Question

Most motivation theories in use today were developed in the United States by Americans and about
Americans. Of those that were not, many have been strongly influenced by American theories. But
several motivation theories do not apply to all cultures. For example, Maslow’s theory does not often
hold outside the United States. In countries higher on uncertainty avoidance (such as Greece and Japan)
as compared with those lower on uncertainty avoidance (such as the United States), security motivates
employees more strongly than does self-actualization. Employees in high-uncertainty-avoidance
countries often consider job security and lifetime employment more important than holding a more
interesting or challenging job. Also contrasting with the American pattern, social needs often dominate
the motivation of workers in countries such as Denmark, Norway, and Sweden that stress the quality of
life over materialism and productivity.

When researchers tested Herzberg’s theory outside the United States, they encountered different
results. In New Zealand, for example, supervision and interpersonal relationships appear to contribute
significantly to satisfaction and not merely to reducing dissatisfaction. Similarly, researchers found that
citizens of Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Republic of Panama, and the West Indies cited certain
extrinsic factors as satisfiers with greater frequency than did their American counterparts. In other
words, the factors that motivate U.S. employees may not spark the same motivation in employees in
other cultures. Some of the major differences among the cultural groups include the following:

1. English-speaking countries such as England and the United States rank higher on individual
achievement and lower on the desire for security.
2. French-speaking countries and areas such as France and the province of Quebec in Canada,
although similar to the English-speaking countries, give greater importance to security and
somewhat less to challenging work.
3. Northern European countries such as Sweden have less interest in getting ahead and work towards
recognition goals and place more emphasis on job accomplishment. In addition, they have more
concern for people and less for the organization as a whole (it is important that their jobs not
interfere with their personal lives).
4. Latin American and Southern European countries find individual achievement somewhat less
important; Southern Europeans place the highest emphasis on job security, whereas both groups of
countries emphasize fringe benefits.
5. Germany ranks high on security and fringe benefits and among the highest on getting ahead.
6. Japan, although low on advancement, also ranks second-highest on challenge and lowest on
autonomy, with a strong emphasis on good working conditions and a friendly working environment.

Critical Thinking Questions
1. In today’s global business environment, with its diversity of perspectives, can a manager ever
successfully use equity theory? Why or why not?
2. What impact, if any, do these cultural differences have on managers managing an entirely American
workforce? Explain.

I need help with both questions

Answer 1

1. In today’s global business environment, with its diversity of perspectives, can a manager ever successfully use equity theory? Why or why not?

Yes. Regardless of the global market climate, I think one can still effectively apply equity theory. They need to note that equity theory is focused on intuition and not based solely on the real output-by-input ratio. With the experience a manager should be able to use equity theory to control employee motivation. In reality, many of the activities of many multinational corporations actually show that. A software engineer in India, for example, gets paid 1/5 times the salary a similar engineer gets in the USA. That can reflect inequity in the global sense. However, due to the cultural and economic context the understanding is different and hence the equity theory still has its reach. The Indian engineer can not feel wrong as long as other engineers often receive similar benefits for similar work. No similar contrast will be made with their equivalent in the USA.

This is why equity theories exit today, if not solely in geographical context, in a social and economic sense. This also deals with equity interpretation, rather than the real equity. And it still exists today.

2. What impact, if any, do these cultural differences have on managers managing an entirely American workforce? Explain.

Managers who work entirely with American workforce can become familiar with the culture and expectations of the American workers. Not that this is evil. This comes with its own share of ups and downs, though. This will lead to specialisation, for example. Find a business HR Boss who deals exclusively with American employees. In making policies that promote and empower American employees, he / she will be successful. In other countries, though, the same policies may not be successful. Working exclusively with one community will create expertise, but will not be relevant to the global scenario.

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