CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALISATION

Dimensions of Globalization
Economic dimension: Globalization is the process

whereby the world economies are becoming increasingly integrated and interdependent, marketoriented approaches to development are spreading, the notion of state provision of privatization and deregulation are being withdrawn, trade and investment are being liberalized, and increased penetration of transnational corporations in life is being encouraged.

Dimensions of Globalization
Technological dimension: Globalization is the

process of rapid innovation and increasing interconnectivity, particularly for information and communication services, and biotechnologies. This is the process in which knowledge is the most important factor determining the standard of living, more than capital or labour. Today's most technologically advanced economies are truly knowledge based (World Bank, 1998).

Dimensions of Globalization
Political dimension: Globalization is the new process

of shifting the power from national governments in directing and influencing their economies, to global institutions, such as the World Bank, the European Union, the European Central Bank, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, and the World Tourism Organization. In order to survive, national governments that can no longer manage their national economies must increasingly manage national politics by adapting them to the pressures of transnational market forces.

Dimensions of Globalization
Sociological Dimension: Globalization is the process

of incorporating people into a single world society. The world is becoming a global village Environmental dimension: Globalization is the process of increasing inter-linkages between ecosystems, accelerating biological invasions, simplifying and homogenizing natural systems, and intensifying pressure on global commons.

Dimensions of Globalization
Cultural dimension: Globalization is the process of

increasing homogeneity of lifestyles and aspirations via media, TV, films, tourism, etc., combined with the rapid spread of different views and greater opportunities for marginalized voices to be heard. Cultural globalisation refers to the emergence of a specific set of values and beliefs that are largely shared around the planet (Castells, 2009, p. 117).

INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS COLLECTIVISM

In an individualist culture, the interest of the individual

prevails over the interests of the group. Ties between individuals are loose. People look after themselves and their immediate families. Masakazu (1994) defines modern individualism as a view of humanity that justifies inner beliefs and unilateral self-assertion, as well as competition based on these In a collectivist culture, the interest of the group prevails over the interest of the individual. People are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups that continue throughout a lifetime to protect in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (Hofstede, 1997).

INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS COLLECTIVISM

In individualist cultures, goals are set with minimal

consideration given to groups other than perhaps your immediate family. In collectivist cultures, other groups are taken into account in a major way when goals are set. Individualist cultures are loosely integrated. Collectivist cultures are tightly integrated.

STYLES OF COMMUNICATION
The styles of communication is the extent to which speakers reveal

intentions through explicit verbal communication. In the direct style, associated with individualism, the wants, needs, and desires of the speaker are embodied in the spoken message. In the indirect style, associated with collectivism, the wants, needs, and goals of the speaker are not obvious in the spoken message. Rojjanaprapayon (1997), for example, demonstrated specific communication strategies in Thai communication: Thais do not use specific names when they express negative feelings; Thais tend to use words and phrases expressing probability, such as maybe, probably, sometimes, likely, and I would say so, but I am not sure; Thais do not show their feelings if doing so would make the other person feel bad; and Thais also use indirect nonverbal communication by having less or avoiding eye contact and keeping greater personal distance.

MASCULINITY VERSUS FEMININITY

Hofstede (1980) found that womens social role

varied less from culture to culture than mens. He labelled as masculine cultures those that strive for maximal distinction between what women and men are expected to do. Cultures that place high values on masculine traits stress assertiveness, competition, and material success. Those labelled as feminine cultures are those that permit more overlapping social roles for the sexes. Cultures that place high value on feminine traits stress quality of life, interpersonal relationships, and concern for the weak.

POWER DISTANCE
Hofstede (1997) defines power distance as the extent to

which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally (p. 28). Power distance also refers to the extent to which power, prestige, and wealth are distributed within a culture. Cultures with high power distance have power and influence concentrated in the hands of a few rather than distributed throughout the population. These cultural environments tend to be more authoritarian and may communicate in a way to limit interaction and reinforce the differences between people. In the high power distance workplace, superiors and subordinates consider each other existentially unequal. Power is centralized, and there is a wide salary gap between the top and bottom of the organization.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people

in a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. Cultures strong in uncertainty avoidance are active, aggressive, emotional, compulsive, security seeking, and intolerant; cultures weak in uncertainty avoidance are contemplative, less aggressive, unemotional, relaxed, accepting of personal risks, and relatively tolerant

DIVERSITY AND INNOVATION

As innovation processes depend on harnessing

creativity, and while dynamic as well as supportive systems of management can elicit the best from staff, like-minded people will usually produce like-minded results. Diversity in the workforce can, however, help companies to break this mould and the cycle of limited unilateral thinking and, in so doing, set them free to discover new products, markets, and ways of doing or leading business

DIVERSITY
Diversity can be defined from a policy and legal

perspective across six clear demographic strands: gender, age, race & ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion & beliefs, and disability. Diversity considers the learning styles and attributes of individuals and even communities include different knowledge acquisition, and communication styles, educational history, personal skills, professional abilities and functional expertise.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Cultural diversity distinguishes between supplied

diversity and consumed diversity (Eaton and Lipsey, 1989; Van Cuilenburg and Van der Wurf, 2001). Supplied diversity corresponds to the diversity of what is made available. Consumed diversity refers to diversity as it is actually consumed, thus depending on both consumer tastes and supplied diversity.

