are national stereotypes discriminating?

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European Management Journal Vol. 13, No. 2, pp . 212-217, 1995 Copyr igh t © 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd

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Are National Stereotypes tscrtmmattng:

P A U L B U R N S , Managing Director, Design for Learning Ltd, UK; A N D R E W M Y E R S , Senior Research Officer, Cranfield University School of Management; A N D R E W K A K A B A D S E , Professor of Management Development, Cranfield University School of Management

Much of the work on stereotypes has focused on discrimination for women and minorities in the workplace. Stereotypes, however, can also exist among managers, potentially influencing their judgement when undertaking business deals with counterparts from other countries. Paul Burns, Andrew Myers and Andrew Kakabadse present results from a survey that was carried out by the 3i/Cranfield European Enterprise Centre at Cranfield. Over 1,000 managers from SMEs in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom responded to the survey.

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Each manager scored their country and the remaining countries on a number of criteria, the key ones being trust, punctuality, humour, competence and reliability. The survey highlights a number of differing perceptions that managers have of managers from other nations. For example, British managers rate themselves highly on competence, whereas other European managers, notably from Italy and Spain, do not rate them as high. Such perceptions could lead to discrimination when choosing a European supplier for example.

Introduction It is no easy matter to measure the effectiveness of performance of managers. However, we often do it, by inference, when we look at the performance of a company by looking at its financial results for example. We often do it, at a national level, when we compare the relative performance of individual countries. We also do it at a personal level, whereby each of us has a perception of what we define as a 'typical' Italian or any other manager. Such a perception or stereotype could be based on limited information, a one sided personal experience or influence through gossip and the Press.

Certain theories of management and organisation suggest that managers are required to play a number of roles and that different aspects of personality assist in the undertaking of these roles. Hannabuss (1989) argues that links between organisational culture and managerial roles and styles are influenced by personality or typologies of managers. Likewise, links between personality or character types can influence how managers perceive and go about doing business with managers of businesses from different national cultures.

One assumption to make is that there is likely to be a greater divergence of personality types and perceptions in small to medium sized firms (SMEs) operating in Europe, creating a diverse range of decisions both at a rational and non-rational level -- the argument being that the characteristic of the SME is likely to reflect the behavioural traits of the business owner.

The vast number of people who make business decisions in Britain are either self-employed or run SMEs, where

212 EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT JOURNAL Vol 13 No 2 June 1995

ARE NATIONAL STEREOTYPES DISCRIMINATING?

SMEs (less than 200 employees) account for over 90 per cent of all firms. With an increasing number of SMEs operating in Europe, a growth stunted by the recession, it is postulated that negotiation skills are going to be of increasing importance. For example, the decision to choose one foreign supplier over another, could be crucial.

This article focuses on the managers of SMEs responding to a European survey. It attempts to provide a useful insight into thoughts and perceptions of European managers, not only about the managers of their own national culture, but also how indiviuals perceive managers from other cultures. Such perceptions could feature highly in their decision making process.

Stereotypes Much of the literature on stereotypes can be viewed as an examination of how individuals feel about others in terms of, for example, age, gender or race. Many commentators argue that such stereotypes are a source of discrimination for women and minorities in the work place. For example, gender stereotypes can relate to sex discrimination in terms of salary levels for 'men 's ' and 'women's ' jobs, and also in terms of recruitment decisions. Some individuals may be deemed to be 'too old' to effectively perform in their job and are encouraged to take early retirement. Others may not be able to get a job due to the prejudices which influence the perceptions held towards ethnic minorities. Stereotypes also exist potentially influencing the judgement one business person may have of another business person from a neighbouring country, for example, how reliable will they be, will they deliver the goods on time, can I trust them, will I be able to get on with them? Such perceptions could be positive or negative, and based only on perceived social traits.

According to accentuation theory, developed in the late 1950s, national stereotypes can be thought of as the correlation between trait dimensions and national affilia- tions. Toloza (1988) defines the concept of national character as 'the comparatively stable psychological traits shared by the majority of a country's natives'. By this he is referring to the predominant attitudes, values, and beliefs, and parameters of dominant behaviour. Horton suggests that these traits that exist within most human beings are set at an early stage of life and are, therefore, not really subject to change. Such traits could be influenced at an early age by historical events or by geographical factors. Hofstede (1980) believed that there were mechanisms in national cultures which would allow the maintenance of stability in culture patterns across many generations. More recently, however, Hofstede (1991) feels that evidence from other researchers indicates that cultural diversity and diverse ways of thinking will remain with us for the next few hundred years.

If we are to follow along this line of thinking, then a manager's perception of a manager from another

country is likely to have a signifiant effect on the way they negotiate a deal and/or make decisions. For example, as the European Union develops it is expected that this will enhance trade between EC member states. Business to business sales are seen as a major growth area in the 1990s. Collaboration and joint ventures are seen as the low risk approach for SMEs seeking to expand into Europe.

