The impact of culture on best-practice production/ operations management C. A. Hope and A. P.MÏhlemann.
Significant work has been completed in arriving at what have been put forward as `best practices’ for a variety of facets of production/operations management (POM). Organizations are becoming global in their operations. In this environment, there is a desire to learn from this `proven’ best practice and to use the generic ideas, concepts and techniques `world-wide’.
However, it is becoming apparent from a range of fragmented evidence that `best practices’ developed and successful in one context are not necessarily directly transferable to a comparable alternative. More detailed examination suggests that national culture has a significant role to play in determining the precise nature of a best practice in POM, and how universal it might be in its application. This paper examines structures within which to view facets of POM in order to identify one that will facilitate exploration of cultural issues. There follows an identification of what might be considered to be an appropriate range of cultural dimensions along whichever practices maybe considered.A review of the evidence from the literature of cultural impacts on aspects of POM is presented. This is used to support the development of a generic framework to examine this interface more comprehensively.
Introduction
Markets for both products and services are becoming increasingly competitive. Organizations continue to strive to manufacture products and to deliver services in the most efficient and effective manner. Indeed the distinction between product and service is becoming increasingly blurred as basic product functionality becomes taken for
granted and service in support of the product takes a higher profile in the customer’s eyes (Beach et al. 1997). It has been argued that it is only those organizations that can continually improve their performance in relation to their competitors that will be able to compete successfully in international markets. Central to this is the management
of the ‘conversion process’, or production/ operations management (POM) as it is more formally known. Over the years, significant work of both a practical and a theoretical nature has been completed in arriving at what have been put forward as ‘best practices’ for a variety of facets of POM. The material in the multitude of texts on the topic confirm this (see, for example: Chase et al. 1998; Meredith and Shafer 1999; Russell and Taylor 1998;
International Journal of Management Reviews Volume 3 Issue 3 pp. 199–217 199 Slack et al. 1998; Waller 1999). Some of the results in terms of actual improved performance have been impressive.
Organizations are growing and becoming global in their operations, international barriers are becoming far less significant, and information technology is reducing the impact of physical distance. In this environment, there is a desire to learn from this ‘proven’ best practice POM and to use the generic ideas, concepts and techniques ‘worldwide’.
However, it is becoming apparent from a range of fragmented evidence that ‘best practices’ developed and successful in one environment are not necessarily directly transferable to what at first sight is a comparable alternative situation. For example, the framework used to great advantage to implement Total Quality Management (TQM) within US operations, did not directly transfer to operations based in Poland (Roney 1997); the approaches to organizing work adopted very effectively by an American hotel chain broke down when implemented in hotels
which it owned in China (Huyton and Ingold 1995). In both cases, an examination suggested that culture, in fact national culture, had a significant impact.
The study of the impact of culture on a variety of aspects of the different functional areas of management has been on-going for a period of time, and is a topic in which there appears to be a growing interest within the research community. Lee (1999) cites references to the fact that ‘it is widely recognized that the theories of . . . and
marketing are culture bound’ (p. 76). Even marketing texts include sizeable sections covering the impact of culture (Bradley 1999; Cateora and Ghaauri 2000). A crosssectional sample of the more recent work with a marketing theme is Aaker (2000), Aaker and Maheswaran (1997), Alden et al. (1999), Applbaum et al. (1996), Briley et al. (2000),
Money et al. (1998), Reisinger and Turner (1999), Steenkamp et al. (1999) and Tavassoli (1999). This set demonstrates the variety of perspectives and issues addressed.
There is a cultural link in accounting. Usunier (1999) quotes Hofstede (1991), who refers to ‘the culture of accounting systems and presents a series of hypotheses for the linkage between culture and accounting systems’ (p. 76). In a special issue of Accounting, Organizations and Society, Hopwood (1999) introduces a selection of papers from a conference on comparative management accounting thus ‘Together they provide an insight into many of the issues and difficulties at stake in comparative and culturally grounded management accounting research’ (p. 378). Particularly noteworthy, within this set, in the context of culturally based studies, are the papers by Bhimani (1999), Chow et al. (1999b) and Harrison and Mckinnon (1999). This final paper includes a comprehensive bibliography, but claims that ‘cross cultural MCS research is still in its infancy’ (p. 502). Again, the following papers give a flavour of the range of studies in this area: Chow et al. (1995), Chow et al. (1996), Chow et al. (1999a), Soeters and Schreuder
(1988).
The impact of national culture on various facets of Human Resource Management (HRM) is well established: ‘Such national differences have significant implications in terms of motivations to work, willingness to take risks, interpersonal skills, speed of decision making and the search for consensus’ (Hendry 1994, 106). It is this area which is closest to POM. The following works are typical: Gill and Wong (1998), Kochan et al. (1995), Kufidu and Vouzas (1998), Verbug et al. (1999); HRM/general management:
Goldman (1994), Martin and Beaumont (1998), Ng (1998); Trigg and Trigg (1995).
It is outside the scope of this paper to do more than point the interested reader in the direction of this work in associated functional areas. The studies are too diverse to arrive at all but the most general of conclusions from
examining this work: there seems to be evidence to suggest that the theory of convergence does not hold at present. Where individual studies do have impact on POM The impact of culture on best- practice production/ operations
management Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001 200 (and this is generally in the HR arena), they will be discussed in the later sections.
