National culture and management: messages conveyed by British, French and German advertisements for managerial appointments
Christine Communal, Barbara Senior
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The Authors
Christine Communal, Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK
Barbara Senior, University College Northampton, Northampton, UK
Abstract
This paper looks at the relationship between national culture and management through an examination of the messages conveyed by a sample of British, French, and German advertisements for management positions. The results from the study show that there are clear differences in management philosophy and practice, as perceived from the literature and the messages conveyed by a sample of advertisements in the UK, France and Germany.
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Article Type: Research paper
Keyword(s): Cross-cultural management; Europe; Globalization; National cultures; Recruitment.
Leadership & Organization Development Journal
Volume 20 Number 1 1999 pp. 26-35
Copyright © MCB UP Ltd ISSN 0143-7739
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Introduction
The past two decades have seen an increasing internationalisation and globalisation of business (Castells, 1989). This, coupled with the continuing process of industrialisation and the pressures of science and technology might lead one to argue that businesses world-wide are being driven to adopt similar ways of tackling the problems of production and organisation. Indeed, it seems that the application of common technologies and production methods associated with the spread of particular management techniques is dictating a “one best way” of organising with respect to organisational structures, systems and managerial practices. From this point of view, it appears that the process of industrialisation not only drives businesses to adopt similar ways of organising but also leads societies to adopt similar economic and social features (Kerr et al., 1960). Referred to as “the process of convergence”, this is accentuated at the European Union level where the number of supranational institutions is increasing as a result of greater integration between member states.
On the other hand, despite these forces working for convergence, ways of organising and managing still apparently remain significantly different from one country to another. For instance, there are a number of researchers (e.g. Adler, 1991; Hofstede, 1984; Laurent, 1983; Trompenaars, 1993) who continue to maintain that, to conduct business successfully in different countries across the world, there is a need to understand the distinctiveness of local values and traditions. This argument rests on the idea that differences in national cultures continue to dictate different ways of managing in different countries. In contrast to the process of convergence, this is referred to as “the process of divergence”.
There is some support for both the convergence and the divergence theories (Wilson and Rosenfeld, 1990). Even so there are clear implications for management of organisations in subscribing to one of these theories rather than the other. These are:
If the convergence view is taken, it might be expected that qualities or characteristics required for managing would be similar across organisational and national boundaries.
If the divergence view is subscribed to then different national cultures will influence significantly the way in which management is viewed and what constitutes a “good” manager.
This paper seeks to address this debate by examining advertisements for managers across three countries, namely the UK, France and Germany. At the centre of the debate lies the issue of culture and whether any differences and similarities in the characteristics required of managers can be explained by reference to the impact of culture.
The question of culture
Many definitions of culture are suggested in the literature. Agreeing on one definition is not easy and indeed the anthropologists, Kroeber and Kluckhohn, once identified over 160 different definitions. They then offered a comprehensive definition (Kroeber and Kluckhohn, 1952, p. 181):
Culture consists in patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values.
Hofstede (1981, p. 24), in considering a number of definitions of culture, offers his own as:
Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture, in this sense, is a system of collectively held values.
For the purposes of this discussion, both these definitions are relevant. Of interest, in particular, is the application of the definitions to the concept of national culture. Thus, the “human groups” referred to in Hofstede’s definition are taken to be national groupings.
The significance of these definitions is to draw attention to the debate, which was touched on in the introduction, and which is central to any comparative study. This is the convergence versus divergence debate or, as Kirkbride et al. (1989) conceptualise it, the culture-free versus the culture-deterministic debate. This debate is summarised as follows:
The culture-free thesis
Mullins (1993, p. 9) has defined management in the following way. “It is through the process of management that the efforts of members of the organisation are co-ordinated, directed and guided towards the achievement of organisational goals”. It seems, therefore, that since management is concerned with interaction with organisational members, the central question is: “Is there one best way of managing regardless of the national context of an organisation?”
A number of writers support the argument that the forces of industrialisation (e.g. Kerr et al., 1960) and the use of similar technologies (e.g. Castells, 1989; Woodward, 1965) as well as increasing size (e.g. Chandler, 1962; Hickson and McMillan, 1981; Pugh and Hickson, 1976) will push organisations, whatever their location, towards particular configurations with respect to strategy, structure and management. What is more, this trend finds its ultimate expression in Keegan’s (1989) and Ohmae’s (1990) concept of the “global organisation” which has no national allegiance, only an international common purpose. Indeed, Ohmae talks of getting rid of the “headquarters mentality”, implying a culture-free orientation.
