Dear Debi,

The trouble is though we can distinct geographically, economically and historically Eastern and Western worlds but the people are much more similar to each other and because of the quasi uniform media effects people's commitments are congruent.

Thanks Andras. I really liked your comment. That shows how cosmopolitan you are in your thinking. There is a convergence thesis in the post-globalization discourse, which argues that eventually the whole world is like to become similar, and the influence of culture will get minimized. But as yet that has not happened. Still, people value different things, often depending on culture, among others. For example, eastern culture is known to be a collectivist one. People crave for relations more than the individualism of the west.

I have worked in China and am working in the UK and hence feel that I can contribute a view.

I feel interest motivates people in the UK than in China, while a good job (payment and or social status) motivate people in China than in the UK. I am not sure these are due to a cultural difference or a difference in living standards. One things is certain to me that in a developed country where basic living standards are guaranteed people can be choosy in jobs and interest is improtant in influencing people's choices.

All people are the same. Motivation and incentives work in the same mechanism whether in the East or in the West World.

I agree with all the above comments. All are equally committed or not committed. Geographical region doesnt make a difference. Maybe financial issues, infrastructural issues, policies may count!

I think it is problematic to say that employee commitment factors are the same in all cross-cultral locations. While some factors are common in all cultures i.e leadership, interesting job design, employee development, etc, but there are always local cultural factors that are very important. For example, in the eastern culture "paternalism"  (meaning caring for the employee lime parents do" is an engagement device but paternalism is a not a very good word in the western context. There it is seen more as a way of exploitation. The entire Indian system for example has high primacy on paternalism. Whether it is good or bad is a separate question. Also, for example, MBWA (management by walking arund) is a great commitment device in eastern countries, but much less so in the west.  Further, employe family care by employers is a known motivator in let us say South Asian  locales, but not so much used in the western countries. Also, diversity management is  highly valued in the West, but many people do not even know what is diversity management in the eastern countries.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=22&sid=68dea002-9337-4e3f-b941-25bfa03d3179%40sessionmgr198&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=32849530

I think there might be a researcher/human-envrionment interaction. If you work with staff that do not master a foreign language and hardly visited another country to meet another culture, factors that influence commitment and engagement will express spatial variation whatever the spatial coordinates involved.  Media effects will therefore also differ accros people for one or more reasons. 

Interesting question and wonderful thoughts shared. I think that the forces of globalization have led to greater cross-cultural transference of values, shared goals and desires that are congruent with employee engagement, motivation, and committment. Since the equations of an organization's success are collectively managed by human capital from across the world, there is a certain organizational culture that may matter more than geographical culture.

However, there probably still exists subtle differences (and some more obvious ones, that I have personally encountered) when it comes to work outside of MNCs. How about privatized local companies or public service institutions in different parts of the world? I would say that despite some common motivators (that are universal in nature, such as recognition, incentives, and opportunities for growth) there are observable differences in their approach to work and even, studies. The perception of an incentive can be a cultural variable as well. For example, the pursuit of social acceptance, prestige and status may be a much stronger driving factor in Asian countries where collectivism outvalues individualism. The filial piety that is so essential to Asian family structures extends to a respect of hierarchy in many organizational settings in Asia, although flat hierarchies are making their way in. Western values place a higher merit on risk-taking and innovation, and though this is NOT to imply that Asian culture does not value it, but that when sensitive equations are at play, most Asian employees would prefer the safety of conformity than the possible isolation of any disruptive innovation. 

The digitally connected natives of the 21st century have given way to a new brand of hybrid cultures and it is actually quite difficult to now classify eastern from western in the strict sense of the word. It is also interesting to note patterns of immigration and how very many Asians who live and work in the west do not wish to return to their home countries despite maintaining very strong ties with their families back home. In my anecdotal experience, I have heard people mention factors like 'work-life balance', 'freedom of expression' and 'freedom of undue family pressure in matters of relationships and marriage'-- although in the third case, physical distance does not guarantee complete freedom per se. Anyways, I do not wish to digress too much, but the fact remains that matters of culture are highly complex. While we are creating and integrating a global culture, there are still fundamental factors beyond it and before it that often shape our lives, choices, and approaches in more ways than we can imagine. 

I must add that I know very little on this particular topic so whatever I say is only my personal experience rather than an academic one.

I find that people are not the same as others have commented above. I believe that those who live under "political" rules have the same or similar ideal but those who live under "religious" rules have different ones. I do not believe the two can be combined. In many cultures success and fame are actually illegal or are panished whereas in others it is cherished. With such value differences, there must be differences between cultures based on their setup: political or religious.

I agree to the hybrid cultures suggested by Monica but if you place these people to the fence with a gun for choice, they will chose according to their cultural requirements. Thus even hybrid cultures lack similarities in many ways.   

This is probably why we have suicide bombers; see if you can offer a fancy car or home in exchange for not blowing him/herself up for the values he/she treasures; you will have a very short life. 

Hi Angela and everyone else,

You have a point. Hybrid cultures too come in many shades of grey rather than being straightforward black and white. And these are built upon the complex interplay of one's personal cultural background (as shaped by their ethnic origins, religious beliefs, education and family dynamics) with that of other cultures in organizational settings. A global culture is co-constructed on different levels and in different ways. 

