Business culture in Asia and Africa 3600-KBAA-OG

The purpose of this seminar is to present important aspects of Business Culture in such countries as Japan, China, Korea, India, Mongolia as well in selected African and Arabian countries. In this context ‘culture’ will be defined first of all as “the software” of the human mind that provides an operating environment for human behavior. Business culture includes business practices and conventions, social values, role expectations, etiquette, and the stereotypical image of a businessman. Business Culture as an example of organizational culture encompasses systems of values, working styles, strategies of action, and stereotypical images of a company and has an impact not only on decisions of management but also on accounting system or production processes. Presentation and analysis of the international cultural difference in business will not only deepen the knowledge of students of the Faculty of Oriental Studies but also can help them in preparing for employment in companies in various countries of Asia and Africa or in their branches in Poland, as well as in Polish firms and organizations, which have contacts with representatives of these cultural regions.
Introduction to Business Culture will include the comparison of Anglo-Saxon type organization, Latin type of organization, and Third World type of organization (Lammers, Hickson,1979). Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory as a framework for cross-cultural communication will also be explained. (Hofstede based his theory of four dimensions on factor analysis, which aid to examine the results of a worldwide survey of IBM employee values, Michael Bond has developed it further adding the fifth dimension).
The five dimensions along which cultural values in organizations/companies could be analyzed are:
Individualism-Collectivism (the degree to which people in a society are integrated into groups);
Uncertainty avoidance (an employers and employees’ tolerance for risk, social ambiguity, and uncertainty of future);
Power distance (strength of social hierarchy: the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations or companies accept and expect that power is distributed unequally);
Masculinity-Femininity (stereotypic men’s role: task orientation, a preference for achievement, bravery, assertiveness and material rewards for success versus stereotypic women’s role: person-orientation, harmony, conformity);
Long-term orientation versus Short-term orientation (organizations with a high degree in long-term orientation view adaptation and circumstantial, pragmatic problem-solving as a necessity, while short-term orientation implies less elasticity in negotiations and preference of immediate profits);
The so-called “Confucian dynamism” of East Asia will also be defined. Various problems of Business Culture in Japan, China, Korea, India, Mongolia as well in selected African and Arabian countries will be analyzed while taking into account also the following pairs of contrasting values regarded as essential factors for the analysis of organizational cultures by Kazuo Nishiyama: hierarchy vs. egalitarianism, conformity vs. defiance, emotionalism vs. rationality, face-saving vs. pragmatism, conservatism vs. social mobility, acquiescence vs. rejection of authority.

The following themes connected with different ways of intercultural communication in the context of Business Culture (in Japan, China, Korea, India, Mongolia as well in selected African and Arabian countries) will be discussed during the seminar.

7. Barriers in intercultural business communication between the Polish/the Western representatives and representatives of a given country/given countries. (including linguistic barriers and body language: facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, physical appearance, attire, interpersonal space/ required distance in physical contacts)
8. Establishing business relations (including business etiquette, initiating and maintaining business contacts, socializing, and gift-giving in a business context)
9. Position of a woman in business relations
10. Contract negotiation and conflict resolution (effective methods of impersonal communication, sales tactics)
11. Decision making in companies of a given country/given countries (styles of management)
12. Problems of foreigners working in companies of a given country/given countries. (for instance, problems of discrimination, misunderstandings due to different working styles or motivating factors or different assessment of effectiveness)

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

Course coordinators

Hanna Rubinkowska-Anioł

Learning outcomes

Knowledge - Alumnus knows and understands
K
the place and importance of Asian and African Studies in the humanities and their specificity in relation to the subject and methodology
K_W02
has organized general knowledge (including terminology, theory, and methodology) in the scope of cultural studies
K_W03
knows and understands basic philosophical trends and terms as well as the role of philosophical reflection in culture shaping processes
K_U10

has wide and profound knowledge of the structures and social relations as well as socio-cultural behavior in Asia and Africa, which enables professional verbal communication in social and intercultural contexts

Skills - Alumnus is able to

K_U01
search for, analyze, evaluate and use information from different sources
K_U05
can use the knowledge in the field of Asian and African studies to solve problems relating to cultural differences in professional situations

K_U09

can use the knowledge of socio-cultural issues of Japan in typical professional situations
Social competence: Alumnus is prepared to
K_K05
make others aware of the cultural distinctness and its religious, philosophical, traditional and historical roots and its significance for understanding the modern world
K_K06
sees the need for dialogue between cultures

K_K07
is aware of the significance the culture of Japan have for the culture of the world

Assessment criteria

Presentation as a condition.
Single-choice test (written)

Practical placement

None

Bibliography

Introduction:
Hofstede , G., Kultury i organizacje (tłum. M. Durska), Polskie Wydawnictwo Ekonomiczne, Warszawa 2000.
Hofstede G., Bond M., Confucius, and Economic Growth: New Trends in Cultural Consequences, “Organizational Dynamics” 16-4, 1988. Lammers, C.J., Hickson D. J., (ed) Organizations alike and unlike International and Interinstitutional studies in the sociology of organization, Routledge, London 1979. Matsumoto D., Juang L., Psychologia międzykulturowa (tłum. A. Nowak), Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdańsk 2007. Triandis, H.C. (1995). Individualism and Collectivism. Boulder CO: Westview Press,
MacMillan 2017.

