Culture, Self-Identity, and Work

by Miriam Erez, P. Christopher Earley

Overview

A great deal of research has recently been completed on behavior and the organization of work, most of which has viewed it from an ethnocentric perspective. In this work, Erez and Earley show how this is insufficient to develop a global theory of work behavior--it necessitates the inclusion of a cultural perspective. Solidly grounding their work in the fields of psychology, management, and anthropology, the authors propose a new theoretical framework utilizing individual's self-concept as a means of linking cultural beliefs and social interaction to emergent work behavior. The book includes specific recommendations for structuring work environments and managerial processes to match cultural practices and enhance productivity in the workplace, making it an essential reference for scholars, students, and professionals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195360486
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/12/1993
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

P. Christopher Earley is the Corporate Partners Research Professor of Management at the Graduate School of Management, University of California, Irvine and Professor of Organization Behavior at the London Business School. Miriam Erez is Dean and Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.

Table of Contents

1.	Introduction	3
	Cultural Factors Influencing Organizational Behavior	4
	The Current State of Theory Development in Organizational Behavior	7
	The Identification of Cultural Characteristics	12
	The Application of Cognitive Models of Information Processing to Develop Models of Organizational Behavior	12
	The Interrelationship Among Culture, Managerial Practices, Self-Regulatory Processes, and Employee Behavior: A Case Study	14
	Toward the Development of a New Model of Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior	15
2.	Cultural Self-Representation Theory	18
	Cultural Characteristics	23
	Management Practices and Motivational Techniques	25
	The Self	26
	Generalized Work Behavior	32
	An Integration	33
	Summary	36
3.	Cultural Frameworks	38
	Definitions of Culture	41
	Perspectives on Culture	44
	Summary of Approaches and Present Framework	70
4.	Individualism and Collectivism	74
	Collectivities and Clans	75
	Overview of Individualism and Collectivism	77
	Perspectives on Individualism and Collectivism	80
	Antecedents and Consequences of Individualism and Collectivism	85
	Summary and Present Definition	92
5.	Work Motivation	97
	The Relationship Among Needs, Values, and Culture	97
	Work Motivation Within a Cross-Cultural Framework	103
	Summary and Implications	116
6.	Culture, Self, and Communication	119
	Culture as a Communication Phenomenon	120
	Communication as a Cultural Phenomenon	123
	Cognitive Frames and the Self	131
	Communication Across Cultures	142
7.	Group Dynamics	144
	Definition and Brief History	145
	Group Action Model	152
	Application to Selected Topics	165
	Summary	170
8.	Leadership	172
	Basic Framework of Leadership	174
	Summary	194
9.	Negotiation and Bargaining	196
	Behavioral-Cognitive Framework	198
	Cultural Model of Negotiation	204
	Summary	215
10.	Summary and Conclusions	217
	Previous Research in Organizational Behavior Reexamined in Light of Cultural Self-Representation	220
	Practical Implications	232
	References	235
	Index	254

Editorial Reviews

"This is an important book about an important topic. The authors' 'cultural self representation model' provides an illuminating and provocative way of examining and understanding the work behavior of individuals across different cultural contexts. Their approach is rich with implications for both current managerial practice and future research."—Lyman W. Porter, University of California, Irvine

From the Publisher