The Relationship of National Culture to Employees Values

In today s global economy, when U.S. corporations
expand abroad they usually bring with them
management practices ingrained in U.S.
culture and management theory. Literature has
indicated that often these management practices do
not transfer well to foreign locations, undermining
effectiveness and productivity.
Values are a central component of culture. Work
values are a special component of the overall value
system, which, in turn, is reflective of the
national culture. This study compared the work
values of workers from Poland, Mexico, and the
United States. The participants were local-national
employees of a U.S.-based multi-national
corporation. The Survey of Work Values was deployed,
and the means were compared.
The results confirmed significant differences on
five out of six scales of the survey.Based on the
findings, recommendations for managers and leaders
of U.S.-based multinational corporations are
presented. This study supports the premise that
traditional ways of managing local workforces in
foreign locations may benefit from adjustments to
account for the local national culture and specific
work values typical to it.

Autorentext
Dr. Agata Dulnik is a highly accomplished management consultant and leadership development authority. An expert on human behavior and organizational dynamics she is a professor in business management and organizational behavior for two Connecticut universities and was featured numerous times in magazines as well as on TV and radio.

Klappentext
In today's global economy, when U.S. corporations expand abroad they usually bring with them management practices ingrained in U.S. culture and management theory. Literature has indicated that often these management practices do not transfer well to foreign locations, undermining effectiveness and productivity. Values are a central component of culture. Work values are a special component of the overall value system, which, in turn, is reflective of the national culture. This study compared the work values of workers from Poland, Mexico, and the United States. The participants were local-national employees of a U.S.-based multi-national corporation. The Survey of Work Values was deployed, and the means were compared. The results confirmed significant differences on five out of six scales of the survey.Based on the findings, recommendations for managers and leaders of U.S.-based multinational corporations are presented. This study supports the premise that traditional ways of managing local workforces in foreign locations may benefit from adjustments to account for the local national culture and specific work values typical to it.