Research " Goodwill Acounting Diffrences of the US and UK and Their Effect on Share Prices " pptx

THE RELATIONSHIP OF CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES TO THE VALUES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROFESSIONALS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Cou

THE RELATIONSHIP OF CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES TO THE

VALUES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROFESSIONALS WITHIN

THE CONTEXT OF SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

DISSERTATION

Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of North Texas in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

By

Monica C Holmes, B.B.A., M.B.A

Denton, Texas December, 1995

UMI Microform 9612610 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company All rights reserved

This microform edition is protected against unauthorized

copying under Title 17, United States Code

UMI

300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103

| am deeply indebted to the members of my committee, Drs J Wayne

Spence, Richard Yellen, Victor Prybutok and Steve Cobb for their guidance and

support Special thanks are due to my chairman, Dr J Wayne Spence for his patience and encouragement | would also like to acknowledge the assistance

of Drs Bernard Tan and Wei Kwok-Kee of the National University of Singapore,

Dr Bruce Wu of Tamkang University in Taiwan and Professor Alan Mills of Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdon with my data collection |

am also very grateful to my husband, James J Cappel without whose support this accomplishment would not have been possible

Page

LIST OF TABLES iv

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS_ viii

Chapter lR INTRODUCTION 1

PUTDPOSSG QQ QQ Do 2 Problem 3

Research Questions 8

Significance 9

Definition of Key Terms 10

Scope and Limitatons 13

Chapter References 16

il SIGNIFICANT PRIOR RESEARCH_ 21

Role of Information Systems Designers in Information Systems Development 21

Characteristics of Information Systems Davelopers 23

Defining Culture 27

Cross-Cultural Research in Information Systems 34

Chapter References 43

HÍ — A MODEL OF THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROFESSIONALS 51

Work-Related Values 52

Hofstede’s (1980) Four-Dimensional Model 54

Kumar's (1984) Information Systems Designer-Personal Value Model 62

Variables 70

Hypotheses 72

Chapter References 74

IV - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 78

Research Design 78

Populations and Subjects 80

Preliminary Questionnaire Trai 82

lnstruments and Measures 83

Data Collection 86

Data Analysis 87

Chapter References 88

V RESULTS OF THE STUDY 90

Demographic Analysis of Subjects 91

Organizational Technical Assessment 102

Resuits of the Field Suwvey 106

Hypothesis One 106

Hypothesis Two 115

Hypothesis Three 119

Comparison of Country Pairs 133

Chapter References 141

Vi CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATIONS 143

Conclusion 143

Recommendations 158

Chapter References 163

APPENDICES 167

REFERENCES_ 260

Table

1

10

11

12

13

Page Key Differences Between Short-Term and Long-Term Orientation

Hypothesis Three Matrx 73

Ethnic Origins of the Respondents in Singapore 95

Ethnic Origins of the Respondents in Taiwan 95

Ethnic Origins of the Respondents in the United Kingdom 95

Ethnic Origins of the Respondents in the United States eee eee eee 96 Religious Affiliation of the Respondents in Singapore 97

Religious Affiliation of the Respondents In TAiWan QQ Q Q Q LG LG Quy 98 Religious Afiiliation of the Respondents in the United Kingdom_ 98

Religious Affiliation of the Respondents in the United States 98

Present Nationality and Nationality at Birth of the Respondents in Singapore 100

Present Nationality and Nationality at Birth of the Respondents in Taiwan 100

Present Nationality and Nationality at Birth of the Respondents in the United Kingdom 101

vi

Extended Periods of Time Outside Country of

Birth and Country of Current Employment

for the Respondents in Singapore 102 Extended Periods of Time Outside Country of

Birth and Country of Current Employment

for the Respondents in Taiwan 103

Extended Periods of Time Outside Country of

Birth and Country of Current Employment for the Respondents in the United Kingdom 103 Extended Periods of Time Outside Country of

Birth and Country of Current Employment for the Respondents in the United States 104 Categories of Organizations’ Technological Level 105

Categories of Respondents on the Power

Distance lndex 108

Categories of Respondents on the Uncertainty

Avoidance lndex 110

Categories of the Respondents on the

Categories of the Respondents on the

Masculinity/Femininity Index 112 Results of Data Analysis forH, 113 Significance Levels for Hofstede's (1980)