Politics and religion are also defining forces in many ways. A simple example: the word 'Pride' in the western context and for many in the eastern hemisphere with a strong sense of nationalism equates to taking joy in doing one's work well. So if you take pride in your work, you care about it enough to do it well. Conversely, the same word is a big no-no in the traditional Buddhist context, where anything associated with pride, even for the sake of doing it well, translates to placing unnecessary emphasis on one's own ego, and could thus interfere with one's sense of compassion and collectiveness consciousness. They would much rather use the phrase 'do it with love' than 'do it with pride'. None is better or worse than the other, because being judgmental is the last things we should resort to. But there are and will be differences, only some less visible than the others. 

Well put Monica!

Despite resemblance on emotional, intellectual, attitudinal grounds, people's commitment and engagement tend to vary across the world (eastern/western/middle east...) on account of socio-cultural, economical and political environment. I agree well elucidated comments of Monica Bhattacharjee andAngela Stanton. 

Angela, you have said it so beautifully. Religious rule, but, is just one of the examples. Others can be cultural specificities of the country or the region. In the eastern region, celebration of individual merit is not liked as much as it is  the case in the USA, for example, where the highest premium is put on the individual. Often, people in the eastern countries want similar treatment to all irrespective of the merit. India and China are  in the same situation. They have had problems in individualizing merit-based promotions and pay raises. .

Dear Monica

Both your threads are outstanding. One could not ask for more. I fully support all the points you have made. What struck me the most is your observation that culture is a highly complex  phenomenon. For, national values are very much a part of the national culture, and they tell all the tale.They tell the beliefs of people; so they are bound to impact the factors that will impact commitment. For example, in oriental culture criticism for bad performance is not acceptable before everybody. But the degree of transparaency and open criticism  is higher in  the western world.

My Dear

If you take in consideration Hofsted (1989)' study about national culture, I think you may find answer to your question. For example, Hofsted found that collectivisim dimension was high level in eastern culture and Individulisim diemnsion was high level in western culture. Thus, factors such collective identity may prompote individuals commitiment in eastern culture while personal identity may take greate space in western culture and so on. 

I agree to all of the above and would like to add a cultural story that may show the differences. When I started my college education, one of the tasks in English writing class was to read a short novel by a Chinese author whose name I unfortunately forgot. But the interesting point was the part where she explained what a difficult time she had understanding the word "I" as in "me" since in her tongue (at that time) the individual did not exist to the point that there was not even a word for it. I think this demostrates well what most of us here mention and particularly underline what Amer stated just above.

Wonderful anecdote by Angela. I would like to add that there are subsects even within the western world where individualism is not advocated. My Amish friend, for example, who lives in a big city and has been through the mainstream education system, refrains from posting his own photos because he considers it conducive to narcissism. I think I somewhat agree to that, especially with the raging prevalence of 'selfies' these days. Much depends on perception-- and culture, religious beliefs, political climates etc. have a major role to play in shaping those perceptions.

In a study about Academics satisfaction and motivation we find out that academics give more importance to intrinsic elements of the job such as "Teaching Climate"

In my opinion the only author who has approached straightforward this issue is Max Weber. I'm orthodox but I have to admit that. The social behavior as shaped by the Church in middle ages and childhood was/is  essential for peoples' mindsets.

This is a good and thought provoking question indeed. My view is that the factors are likely to be the same or very similar, but the differences could be seen in their approaches because there are many disciples which offer comparative studies on this subject. Let me begin by answering the last part of the question in the affirmative. In addition, I think the distinction between the eastern and western worlds had become increasingly blurred with the collapse of the cold war era. Instead, globalisation has set on motion common values and communication media like internet along with other ICTs; promoted common social, economic, environmental, and political values of both the eastern and western citizens. The truth is that human values are universal worldwide. In practice, the old ideologies of communism, socialism, or capitalism have turned into mixed economic, pop-culture, personal, or multicultural ideology generally. Cultural, traditional, or historical factors could be among the real or psychological known differences.

Culturally East and West are different, but human feelings are same everywhere. Peoples' commitment / engagement is situational and is likely to depend on organizational culture and management system. While compliance can be asked for through organizational authority - responsibility relationship, commitment can't be commanded. Commitment , which is a thing of heart , develops through feeling of ownership and sense of loyalty to the organization. East - West cultural difference appears immaterial in that sense.

Dear Debi: please look at the work of Dr Hofstede and look at this link: http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html  . His  " Software of the mind " book is about this and other topics,   But to begin with I wold suggest to put your question on more "answerable" and precise terms.  And looking at culture dimensiones may help you a lot in that objective.  Good look in your trip. Regards

The West is driven by achievement, which is usually recognized, whereas the rest of the world particularly Africa and East, community allegiance, status and payment.

Regards/

Debi,

some perspectives shared in these papers

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299747565_Towards_a_talent-driven_outward-oriented_globally-competitive_SME_framework_Discussion_Paper

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299604127_Human_Factors_Affecting_Productivity_in_Jamaica_Technical_Report_on_Preliminary_Findings

Technical Report Towards a talent-driven outward-oriented globally-competitiv...

Technical Report Human Factors Affecting Productivity in Jamaica: Technical R...