The Influence Of Culture On Organizational Crisis Communication And Stakeholder Perception Individualistic And Collectivistic Cultures In Comparison

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, grade: 1,0, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Institut für Publizistik), language: English, abstract: Volkswagen emissions scandal, Germanwings Flight 9525, Samsung’s exploding batteries – corporate crises are becoming more and more common in today’s unpredictable environment. In the course of globalization, an increasing number of multinational organizations is operating in an international setting. Thus, the likelihood and potential impact of a corporate crisis rises. At the same time, the international potential of a crisis is aggravated by the dissemination of information in near real-time due to the Internet. Especially negative information spreads with a range and speed that increases an organization’s vulnerability to crises. As a result, the demand and importance of crisis communication is leaping. Due to the more complex and international surroundings of crisis communication, culture as a contextual factor in crisis communication plays a role of growing importance. In different cultures, different crisis responses by the organizations are expected because stakeholders perceive and react to messages in different ways dependent upon their culture. The probably most typical distinction of cultures is between collectivistic and individualistic societies. In the past, crisis communication research has been given too little attention to cultural contexts. Crisis communication research and theories almost exclusively focused on individualistic Western contexts. However, the growing relevance of culture in crisis communication is getting more and more evident in research. For this reason, the question of the cultural influences of individualistic and collectivistic societies on organization’s crisis communication strategies as well as the stakeholders’ perception of and responses to the crisis messages in different cultural settings is discussed in the present work. To answer this question, first of all an overview of the theory of crisis communication is given, with reference to the definition and the main crisis communication theories and strategies. Secondly, the term culture is paid attention to, with a focus on the dimension of individualistic versus collectivistic cultures as an influencing factor on crisis communication. Subsequently, the current findings of the influence of individualism and collectivism on organizations’ crisis communication strategies and on the perception of stakeholders are reflected. Concluding, the results are discussed in the overall setting, limitations are shown and implications for future research are given.

This book analyzes the impact of culture on employee justice judgments and reactions to perceptions of fairness and unfairness. I start this book with the following two questions. Why is a book on culture and organizational justice needed? What does such a book add to the extant literature on organizational justice, especially, after the publication of the landmark work of Colquitt and Greenberg (2005), Handbook of Organizational Justice? Although there are no easy answers to these questions, in the following lines, I explain the reasons why a book on culture and justice is not only needed but also timely. There are at least three reasons for which a book on culture and organizational justice is needed. First, a book on culture and organizational justice is needed because "there are indications that culture exerts very important and wide-ranging effects on justice behavior including even generally shaping the likelihood that individuals will experience feelings of injustice" (James, 1993, p. 22). Second, globalization has led to the interrelatedness of world economies.Thus, most organizations not only operate in several countries, but they also employ people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. The resulting challenge is to find new ways of managing a culturally diverse workforce. Third, justice is inherent to any organized social group. As examples of social systems, organizations are arenas of justice concerns because their members compete for limited resources. The resources for which they compete include tangibles, such as money but also intangibles, such as status, power, and prestige (e.g., Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner, 1985). In the following lines, I elaborate on the three reasons why a book on culture and organizational justice is needed and timely.

Document from the year 2007 in the subject Cultural Studies - Miscellaneous, grade: 90, , language: English, abstract: This research aimed at answering the following strategic question: in which way does the employees’ multi-cultural background influence the corporate cultural environment through the communication that is prevailing in a company? Further to that the following secondary questions are to be dealt: • Does communication result to conflict or conflict resolution? • What is the problem represented to be? • What presuppositions underlie the conceptions concerning the communication process? • What effects are produced by such representations? • How are subjects constituted within the communication? The questions were answered by different personnel working at various levels of the hierarchy chain and of the all departments of an enterprise.