Little attempt has been made at a comprehensive systematic analysis of the overall impact of national culture on POM in general. Indeed, in discussing literature sources for cross-cultural business research, Usunier (1998) lists (Table 3.1, p. 101) six categories of academic journals. Under the heading of ‘marketing’ there are 19 titles, under ‘international business’ four titles, under ‘accounting’ four titles, under ‘organization, HRM and management’ 21
titles, under ‘cross-cultural and general’ seven titles, and under ‘general management and miscellaneous’ seven titles. Only within this last category are there two journals, which could be regarded as primarily reporting POM research. It is also, perhaps, of significance that POM was not identified as an area in its own right within the analysis of journals.
This paper examines various structures within which to view the facets of POM in order to identify one that will facilitate exploration of cultural issues. This is followed by the identification of what might beconsidered to be an appropriate range of cultural dimensions along which POM best practices may be considered. A review of the
evidence from the literature of cultural impacts on aspects of POM is presented. This is used to support the development of a generic framework to examine this interface more comprehensively. Some general conclusions
concerning research in this area are made.
POM: A Framework for Best Practices At a broad level, there is general agreement that production/operations management is ‘the management of the transformation process by which a variety of inputs are converted into desired output’. This can be confirmed from any of the POM texts mentioned in the introduction, from texts which focus on service operations (e.g. Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons 1994; Hope and Mu¨hlemann 1997) and from those in associated areas, e.g. services marketing (Baron and Harris 1995; Bateson 1995). However, at the next level of detail, looking at the broad ‘responsibilities’ of POM, there is less agreement on a general structure as the
following examples suggest:
(i) 5Ps: people, plants, processes, parts, planning (Chase et al. 1998)
(ii) 5Ps: product, plant, process, people, programme (Mu¨hlemann et al. 1992)
(iii) design, planning and control, improvement, strategy (Slack et al. 1998)
(iv) operating systems, arrangement of facilities, work and work systems, capacity management, operations scheduling, materials management, control of operating systems (Wild 1995)
(v) strategy, planning the product, decisions about the process, planning and scheduling resources, materials management (Waters 1996)
(vi) strategy of productive systems, designing productive systems, operating productive systems (Russell and Taylor 1998)
(vii) strategic decisions and operations, design in operations management, planning organizing and control, analytical techniques (Waller 1999).
Clearly, while there are some common
themes running through the above structures,
there is a lack of total consistency in approach.
Pulling together some of the threads within a
diagrammatic structure, Figure 1 (based
primarily on Slack et al. 1998) presents an
overview.
Interestingly, at the next level of detail there
is more agreement in content. In total, 20
individual aspects have been identified. An
attempt was made to select aspects that were
at a comparable level of detail and to avoid
extensive overlap. However, inevitably there
could be some debate concerning the precise
nature of some of these aspects. These 20
aspects have been grouped into six broad
areas: (i) product/service design, (ii) product/
service process design, (iii) planning of
operations (iv) facilities management and
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planning, (v) operations strategy, (vi) people
issues in POM. These are shown in Table 1
(the symboly will be explained later). As with
the individual aspects, it is not claimed that
these six groupings are in any sense unique,
nor that an aspect can only ‘belong’ to one
grouping. Indeed, it could be argued that
quality management could be included under
product and service process design.
It is interesting to note that, while there
have been some limited studies of the impact
of different national cultures on the use of a
variety of specific manufacturing techniques
(e.g. Huyton and Ingold 1995; Roney 1997),
few have attempted a more broad analysis
based around a more comprehensive set. An
exception is the work reported by Lawrence
and Yeh (1994), who carried out a study of the
influence of Mexican culture on the use of
Japanese manufacturing techniques in
Mexico. Of significance here is the structure
which they adopted to model the Japanese
manufacturing techniques. This was based on
the work of Chan et al. (1990),which had at its
centre the 5Ps of production of Lockyer et al.
(1988) also used in the later edition
(Mu¨hlemann et al. 1992). However, within
this framework, consideration is only given to
what they call ‘manufacturing techniques’ that
map onto what are identified as the five key
Japanese management philosophies. So, while
at a broad level, there is agreement with what
is proposed here, at a detailed level, Lawrence
and Yeh (1994) adopt a somewhat narrower
focus in only examining aspects linked to the
Japanese style. Additionally, consideration is
only given to manufacturing environments.
The ‘soft issues’ within the distinctive
characteristics of service industries (Hope
and Mu¨hlemann 1997) suggest that the impact
of national culture in this type of environment
is likely to be more significant.
The framework proposed in Table 1 will be
taken as the starting point in classifying issues
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Figure 1. Aspects of POM.
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which are likely to be most influenced by
(national) culture when examined from the
perspective of best practice. However, before
developing this, it is necessary to look at the
various cultural dimensions.
Cultural Dimensions
There are a variety of definitions of culture.
The most appropriate for the work being
carried out here is that due to Hofstede (1997),
who carried out much of his research in a
commercial context, ‘the collective programming
of the mind which distinguishes
the members of one group or category of
people from another’ (p. 4). Societies have
developed sets of common beliefs, values and
ways of interacting which allow them to live
together harmoniously. These ways of living
are learned behaviours and are passed on from
generation to generation. There are different
levels or types of culture (shared beliefs and
values) that are common to nations/societies,
to religions, to genders, to generations, to
industries, to organizations, the list goes on.
The cultures are sometimes likened to the
layers of an onion, with those closest to the
centre having existed the longest. These are
the strongest. Thus the culture in which an
individual has been immersed since birth is
likely to have a stronger effect than the
organizational culture exerted in the
workplace of the individual (Hofstede 1991).
