| Tendencies for Escalatory Behavior: Mexican Versus U.S. Managers and Professionals |
| | Greer, Charles R. | Texas Christian U. | c.greer@tcu.edu | (817)-257-7565 |
| | Stephens, Gregory K. | Texas Christian U. | g.stephens@tcu.edu | (817) 257-7548 |
| | Effective stewardship of resources demands that managers and professionals recognize and take action when a project should be curtailed or an investment liquidated. Unfortunately, escalation of commitment to failing courses of action is not uncommon. To act effectively, managers and professionals who make resource allocation decisions must understand the roots of irrational expectations and behaviors underlying escalation of commitment. In a global business world, such understanding requires that attention be paid to cross-national differences in values, behaviors, and contexts. The focus of this investigation is to determine whether systematic and generalizable differences in escalatory behavior exist between Mexican and U.S. managers and professionals. Our findings indicate that cross-national differences do exist, and we suggest that culturally-specific values and behaviors may contribute to the differences. |
| | Keywords: Escalation of commitment; Cross-national; Decision-making |
| Whistle-Blowing Behavior in a Global Economy: An Extended Model |
| | Rehg, Michael T. | Air Force Institute of Technology | mrehg@afit.af.mil | (937)-255-7777 ext 3344 |
| | Parkhe, Arvind | Indiana U., Bloomington | aparkhe@indiana.edu | (812)-855-5451 |
| | With their international operations rapidly growing in size, scope, and strategic importance,
many firms are discovering that their domestic business practices have to be seriously reevaluated
for fundamental assumptions and cross-cultural suitability. In this paper, we examine one such practice,
whistle-blowing (WB) in an international context. WB can be an effective tool for serving important goals,
including reporting wrongdoing. Yet as with all tools, WB requires an appreciation of the parameters
under which it may be used. How effective will WB be when there exist major cultural differences across
home and host countries? We systematically address this question by examining a domestic (US-based)
WB model in an international context, and show the major changes that are needed, both in WB theory
and practice. A set of testable research propositions is developed, and methodological issues and
managerial implications are briefly discussed. |
| | Keywords: Whistle-blowing; Cross-Cultural; Global |
| The Influence of Personality, Social Perceptions, and Goals on Negotiation Behavior and Outcomes: A Chinese Study |
| | Jaeger, Alfred | McGill U. | jaeger@management.mcgill.ca | 514-398-4037 |
| | Wang, Xiaoyun | McGill U. | wang@management.mcgill.ca | (514)-840-9300 |
| | Butt, Arif | McGill U. | butt@management.mcgill.ca | 514-398-4000 |
| | Anderson, Troy | McGill U. | anderson@management.mcgill.ca | 514-398-4000 |
| | Ma, Zhenzhong | McGill U. | maz@management.mcgill.ca | 514-398-4000 |
| | Saunders, David | McGill U. | saunders@management.mcgill.ca | 514-398-4000 |
| | This paper reports on a study that investigated the impact of personality on negotiation behaviors and outcomes using Chinese subjects.
It brings together two streams of negotiation research, that on personality and negotiation, and the study of negotiation in a Chinese context.
Many studies have reported on the link between personality and negotiation, however most used only one simulation as a basis for their
findings. In this study, a series of three increasingly complex simulations was used. Numerous studies have focussed on negotiations between
Chinese and Westerners, however few studies have exclusively studied Chinese negotiating among themselves. In this study, all of the data
were collected in China.
Personality, the independent variable, was measured with the SAPPS personality scale, one which was developed in a Chinese context. A
model of the negotiation process is presented and hypotheses in the context of this model were proposed based on a review of the literature.
Two hundred Chinese students from a premier university in Beijing were invited to participate in a series of negotiation simulations.
Pre-negotiation and post-negotiation questionnaires were used to collect data on the dependent variables: social perception,
negotiation strategy and negotiation outcomes.
The results indicate main effects of extroversion and assertiveness on satisfaction with negotiation outcome and process. In addition, several
other secondary effects were confirmed. The overall pattern of results substantiates the validity of a Western-based model of the negotiation
process in a Chinese context. |
| | Keywords: Chinese Negotiation |
| Why don't they fight each other? Cultural diversity and operational unity in multinational peacekeeping forces |
| | Elron, Efrat | Hebrew U. | mselron@mscc.huji.ac.il | 972-2-5883081 |
| | Shamir , Boas | Hebrew U. | msshamir@mscc.huji.ac.il | 972-2-5883360 |
| | Ben-Ari, Eyal | Hebrew U. | mseba@mscc.huji.ac.il | 972-2-5883039 |
| | Given the increasing prevalence of global enterprises as well as international strategic alliances, the complex interactions between individuals and units from different countries and cultures have become an important issue in the study of organizational effectiveness. In this paper we examine the ability of mulinational peacekeeping forces to achieve a working level of coordination and cooperation despite their high cultural diversity. Our main objectives are to understand both the possible implications of high diversity under the circumstances the forces operate in, and the integrating conditions and mechanisms that enable the forces to function as integrated units. We chose to concentrate on the multinational forces as a specific case for multinational organizations because such forces are able to function effectively and carry out their missions in a reasonable manner.
The contribution of the proposed framework is an increased understanding of the formal and informal organizational arrangements that may ease coordination and reduce potential conflicts among units within the forces. Applications of such an understanding can result in greater success in the carrying out of peacekeeping missions. Morever, it has important implications to the operation of all organizations that face cultural diversity. |
| | Keywords: peacekeeping forces; cultural diversity; multinational organizations |