Suchergebnisse

Loneliness is a pervasive social problem which is experienced universally, regardless of one's race, gender, age or cultural background. This study examined the influences of cultural background on the perceptions of loneliness antecedents. In the present study, 711 Canadians,
568 Turks, and 398 Argentinians answered an 82-item questionnaire composed of five subscales, namely: Personal inadequacies, Developmental deficits, Unfulfilling intimate relationships, Relocation/significant separation, and Social Marginality. Participants were asked to endorse those
items which, in their opinion, constituted the causes of their loneliness. Results revealed significant differences among the three cultures. Canadians had the highest mean scores on all subscales, while the Turkish participants had the lowest mean scores on Personal inadequacies and Developmental
deficits. Gender differences also were examined within, and between, cultures.

Managers are increasingly seen as having a critically important rôle to play in development and nation-building,1and doubts concerning the appropriateness of transferring western ideas and practices to third-world countries are assuming urgent significance. Questions are posed about the impact of social and cultural factors on the management of organisations, and about relationships, between managerial thinking and behaviour and the national stage of economic growth. For example, A. Gladstone asserts that management is a key determinant in development in Africa's new nations, and notes that there has been little research and analysis concerning the evolving state of the managerial art in Africa, both in terms of what exists and what is needed … while management training for Africans has developed considerably, is this training the most appropriate? To what extent should traditional African management be discarded… are the various modern Western approaches relevant and effective in the setting up of African enterprises?2

Eine Befragung von Managern in Kenia und Malawi zeigt im internationalen Vergleich zum Teil unterschiedliche Bewertungen ihrer Motivation, als Unternehmer tätig zu werden. Während in entwickelten Industriegesellschaften die persönliche Selbstverwirklichung ausnahmslos vor dem Autonomiestreben, dem Sicherheitsdenken und dem sozialen Status rangieren, steht die Sicherheit des Arbeitsplatzes bei den Managern in Afrika an erster Stelle; erst dann folgt auch hier der Wunsch nach Autonomie. Interessant ist, daß der soziale Status in allen Fällen an hinterer Stelle rangiert. Kulturelle Faktoren führen damit nur teilweise zu deutlichen Unterschieden im Verhalten und in der Einschätzung der eigenen Tätigkeit. (DÜI-Hlb)

Based on the collectivism‐individualism structure, the present study compared organizational conflict management behaviors between Korea (a collectivistic culture) and the U.S. (an individualistic culture). Employing a three‐way factorial design (Culture type x Relational distance x Power relationship), the present study registered robust effects of culture type in determining one's organizational conflict management behaviors. Specifically, Koreans are found to be extensive users of solution‐orientation strategies, while Americans prefer to use either non‐confrontation or control strategies in dealing with organizational conflicts. Moreover, the data also indicated that Koreans are more sensitive in exercising power when facing conflicts with subordinates in the organization. On the other hand, the effect of relational distance (ingroup vs. outgroup) in determining one's choice of organizational conflict management styles is found to be minimal. Implications of present findings for future intercultural communication research are also discussed.

This paper compares affective meanings of various stereotyped social groups in U.S., German, and Japanese cultures along the three basic dimensions of emotional experience (evaluation, potency, and activity). Analyses exploring similarities in affective meanings between respondents revealed considerable consensus within cultures, but less across cultures. These analyses indicated greater consensus for the U.S. and German sample than for the Japanese sample, supporting past research which indicates that Japanese social perception is more contextualized than in Western cultures. Analyses of cross-cultural differences also identified meaningful patterns of culture-specific deviation, interpretable in terms of the placement of each national sample on cultural dimensions such as power distance, masculinity, and individualism/collectivism. We argue that affective meanings reflect the social order of specific cultures, making variations in consensus significant as affective meanings guide intergroup behavior and emotion.