Probably the best-known research on
cultural differences from the management
perspective was carried out by Hofstede
(1980). He studied the work-related values
of the workers from 53 national subsidiaries of
a large international company. He identified
four dimensions:
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Table 1. A framework for issues in POM
· Product and Service Design
product/service design process
quality management (including statistical process control)y
value and variety management
· Product and Service Process Design
production/delivery system design (macro)y
work design and measurement (micro)y
process improvement and re-engineering (including `waste elimination’/JIT)y
· Planning of Operations
forecasting
capacity planning (including queue management)y
operations schedulingy
project planning
supply chain management (including purchasing and materials management)y
· Facilities Management and Planning
equipment selection
reliability measurement
maintenance planning
location decision makingy
layout planningy
· Operations Strategy
the corporate strategy link
operations strategy development and implementationy
· People Issues in POM
operations and HRy
health and safetyy
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(i) individualism (focus on self and immediate
family) versus collectivism (concern
for the extended group)
(ii) large versus small power distance
(expectance/acceptance of an unequal
distribution of power)
(iii) strong versus weak uncertainty avoidance
(iv) masculinity (assertiveness, ambitious)
versus femininity (non competitiveness,
concern for relationships).
A key conclusion of significance here is ‘these
scores (of workers on each dimension) can be
shown to relate to phenomena in the various
societies in which these subsidiaries operate,
such as: . . . management methods and
objectives . . .’ (p. 13). In research aimed at
understanding cultural differences between
developed and developing countries, Kanungo
and Jaeger (1990) added a fifth dimension to
these four: abstract thinking (perceptions
influenced by rules and principles applied
equally to all situations) versus associative
thinking (perceptions influenced by the
context of the specific situation).
A second scheme that is relevant to the
work here was presented by Evans et al.
(1995) and was based on work by Kluckhohn
and Strodtbeck (1961). They classify countries
according to:
(i) human nature: the West assumes people
are naturally good, the East – naturally
bad
(ii) time: the West – an unending continuum,
the East – circular
(iii) family relationships: the West – individuals,
the East – collectivism
(iv) relationship between man, nature and
the supernatural: the West – equality
and individual rights, the East – doctrine
centred on loyalty, harmony, families
and hard work
(v) human activity; the West – aggressive,
confrontational, the East – humble and
tolerant.
In comparing the national cultures of any
pair of countries, it is possible to attempt to
extract those which give the clearest
distinctions. In their comparative study of
the use of Japanese techniques in Mexico,
Lawrence and Yeh (1994) built on the
literature current at the time, which included
Hofstede (1980), Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck
(1961) and Triandis (1972), to derive the
following seven dimensions along which to
conduct their analysis:
(i) hierarchical nature
(ii) individualism versus collectivism
(iii) attitudes towards work
(iv) time orientation
(v) approach to problem solving
(vi) fatalism
(vii) view of human nature.
Their paper includes full descriptions and
comparisons of the positions of Japanese and
Mexican cultures along these seven
dimensions.
More details of these classification
schemes, and others due to Schein, Adler,
Hall and Trompenaars are included in
Schneider and Barsoux (1997).
The range of nationalities in an organization
can result in a dominant position on
each of the above dimensions. For each of the
aspects of POM identified in Table 1, these
positions could potentially impact on what
might be regarded as ‘best practice’. Thus a
strong tendency towards uncertainty
avoidance could indicate ‘support for’ the
forecasting aspects in planning of operations.
These issues will be explored in the next
section. It is, however, perhaps worth noting
that cultures are not static, but change over
time. For example, Lawrence and Yeh (1994)
claim ‘Mexican culture appears to be slowly
changing as a result of increased interaction
with the US (Kras 1989), and Japanese culture
appears to be slowly changing as a result of
the country’s economic prosperity (Kanter
1991)’ (p. 57).
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The Impact of the Cultural Dimensions
on POM
An examination of the impact of the various
different cultural dimensions on POM could
be carried out at a variety of levels of detail.
The intention is to structure this section
around the six key areas used in Table 1.
Detailed discussion will tend to focus on the
individual topics within each of these
headings, as appropriate. Where necessary,
these individual topics will be examined in
even more detail. In each key area, as far as is
possible, discussion will initially cover reports
in manufacturing, then service environments,
followed by general work which applies in
either situation.
After an examination of the cultural
dimensions outlined in the previous section,
it is possible to suggest those individual topics
that are most likely to be influenced by
national culture. This evaluation has been
completed, and these topics are markedy in
Table 1. This section will attempt to justify
this classification, supporting assertions where
possible with evidence from the literature.
Similar analyses have been reported by other
researchers. Lawrence and Yeh (1994)
identified potential sources of conflict
between Mexican culture and Japanese
management philosophies, based on their
seven cultural dimensions listed in the
previous section. However, the philosophies
were very broad bases, there were only five
categories, and the focus was on only two
different national cultures. Hope and
Mu¨hlemann (1998a) identify potential clashes
between the features of TQM and the cultural
dimensions of Hall and Hall (1997), Hofstede
(1991) and Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961).
However, their work had a focus on a
narrower aspect of best practice in POM
(quality), and looked primarily at a service
context. These two papers do, nevertheless,
provide some useful insights for the broader
and more detailed analysis that follows. Voss
and Blackmon (1996) reported the results of a
comparative study examining the use of
world-class manufacturing practices in Britain
and in Germany. Significant differences were
found, moreover manufacturing sites with
overseas parents (primarily North American
and Japanese) were found to have higher
levels of adoption of ‘best practices’.
However, the study was not intended
explicitly to explore the impacts of national
cultures.