The implications of the culture-free thesis for a comparison of management in the UK, France and Germany is that advertisements for managers in the three countries will show no significant differences in the general characteristics and experience required to manage effectively. In addition, similarities might be expected in the process of selection to be used.
The culture-contingent thesis
In contrast to the culture-free thesis, proponents of the culture-specific thesis argue that, “even if organizations located within different societies do face similar contingencies and adopt similar models of formal structure, deep-rooted cultural forces will still re-assert themselves in the way people actually behave and relate to each other” (Child and Kieser, 1981, p. 53). This notion of divergence supports the view that cultural differences between countries override the forces for convergence and, therefore, the unique historical and social conditions associated with each country will shape country-specific approaches to management.
Those who argue for divergence (Hofstede, 1980; Laurent, 1983; Maurice, 1979; Tayeb, 1994; Trompenaars, 1993), say that national culture affects the very essence of behaviour. Trompenaars goes so far as to say: “If something works in one culture, there is little chance that it will work in another” (Trompenaars, 1993, p. 1).
The implications of the culture-contingent thesis for a comparison of management in the UK, France and Germany are that managers will be recruited according to different expectations regarding characteristics deemed desirable for managers in that country. In this situation, the question to be answered is “What management characteristics crucially divide British managers from French and German managers and French and German managers from each other?”
Management in the UK, France and Germany
Several researchers have sought to identify cultural conceptions of management and have attempted to create cultural maps of nations incorporating the traits that impact on management. The question to be resolved is whether we are “all Europeans now” and there is little to choose between managers in one country or another? Or whether the national cultures are so distinctive that managers in different countries must of necessity operate with the management philosophies of those cultures?
In this respect, several writers, (e.g. Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990a, 1990b; Lane, 1989; Lawrence, 1980), summarising the work of other scholars, have discussed differences between management styles in the UK, France and Germany. Their findings relate to the desirable characteristics expected by organisations of their managers which they suggest are different from one nation to another. For instance, Lane (1989) compares and contrasts how the concept of “a manager” is understood in the three countries. In France, managers are mostly referred to as “cadres”. The expression “les cadres” describes the professional grouping and emphasises the bureaucratic ethos of hierarchy and discipline rather than a preoccupation with profit making. This is in contrast with the concept of management in Britain which is mainly associated with performance and profit. In Germany a popular term for management is Fuhrungskraft. The word Fuhrung underlines the concept of leadership.
As a result of examining the social origins of managers, Lane (1989), points out that managers in France are mainly recruited from the “grandes écoles” (élite business or engineering schools). They come from a social and intellectual élite. By contrast, in the UK and Germany top and higher level managers also seem to come from the higher social strata. In the UK, however, there may be greater chances of progression into management for people of working class origins. Lane also found that pre-entry education standards seem to vary from one country to another. For instance, in France it is essential to be a graduate to be recruited into management and this is not just a recent phenomenon. Moreover his finding that graduates from the “grandes écoles” are particularly valued as recruits into management is confirmed by the work of Barsoux and Lawrence (1990a) and Calori and de Woot (1994). The fact that the French education system values quantitative techniques, rapid problem solving and abstract analytical thinking implies that practical competence is under-valued. This contrasts with the situation in Germany where practical competence is valued (Lawrence, 1980).
In Germany managers are also recruited from graduates. However, graduates who, additionally, hold an apprenticeship are even more valued. Industry has a high status in Germany and so has the apprenticeship system. Consequently the industry has no problem attracting highly qualified and specialist staff as well as managers who have practical and theoretical skills (Lawrence, 1980).
The research of Barsoux and Lawrence (1990b) and Lane (1989) indicates that in the UK, although larger companies have graduate managers, managers are relatively uneducated compared to French and German managers. It appears that personal qualities and interpersonal skills are as important as qualifications. Where qualifications matter, a general management qualification is the norm. British managers do not need to be specialists. At top and higher levels of management the general education may typically have been acquired at a public school and/or through Oxbridge. Consequently, British managers tend to see themselves as generalists although top managers are as likely to be professionally qualified as accountants.
