Page 190 - Cultures and Organizations

166 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES

for his insecurity by using powerful language toward the American bosses.
The assertiveness that impressed the American vice president was recog-
nized within the Dutch environment as bragging. As a general manager
he received no cooperation from anyone, tried to do everything himself,
and suffered a nervous breakdown in short order. Thus, the plant lost both
a good controller and another general manager. Both the plant and the
controller were victims of a culturally induced error of judgment.
Historically, management is an Anglo-Saxon concept, developed in
masculine British and American cultures. The English—and interna-
tional—word management comes from the Latin manus, or “hand”; the
modern Italian word maneggiare means “handling.” In French, however,
the Latin root is used in two derivations: manège (a place where horses
are drilled) and ménage (household); the former is the masculine side of
management, the latter the feminine side. Classic American studies of lead-
ership distinguished two dimensions: initiating structure versus consid-
48
eration, or concern for work versus concern for people. Both are equally
necessary for the success of an enterprise, but the optimal balance between
the two differs for masculine and feminine cultures.

A Dutchman who had worked with a prestigious consulting firm in the
United States for several years joined the top management team of a manu-
facturing company in the Netherlands. After a few months he commented
on the different function of meetings in his present job compared with
his previous one. In the Dutch situation, meetings were occasions when
problems were discussed and common solutions were sought; they served
49
for making consensus decisions. In the U.S. situation as he had known it,
meetings were opportunities for participants to assert themselves, to show
how good they were. Decisions were made by individuals elsewhere.
The masculinity-femininity dimension affects ways of handling indus-

trial conflicts. In the United States as well as in other masculine cultures
such as Britain and Ireland, there is a feeling that conflicts should be

resolved by a good fight: “Let the best man win.” The industrial relations
scene in these countries is marked by such fights. If possible, management

tries to avoid having to deal with labor unions at all, and labor union
behavior justifies management’s aversion. In the United States, the rela-

tionships between labor unions and enterprises are governed by extensive
contracts serving as peace treaties between both parties. 50
In feminine cultures such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark,
there is a preference for resolving conflicts by compromise and negotiation.