A nation’s history, social structure and culture are reflected in every aspect of its life. The values, norms and management styles of companies operating in that country are also affected by this influence. Thoughts and behaviors influenced by national culture permeate organisational cultures, and even when a company expands internationally, organizational structures and processes steeped in national culture are carried overseas.
Family Capitalism
Barlett and Ghoshal have studied the three nations that hold the global leadership in business life and the companies that are their creations. According to them, British companies developed under family management that emphasized personal relationships over institutional structures, and favored loose financial controls over technical and operational control systems . Until the Second World War, most British companies were examples of “family capitalism”. When they expanded overseas, either a family member or a loyal “servant” of the family was put in charge. Control was maintained through tight family ties or loyalty to the family.
Unilever, or Lever Brothers as they were originally called, is a prototype in this sense. The overseas companies were managed by a super-committee of trusted executives reporting directly to William Lever. After Lever’s death, this board, renamed the Overseas Committee, became an institutionalized body that assumed this patriarchal oversight role. Philips, too, was run by the Philips family until after the Second World War, with its country companies managed by a loyal group of appointees committed to the goals and strategies of the headquarters.
Managerial Capitalism
When it comes to the US, different cultural influences and different corporate managements are evident. In contrast to the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a small class in Europe, the entrepreneurial spirit and the understanding of unlimited equality of opportunity that characterized American society shaped US organisational culture, and a new class of professional managers rose to power. Thus, “family capitalism” was replaced by “managerial capitalism” in the US.
In the US, the transfer of responsibility to professional management on the one hand, and sophisticated coordination and control systems on the other, led to a strong organizational structure. Giant American companies such as GE, P&G and ITT, which work on the basis of concepts such as strategic planning, audit guidelines and systems approach, are examples of this culture.
Group Capitalism
In contrast, Japanese culture, also described as “group capitalism”, has strong cultural norms that emphasize collective behavior and value harmony among people. The values of the community take precedence over departmental or unit benefits. Lifetime job security, information sharing at the organizational level and shared decision-making habits characterize the management approach. Management systems are communication-intensive and dependent on relationships; even in remote areas, decision-making and control mechanisms are centrally managed by people who know the intricacies of the system. Japanese companies are much more reluctant to delegate responsibility than their global counterparts.
Turkish Culture
When we look at Turkish culture, we see that Hofstede’s research conducted in 64 countries in the 1980s characterized Turkish society as a “community-oriented” culture dominated by “uncertainty avoidance”. Based on these data, it is possible to make predictions about Turkish organisational cultures:
- People-oriented, verbal agreement rather than planned and scheduled work. Plans can change at any time, appointments can be easily canceled; behavior is based on the present and the mood of the moment. Situationalism and non-verbal communication predominate in communication. Shared values and a sense of “we” prevail.
- Employees expect the company to be responsible for them and protect them. Employees hesitate to express their opinions to the manager. Authoritarian management style is preferred, decisions are made by authoritarian and paternalistic managers,
- People avoid compromise, compromise is seen as defeat, it takes a long time to reach agreement.
- Managers ignore conflict or try to mitigate it. Managerial style is instruction-oriented, the employee expects precise answers from the manager, needs detailed job descriptions.
95% of Turkish companies are family-owned, 40% of which are passed on to the second generation and only 3% to the third generation. Considering that the origins of Turkish entrepreneurship do not go back to the Izmir Economic Congress of 1923, it can be said that traces of the collectivist and patriarchal values of the national culture still persist in Turkish organisational cultures.
Baltas R&D Department
Source: https://kaynakbaltas.com/liderlik/ulusal-kulturden-kurumsal-kulture/
