Because our focus here is on the needs that affect the working environment, it is important to understand first what work means to people from different backgrounds. For most people, the basic meaning of work is tied to economic necessity (money for food, housing, and so forth) for the individual and for society 1-lowever, the additional connotations of work are more subjective, especially about what work provides other than money - achievement, honor, social contacts, or whatever.
Another way to view work, though, is through its relationship to the rest of a person's life. The Thais call work knag, which is the same as their word for “play,” and they tend to introduce periods of play in their workdays. On the other hand, most people in China, Germany, and the United States have a positive attitude toward work. Especially in work-oriented China, seven-day workweeks with long hours and few days off are common.A study of average work hours in various countries conducted by Steers found that Koreans worked longer hours and took fewer vacation days than workers in Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Japan, and Indonesia. The study concluded that the Koreans' hard work was attributable to loyalty to the company, group-oriented achievement and emphasis on group harmony and business relationships.
Studies on the meaning of work in eight countries were carried out by George England and a group of researchers who are called the Meaning of Work (MOW) International Research Team. Their research sought to determine a person's idea of the relative importance of work compared to that of leisure, community, religion, and family They called this concept work centrality, defined as “the degree of general importance that working has in the life of an individual at any given point in time.” The mean score on the work centrality index for the eight countries studied is shown in Exhibit 10-1.
The obvious general implication from these findings is that the higher the mean work centrality score, the more motivated and committed the workers would be. Of even more importance to managers (as an aid to understanding culture-based differences in motivation) are the specific reasons for valuing work What kinds of needs does the working environment satisfy and how does this differ among populations?
Some excellent insights into this question were provided by the MOW research team when they asked people in the eight countries to what extent they regarded work as satisfying six different functions. The six functions were as follows: work (1. provides a needed income, (2. is interesting and satisfying, (3. provides contacts with others, (4. facilitates a way to serve society, (5. keeps one occupied, and (6. gives status and prestige. The results are shown in Exhibit 10-2. Note the similarities of some of these ftmctions with Maslow's need categories and Herzberg's categories of motivators and maintenance factors. Clearly, these studies can help international managers to anticipate what attitudes people have toward their work, what aspects of work in their life context are meaningful to them, and therefore what approach the manager should take in setting up motivation and incentive plans.
In addition to the differences among countries within each category - such as the higher level of interest and satisfaction derived from work by the Israelis as compared with the Germans - it is interesting to note the within-country differences. While income was clearly the most important factor for all countries, it apparently has a far greater importance than any other factor in Japan. In other countries, like the Netherlands, the relative importance of different factors was more evenly distributed.
The broader implications of such comparisons about what work means to people are derived from considering the total cultural context: the low rating given by the Japanese to the status and prestige found in work, for instance, suggests that those needs are more fully satisfied elsewhere in their lives, such as within the family and community. In the Middle East, religion plays a major role in all aspects of life, including work. The Islamic work ethic is a commitment toward fulfillment and so business motives are held in the highest regard.5 The on-
The Meaning of Work : Resource for Business Management article from Global Human Resource Management Catagory The Meaning of Work
The Meaning of Work Resource for Business Management article from Resource for Business Management Global Human Resource Management.Free learning from data about The Meaning of Work Resource for Business Management Global Human Resource Management Business Management,online business management,business management classes,online business management degrees