Negotiation Neale and Bazerman (1992) believe that there is nothing more central to business than negotiation. The first step to rational negotiation, according to them, is learning to avoid some 'pervasive biases'. Managers operate according to their perceived understanding of a situation, an understanding based on the assumptions and expectations of a situation which may or may not be supported by so-called objective facts.

In cross-country negotiations different cultural systems can produce negotiating styles. Any of the rules taught and used domestically may not be applicable. One successful rule for negotiation (Herbig and Kramer, 1991) is to recognise that a foreign negotiator will have different perceptions, beliefs and outlooks. De Ferrer (1989) also believes that when dealing with people and cultures that are not familiar, it is almost impossible 'not to communicate through stereotypes'.

In the following section we attempt to discover what the managers of Europe's SMEs (less than 500 employees) perceive about other managers in five major EC countries -- Britian, France, Germany, Italy and Spain -- and how these could impact on business negotiations. The survey was carried out by the 3i/Cranfield European Enterprise Centre based at Cranfield School of Management.

Method A postal survey method was used and over 8,000 managers, located in the five EC countries mentioned above, received a questionnaire. The questionnaire was translated into the appropriate languages and then translated back into English to check for consistency in meaning. In total, 1,016 managers responded (a 13% response rate overall).

The characteristics of the responses are highlighted below:

433 are from Britain, 127 from France, 135 from Germany, 185 from Italy and 136 from Spain. 46 percent are in manufacturing, 23 percent in services, 20 percent in retail/wholesale, 6 percent in construction and 4 percent in transport/ communications. 17 percent have up to 50 employees, 42 percent with 51-200 employees and 41 percent with over 200 but fewer than 500 employees.

EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT JOURNAL Vol 13 No 2 June 1995 213


Table 1 Indicators

Competence Hard working To get on with others Efficiency Entrepreneurship Punctuality Tenacity Education Humour Reliability Trustworthiness Compassion

Managers were asked to score managers in each of the five countries, including their own, on a scale ranging from one to five (where a score of one represented 'low' and a score of five represented 'high'), against twelve 'quality' indicators. These are listed in Table 1.

A 'quality score' for each indicator was calculated for every country. This was the arithmetic average of the individual scores of respondents compared to the median or satisfactory level. Scores range from -200 to +200 with zero as satisfactory. A positive score indicates better than satisfactory. A negative score indicates less than satisfactory. Average scores for each country were calculated.

This methodology allowed us to measure the difference between the self perception of one nation compared to the perception of it held by other nations. This 'perception distance' is calculated by subtracting the national quality scores from the arithmetic average of the scores given by the other countries. The sum of the national quality score and the perception distance therefore equals the score given to that country by managers from the other four countries. The larger the perception distance, the greater the difference between what that nation and the other countries perceive as its managers' competences. When this is positive, it means that the other countries think more highly of the nation than it thinks of itself. When it is negative, vice versa.

Results Perception distances are important because they have implications for how we view and communicate with each other. High perception distances represent barriers of prejudice. These are often based upon national stereotypes. A perception distance is particularly significant, if, when added to the national score it changes the sign of the score. When this happens, it means that the other countries hold the opposite view of the quality indicator to that held by the nation.

As Figure I shows, British managers, on average, tend to have a higher opinion of themselves than do other managers responding from other European countries. This finding is most notable when we look at the hard working and compassion qualities. Other European countries are more likely to feel that British managers lack compassion and are not that hard working. British managers would appear to have a contrary view.

Perception distances are relatively small for French managers (see Figure 2). Their views of themselves are broadly shared by others. However, other countries are

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Figure 1 Views on Managers: Britain

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Figure 2 Views on Managers: France

likely to feel that French managers lack humour and compassion.

It would seem that Germany have the highest overall rated managers (see Figure 3), where perception distances are relatively small. They are scored low, however, on their ability to get on with others (with the exception of French managers); humour and compassion. They are scored high, particularly by Italian managers, on a number of qualities, most notably competence, efficiency and reliability.

Italian managers score themselves high on a number of management qualities. Notably they view themselves as hard working, compassionate, as able to get on with others and as having a sense of humour (see Figure 4). However, managers from the other countries score them significantly lower on these characteristics; notably they score them low on the hard working attribute. This quality can be closely linked with the punctuality attribute. Italians, like other European managers in the survey, score themselves low on punctuality.

Of all the countries taking part in the survey, Spanish



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managers are rated low. Perception distances are all negative. The other respondents are more critical of Spanish managers than the Spanish managers are of themselves. The managers of other countries are more

likely to think that Spanish managers lack competence, efficiency, tenacity, reliability and are not hard working, entrepreneurial, educated, trustworthy or punctual (see Figure 5).