Product and Service Design
Quality at its simplest is defined as meeting
the requirements of the customer, in terms of
the product and/or the service as designed and
delivered (Muhlemann et al. 1992), hence its
inclusion under this subsection. However, as
with several of the aspects, this has
implications for other themes, including
process design and people issues. For
convenience, most key discussions of quality
will be in this section.
Of the various aspects of POM viewed from
a cultural perspective, quality management is
that which seems to have received most
attention. This has ranged from general
considerations of most features (TQM in
Turnell and Washbourne 1991), to a specific
aspect often alongside a much broader range
of ‘non-quality’ issues (‘empowerment’ in
Morden 1995). Some of this work will be
reviewed here.
Katz et al. (1998) examined the impact of
national culture on TQM implementation from
a somewhat ‘theoretical’ perspective. Their
study involved looking at the positions of the
USA, Japan and Hungary on Hofstede’s four
cultural dimensions of power distance,
individualism, uncertainty avoidance and
masculinity. They made some suggestions
concerning the impact of a country’s position
on these dimensions on aspects of TQM.
Finally, based on this analysis, they drew
some specific conclusions concerning each
country’s resistance to the adoption of what
they called four specific TQM principles.
Examples of these included ‘developing long
term relationships with suppliers rather than
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awarding business on price alone’ and
‘breaking down barriers between departments’.
While their work provides some
interesting insights into potential impacts, it
takes a rather limited view of TQ and lacks
empirical underpinning.
Roney (1997) looked at the problem that
arose in Valvex, a Polish valve manufacturer
when they tried to implement TQM. She
suggested there are a number of assumptions
relating to culture which underlie the TQM
philosophy, for example: (i) power is assigned
through achievement – ‘what you do’; (ii)
deterministic – individuals have personal
power over their own destiny. This conflicted
with the culture of the workers who saw: (i)
power as being assigned through ascription –
‘who you are and who you know’; (ii)
fatalistic – individuals do not have the power
to change things so why try? She concluded
that before implementing management
practices, there is a need to understand the
cultural setting and evaluate the differences to
consider what, if any, adaptations will be
needed.
Shih and Gurnani (1997) carried out an
empirical study based on their observations of
the implementation of TQM in factories
within a range of industrial sectors (including
electronics, garments and automobiles)
located in Hong Kong, Brazil, Japan and the
USA. They aimed to provide a clearer
understanding of what they called the
culture-technical aspects of quality management
systems. A focus of their work was an
examination of the success of Japanese-style
quality management programmes in the
factories outside Japan. They claimed that
‘Certainly, culture plays a key role in shaping
all quality management activities, . . ., but
equally important are the organisational and
technical components . . .’ (p. 16). They
discussed what they called ‘myths’ associated
with explaining the success of these
programmes inside, compared with outside,
Japan. Examples included managerial
practices, Japanese team working spirit,
company loyalty and lifetime employment.
The contribution of Shih and Gurnani is in
identifying key system factors – those that will
work in any cultural setting, and cultural
factors – those that need adaptation for each
county’s cultural setting. The components of
Japanese TQM considered include use of
slogans, use of technical tools, design for
quality, waste elimination and small group
working. However, the cultural factors are
identified in a somewhat unstructured manner
(‘slogans are seen as a highly culturedependent
factor’, p. 20; participation in small
group activities was also discussed in very
loose cultural terms in comparing Japanese
performance). National cultural differences
are not addressed in a particularly systematic
way, although the influence of Confucius
(China, Japan) is mentioned in outlining some
of the causes for failure.
Goldman (1994) discussed some of the
problems faced by Nippon from Japan when
they entered a joint venture with Raleigh in
the USA. He pointed out that ‘it is folly to
proclaim that a given philosophy of
management, such as TQM, can override
long-term cultural differences . . .’ (p. 4) and
also to the necessity of directing attention of
cross-cultural management to ‘the specific
beliefs, attitudes, and values of each national
culture engaged in international venture’ (p.
8).
Turnell and Washbourne (1991) discussed
an ‘Australian TQM Model’ and pointed out
characteristics of Australians that inhibit the
successful implementation of TQM, which
included attitudes such as ‘She’ll be alright,
mate’, ambivalence about excellence, a
‘larriken’ or rebellious approach to authority
and a focus on materialism and the short term.
They pointed to a strong self-interest, which
t e nde d to de – empha s i z e long- t e rm
investments. Clearly they are all culturerelated
issues.
Huyton and Ingold (1995) investigated why
problems arose for the Ritz Carlton Hotel in
Hong Kong while in the USA, in 1992, the
hotel chain had been awarded the Malcolm
Baldrige Award for Quality. They identified a
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clash of culture as the main cause. Methods of
operation, generally accepted in the USA as
‘best practice’, did not work in this cultural
setting. For example, two barriers which cut
across fundamental prerequisites of the TQM
philosophy was the unwillingness to share
information as ‘‘knowledge is power’’ and
‘‘‘face’ – don’t work too closely with others –
they will get to know you’’.
One of the major difficulties experienced in
a service situation is the measurement of
quality. Service quality is frequently defined
as the difference between a customer’s
perception and their expectation of the
service. Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988,
1991, 1994) have extensively researched this
area and identified a range of appropriate
dimensions across which to make this
measurement (for example reliability,
assurance, responsiveness). This work led to
a measurement instrument: SERVQUAL.
Although there is still some debate
surrounding this, of interest here is a study
reported by Armstrong et al. (1997)
examining differences in the expectations of
hotel guests across cultures. They used an
adapted version of the SERVQUAL
questionnaire with samples from groups of
Asian, European and what they called
‘English Heritage’ cultures. Statistical
analysis indicated that between the groups,
expectations were significantly different.
