HUMA 1745 Chapter Notes - Chapter 20: Decision-Making
1 May 2018
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HUMA 1745 Chapter 20 Notes – Summary
Introduction
• We need to recognize that the cultural background of a decision maker can have a
significant influence on the selection of problems, the depth of analysis, the importance
placed on logic and rationality, and whether organizational decisions should be made
autocratically by an individual manager or collectively in groups.
• Cultures differ in their time orientation, the importance of rationality, their belief in the
ability of people to solve problems, and their preference for collective decision making.
• Differences in time orientation help us understand why managers in Egypt make
decisions at a much slower and more deliberate pace than their US counterparts.
• While rationality is valued in North America, that is not true elsewhere in the world.
• A North Ameria aager ight ake a iportat deisio ituitiely ut ko it’s
important to appear to proceed in a rational fashion because rationality is highly valued
in the West.
• In countries such as Iran, where rationality is not as paramount as other factors, efforts
to appear rational are not necessary.
• Some cultures emphasize solving problems, while others focus on accepting situations
as they are.
• Canada falls in the first category
• Thailand and Indonesia are examples of the second.
• Because problem-solving managers believe they can and should change situations to
their benefit, Canadian managers might identify a problem long before their Thai or
Indonesian counterparts would choose to recognize it as such.
• Decision making by Japanese managers is much more group-oriented than in Canada.
• The Japanese value conformity and cooperation.
• So before Japanese CEOs make an important decision, they collect a large amount of
information, which they use in consensus-forming group decisions.
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