March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

1

DOES IT FIT?

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
FROM A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Drs. Margriet de Vos

© Saxion Universities of Applied Sciences
School of Communication, Information Technology and
Information Management, Deventer, the Netherlands

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

2

WORKSHOP KM AND CULTURE

part 1

•

What’s culture

•

Cultural differences

•

Relation between cultuur and management practices

Part 2

•

Knowledge management in a transnational organization

•

How can we manage knowledge management in a transnational

organisation when we are aware that national cultures have their own

practices?

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

3

MC WORLD?

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

4

ONE EUROPEAN MANAGER?

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

5

The idea of culture

‘One’s own way of life is simply

human. It is other people who are

ethnic, ideosyncratic, cultural

peculiar’

Terry Eagleton, The idea of culture (Oxford,

Blackwell, 2000)

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

6

CULTURE PART 1

•

What’s culture

•

Cultural differences

•

Relation between cultuur and management practices

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

7

LEVELS OF CULTURE

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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LEVELS OF CULTURE (SCHEIN)

Artefacts

(observable facts)

Values and beliefs

(meaning)

Basic assumptions

(how we think about human nature,

human activities, human relations, nature, space, time)

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

9

(EXERCISE

DISNEYLAND IN FLORIDA AND JAPAN

Read the case
Give examples of cultural differences in

(Artefacts
Values
Basic assumptions

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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GEERT HOFSTEDE CULTURE’S CONSEQUENCES

Value orientations

- Small / large power distance

-

Strong/ weak uncertainty avoidance

-

Individualism / collectivism

-

Masculinity / femininity

-

Long time orientation

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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CRITICISM ON HOFSTEDE

Representative?

Validity?

The world changed, so does culture?

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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MAP OF POWERDISTANCE
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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NATIONAL CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE

Large powerdistance

hierarchie, vertical differentiation,
supervisors, centralised
decisionmaking

Strong uncertainty avoiding

formalization, written procedures,
job definitions, management is
planning and control

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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CULTURAL PROFILES

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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WHAT ABOUT

Individuality and management practice?

Collectivity and management practice?

Masculinity and management practice?

Femininity and management practice?

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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INFLUENCE OF NATIONAL CULTURE ON

-    Structure
- Nature of policies and procedures
-    Planning and control
-    Decision making
-    Information processing
-    Communication

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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STEREOTYPING,
NORMAL CURVES

Very
expressive

Very restrained

Italy

Sweden

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN
TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS / VIRTUAL
NETWORKS

‘Japanese and American management practices are
95 percent the same, and differ in all important
respects’

Takeo Fujisawa, cofounder Honda Motor Company

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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CULTURE PART 2

Knowledge management in a transnational
organization

How can we manage knowledge management in a
transnational organisation when are aware that
national cultures have their own practices?

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

20

DIFFICULTIES ON CROSS CULTURE
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFERING

•

Intercultural communication

•

Size of the multinational corporation

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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DELL: CENTRALIZED HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE
FOR KM IN TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

CORPORATE CENTRE IN HOME COUNTRY

Responsabilities:

Strategic decission-making

Knowledge creation

AUTONOMOUS BUSINESS

Knowledge application

AUTONOMOUS BUSINESS

Knowledge application

AUTONOMOUS BUSINESS

Knowledge application

Unidirectional knowledge flows

Centre >>>>periphery

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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WHAT’S THE RISK OF CENTRAL
CODIFICATION?

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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RABOBANK: A NETWORK STRUCTURE
FOR KM IN TRANSNATIONAL
CORPORATIONS

BUSINESS

Knowledge creation

Knowledge sharing

BUSINESS

Knowledge creation

Knowledge sharing

BUSINESS

Knowledge creation

Knowledge sharing

CORPORATE CENTRE

Responsabilities:

Facilitating knowledge

Sharing

Some knowledge creation

Interbusiness
Interaction and
Knowledge sharing

Two-way
knowledge
sharing

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF A
NETWORK STRUCTURE?

Are there any limits?

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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LEARNING RELATIONS: WHICH
ACTIVITIES ARE POSSIBLE?

Individual learning

Organizational
learning

Individuals
learning from
ind. of other
organizations

Organizations
learning from
organizations

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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KEY OF SUCCES

sharp focus on key knowledge
commitment of the top, investment, vision
commitment for organizational learning /sharing

knowledge /best practices

extra
 topmanagement is competent in English
 knowledgetransfer must be linked to cross-cultural

learning

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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exercises

March 12 2007

Saxion universities Margriet de Vos

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QUESTIONNAIRE

What kind of organization (core business, strategy,
culture, recent developments)

What is there knowledge management practice

Motives for knowledge management

Results