Questions 114

Categories of Respondents on Their Technical

vii

Categories of Respondents on Their Socio-Political Values

Results of Data Analysis for H,

Correlations between Cultural Dimensions and

IS Values for Singapore "ằẶẶ Resuits of Data Analysis for Hypothesis Three

for Singapore

Correlations between Cultural Dimensions and

IS Values for Tawan

Results of Data Analysis for Hypothesis Three

Correlations Between Cultural Dimensions and

- J§ Values for United Kingdom Results of Data Analysis for Hypothesis Three

for United Kingdom_

Correlations Between Cultural Dimensions and

IS Values for the United States

Results of Data Analyis for Hypothesis Three

for United States Summary of the Results for Hypothesis Three Comparison of Means for Singapore and Taiwan Comparison of Means for Singapore and the United Kingdom Comparison of Means for Singapore and the

United States

viii

Comparison of Means for Taiwan and the

United States 198

Comparison of Means for the United Kingdom and

the United States 139

Figure

1 A Theoretical Model of Cultural Impact on

Information Systems Development

INTRODUCTION

The current dynamic economic environment means that organizations

have to react faster as well as compete across national borders Services such

as electronic data interchange across national borders become a necessity

Opportunities abound for companies to increase their share of the world’s international trade

This situation has led to a tremendous expansion of Global Information Technology (GIT) that crosses national boundaries and brings many benefits

An advantage is the ability to enhance international information exchange

However, a critical problem, one of managing the Information Systems (IS)

designers that come from different cultures, has emerged Effective GIT should account for the cultural differences among its developers and users as well as the potential for a mismatch between them The lack of transportable design can be a reality with the differences in computer equipment, the sophistication

of computer services and the systems developers themselves Other issues such as foreign outsourcing and diversity further aggravate the situation

Cross-Cultural Research (CCR) in the IS discipline so far has not

established if 1S professionals in all countries have a common outlook Being

divergence of technology also provides a confusing picture Consequently this research seeks to fill a void {It endeavors to examine whether IS professionals are culturally different and if the IS function needs to focus on the

consequences of these designers’ cultural backgrounds on systems development

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between the cultural backgrounds of IS designers and the degree of importance they attach

to certain issues of the process of Information Systems Analysis and Design (ISAD) Many researchers believe that cultural differences exist among IS professionals from different ethnic groups, especially those from different nations (Couger et al 1990; 1991a; 1991b; Kumar and Bjorn-Andersen 1990;

Palvia, Palvia and Zigli 1992)

Although several studies have documented the effect of these differences on the development and implementation of IS (e.g., Harrison and Farn 1990; Kumar and Bjorn-Andersen 1990: Palvia and Palvia 1992), most of

these studies have compared IS or IS-related issues in only two countries In

general, research in IS has also not considered culture when investigating the

process of IS development The objective of this study is to examine the

multiple-country field survey

Problem

This study is motivated by the confusing and often conflicting research findings on the significance of considering cross-cultural differences during IS research and design The problem is the need to investigate the impact of the

cultural values of IS designers on systems development

First, the process of ISAD is complex and ambiguous, often wrought

with uncertainty 1S designers have to make critical choices, using their

general knowledge, expertise, perceptions of systems requirements and the limited resources at their disposal In fact, the history of IS is plagued with rejected systems because they do not meet the users’ needs (Bostrom and Heinen 1977) The situation is further complicated by the fact that many end users often have unclear expectations of systems requirements until after a system is delivered

By the year 2000, the global market for computer equipment and services will total approximately $3 trillion, based on an average annual compound growth rate of over 9.1 percent (Atkins 1993) The North American market will grow to be about $1,470 billion; the Western European market will

be nearly $910 billion; and the remainder of the world (the fastest growing segment) will be roughly $630 billion Press (1993) also notes a growing trend

Besides, economic, political and technological changes have facilitated software exports by India, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore Kraar (1994) reports that Asian countries are projected to invest more than $1 trillion

in telecommunications and other infrastructure Even Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba and Malaysia have computer-deployment programs for schools and community centers Such programs are augmented by aggressive government-sponsored marketing activities

