Cultural influence on work ethics

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Culture and its impact on work ethics

“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do [it].” Bible.

Recently a famous business man from Bangalore  from a reputed family committed  suicide by jumping off the bridge to a swollen river below. apparently because of guilt consciousness. he addressed a letter to the board and employees  asking for pardon.
learning from this event is that without principle and value driven life , life is meaningless despite having plenty of money.

In global organizations  of today, the fundamental  requirement for  effective people management is , a sound  understanding and appreciation of  the work ethics in different cultures on the part of decision making   managers and leaders who influence the individual and team morale at work places. The effectiveness is lost without this.

Different  cultures prescribe different  norms that greatly influence the work place lifestyle . In the culture of collectivism, the value of people and social acceptance are high compared to culture of individualism where importance is on individual excellence. The collectivist culture, values the group needs of cohesion and working as one team.The collectivist  culture is prevalent in most of  the African nations. Collectivism places higher importance on collaborative task execution and focuses on what a group has in common. It will be futile to encourage or promote  individual  excellence in those cultures.

The fundamental truth prevailing in our life today is constant conflict about individualism vs. collectivism.Does the life  belong to oneself or to the society in which we live?  Individualism is the idea that the life belongs to individual and anyone has the right to lead the life as one deems fit .Based  on the premise that the human life belongs to that  person there are strong expressed manifestations of this truth. Individualism  focuses on engaging in competitive tasks and the emphasis is on making the individual noticeable.

On the contrary Collectivism is based on the  idea that the life belongs  the  community or the society of which individual  is merely  acting a part.In a culture that  puts importance on falling in line and agreeing on social norms and treat jobs as interdependent, collectivism is more powerful, whereas  in multiple layered  cultures in which affluence, independence, and differences are emphasized, individualism is significant.

The culture of the affluent societies, similar to the American culture, which eulogizes individualism, always forces the members of the community to chase the “American dream”. This is reflected  in workplace behavior as well.

Every new generation of Americans is conditioned to learn surviving individually for a better quality of life and aspire to have a higher standard of living than the previous generations. Similarly, Britain, Australia and the  Netherlands also reflect a culture of individualism.

The Japanese management style is based around the principle of group harmony (wa). Japanese managers focus on enabling and helping employees, unlike American counterparts. They place less emphasis on compliance and focus on providing group harmony.

As a team, managers rely more on consensus building (nemawashi), and even workers seek group approval for ideas before presenting them to seniors.

Group approval system restricts any individual not to be rebuked  for mistakes. Reprimanding in front of others is considered as shaming and is very disastrous for any employee in life.

Chinese work culture centers on collectivism. In that  culture, respect for seniors and bosses, as a social obligation, is very important. The collectivist cultural influences the management style in China.