Moreover, there were also some significance
differences in service quality measurements
between different cultural groups. The reasons
for these differences were not discussed in any
detail.
One area where a reasonable amount of
work has taken place is related to the reasons
for the success or failure in quality circles.
The findings of Dale (1986), Hill (1991) and
Isaac (1989) in this area could all be linked to
cultural influences. However, in examining
TQM adoption, Yong and Wilkinson (1999)
put forward an alternative view. They claim
that ‘Although cultural differences were first
blamed for their failures (quality control
circles and statistical process quality),
management practitioners and academics
eventually came to the conclusion that the
failures did not boil down to the Eastern
culture or any other peculiarly Japanese
characteristics, but to a misunderstanding of
the philosophical orientation underlying
Japanese management’ (p. 143). They go to
suggest that the confusion over exactly what
TQ actually entails contributes to this. Xu
(1999) adopts a very broad stance in exploring
the significance of the ‘title’ TQM, and brings
some detailed insights to how this confusion
in understanding might have arisen.
Product and Service Process Design
McGaughey and De Cieri (1999) considered
the convergence–divergence debate,
suggesting convergence in term of macrolevel
variables, but divergence at a micro
level. They noted the suggestion by Ralston et
al. (1997) of a ‘cross-bred’ form of values ‘in
between’ the two parent cultures resulting
from crossvergence. They argued that the
drivers for this form are national culture
(normal ly suppor t ing divergence of
‘practices’) and economic ideology (normally
supporting convergence). They reported on an
example of the integration of macro- and
micro-level variables in an Australian paint
manufacturing plant. At a macro level, there
was a need to introduce cellular methods
involving team working and to encourage cooperation
(rather than the usual competition)
within and between groups. At a micro level,
based on Hofstede’s data, Australia is second
only to the US in terms of individualism.
Management hoped to introduce a financial
reward system that would encourage this
desired co-operation (collectivism). This was
achieved by a combination of basic wage, plus
overall team-based component related to
overall productivity improvement, plus an
individual performance element.
At a macro level, the ‘Euro Disney’ theme
park development is an example of how
national cultural differences can have a
significant impact on the transferability of a
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successful service delivery system from one
situation to a second. It is claimed that ‘Tokyo
Disney’ was successful, and performance
statistics support this. In part, this was
attributed to the acceptance by the Japanese
workforce of the need for uniformity and rigid
control of processes and the environment to
‘optimize output’ (Trigg and Trigg 1995).
Euro Disney, initially at least, had difficulties.
The French national culture strongly resists
foreign influences that could be seen as
diluting the French way of life. Trigg and
Tr igg cl aim that ‘al though Di sney
[Corporation] incorporated some European
characteristics and facilities into Euro Disney,
and attempted to work within French
legislative programmes, the attempts have
been perceived at best as naı¨ve and
superficial’ (p. 21). Although in general
French management and the workforce
support quality and excellence in services,
the imposition of approaches and systems to
deliver these were seen by them as American
arrogance. French applicants for posts did not
have the attitudes for team working which
were necessary to fit into Disney’s team
culture (Trigg and Trigg 1995).
Morden (1995) commented on the seven
value dilemmas proposed by Hampden-Turner
and Trompenaars (1994), noting that
management’s understanding of them and
the various solutions to them facilitate
recognition of the impact of national culture
on the different approaches to processes
within the organization. Selecting two as an
illustration, it can be seen that in discussing
‘universalism versus particularism’ (making
rules and managing exceptions), he
commented on the need for an enterprise to
have systems that provide a structure for
organizing work. However, this has to be
viewed within the context of an environment
that will require flexibility to react to change
and to innovate. Looking at ‘constructing
versus deconstructing’ (analysing versus
integrating), he observed that while Anglo-
Saxon societies tend to analyse processes into
their components, Eastern societies tend to
seek patterns through integration. In an
abstract sense, it can be seen that how a
nation’s culture favours a particular resolution
to these two ‘dilemmas’ will impact on their
‘preferred’ design for an operations system.
Planning of Operations
Wilhelm (1994), reporting on the influence of
Mexican culture on the uses of US
management theory in Mexico, noted that
‘time is a relative concept and deadlines are
flexible . . . Almost all planning is short range
and, as a result the average Mexican executive
is accustomed to dealing with crisis situations’
(p. 15). He attributed this to the present
orientation of Mexican culture (Hall and Hall
1987). This was confirmed by Lawrence and
Yeh (1994) reporting the Mexican executives
in Kolland’s (1991) study as ‘living for the
present and not worrying about or planning for
the future’ (p. 55). This cultural influence on
the attitude to time was also noted by
Balsmeier and Heck (1994), who claimed that
‘In Latin America, Africa or the Middle East,
arriving half an hour late would be considered
early’ (p. 18).
Whybark and Vastag (1993) report on a
world-wide survey into the various aspects of
production planning and control. This includes
one paper (Chikan and Whybark) which
involves a cross-national comparison of
production–inventory management practices
including Western (Europe), Eastern (Korea
and China) and mixed (Hungary) cases.
Differences are reported, some of which are
attributed to the cultural differences between
East and West.
Morden (1995), in discussing time as a
‘sequence’ versus time as ‘synchronization’ in
the context of national culture and the culture
of the organization, suggested that ‘Japanese
and German companies are able to take a
longer-term view of their business than many
of their British or American competitors’ (p.