Japan

Hall E.T., Hall M.R., Hidden differences: Doing business with the Japanese, New Anchor Books, New York 1997.
March R.M., Honoring the Customer: Marketing and selling to the Japanese, John Wiley, New York 1991.
Nishiyama Kazuo, Doing Business with Japan. Successful Strategies for Intercultural Communication, University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu, 2000. Tung R.L., Business negotiations with the Japanese, Lexington Books, Lexington 1984

Korea
Boye Lafayette De Mente, The Korean Way in Business: Understanding and Dealing with the South Koreans in Business, Tuttle Publishing, Singapore 2014.
Peggy Kenna, Business Korea: A practical guide to understanding South Korean Business culture, Passport Books, 1995.
Breen M., The Koreans, St. Martin's Griffin, New York 1998.
Haesung Lee, Kapitalizm konfucjański. Koreańska droga rozwoju, wyd. Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2011
Hwang Sangmin, Kody do psychiki Koreańczyków (w j. k.), Chungrim, Seoul 2011.

China
Gan, Shengfei. How to Do Business with China: An Inside View on Chinese Culture and Etiquette, AuthorHouseUK (October 30, 2014).
Gilardoni, Diego. Decoding China: Cross-cultural strategies for successful business with the Chinese, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (February 15, 2017).
Leksykon Wiedzy o Chinach Współczesnych, (praca zbiorowa), Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog, Warszawa 2009.
Lun Ying, Walker Anthony. Explaining guanxi : the Chinese business network. Routledge, London, New York 2006.
Seligman, Scott D. Chinese Business Etiquette: A Guide to Protocol, Manners, and Culture in the People's Republic of China. Grand Central Publishing; Subsequent edition (November 15, 2008).

India

Aulbur W., Kapoor A., Riding the Tiger: How to Execute Business Strategy in India, Penguin Random House India, New Delhi 2016.
Materiały dla przedsiębiorców przygotowane przez Polską Agencję Inwestycji i Handlu, EY, PWC
Rothermund D., Indie. Nowa azjatycka potęga, Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog Warszawa 2010.
Storti C., Speaking of India: Bridging the Communication Gap When Working with Indians, Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd, Boston 2015.

Mongolia

Cross-Cultural Aspects of Advertising-Cultural Analysis of Mongolian and Chinese Web Sites
Doing business in Mongolia 2015, www.pwc.com/mn

Ole Bruun, Li Narangoa (ed.), Mongols From Country to City Floating Boundaries, Pastoralism and City Life in the Mongol Lands, NIAS Press, Copenhagen 2006.
Oyungerel Tangad, Scheda po Czyngis Chanie. Demokracja po mongolsku, Trio, Warszawa 2013.
Watkins James, “Mongolian capitalism: cultural battles”, The UB Post, 3/07/2014
Batkhurel Gombodorj, “Methodical Approach of the XXI Centuries Mongolian Management Development Philosophy and Model’, http://www.cgu.ac.jp/Portals/0/09-kenkyu/publication/vol.3/3_6.pdf .
Mashbat o. Sarlagtay, “Mongolia: Managing the transition from Nomadic to settled culture”, https://apcss.org/Publications/Edited%20Volumes/RegionalFinal%20chapters/Chapter19Sarlagtay.pdf.
World Bank Group, Doing business 2019 Traininfg for reform Economy Profile Mongolia, http://www.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/country/m/mongolia/MNG.pdf
Arabic countries

Iqbal Z., Mirakhor A., Ethical Dimension of Islamic Finance. Theory and Practice, Palgrave, New York 2007.
Mahmoud el Gamal, Islamic Finance: Law, Economics and Practice, Cambridge University Press, London 2006.
Tripp Charles, Islam, and the Moral Economy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006,
Visser Hans, Islamic Finance, Principle and Practice, Elgar Publishing, London 2013, 2016.

African countries

Adams Bodomo, (2010) “The African Trading Community in Guangzhou: An Emerging Bridge for Africa–China Relations”, The China Quarterly, Vol. 203
Darley Wiliam K., Blankson Charles (2008) "African culture and business markets: implications for marketing practices", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 23 Issue 6
Nussbaum Barbara, (2013) “African Culture and Ubuntu Reflections of a South African in America”, World Business Academy, Vol. 17, Issue 1
Henry M. Bwisa and Johnson Muthoka Ndolo, (2011) “Culture as a Factor in Entrepreneurship Development: A Case Study of the Kamba Culture of Kenya”, Opinion-Volume 1, No. 1, December
Joseph David1, Musa Clement Lawal, (2018) ”Religiosity and Entrepreneurial Intentions in Nigeria”, Jurnal Bisnis dan Manajemen P-ISSN: 2087-2038; E-ISSN:2461-1182 Volume 8 (2)

Additional information

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