According to labor trends, the United States is suffering from a shortage

of computer professionals (Standard & Poor's 1994) This shortage is expected to worsen in the future with the nation’s drop in college enrollment in

computer courses Consequently, companies have used overseas

programmers for their needs Tata Consultancy in India is perhaps the first and largest exporter of programming services (Press 1993)

Another factor contributing to the problem is that since the late 1980s, offshore outsourcing has become a growing trend Foreign outsourcing is the contracting of a portion or all of the IS function to IS professionals outside the home country Many foreign countries (e.g., the nations in the Caribbean, India, Ireland, China and even former Eastern European natioris) provide skilled

IS labor for United States companies using telecommunicatiors (Keen 1992)

IS professionals from different countries may have cultural perspectives that are dissimilar from those adhered to by ccrporations that hire them A principal

costs/benefit view of implementing systems

Yet when the specifications for local systems are designed and coded in foreign countries, the potential to assure not only the failure of implemented systems but also their rejection by end users is imminent A critical

assumption is that software design is globally compatible Researchers call for

caution in managing the global workers (Cox, Jr 1993; Gannon and Associates 1994; O'Hara-Deveraux and Johansen 1994; Trompenaars 1994) They

maintain that the behavioral traits of diverse work groups can contribute to the dysfunctioning of corporations

Human-computer interaction research has increased since 1969 (Beard

and Peterson 1988) The importance of considering the attributes of IS

professionals is highlighted by the current usage of psychological tests by IS organizations and software companies (Moad 1994) For example, Autodesk uses the MBTI, the KolbeConcepts and the Campbell interest and Skills Survey

to counsel employees as to the types of jobs and activities that best suit them

Autodesk is also using the KolbeConcepts tests to identify individuals required

for certain projects

The culture gap between users and developers is aptly discussed in a conceptual paper by Shah, Dingley and Golder (1994) They conclude that this culture gap exists because of several reasons: different communities and languages, ambiguity of languages, limitations of humans, left and right brain

recommend that each group should understand the roles of the other within the context of systems development However, researchers have not

investigated the effects of cross-cultural differences on IS designers’ values Neither have the effects of such values on systems development been studied

Third, the controversy of convergent versus divergent theories of culture

within the context of technology remains unresolved (Aiken and Bacharach

1979; Child and Kieser 1979; Farmer and Richman 1965; Gallie 1978; Haire ei

al 1966; Hickson et al 1979; Kerr et al 1964; Negandhi 1979: Nicholas 1985)

The convergent theory of culture maintains that the existence of cultural

differences is diminishing with the acquisition of technology (Farmer and

Richman 1965; Hickson et al 1979; Negandhi 1979) One popular view among

business researchers is that technology will minimize cultural differences After all, a PC in the United States is the same as a PC in China and a PC in

Australia However, the divergent theory of culture emphasizes that individuals differ in how they interact with each other, their values and their problem-

solving techniques because of deep-rooted cultural forces (Child and Kieser 1979; Gallie 1978; Haire et al 1966; Nicholas 1985)

Hence, the finished systems may conceivably not fit the needs of end users because of the possible mismatch between the value orientations of IS

designers and the users This study will facilitate the need to address cultural

emphasize:

an individual's behavior within an organizational setting is a

product of both culturally acquired as well as individually acquired

(via life experiences) knowledge systems" (Erez and Earley 1993,

p 44)

The fact that professionals from western societies often misinterpret the behavior of their foreign colleagues is exemplified in a study conducted by Selmar (1985) In an attempt to determine what Swedish Top Managers

(STMs) knew about the work-related cultural values of their Singaporean Middle Managers (SMMs), STMs in Swedish companies in Singapore were surveyed

by Selmar (1985), using Hofstede’s (1980) Value Survey Module (VSM) He

found that STMs Atkinsmisjudged SMMs on 48 percent of the work-related

factors in the study The STMs underestimated the importance of family life and achievement in challenging tasks to SMMs The importance of tension or

stress on the jobs and good physical work conditions to the SMMs were also misjudged by the STMs

Finally, diversity is becoming a critical element in many nations,

especially along such dimensions as gender, race and nationality (Cox Jr 1993; Fullerton 1987; Johnston 1991) For example, in the United States,

nearly 40 percent of all new employees in the late 1990s will be non-minority with more women entering the work force Therefore, companies as well as the IS function need to be aware that the traditional theories for managing the

traits of multicultural work groups

Given the current demographic trends in the United States, the effects of cultural diversity on systems development warrant investigation However, more attention has been directed to quantifiable aspects of IS such as systems

performance, critical IS issues, frequencies of systems use, systems failure or more easily reported scales such as user satisfaction At the same time, the recent surgence of publications on international business research is also a

strong indication that CCR is vital for the IS discipline Existing research in IS rarely includes nationality or culture as a dimension for research on systems

development It is therefore impossible to draw any conclusion as to the relative effect of cultural differences on diversely-composed systems

process-related values of IS designers within the context of the information systems analysis and design process?