11). He went on to refer to the example given
by Hampden-Turner and Tromenaars (1994),
of the Toyota kanban system illustrating a
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flexible system exploiting synchronization or
co-ordination of activities rather than focusing
on the overall speed in the completion of a
sequence of activities.
Ford (1994), reporting on the muchanalysed
Euro Disney project, noted that the
organization had problems with adjusting
staffing levels at their French park because
of rigid labour schedules. Similar systems had
not caused problems at the American parent in
Florida. Trigg and Trigg (1995) in a more
comprehensive analysis of the same project
noted that ‘tempers often flare with the
f rust rat ion of very long queues as
Mediterranean visitors, less used to orderly
lines, jump the queues and upset the queuing
sensitivities of the British visitors’ (p. 21).
Even shorter-term scheduling can be
influenced by national culture. Work is
frequently prioritized in order to gain
efficiencies or appear to be fair to waiting
customers. Hickson and Pugh (1995) reported
that in India, even with their bureaucratic style
organization, scheduling rules may be broken
as employees do not operate impersonally. A
family member may be served ‘out of turn’ –
selection based on who you know rather than
the required criterion for efficiency or
fairness.
Total lifetime costs or total cost of
ownership are often used as one of the criteria
in best-practice purchasing situations. These
are taken to be a quantification of all of the
factors involved (including delivery
reliability, after sales) and can be used to
guide purchasing decisions in relation to a
supplier (see for example, Saunders 1994).
However, in some cultures, loyalty to
extended family groups or sections of the
community can dictate with whom an
organization deals.
FacilitiesManagement and Planning
Attitudes towards personal space are
influenced by culture. For example, Wilhelm
(1994), in discussing the use of US
management techniques in Mexico, noted that
the amount of personal space required is less
in Mexico than in the US. Clearly, this can
have an impact in a range of aspects
associated with POM, including the soft issues
such as pe r sonal intera ct ions wi th
management (proximity and physical contact).
Another key area is likely to be in the layout
of facilities. While this is important in a
manufacturing context, it becomes an even
more significant issue in a service context
when the customer is part of the process
because the organization has less ‘control and
influence’ over this group, compared with the
workforce.
Balsmeier and Heck (1994) commented on
the spaciousness of Western offices compared
with those in Japan. Goldman (1994)
compared the impact of personal space
considerations in services and manufacturing
in both the US and Japan. He reported the
difficulties experienced with Nippon Inc.’s
plans for their US partner, Raleigh Ltd. In
attempting to implement TQM, the now
familiar ‘U’-shaped work-stations were
introduced to support team working. The
reaction was that ‘US workers resisted the
forced togetherness as being too close for
comfort’ (p. 7). Performance will be affected
if individuals feel that their space is being
encroached upon ‘don’t crowd me or you’ll
hurt my productivity . . .’ (p. 7). It could be
argued that such attitudes towards personal
space are in part developed as a consequence
of population density. However, cultural traits
are influenced by the environment in which a
group of individuals are brought up.
Teare (1993) described the US-based Hyatt
international hotel group’s approach in its
Japanese hotels: ‘there are variations in layout
of the bathroom to reflect a Japanese style . . .
Hyatt is recognized in every other country in
which it operates as a company which uses a
familiar cultural framework as the basis for
planning and providing a high-quality
product’ (p. 68). He went on to claim that,
because the senior management team at the
head office represented eight different
nationalities with the same diversity
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throughout the rest of the organization, new
policies and procedures could be evaluated for
their cultural implications. Thus it was
possible ‘to devise policy which is flexible
enough to fit with different cultures’ (p. 69).
Operations Strategy
Increasingly, organizations are adopting a
strategy of moving from national to
international to global operations. The
transition from international to global is often
characterized as the move from ‘multidomestic’,
in which subsidiaries of
multinationals had a relatively high degree
of autonomy in manufacturing management
(Porter 1986 in Fleury 1999). This move
involves the alignment of manufacturing
strategies with global competitive strategies,
the redefinition of organizational structures to
support the integration of decision making and
communication systems, resource rationalization
through elimination of redundancies,
and the development of uniformly structured
control systems to provide standardized
procedures (Fleury 1999). Clearly, the
effectiveness of these steps will be influenced
by the extent to which they take account of the
cultures in the nations involved. Integration,
rationalization and standardization all have
significant implications in this context.
Nicholson (1999) carried out a study of
Polish businesses. This included a series of
study visits and interviews designed to
establish ‘the . . . manager’s vision of the
way ahead and the means of addressing the
problems of achieving that vision’ (p. 542).
His analysis included an ‘assessment’ of the
utility of various ‘Western methods’ in this
context. He noted that ‘Some companies had
embraced Western methods in name without
in any way recognizing the implications . . .’
(p. 550). However, evidence elsewhere
suggests that, at least in part, there are cultural
issues at play here. The situation is further
compounded by the cultural dynamics in a
nation that is clearly going through significant
change. This issue was explored by Todeva
(1999), who reported some empirical research
on Polish cultural norms which suggested that
there may be differences between ‘what
people perceive and communicate in public
as the national cultural norm and what they
have internalized as cultural attitude and
norms of behaviour’ (p. 606). Her analysis
used Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, and thus
had significance for this work.
McLaughlin and Fitzsimmons (1996)
discussed the strategies which organizations
might adopt if they are to globalize their
service operations. They use the concept of
the front office/back room split in a service
environment to develop some of their ideas
(the front office in a service is where the
customer contact normally takes place, e.g.
the dining room in a restaurant; the back office
is where activities not requiring the
customers’ interaction are carried out, e.g.
the kitchen; see Hope and Mu¨hlemann 1997).
