Page 88 - Harnessing the Strengths

Dilemma 2: Rules Versus Exceptions ■ 71

ized, yet at the local level in Paris it is more decentralized,
with adjustments for the local market, such as selling wine
at Disneyland Paris.
The second ethnorelativist phase is Adjustment, with
multinational organizations as the concrete result. Leaders
in these organizations are ready and willing to look at the
world from different points of view. They also easily adapt
themselves to a wide variety of local circumstances. KPMG
is a good example of such a multinational company. Multi-
national managers believe, from experience, that when in
Rome, one must do as the Romans do. You can recognize
these organizations from the abundance of language courses
they offer and the traditional cross-cultural programs such
as “Doing Business with the Japanese.”

Transcultural Organizations

Finally, there are transcultural organizations with a hyper-
culture, such as Pearle Optical, Sematech, and Applied
Materials. These organizations have begun the last phase:
full Integration. This is the phase in which the connection
between the two extremes is made successfully. You can no
longer do as the Romans do because Rome no longer exists.
These organizations are like diamonds—you can no longer
tell which is the top. (See Figure 6.3.)
This can lead to unusual organizational constructions.
For example, Pearle Optical only has ten people at the head
offi ce in Amsterdam who run a number of Centers of Excel-
lence across Europe, varying from R&D to Marketing. This
is only possible within the context of servant-leadership
because they have the competence to look for unusual and
unique solutions that can only be found at a local level, and