This study used Hofstede’s (1980) VSM to examine the cultural dimensions of IS designers in different countries To answer the second

question, the process-related items of Kumar's (1984) information systems designer personal value questionnaire was utilized This study also

investigated the relationship between the cultural dimensions and the process- related values of IS designers within the context of systems analysis and

design in each country

Significance The significance of this study is highlighted by the status of the global

computing market and computer professionals The fact that the workforce is

becoming more diverse in the United States as well as in other countries mean that in order for the IS function to operate efficiently and effectively, IS

managers need to be sensitive to diversity issues

_ Culture as defined by nationality may conceivably impact the software production market IS researchers have also suggested that the effects of culture in the IS working environment should be more thoroughly examined

(ives and Jarvenpaa 1991; Jenkins et al 1990) They identified critical issues

such as (1) the linkage between information technology (IT) and the global business strategy, (2) the IT platforms in a global arena, (3) the sharing of international data and (4) the consequences of the cross-cultural environment

on IT

This study should provide insight into the criteria for managing

multicultural 1S project teams It should also improve the generalization of research findings about the impact of diversity on group dynamics within an IS environment The identification of cultural differences could aid in the effective and efficient localization of software production in certain countries For example, on the microscopic level, the evaluation procedures that an

organization will go through in the selection of software, could be based on the

location of software production This study should also indicate the mediating level of technology That is, is there a perceptible impact by culture on the

as a member of society" (Tylor 1958, p 12) At the same time, Kluckhohn

"asserts that:

Culture consists of 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 (Kluckhohn

1951, p 86)

Triandis (1972) defines culture as a “subjective perception of the human-made part of the environment." These subjective cultural aspects include social stimuli, associations, beliefs, attitudes, norms, values and roles that individuals

Values

Values are qualities, principles, or behaviors considered morally or intrinsically valuable or desirable (Hofstede 1980, 1984; Kiuckhoin 1951;

Rokeach 1973) More specifically, Kiuckholn states:

A value is a conception, explicit or implicit, distinctive of an individual or characteristic of a group, of the desirable which influences the selection from available modes, means and ends of actions (Kluckhoin 1951, p 359)

England defines values as:

a relatively permanent perceptual framework which shapes and influences the general nature of an individual's behavior Values are similar to attitudes but are more ingrained, permanent, and stable in nature A value, as used here, is closer to ideology or philosophy than it is to attitude (England 1967, p.54)

Values are also defined as broad tendencies to prefer certain states of affairs

over others (Hofstede 1980, 1984, 1991) Therefore, personal values represent

wants, preferences, or general standards of conduct

Values can have intensity, direction and norms Values with greater intensity have increased probabilities of being translated into behaviors (England 1967; Hofstede 1980, 1984; Rokeach 1973) The direction of values

refers to whether certain outcomes are beneficial or harmful to the individual

The difficulty of operationalizing values deals with establishing pragmatic validation, that is, establishing the relationship between expressed intentions

and actual behavior (Hofstede 1980)

Scope and Limitations

One of the key issues in CCR is deciding what research strategy †o use

Generally, six approaches to investigating cross-cultural issues in |S are

adopted: parochial, ethnocentric, polycentric, comparative, geocentric and synergistic (Adler 1983) Most CCR studies in IS are parochial research, i.e., the publication of the results of research in a single country, usually in a

western society In these cases, culture is implicitly considered as a constant

In ethnocentric research, studies originally designed and conducted in

one culture by researchers from that culture are replicated in a second culture These researchers primarily search for similarities across theoretical

frameworks under the more extreme conditions found in a second culture

Comparative research involves the comparison of IS in two or more

countries Polycentric studies are studies designed to describe, explain and interpret IS practices within specific foreign cultures Geocentric studies

investigate the managing of global ISIS that operate in more than one

country Such research often assumes cross-cultural universality without

questioning its validity

Lastly, synergistic studies focus on understanding the patterns of

relationships as well as the theories that apply when people from more than one culture associate with each other within a work setting Synergistic

research highlight the balance between culturally specific (pluralistic) and

universal (culture general) patterns of IS usage and implementation.

