Page 329 - Cultures and Organizations

294 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES

are more likely to report greater sociosexuality. It is presumable that these

reports reflect real behavior, although this point merits more research.
One item in the WVS asks respondents (only European samples) what
they think of casual sex. The national percentages of those choosing posi-
41
tion 10 (always acceptable) correlate positively with indulgence. In this
case the question is formulated as a norm; the respondents do not neces-
sarily talk about themselves but rather refer to the behavior that they wish
to prescribe to others. Therefore, the results are more reliable. More indul-
gent societies have higher percentages of people who have nothing against
lax norms concerning casual sex.

Indulgence Versus Restraint in the Workplace

Russian management professor and cross-cultural expert Sergey Myasoe-
dov is known across Eastern European business schools for his colorful
narratives that illustrate cultural conflicts between American expatriate

managers and local employees or customers. He noticed that American
front-desk personnel are required to smile at the customers. This practice
seems normal in a generally indulgent and happy culture such as that of the
United States. But when a company—in the present case, McDonald’s—
tries to mimic its American practices in a highly restrained society, there
may be unexpected consequences:

When they came to Russia, they brought their very strong corporate cul-
ture. They decided to train the Russian sales boys and girls. They wanted
to get them to smile in the McDonald’s way that makes one display all
thirty-two teeth. Yet, sometime later, the McDonald’s experts found out
that Russian customers were shocked by those broad smiles. They stared in

amazement at the sales personnel: “Why are you grinning at me?” They
did their research and found that a broad smile at a stranger does not
work in Russia. The Russians never smile like that when they run across
a stranger. When somebody does that to a Russian, the likely reaction is
“What is wrong with this person?” 42

These differences also translate into norms for the public image of
political leaders. In the United States, maintaining a poker face would be
a virtual death sentence for a political candidate or a holder of a high-

ranking political office. American public figures are expected to exude joy