Authority is based on position rather than functional expertise. The management style is employee centred. However, managers think that industry is about making money. In France, the preferred management style seems to be authoritarian with little room for a “people sensitive” orientation. Emphasis is on direct and close supervision. In Germany, however, managers see themselves first and foremost as specialists (frequently engineers) who have taken on more responsibility than their colleagues. Emphasis is on the product and its commercial applicability whilst also caring about the people and the group (Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990a, 1990b; Lawrence, 1980).
As far as the remuneration package is concerned the British are very open; money is important and it is fine to talk about it. In France, Barsoux and Lawrence (1990a) report a reluctance to speak about salaries. On this matter Maurice et al. (1986) documented the existence of a high distance between the lowest paid employee and the highest paid employee in French organisations. This disparity is an element which explains why salaries are not commonly discussed in public; salaries also depend on the incumbent rather than the function. In Germany, the situation is more egalitarian; all employees enjoy a wide remuneration package including various benefits such as pension schemes, health benefits and Christmas bonuses. The German remuneration package tends to be taken for granted as it is available to all (Lawrence, 1982).
The research carried out by Hofstede (1984), both because of its significance at the time it was done and since it continues to the present, is worth considering with regard to the later findings reported above. This research involved questioning some 116,000 employees of a large multinational company operating across 50 countries. A factor analysis of the results produced four major dimensions of culture namely: power distance which concerns the degree of inequality between people at the different levels in an organisation; individualism-collectivism which describes the degree to which the ties between people are very loose (individualism) or very tight (collectivism); masculinity-femininity which describes the degree of assertiveness and competition (masculinity) found in organisations as opposed to an emphasis on nurturing values and the quality of life (femininity); and, finally, uncertainty avoidance which refers to the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous, unstructured situations. An examination of these findings with respect to the UK, France and Germany show them as belonging to different culture clusters. This is illustrated in Table I which gives the rankings of the UK, France and West Germany on Hofstede’s four dimensions. It can be seen from this that significant differences occur, in different combinations of dimensions, across the three countries.
It is possible to derive expected management characteristics from his findings (Hofstede, 1983). On the power distance dimension the UK and West Germany rate very low. The low score on power distance implies that British and German managers are good at team work, build good relationships with staff and motivate their subordinates to perform. The low score of France on the power distance dimension indicates quite the opposite; French mangers ought to be able to command respect, manage with authority and establish a firm leadership.
On the individualism versus collectivism dimension the UK rates highest, followed by France and West Germany also with relatively high scores. This means that in the three countries it is acceptable to be personally ambitious. A manager is also expected to have qualifications and/or experience related to the task. Furthermore the British, French and German cultures allow and expect managers to be able to make their own decisions.
On the masculinity dimension the UK and Germany display high scores. These imply an assertive management style and indicate that managers are likely to have to perform against quantitative targets. For France the score is low which suggests that managers have to perform against a range of targets including subordinate satisfaction. These derived assumptions are not completely in line with other research (Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990a) where French managers are described as more assertive and authoritarian than British and German managers. This dimension may apply not so much to the way in which managers do their job as to the general quality of life and the “art de bien vivre en France” (The art of good living in France).
On the last dimension, uncertainty avoidance, the scores are quite spread. The British score is extremely low. This means that British managers are expected to use a democratic style and show respect for other people’s views and be able to work alongside and share responsibilities with others. In contrast to the British score, the score for France is very high; the French are not comfortable with uncertainty. Managers therefore prefer a clear task and management structure. Rules and regulations are in place to achieve predictability in the organisation. The middle score for West Germany points to a preference for a structured management style that also allows some flexibility.
A more limited piece of research, confined to respondents who were managers, was carried out by Laurent (1983). He surveyed 817 managers from ten Western countries and again identified four dimensions of culture which differentiated organisations according to their strength in terms of being: political systems; authority systems; role-formalisation systems; and hierarchical-relationship systems. Table II gives the scores of the UK, France and Germany on these dimensions.
On the basis of Laurent’s dimensions, it is possible to derive characteristics which might be expected from French, German and British managers. Table II shows that 62 per cent of French managers consider their organisations as political systems. This result is very high compared to the scores for Germany and the UK, 36 per cent and 32 per cent respectively. In fact, Laurent’s work shows that the majority of French managers who took part in the survey see their organisations not only as political systems, but also as authority systems, role formalisation systems and hierarchical relationship systems. This shows that French managers have a clear notion of the organisational structure. Hierarchy and power are important and these are legitimised by high level qualifications. These findings are congruent with previous studies (Barsoux and Laurence, 1990a). Table II also shows that the French, German and British respondents seem overwhelmingly to consider organisations as role formalisation systems with all scores above 80 per cent. This indicates that managers in the three countries prefer well-defined roles.