A collection of case studies from nonwestern countries that offers an analysis of the significant role culture plays in crisis communication Culture and Crisis Communication presents an examination of how politics, culture, religion, and other social issues affect crisis communication and management in nonwestern countries. From intense human tragedy to the follies of the rich, the chapters examine how companies, organizations, news outlets, health organizations, technical experts, politicians, and local communities communicate in crisis situations. Taking a wider view than a single country’s perspective, the text contains a cross-cultural and cross-country approach. In addition, the case studies offer valuable lessons that organizations that wish to operate or are operating in those cultures can adopt in preparing and managing crises. The book highlights recent crisis events such as Syria’s civil war, missing Malaysia Flight MH370, andJapan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. Each of the case studies examines how culture impacts communication and responses to crises. Authoritative, insightful, and instructive, this important resource: Analyzes how nonwestern cultures respond to crises Covers the role of culture in crisis communication in recent news events Includes contributions from 18 international authors who provide insight on nonwestern culture and crisis communication Written for communication professionals, academics, and students, Culture and Crisis Communication presents an insightful introduction to the topic of culture and crisis communication and then delves into illustrative case studies that explore intra-cultural and trans-boundary crisis communication.

This book is a practical guide to "reading" the culture of organizations and to understanding the implications of culture for organizational effectiveness. Beginning with an explanation of the theories of organizational culture, the book provides guidance on collecting information, leading students through qualitative research methods of observation, interviewing, and analyzing written texts. Students come away equipped to apply cultural insights to fostering diversity, supporting organizational change, making leadership more dynamic, understanding the link between ethics and culture, and achieving personal growth.

Human beings are adapted for group living. Groups have a wide range of adaptive functions for individuals, including both material benefits of mutual aid and collective action, and subjective psychological benefits of affiliation and social identity. Recent development of cultural psychology, however, has uncovered that culture plays crucial roles in group processes: patterns of group behavior and underlying psychological processes are shaped within specific cultural contexts, and cultures emerge in group-based interactions. Culture and Group Processes, the inaugural volume of the Frontiers of Culture and Psychology series, is the first edited book on this rapidly emerging research topic. The eleven chapters included in this volume, all authored by distinguished scientists in the field, reveal the role of culture in group perceptions, social identity, group dynamics, identity negotiation, teamwork, intergroup relations, and intergroup communication, as well as the joint effect of cultural and group processes in interpersonal trust and creativity.

Effective, sustainable cultural change requires evolution, not disruption The Corporate Culture Survival Guide is the essential primer and practical guide every organization needs. Corporate culture pioneer Edgar H. Schein breaks the concept of 'culture' down into real terms, delving into the behaviors, values, and shared assumptions that define it, and explains why culture is the central factor in an organization's success—or failure. This new third edition is designed specifically for practitioners needing to apply these practices in real-world settings, and has been updated with new coverage of globalization, technology, and managerial competencies. You'll learn how to get past subconscious bias to assess whether or not your existing culture truly serves your organization, and how to introduce change and manage the change process over time for a best-case-scenario outcome. Case studies illustrate successful change in real companies, providing models and setting the bar for dismantling dysfunctional cultures. Corporate culture begins with the founder, and evolves—or not—over time. Is your culture working for or against your organization? How can it be optimized? This book separates the truth from the nonsense to provide real-world guidance on initiating and managing cultural change. Understand when to assess your culture, and how to do it objectively Learn how cultures evolve and change over time, for better or worse Discover the reality of multiculturalism amidst the rise of globalization Evolve your culture to more effectively serve your organization Each of us is a part of many cultures—what you do, where you live, where you grew up, what you enjoy, how you live; in the workplace, many different people with many different cultures come together toward a common goal—will these cultures clash or synergize? The Corporate Culture Survival Guide shows you how to create an overarching corporate culture that gets everyone on the same page to drive your organization's success.

Management of organizational culture is a controversial topic. Pragmatists argue that it can be, should be and has been easily managed and they offer guidance how to do this, whilst purists find it ridiculous to talk about managing organizational culture: it cannot be managed, it evolves. Contributions to this fascinating book cover the following topics: * the relationship between leadership and organizational culture * the study of the role of organizational culture in four distinct cases * a change project of managerial culture * the FOCUS-instrument for measuring organizational culture * the main influences of organizational culture on its individual members * critical questions for future research. The editors do not intend to give final answers to this ongoing discussion, but to contribute to the debate and aid understanding. The contributions guide practitioners and researchers through the complex issues to avoid possible pitfalls.

This field of comparative organizational behaviour presents a contradictory image to managers and scholars alike. This book offers an approach to the problem of culture in organizations, focusing on the way individual members of an organization make sense of culture.