They claimed that, ‘The globalization of front
room operations with its verbal customer
contact still depends heavily on the cultural
adaptation of the service’ (p. 47). They
identify a major problem for service
companies ‘delivering overseas’ as the choice
between adapting the service (and the delivery
system) to the users’ culture or relying on the
services and systems on which the reputation
was built ‘at home’. However, it could be
argued that in their discussion of the greater
possibilities for globalizing back room
operations especially where these can be
decoupled from front office activities, they
do not give sufficient regard to the cultural
adaptation necessary to systems and
procedures from the staff perspective. They
conclude their paper by identifying five
different global service strategies, each of
which they evaluate with respect to a number
of globalization factors, one of which is
cultural adaptation. In discussing the global
service strategy of multi-cultural expansion,
they note that ‘cultural adaptation is a major
service design issue’ (p. 51).
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People Issues in POM
Human resource management (HRM) is the
functional area that has possibly received most
attention from the perspective of cultural
impacts on best practice. Generally, the
operations manager is the individual with
responsibility for the largest number of people
within the organization, thus there is a large
measure of common interest in some of the
issues considered. Hope and Mu¨hlemann
(1998b) develop this idea in the context of
the TQ/HR interface in tourism studies. Papers
reporting cultural impacts frequently focus
either on specific aspects of HR, or
comparisons in practices between specific
nations. In this section, that research which
has specific relevance for operations will be
reviewed.
Easterby-Smith et al. (1995) completed a
broad comparison of HR practices between
Chinese and UK companies, looking for
elements that are affected by cultural
differences. They concluded that ‘The main
differences in HRM between the two
countries, therefore, appear in the ‘softer’
areas where relationships are important:
appraisal, reward systems, the process of
assessing potential and the basic stance of
unions towards management . These
differences can be linked to known cultural
factors . . .’ (p. 55). The first two areas listed at
least have important interfaces with POM.
Establishing equitable reward systems, based
on an assessment of the work involved in tasks
is an important task for operations. Wasti
(1998) developed a series of propositions that
related to the cultural barriers to the
transferability of Japanese human resource
practices to developing countries using
Turkey as a case. Key HR areas considered
that interfaced with POM included authority
relations, employee participation (linked to
QC circles), performance appraisals and
reward systems. He concluded with
suggestions for a wide range of further
research initiatives, including extending the
set of HR practices considered.
Verburg et al. (1999) carried out a direct
comparison of managing HR between China
and the Netherlands, based on a matched
sample of industrial companies. Their analysis
was based on a Dutch questionnaire survey
and structured interviews using the
questionnaire in China. They proposed and
justified a set of expectations for comparison
in the areas of personnel selection and
placement, pay and rewards, performance
appraisal, personnel training, and career
development and promotion. Statistical
analyses were then used to ‘test’ these
expectations. They claimed that, although
recent studies have shown a move away from
the Chinese tradition of ‘iron rice-bowl’
policies towards HR, there were still
considerable differences when compared with
the Netherlands. Specific areas identified
included career development, performance
appraisal and rewards; where differences were
expected because of the role of interpersonal
relationships in these aspects. Areas such as
training, selection and recruitment were
expected to be less different. Most expected
differences were confirmed, although at the
detailed level there were some interesting
deviations in ‘direction’. ‘Although we
expected that rewards would be related to
position rather than performance, we found
that rewards are more related to performance
of employees and the results of the company
in China than in the Netherlands’ (p. 406).
Snape et al. (1998) focused on performance
appraisal in their in-depth study of HR
practices in Great Britain and Hong Kong.
Partially based on Hofstede’s cultural
dimensions, they put forward a number of
hypotheses relating to likely differences in
practices in appraisal between the two
countries. Their conclusions were based on
an analysis of self-completed questionnaires.
While not all the hypotheses were supported
by their results, the suggestion was that the
practice of appraisal had been adapted to suit
the cultural characteristics in Hong Kong.
Galang (1999) reported a comparative study
on employee attitudes towards participation in
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the workplace. Based on Hofstede’s dimensions
of power distance and individualism, she
predicted that those in the Philippines will be
less disposed towards participation in decision
making (viewed in terms of ‘voice’ –
expressing a view on the decision, and
‘choice’ – actually making the decision) than
Canadians. However, her analysis, based on
the application of a questionnaire containing a
range of decision-making scenarios, did not
support this assertion. Various suggestions for
this were put forward, and the need for fieldwork
was emphasized.
Pizam et al. (1997) carried out a study of
hotel managers in Hong Kong, Japan and
Korea. One of the objectives was to determine
whether national culture had a greater effect
on managerial behaviour than the ‘hotel
industry’ culture. The methodology was based
on a written questionnaire, the majority of the
questions being designed to establish the
extent of usage of managerial practices related
to Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions. Issues
considered of particular significance to POM
included methods of performance evaluation,
attitudes towards time in planning and
methods of conflict resolution. Their analysis
indicated that there were significant
differences between nations on all dimensions.
They were able to conclude that, while there
were similarities (in 24% of practices studied),
national culture did have a stronger effect than
the ‘industry’ culture.
Black (1999) used Hofstede’s cultural
indices to attempt to predict the prevalence
of certain labour market flexibilities in various
countries. He developed a range of hypotheses
covering attitudes towards such issues as
employment security, protection for the
unemployed, co-ordinated and centralized
pay setting. Using data primarily from OECD
publications, these hypotheses were tested
statistically. He suggested that ‘While the
results demonstrate only statistical associations,
they are suggestive of the possibility
that culture plays a more determining role’ (p.