The average score on “organisations as hierarchical relationships systems” suggest that German managers, like those in France, are comfortable with a classic hierarchy. Differences occur, however, in that German managers view themselves as co-ordinators of, rather than authorities over, the skills of others. The German managers in the survey mostly disagreed with the idea of organisations as political or authority systems. They view authority as regulating interaction amongst tasks rather than regulating interaction amongst people (Laurent, 1983).
British managers also tend to have a low political orientation especially compared to French managers. The medium score for the UK on “organisations as authority systems” suggests that a British manager should be able to provide a clear leadership, but at the same time carry subordinates with him/her. The high score of Britain on “organisations as role formalisation systems” indicates that British managers are expected to manage efficiently. Lastly the very low score on “organisations as hierarchical relationship systems” suggests that British managers are able to co-ordinate the skills of others and to work alongside them.
Overall, Laurent’s research results lead him to conclude:
... the national origin of European managers significantly affects their views of what proper management should be. National culture seems to act as a strong determinant of managerial ideology (Laurent, 1983, p. 77).
This view accords with Hofstede’s findings and much of the research on cross-cultural differences carried out since that time and confirms the divergence view that different national cultures shape different approaches to management. It is reasonable to expect, therefore, that British, French and German advertisements for managers will carry some distinct cultural messages which relate to the findings of the main researchers in this area.
Table III summarises these findings in the form of the major characteristics which appear to distinguish management and managing in Britain, France and Germany. Several of these characteristics are particularly relevant for this study, given the likelihood of them featuring in advertisements for managerial appointments. These are:
the concept of leadership as it relates to the management of people and decision making;
managers’ educational background and qualifications for fulfilling the requirements of the position;
associated with the above point, the experience required for fulfilling the requirements of the position;
the concept of motivation as it relates to rewards and incentives for high performance.
It might also be expected that there will be differences across the three countries in the method required for responding to advertisements for jobs. Consequently, the aims of this study are to test these expectations.
Methodology
Data
Researchers (e.g. Barsoux, 1992; Barsoux and Lawrence, 1990a; Tollgerdt-Andersson, 1993) argue that advertisements for managers can be assumed to reflect the spontaneous expectations and demands made upon managers in a particular culture. The method used for this study reflected this. In practice this involved reading a sample of advertisements and making systematic notes of the selection requirements and practices. Trends which appeared within the advertisements from one country were then compared with the trends in the advertisements from the other countries. Trends were identified by inspection and the use of frequency counts of recurrent characteristics.
As part of this process, it was recognised that some characteristics might relate to the specific management function (e.g. marketing) or to other technical requirements for that particular position. However, as these were unlikely to be influenced by the cultural context, they were not included in the analysis. This was restricted to the more general characteristics indicative of what constitutes a “good” manager and the way in which he/she might be recruited.
Selection of newspapers
It is acknowledged that national culture is not limited to the strict borders of a nation, and regional influences can be strong (Tayeb, 1994; Usnier, 1991). For the purpose of this study, however, national culture is restricted and defined as a homogeneous whole, and only advertisements from publications available nation-wide were collected; it is assumed that culture differences within one country are far less significant than cross-border differences.
The sample was selected from the Sunday Telegraph, 25 June 1995, from L’Express, 22 June 1995, and from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 24 June 1995. It should be noted that the British and West German newspapers as well as the French magazine were bought within the same week.
Selection of advertisements
In each of the newspapers and in the magazine, the first 100 advertisements for management positions were numbered, leaving out the advertisements which did not concern an appointment in management. For each newspaper and magazine, ten numbers between 1 and 100 were generated (0 < x > 101, where x = random number) using a calculator. The corresponding advertisements formed the sample. Therefore, out of 100 advertisements from each country, ten were selected.
Development of comparison criteria
The categories for comparison of the advertisements were derived from two sources. First, from the findings of the literature review summarised in Table III. Second, from an initial examination of a sample of three matched advertisements. This resulted in the following categories being formed: role and personal attributes (which included the concepts of leadership and working with others), educational requirements, experience required, package, and the method of responding to an advertisement. Each advertisement was analysed to extract the relevant information in terms of the above-mentioned categories. A category named “other” was added, for any requirement that did not fit neatly into any of the other categories.