Of all the types of cross-cultural studies, comparative and synergistic research are the most difficult to achieve However, Adler (1983) proposes that both comparative and synergistic approaches should be used in CCR

Comparative studies examine the differences and similarities between cultures, while synergistic research studies how all such interrelationships work towards the achievement of overall organizational goals

This study involves a comparative investigation of the value orientations

of IS designers based on couniry of origin IS researchers in different

countries were involved with the data collection from the respondents Other major limitations of this study include:

1 Only the process-related values of the IS designers were

considered in this study to conserve the time and energy of the subjects

Data must be collected from a minimum of three countries to provide the basis for comparison

The ultimate purpose of this study is to provide evidence that supports the necessity of including culture in multi-national IS

research, not to identify the impact of cross-cultural differences on

IS designers

The stability and consistency of these value orientations of the IS designers are not evaluated

The subjects were limited to IS designers Hence, this study does

not address cross-cultural differences that may be inherent in a wider audience

Measurement concerns have been raised with regard to the

limitations of Hofstede’s (1980) four-dimensional model (Lynn

1990) For example, Hofstede’s formulae for calculating his indices utilize a combination of both nominal and ordinal data

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SIGNIFICANT PRIOR RESEARCH

This chapter provides an overview of the literature that serves as the foundation for this study The first section discusses the role that Information Systems (IS) developers play in systems development The importance of

examining the characteristics of the IS developers is reviewed in the second

section The third section addresses the difficulty of operationalizing culture Finally, a summary of the relevant cross-cultural studies in the IS literature is given

Role of Information Systems Designers

In information Systems Development Information systems development refers to the process of systems analysis and design, i.e., that of examining a business situation with the purpose of improving it through better procedures and methods (Senn 1989)

As used in this research, systems analysis is the process of gathering and interpreting facts, diagnosing problems and using the information to

recommend improvements to the system More specifically, systems analysis

is viewing a problem in context, collecting facts about that problem and

evaluating alternatives about a system solution (Davis and Olson 1985;

21

Mcintyre and Higgins 1988) Systems design is the process of planning a new business system or one to replace or complement an existing system It is looking for an optimal solution to the organizational needs, using the model produced in the systems analysis process (Mcintyre and Higgins 1988) In the

IS discipline, computers are used to facilitate the workings of business systems Consequently, understanding how a business may use computer- based systems to achieve its goals is a critical requirement of IS developers

(Eliason 1987) Therefore, systems development requires |S professionals to

surface systems objectives and requirements from the users and existing systems Then they provide a new system or changes to an existing system in order to solve the problem

Because the whole process of systems development may also be perceived as one of selecting means and ends, a substantial degree of the

work depends on the behavior of the systems developers While methodologies, tools and techniques exist to facilitate the IS development

process, both IS practitioners and researchers recognize that the training, development and understanding of the IS personnel are required to achieve increased productivity (Davis 1985) Moreover, IS professionals should possess the ability to move between user and technical environments (Burch 1992) The need for IS designers to be well-versed in the intricacies of systems development is reflected in a recent survey of these professionals (Richards and Pelley 1994) The respondents selected systems work as the

third most valuable component of their educational experience Systems

productivity, systems quality and user acceptance would increase if systems professionals serve as consultants, educators and researchers Therefore, there is a definite connection between the work behavior of IS professionals and the success of the finished systems

During systems development, IS designers can be one of the following: programmers, systems analyst, programmer/analyst, project leader, maintainer,

chief information officer or consultant (Bartol and Martin 1982: Goldstein 1989)

Thus they can also be of all managerial ranks In fact, according to Igbaria et

al (1991), systems programmers, application programmers and software

engineers form the category holding technical positions Computer managers, Systems analysts and project leaders form the category holding managerial

positions Consequently, this research surveyed the IS professionals who fill

any of these job categories in order to ensure that the sample was

representative of the main roles played by the IS profession

Characteristics of Information Systems Developers

The importance of studying the characteristics of IS professionals has been addressed by several researchers (Amoroso et al 1989; Baroudi 1985;

