大多關注於對部屬所帶來的好處，鮮少從主管的角度探討其被影響的歷程，因此本研究將主管的角色納入考量，以訊息處理理論為基礎，探討部屬向上影響策略對於主管授權的影響效果，並試圖瞭解人際信任在其中的中介作用，以及主管權力距離傾向可能扮演的調節角色。 本研究採問卷調查法施測，共蒐集291對主管-部屬對偶樣本，研究結果顯示：部屬的向上影響策略對主管授權具有顯著的影響效果，且主管對部屬的人際信任會中介向上影響策略與主管授權之間的關係，此外，本研究亦發現主管的權力距離傾向會調節部屬向上影響策略（軟性策略、硬性策略）以及人際信任之間的關係。最後，本研究針對研究結果進行討論，並對理論貢獻、實務意涵、研究限制，及未來研究方向加以闡述。 / Upward influence strategy is a gradually concerned research topic, which is considered to be highly related to organization effectiveness and numerous job outcomes. However, most of studies explored this issue from subordinates’ perspective and focused on subordinates’ outcomes, such as job satisfaction, promotion and salary progression. The present study aims at investigating the dynamic process of upward influence strategy from the perspectives of the supervisor, examining the relationship among upward influence strategies, interpersonal trust, delegation and power-distance orientation. Results from over 200 supervisor-subordinate dyads in Taiwan generally supported the hypothesis. Supervisor-perceived subordinate’ s upward influence strategies, i.e. soft, hard, rational, had a significant impact on delegation through the mediating effect of interpersonal trust. In addition, supervisor’s power-distance orientation moderated the relationships between upward influence strategies (soft strategy, hard strategy) and interpersonal trust. Managerial implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.