Analysis of advertisements
Bearing in mind the summary of the literature review (Table III), and the proposition which was developed accordingly: “advertisements for managerial appointments should carry some distinct cultural messages”, the advertisements were expected to reveal particular differences in the values and demands made upon managers. However, in order to ensure an unbiased analysis of the sample of advertisements, a contents analysis was carried out. Classifying the information contained in the advertisements into the five pre-defined categories and presenting these in tables allowed a recording of similarities and differences between advertisements. Further details and a copy of the tables can be obtained from the authors.
Results
Table IV presents a summary of the findings.
Role and personal attributes
It appears that the personal qualities expected from French, British and German managers are different. In the UK, emphasis is on leadership skills, individual initiative and above all interpersonal skills. In France emphasis is put on the general ability to lead while German managers have to prove their willingness and ability to fit and work within a team.
Educational requirements
British managers are expected to have a general, good education. Practically all the French advertisements require a graduate, with a distinct preference for a graduate from an élite business school. The educational requirements for German managers stand out because of the degree of specificity; they require specialists for the function.
Experience
The experience required for the job advertised in the three countries was relevant to the position. It appeared, however, that the British advertisements do not on the whole specify a preferred age whereas it is a common specification in the French advertisements. A preferred age is sometimes mentioned in Germany.
Package
All British advertisements describe the package and mention the salary. The French advertisements, however, do not make any reference to a package. In the German sample the package is only mentioned three times out of ten.
Responding
The pattern for the British advertisements is to ask for a CV. The French advertisements also request a CV but also a letter of motivation written by hand and a photograph. The German advertisements were largely unspecific.
Other
A last pattern was identified with regard to language skills. The results seem to indicate that German and French managers are required to have more language skills than British managers. English, being the language of international business, this is hardly surprising. This category of findings, although interesting, is not directly relevant to management philosophy and practice and it is therefore difficult to comment on in the context of this research.
Discussion
The proposition formulated for the research was that advertisements for managerial appointments will carry some distinct cultural messages. The overall results corroborate this proposition. However, the results are interesting in their detail and relationship to the literature discussed earlier. What follows examines this relationship.
Role and personal attributes
On the whole the British advertisements in the sample seem to put emphasis on individual initiative and interpersonal skills. The words: “success”, “leadership”, “interpersonal skills” and “communication” appear in nine advertisements out of ten. Good communication and interpersonal skills seem to be associated with leadership and success. Interpersonal skills are therefore required of a good manager in Britain. This confirms the findings from the literature and supports Lawrence’s (1992) argument that interpersonal skills are particularly valued in British management.
In the French advertisements the emphasis is slightly different. It is on the ability to lead and drive implying a firm management style. This is consistent with Hofstede’s research which rates France high on the power distance dimension. It also confirms Laurent’s (1983) findings that authority, hierarchy and power are important in French management.
The results of the analysis of the German sample show a certain emphasis on the ability of German managers to integrate and work within a team. The candidates need to show a willingness and ability to fit into the new environment (Engagement, Einsatzwille, commitment, Einfuhlungs-vermogen, empathy), and to work within a team Teamarbeit. This finding is consistent with Germany (at the time West Germany) rating low on the power distance dimension in Hofstede’s study. Germany also rates relatively high on collectivism compared to France and the UK. Lawrence (1980) suggests that in Germany conflict and competition should be avoided; co-operation and consensus are considered preferable. The low power distance score does seem to indicate a belief in equality, interdependence, trust and harmony (Hofstede, 1984). This is confirmed by the messages found in the advertisements.
On the whole the advertisements suggest that the demands for interpersonal skills and social ability are higher in Germany and the UK than in France. It seems then that German and British managers need to be good communicators, whereas French managers need to be firm leaders.
Educational requirements
The British sample of advertisements generally requires a good education without being too specific although three advertisements out of ten indicate a preference for an engineering qualification. However, there is also a requirement for some kind of business education thus confirming the emphasis in the literature on the need for more general skills. It is interesting to point out that no reference was found of a public school education or Oxbridge education. However, this requirement may not be made explicitly within an advertisement because of equal opportunities policies legislation.
By contrast, in the French sample most advertisements require a graduate (nine out of ten). Furthermore six out of ten advertisements require a graduate from a business school with one advertisement naming particular business schools from which the suitable applicant should have graduated. The business schools being nearly all in the grandes écoles sector, they provide an élite education. These results confirm the findings from the literature review. France rates high on power distance, and it seems that authority is legitimised by degrees. Hofstede (1984) highlighted this acceptance of superiors and subordinates being different kinds of people with power holders entitled to privilege, and the tendency towards élitism.