PRODUCT, PRODUCER AND CONSUMER DIVERSITY

Product diversity refers to the diversity of the

characteristics of products that can be goods or services, either supplied or consumed Producer diversity means diversity of manufacturers or organisations at every stage of the production, operation and distribution process. Consumer diversity consists of the diversity of the people who obtain and consume products. Consumers are targeted by producers who encourage them to consume their products. Consumer diversity should not be confused with demanded diversity. While the latter is an economic concept that relies on the assumption of stable preferences that are independent of the nature and level of supply, the former aims to reflect the diversity of consumer tastes.

INNOVATION
Innovation, is a multidimensional term, displaying

subjective and objective traits. Subjective traits of innovation include the processes of creativity and original thinking, the communication of creative and original thinking to others, and the uptake of those ideas by others. Here thinking relates to all areas of company activity, including everyday operations and problems, through the research and development of new or existing products, to the sourcing of new suppliers and expansion into new markets. Objective traits of innovation include the structures within which such ideas are thought about, transmitted to, and taken up by others, and the output and outcome in terms of definable benefits.

INNOVATION
Creativity is the mental and social processfuelled by

conscious or unconscious insightof generating ideas, concepts, and associations. Innovation is the successful exploitation of new ideas: it is a profitable outcome of the creative process, which involves generating and applying in a specific context products, services, procedures, and processes that are desirable and viable Innovation is best defined as the generation and introduction of new ideas, which lead to the development of new products and services, processes, and systems in all areas of business activity. The ability of diverse individuals to communicate creative and original thinking to others, and the willingness of those others to listen and respond to such ideas.

TYPES AND SOURCES OF INNOVATION

Product innovations, service innovations, and

organizational (procedural or process) innovations. Peter Drucker identified seven sources of innovation: (i) unexpected occurrences, (ii) incongruities of various kinds, (iii) process needs, (iv) changes in an industry or market, (v) demographic changes, (vi) changes in perceptions, and (vii) new knowledge. Innovation can be classified depending on the degree of their impact, viz., incremental, radical, or systemic

LINK BETWEEN DIVERSITY AND INNOVATION

Adler (2002) notes that diversity in multicultural teams is

associated with positive group outcomes such as increased levels of innovation, creativity and problem solving. Hennessey & Amabile (1998) suggest that diversity, when combined with an understanding of individual strengths and weaknesses, and working relationships that are founded upon sensitivity and trust, enhances creativity and problem solving capability. Niebuhr (2006) found higher levels of research and development and innovation in regions of Germany that had higher levels of cultural diversity than regions with lower levels of diversity. In a most comprehensive study of 1000 international teams, Gratton (2007) found that innovation was positively correlated with equal gender ratio within work teams and negatively correlated with an unequal ratio.

LINK BETWEEN DIVERSITY AND INNOVATION

Flexibility, creativity, and the ability to innovate are enhanced by

the existence of dissimilar mind sets, that is to say that like-minded people make like-minded decisions, [limiting] the breadth and depth of innovative and creative thinking (Ozbilgin 2208). While situations where individuals and groups find their existing mindsets, beliefs and knowledge sets challenged will produce effective learning, this is more likely to happen when there is diverse mix of participants and an environment in which all individuals feel their views are valued. Diversity can contribute to more effective decision-making and problem solving capability by providing a diverse range of perspectives, a broader spectrum of expertise, and more robust critical evaluation (Bassett-Jones, 2005). Teams characterised by diversity have the capability to access broader networks of relationships, cultural capital and bicultural competence and bring these assets into the innovation process. Increased productivity, innovation, and creativity are about making effective use of this capacity.

THE INNOVATION CULTURE TABLE

THE INNOVATION CYCLE

THE INNOVATION CYCLE

Need finding is a process of looking for new

opportunities. When researchers want to understand the customers experience, they want to know it as customers themselves experience it. Framing is the next step in the innovation cycle. Its what happens when you gather a set of observations and look for the important patterns. The term framing refers to the process of choosing the most useful frame, as in framework, through which to interpret the customers experience.

THE INNOVATION CYCLE

creative combination, which happens when need finding

and framing come together, when the images and impressions are gathered together and the discussion turns to creating the best options to address the identified needs and the conceptualized frames. Here the innovation process moves beyond individual efforts to broader teams, because when talking through the options a group of people almost always achieves better outcomes than when individuals try to sort it out alone. Diversity in these teams is important, because testing ideas against many different points of view will result in more robust concepts and solutions, leading to stronger business opportunities.

THE INNOVATION CYCLE

Prototype is created as quickly as possible so that the

learning process can be accelerated, and you find out as quickly as possible that either its an idea worth more investment, or one that should be shelved. Every idea worthy of further development will find its way through the cycle many times, as progressive refinement comes through many iterations of thought, design, and testing.