Discuss ion The results seem to show, to varying degrees, that perceptions of stereotypes exist in terms of managers' views of each other across Europe, which could suggest, when negotiating contracts or conducting business across international boundaries, that discrimination could be playing a role on a number of issues. The following section highlights some key examples in relation to trust, punctuality, humour, competence and reliability, all of which can highly influence negotiations.

T r u s t

According to Shenas (1993), the sources of conflict in cross-national business relations can be caused by different factors such as, the negotiating style of a supplier and the roles that each individual takes within a group of negotiators. It has been suggested that business owners assume that a negotiation can be a time-consuming process (Martin 1993). Martin suggests that without any form of pre-bargaining communication, where neither side takes a firm position, a competitive environment tends to emerge, and negotiators are more likely to be watchful of remarks made by those on the opposite side of the negotiating table. Where such circumstances exist, both parties are reluctant to trust each other and thus take much longer to find common ground.

Fells (1993) feels that trust is the predominant factor in negotiation when forming business relationships. How- ever, he feels that an assumption is often made in terms of what 'trust' actually means. Trust in a business relationship, he goes on to say, can only be established in the context of the interactions between the parties in circumstances which call for trust. Trust is not something that should be inferred within a negotiation -- it has to be developed in order to successfully deal with business related issues. The process of building trust means that it is necessary initially to create an atmos- phere within which negotiators are able to promote a willingness to trust. Those around the negotiating table can then make moves on exploring ways of reaching agreement.

In relation to the survey, British managers score the French low on trustworthiness. Such perceptions may have arisen either through historical influences, or through recent events, for example, lamb exports to France and blockades by French farmers, possibly leading to a lack of trust. Such events may lengthen the time it takes to develop good relationships. Well con- ducted negotiations tend to strengthen relationships because both sides have directed their energies towards finding a common goal. Such investment promotes trust.



Punctuality Attitudes towards punctuality vary from one culture to another. An understanding of European cultures in the future will be essential in developing successful business relationships. In Germany, Matthes (1992) identifies punctuality as being highly important -- the survey results would seem to support this. The German desire for punctuality could provide a competitive advantage over a Spanish company, where punctuality is not seen as an essential requirement.

A Spanish manager will need to relate the low scores from managers of the other countries when it comes to doing business with them, especially if they are going to have to work to a tight schedule. For example, if a small French firm were in the situation where they had to work with a European partner -- where punctuality, and/or delivering on time, were the main criteria for choosing that partner - - then based on the data in the figures above, it is conceivable to assume that they would choose a German organisation to work with rather than a Spanish one. It is likely that this decision will be based on their perception of punctuality within the German culture.

Humour The issue of humour is an interesting case in point. It is often seen as having the ability of ' lowering inter- personal resistance' (Barsoux, 1991). Barsoux argues that humour can play a positive role, for example in negotiation, because it is not expected. However, some authors indicate that it could have a negative influence. For example, when negotiating in Asia, Bannon (1990) identifies that building a successful business relationship takes time and patience. When this is realised then any tensions that may exist will be reduced. He states that 'making jokes' should be avoided.

In looking at the survey data, it would seem that making jokes in Germany is something that should be avoided in negotiation. Other European countries do not score Germany high on humour. The Germans too do not score themselves high either.

In terms of an advertising campaign, Fouke (1989) stresses that marketers need to look not only at the historical and language aspects of a culture, but also cultural variations that may exist in terms of, for example, gestures, mannerisms and colours. There was a recent advertisement that appeared on British television for Audi cars. The advertisement had a German male telling a simple joke to an audience. The joke was not found to be amusing or was not understood. The possible message to the British audience watching the advert on television was that Germans do not have a sense of humour. There is general agreement in the survey that the Germans are not regarded as having a high level of humour. However, such a negative stereotype in an advertisement, although maybe not having a direct influence on the decision making process, can have an influence on people's perceptions at all ages.

Fouke believes that marketers need to develop effective advertising campaigns to depict positive images. Depict- ing competence, efficiency and reliability are three areas where this could be achieved.

Competence Italian and Spanish managers do not rate British managers high on competence, yet rate them higher on the quality of their education. Such a finding is likely to have an enormous impact on the way a British SME is perceived by Italian or Spanish managers when doing business. In terms of negotiating a contract for example, a British manager may feel that their company is competent enough to do the job. However, the success may be measured in terms of how they can show Italian or Spanish managers that they are competent enough to do the job. We have to bear in mind that Italian or Spanish managers may not even consider Britain as an option in the first place because of their perceptions of British managers on the competence issue. In other words they could be influenced by intuition and not on analytical or logical thought.

Reliability Management styles differ among countries. The differences between management approaches also reflect differing tolerance of uncertainty. Britain is said not to have a culture of reliability (Barsoux, 1992), whereas the German expects reliability in everything. The results indicate that non-British managers see Britain as about average on reliability, yet this is still well below managers' perceptions of German managers in the survey.

Summary To summarise, the survey highlights differing perceptions of another nation's managers. Such perceptions could lead to discrimination, especially when choosing suppliers. How can reducing such stereotypes be achieved? Learning, or being competent in a foreign language helps. Turnbull (1981) feels that foreign language capability allows a relationship of trust to develop. Also, taking the time to learn something about the culture of a country before doing business there shows respect and usually is deeply appreciated and rewarding for the company. Negotiating styles and attitudes towards punctuality are two such areas where careful consideration is required.

Will stereotypes of a nation change over time? Ovejero- Bernal (1991) found evidence to suggest that differences do change over time when comparing studies. Euro- peanisation, with the reduction of barriers, is likely to be a catalyst in this change. Over time, which could take generations, a European culture could develop, where national stereotypes become less pronounced with the merging of geographical boundaries.



References Bannon, D., Negotiating with Asians: The Unspoken Tactics,

Purchasing World, 34, 8, 1990. Barsoux, J-L., Is Business a Laughing Matter?, Director, 44, 11,

1991. Barsoux, J-L., Following the Leaders, International Management,

47, 7, 1992. Fells, R.E., Developing Trust in Negotiation, Employee Relations,

15, 1, 1993. de Ferret, R.J., Negotiations: Playing the Away Game,

Marketing, February, 1989. Fouke, C.J., Sensitivity to Cultures, Builds Foreign Markets,

Marketing News, 23, 13, 1989. Hannabuss, S., Personality and Management Thinking,

Industrial and Commerical Training, 21, 1, 1989. Herbig, P.A. and Kramer, H.E., Cross-Cultural Negotiations:

Success Through Understanding, Management Decision, 29, 9, 1991.

Hofstede, G., Culture's Consequences -- International Differences in Work-Related Values, Sage, Beverly Hills, 1980.

Hofstede, G., Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind, McGraw-Hill, London, 1991.

Martin, T.J., Don't Kill that Deal: How to Negotiate Openings and Closings, Business Owner, 17, 4, 1993.

Matthes, K., Mind Your Manners When Doing Business in Europe, HR Focus, 69, 1, 1992.

Neale, M.A. and Bazerman, M.H., Negotiating Rationally, The Power and Impact of the Negotiator's Frame, Academy of Management Executive, 6, 3, 1992.

Ovejero-Bernal, A., Racial/National Stereotype among University Students: 30 years after, Revista de Psicologia General y Aplicada, 44, 4, 1991.

Shenas, D.G., A Comparative Study of Ethical Issues in International Business: The Case of American and Japanese Business Transactions, International Journal of Management, 10, 1, 1993.

Toloza, C., National Character and Sociocultural System, Revista Cilena de Psicologia, 9, April 1988.

Turnbull, P.W., Business in Europe: The Need for Linguistic Ability, Occasional Paper, UMIST, Manchester 1981.

PAUL BURNS, NB House, Stilebrook Road, Olney, Buckinghamshire, MK46 5EA.

Paul Burns is Managing Director of Design for Learning Ltd., a company undertaking management research and training, and Director of 3i European Enterprise Culture. He was Professor of Small Business

Development at Cranfield University (1984-93) and President of the Institute for Small Business Affairs (1993-94). He has been Visiting Professor at Cranfield (1993-94) and the Open University (1988-90) and Visiting Fellow at Harvard Graduate Business School (1980). His books include Small Business Manage- ment (Macmillan, 1993), Business Finance - - A Pictorial Guide for Managers (Butterworth- Heinemann, 1994) and Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Macmillan, 1995).

ANDREW MYERS, Cranfield University School of Management, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 OAL.

Andrew Myers began working as a management researcher at Cranfield after completing his first degree at the University of Hull. He has been involved in a number of research projects at Cranfield and has

gained experience in research design and methodology.

His focus is now on international comparisons of management at senior levels within organisations, he is currently working on analysing responses from a major competencies research project, encompassing eight European countries, Japan and, more recently, the United States.

ANDREW KAKABADSE, Cranfield University School of Management, Cranfield, Bedford, MK43 OAL.

Andrew Kakabadse is Professor of Management Development at Cranfield University School of Management, and Director of the Cranfield Centre for Global Management. His current research interests focus

on improving the performance of top executives and top executive teams, excellency in consultancy practice, and the politics of decision-making. He recently completed a major world study of CEOs and top executive teams from a database of nine European nations and over 3,000 business organisations. He has published 14 books including Politics of Management , Working in Organisations, and The Wealth Creators as well as over 70 journal articles. He is also editor of a number of journals.


are national stereotypes discriminating?

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