In Germany, power seems to be legitimised by a good university degree in the field relevant to the job in hand. Management skills tend to be acquired by experience and not so much through academic teaching. In Germany, general education is not as valued as it is in France or in the UK. In the sample, the advertisements ask for very precise educational requirements that match the job requirements very closely. This point is confirmed by Lawrence (1980, p. 184):
Ask a German manager what are the requirements for such and such a post and one will be bombarded with fachspezifisch statements.
(Fachspezifisch literally means subject-specific.) This is also entirely consistent with the image of the German organisation as a well-oiled, professional machine.
On the whole it can be said that education plays a fundamental role in shaping national values. In the UK, a good general education and, above all, interpersonal skills are valued. In France, a degree is highly valued and even more so if delivered from one of the grandes écoles, thus legitimising the hierarchy, and contributing to maintaining the pyramid-like form of organisations. In Germany a specialised degree is valued, reinforcing the concept of the rational organisation.
Experience
Across the samples of British, French, and German advertisements, the experience required is relevant to the position. Culture does not seem to influence this requirement. Although it is interesting to notice that the British advertisements rarely specify a preferred age, whereas the French advertisements almost invariably do. This may be related to the degree of uncertainty avoidance, low in the UK, high in France, or alternatively, may have to do with the equal opportunity policy adopted by most British companies which acts against discrimination, although age discrimination is still legal in the UK. In France age discrimination is also legal, but contrary to the UK businesses do not seem to be taking any steps to progress in that area.
In Germany a preferred age is sometimes mentioned, but is related to the position (regional manager or trainee).
Package
All advertisements in the British sample describe extensive packages including salary, company car and other benefits. However, in the sample of French advertisements, only one vague mention to a “remuneration attractive” (attractive salary) is to be found. Barsoux and Lawrence (1990a, p. 48) consider that the virtual absence of any mention to a package in French advertisements may be: “a manifestation of the Catholic reticence to talk about money or may reflect the fact that the salary depends on the incumbent rather than the post. In effect, remuneration tends to be based on criteria which relate to the person - age, training, experience, contacts even - rather than the functions assigned or the results obtained, a very French, and significantly un-American approach”. Explicit details of the package in the British advertisements help the applicant to situate the level of responsibility for the position. The package is also an important factor of motivation in the Anglo-system of values. These findings confirm the literature.
In the German sample the package is only mentioned in three of the ten advertisements which tends to contradict the assumptions derived from the literature. However, given that Germany is an affluent society, it is normal to assume that the German applicant does not need details on the package to know that the salary will be competitive. Moreover, owing to the powerful trade unions, wages tend to be predictable. With a certain number of years’ experience, with a certain level of education and for a given job, the possible pay range will be very narrow.
Responding
Curricula vitae appear to be a popular recruitment tool in the UK since nine out of the ten advertisements ask the applicant to send a CV.
In the French sample nine advertisements mention or imply the request for a letter written by hand, a CV and passport photograph. These requests confirm the well-known fact that in France applications are very often examined by a graphologist and sometimes even by a morphologist. This may illustrate a tendency for high uncertainty avoidance in France (Hofstede, 1984).
In Germany, tools of selection include application forms, CVs, and references. Testimonials are often used for recruitment in Germany. In the sample of German advertisements nothing specific is mentioned for responding apart from, in two cases, a request for the applicant’s salary ambitions. However, the applicant would probably understand that the request for Bewerbungsunterlagen (application documents) includes a request for a reference. The fact that references or testimonials are used in Germany illustrates the importance of collective values and the ability to get on with colleagues.
Other characteristics: language skills
The results seem to indicate that German and French managers are required to have more language skills than British managers. English being the language of international business, this is hardly surprising. This category of findings, although interesting to look at, is not directly relevant to management philosophy and practice and it is therefore difficult to comment upon.
Conclusion
These research results corroborate the proposition that advertisements for managerial appointments carry some distinct cultural messages and confirm other research findings that different philosophies exist in the UK, France and Germany. Therefore, faced with the efforts of European governments to put in place supranational institutions, and for an ever more integrated European Union, it is important to recognise some of the differences in management style as reflected in the results of this study; differences which must be taken into account in order to do business successfully with European countries other than our own.
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