hey are also adaptive and evolve over time in response to a myriad of external forces that can affect society. For example, Saudi women are now being allowed to drive cars - a sign, however small, that things are changing in the Middle East as they are in other parts of the world. Germany offers another example. Following the Second World War, Germany was divided into eastern and western sectors. East Germany was transformed into an authoritarian communist state, while West Germany supported democracy, individualism, and capitalism. Contacts across borders were highly restricted, particularly after the Berlin Wall was erected in the early 1960s. Over time, despite a common heritage dating back centuries, this absolute division created major cultural differences between Ossies (East Germans) and Wessies (West Germans). Following reunification almost fifty years later, both sides realized that they had grown apart culturally as well as economically. This schism still adversely affects Germany today through differences in work ethics, entrepreneurial drive, economic prosperity, and political beliefs.the other hand, some assumptions and beliefs are fairly stable and resist change. We may notice changes in behaviors, but the meaningsand assumptions behind these behaviors are often deeply rooted in cultural values ??that are fairly stable. A good example of this can be found in studies of the impact of television broadcasting around the world. Television series that are aired worldwide are supposed to influence the lives of large populations across cultures with dominant Western, principally American, values. One particular study is interesting in this regard. When it was first released, the mini-series Dallas reached hundreds of millions of people in almost ninety countries. As a result, the annual migration of the tuareg in the Sahara Dessert was postponed for ten days so that local people could watch the final episodes. Still, the migration occurred anyway and little changed after that. People in different cultures also seek - and often find - different meanings in the same reality. Continuing with the Dallas example, researchers found that Dutch audiences saw not so much the pleasures of conspicuous consumption, but a reminder that money and power do not protect people from tragedy. Israeli Arabs saw confirmation that women abused by their husbands should return to their fathers. Black South Africans focused on the risks associated with sexual encounters during the late teens, while Ghanian women confirmed that men are not to be trusted. One mini-series, but many different interpretations.implication for managers is that the cultures they must work with - including their own - are in a constant state of flux. As they come in contact with other cultures (perhaps through global organization networks), they face new problems, apply their cultural frames in different ways, negotiate new behaviors, and change important aspects of their culture, leading to behaviors that may seem contradictory. On the other hand, these changes take place within a cultural context, and the outcomes may be different than originally anticipated. Take, for example, the implementation of performance-based rewards. In many Western countries, merit pay and bonuses are (at least in theory) based largely on individual performance, while in many Asian countries they are often distributed equally to an entire group or department. It is largely a m...