592) and ‘The implications for labour market
policy are considerable’ (p. 604).
The POM/Culture Interface
There is irrefutable evidence that national
cultures influence management behaviour.
Within POM it is possible to try to establish
which aspects of ‘best practice’ are most
likely to be influenced by differences in
national cultures. Evidence to support this
was collected and an initial attempt at a
general identification was completed in
previous sections. A further step is to examine
the cultural dimensions in more detail and to
try to link these to the different facets of POM.
In this initial assessment, a small group of five
experienced researchers was used. Each was
familiar with and had a shared agreement and
understanding of both the facets of POM and
the two sets of cultural dimensions chosen
(Hofstede 1991; Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck
1961). Each individually attempted to assess
which facet was likely to be influenced by the
position of a nation on each of the various
dimensions. The assessments are summarized
in Table 2, where the letters H and K are used
to refer to the two different sets of cultural
dimensions, and the numbers correspond to
the actual dimension as outlined in an earlier
section. The entries in each column represent
the averaging of the scores (using w1,
m2, s3) given by the members of the
group, and then converting these back to
weak, medium and strong. The average index
is the overall average of all of these average
scores across the nine dimensions. The
measures are rather simplistic, crude, ignore
overlap between dimensions, and are based on
several assumptions relating to adding,
averaging and interpreting scores. Nevertheless,
a picture begins to build up of areas
of relative cultural sensitivity.
The areas where there are both consistency
and diversity in views are interesting to note,
and this adds further weight to the argument
for further detailed research. In spite of their
backgrounds, some members of the group had
difficulty with some of the aspects of POM
and the impact of some cultural aspects.
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Discussion
There is a growing general recognition that the
various management practices in different
functional areas are not universally applicable
and frequently need adaptation if they are to
be used successfully in environments other
than those in which they were developed.
There is a range of anecdotal evidence to
support this and, in some areas, there has been
the start of more systematic research;
however, such research is not widespread:
‘There is scarce research on the transferability
of management practices across cultures’
(Galang 1999, p. 704).
An examination of the literature would
suggest that POM researchers have been
relatively slow to examine the interrelationships
between POM practices and
culture, with the exception of a few reported
case studies in this area. By contrast, there
seems to have been a somewhat more
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Table 2. Analysis of suggested cultural influences
Aspects of POM Cultural dimensions Average
H1 H2 H3 H4 K1 K2 K3 K4 K5
index
Product and Service Design
product/service design process m* w m* m* m* s* m* m* m* 2.1
quality management s s s m* m m s m* s 2.4
^ statistical process control w m m* w m* m w w w 1.4
value and variety management m* w* m* w w w m* m w 1.5
Product and Service Process Design
production/delivery system design (macro) m* m m* m m m m* m m* 2
work design and measurement (micro) m* m s m* s m* m* m m* 2.1
process improvement and re-engineering m* m s m* m* m* m* m m* 2.1
^ waste elimination/just-in-time m* m s m* m* m m* m* m* 2.1
Planning of Operations
forecasting m* w m w w s m w w 1.5
capacity planning w w m m* m s w m* w 1.8
^ queue management m* w m* m m* s m* m m 2.2
operations scheduling m* m s m* m* s m* m* w 2
project planning m m s m m s m m* m 2
supply chain management m m m m m s m m* m 2.2
^ purchasing m m m s m s s m s 2.3
^ materials management w w m m m s w w w 1.6
Facilities Management and Planning
equipment selection w w s m m m* w m m 1.8
reliability measurement w w m* w m* m* w w w 1.4
maintenance planning m m m* m m* s w m m 1.7
location decision making m* w m* m* m* w m* m m 1.7
layout planning m m m* m m* w m m m 2.1
Operations Strategy
the corporate strategy link m m m* m* m* m m m* m 2.1
operations strategy development and implementation m m s s m* m* m m* m 2.3
People Issues in POM
operations and HR s s s s s s* s* s s 2.8
health and safety s m* m m* m m* m* m* m* 2.2
Key:
s, position on this cultural dimension likely to strongly influence `best practices’ and require (significant) adaptation.
m, position on this cultural dimension likely to influence `best practices’ and require recognition and (possibly)
adaptation
w, position on this cultural dimension likely to have relatively little influence, and can be ignored.
*Both extremes of w and s selected.
213
systematic approach to this in the field of HR.
This work could indicate some useful
methodological pointers for researchers in
POM. The framework presented in Table 2
could provide a useful starting point for
research design.
It can be seen from the studies reported in
earlier sections that heavy use has been made
of the cultural dimensions of Hofstede,
although most researchers recognize the
limitations and criticisms that have been made
of this work. These need revisiting in terms of
their appropriateness in a POM context.
It is interesting to note the occasions when a
theoretical evaluation of the likely impact of
national cultures has produced hypotheses that
have not been confirmed by the subsequent
(statistical) analysis of the empirical evidence.
This indicates the complexity of the topic, and
the need for care and rigour in the process of
experimental design. It suggests the need to
combine both cross-sectional and longitudinal
studies.
The next step is to start the process of
exploring some of the hypothesized
relationships in Table 2. Inevitably, to
understand these links it will be necessary to
examine the situation at the level of specific
nations and aspects of best practice. A
systematic approach will be essential to put
together the pieces in the jigsaw in order to
build up to see the entire picture. Given the
complexity and extent of the task, it is
unlikely that a clear overall picture and
understanding of the inter-relationships will
be gained for a considerable number of years,
and only after extensive research.
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