Couger et al 1994; Ferratt and Short 1986; Keen 1991; Niederman et al 1991; Watson 1990) Several have also stressed that the IS function should be more cognizant of effective human resource management issues (Niederman et al

1991; Watson 1990) In fact, the recruitment and development of IS human

resources was ranked fourth in importance by a Delphi survey of senior IS executives (Niederman et al 1991) These executives believed that technical and business skills with a high tolerance for ambiguity are required for effective system development

In a review of empirical and selected conceptual research on managing

human resources in the IS field, Bartol and Martin (1982) highlight the fact that the volume of relevant research is small Yet it is vital that the IS function

should understand their employees in order to better motivate them to be more productive Barto! & Martin (1982) found that data processing personnel

appear to have high need for achievement and growth Although [S developers value money, it is valued only as an indication of their

achievements rather than an end in itself

Among the IS technical/professional employees, the top five motivational

determinants of productive work behavior were meaningful work, supportive relationships, respect, appreciation and a clear job (Ferratt and Short 1986)

Rasch and Tosi (1992) indicate that the two strongest factors determining a

software developer's performance are individual ability and need for

achievement Motivation or level of effort may also be a factor Several studies investigate the many roles of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the

transformation of information management (Applegate and Elam 1992; Feeny

et al 1992) Other studies examine the job design, the individual

characteristics and career orientations of the IS professionals (Igbaria and

Wormley 1992; Igbaria et al 1991; Shrednick et al 1992) A main concem of the IS discipline is also the need to predict ethical decision making by IS professionals (Oz 1992)

Couger and his colleagues have conducted extensive studies of IS professionals in several countries (Couger and Colter 1985a; Couger and Motiwalla 1985b; Couger et al 1990; 1991a; 1991b; 1994;) These researchers found that systems developers are similar in terms of their individual

characteristics such as growth needs, social needs and perceptions of job variables Couger and his associates also found that these characteristics are

relatively stable over time (Couger et al 1994) IS managers in the 1990s are individuals with very high need for growth and challenge Couger et al (1994)

suggest that the IS field is a “healthy motivating environment" for IS organizations

The findings from the McLean et al (1991) study do not support Couger’s study of motivating needs of IS professionals They submit that entry-level IS developers reported a strong preference for jobs capable of providing them with opportunities to develop professional friendships and to

have close contact with users

In a study of the career attitudes of IS employees, Igbaria et al (1991) indicate that it is important to match career orientation and job setting These

authors warn that ail IS developers are not driven by the same set of values

and goals Men tend to have a more technical orientation than women The women in their sample had a stronger need than the men to integrate their job with their lifestyle Igbaria et al (1991) also imply that IS developers with

technical orientation are more likely to hold technical staff positions whereas

managerially oriented employees are more likely to hold administrative

positions Systems programmers, application programmers and software engineers form the category hoiding technical positions Computer managers, systems analysts and project leaders form the category holding managerial

positions The results from the Igbaria et al (1991) study demonstrate that

employees whose career orientations were compatible with their job settings reported higher job satisfaction and career satisfaction, stronger commitment to their organizations, lower intentions to leave their organizations than employees whose career orientations were incompatible with their job settings

Job satisfaction of IS professionals and turnover potential are common research topics in the IS discipline An investigation of the determinants of IS professionals’ intention to stay with their organization in South Africa reveals that job satisfaction is the most important factor (Igbaria et al 1994) although

organizational commitment also affects an individual's decision to Stay In fact, both task-based and organizational-based activities affect commitment and

Satisfaction The results of this study indicate that the intention to stay with the

organization among IS employees in South Africa is a product of linkages among job characteristics (task-based and organizational-based activities),

salary, satisfaction (career and job) and organizational commitment These

findings highlight the importance of organizational commitment and job Satisfaction as the most immediate predictors of intention to stay They

underscore the key mediating role of organizational commitment and job Satisfaction in the intention-to-stay model

IS professionals stress that the ability to work on teams is one of the top ten requirements of an IS education (Richards and Pelley 1994) Teamwork

means the necessity to deal with personality, experience and ability differences

and often with culturally diverse team members

Trauth et al (1993) conducted a survey of IS managers, end-user

managers, IS consultants and IS professors to identify the key skills and knowledge that will be required of future IS professionals Practitioners in their

Study rated "maintain productive user/client relationships" as first in future importance With increasing diversity in the labor force, it is imperative that the

IS discipline pays attention to cultural nuances that may dominate the environment of systems development Yet IS research on culturally diverse IS

teams is lacking

Defining Culture Cross-cultural scholars seldom agree on what is meant by culture because there is no universal definition Culture is usually used with reference

to certain groups, either ethnic or regional It also has been applied to other

entities such as organizations, professions or families (e.g., organizational

culture, the medical culture or the filial subculture of the Chinese families)

According to Hofstede (1980), values pertain to individuals while culture refers

to societies Thus a culture can only be measured by examining the values of the individuals in that group

At the broadest level, culture is typically thought of as a socially

transmitted system of norms and values Schein (1985) defines culture as

basic assumptions and beliefs operating unconsciously but shared by

members of an organization, and defined in a "taken-for-granted" organizational

view According to Erez & Earley (1993), "culture can be defined on different

levels of analysis, ranging from a group level to an organizational level or a

national level."

Thus on a societal level, Protestant ethics may have fostered the

capitalistic nature of the U.S.’s culture, creating a society that is

technologically-oriented (Weber 1958) Japanese values are functionally

equivalent to the Protestant spirit of capitalism and more efficiently directed

toward attaining economic progress (Morishima 1982) Confucianism is a

major player in the economic development of East Asian societies (Berger 1986) However, this approach leaves many empirical gaps between the

identification of philosophical doctrines and evidence that these doctrines

influence the behavior of individuals in systematic ways (Lynn 1990) In

addition, cultural diversity is defined as "the representation, in one social

system, of people with distinctly different group affiliations of cultural

significance" (Cox, Jr 1993)

Several researchers have proposed typologies of cultures that have been used in the studies of managerial practices (Elizur 1984; England 1983; Hofstede 1980; Ronen and Shenkar 1985; Schwartz 1990; and Triandis et al

1988) The most popular typology todate is that developed by Hofstede (1980; 1984), who uses four dirnensions to differentiate national cultures: power

distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity in his study of a multinational corporation Hofstede’s (1980) typoiogy of cultures deals with (1) perceptions of the organizational regime, (2) perceptions of the organizational Climate (e.g., feelings of job-induced stress), (8) desirable values (e.g.,

desirability of working in a large company; trustworthiness of people) and (4) desired values (e.g., importance of earning, cooperation and security)

However, Lynn (1990) cautions that the power distance attitudes reported in Hofstede’s questionnaire do not seem to reflect observed behavior

Employees of multinational corporations usually have values that deviate from

the norms of their own society On the other hand, Westwood and Everett

(1987) maintain that the shortcomings of Hofstede’s (1980) model and

methodology are not nearly as acute in the organizational context as they would be in the wider sociological context In fact it may be useful to adapt his

model specifically for the study of diversity in organizations

Other theorists view culture as a system of preferences—a “tool kit’ of symbols, stories, rituals and world-views (Swidler 1986) Benedict (1934) used

| the "what-is-wrong-with-this-picture technique" to seek out the rules and values

of Japanese culture Culture is highly malleable an entity to be manipulated

by managers (Schein 1985) Materials (e.g., books, films, television programs,

newspapers and electronic media) in which values and norms are reinforced can be used to assess incongruities However, explanations of such deviants

should be provided by representatives of the relevant culture

Convergent and Divergent Effects of Technology

Usually there are two classes of cross-cultural researchers: convergent versus divergent Convergent cultural theorists emphasize economic, political,

institutional and sociological variables, assuming that individuals do not

significantly differ from country to country These scholars may concede the

possible existence of cultural differences but implicitly regard such differences

as being of only slight importance

Thus, a cross-national approach to research in technology and organization is complicated by cross-national differences in the economic or political environment, in the social or institutional environment, or in the norms and values held by organizational members For example, steel firms in Japan adopted new technology faster than their counterparts in the U.S because of

the cultural environment—a stronger Japanese emphasis on values like hard: