Are we more resistant to change depending on our nationality?

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” – Warren Buffet

Change might sometimes be perceived as bad but usually we make it through it and we become aware that we gained more experience and a fresh perspective after all. Freedom comes from continuously and consciously creating new experiences in our professional and private life. When we think about change, we might need to reframe our perception of it. Change seems to be frightening at times but it can help us to break a routine. It also helps us to move out of our comfort level and makes us humbler because it makes us realize what we know and what we don’t know. In times of Corona, independent of our nationality, we had to adapt to multiple changes, especially, professional ones. 

“Managers need to exercise influence effectively to manage change in organizations (Cohen & Bradford, 1991; Greiner & Schein, 1988; Yukl, 2002). The difficulties of exercising influence are increased when dealing with people from different cultures. Interest in comparing managers from different countries with respect to their attitudes and behavior has been growing as business across borders increases (e.g. Dorfman, Howell, Hibino, Lee, Tate, & Bautista, 1997; Smith, Peterson, & Wang, 1996). However, only a few studies have examined cross-cultural differences in the way managers exercise influence. To our knowledge, no study has examined cross-cultural differences in the tactics used to influence or resist change.” [1]

In order to facilitate adaption, managers need to explain the change, what they are trying to accomplish and why they think it is important. Thinking it through will make everybody aware of the opportunities change presents and protects everybody from insecurities produced by the unknown. Change has to be supported by a team. It never can be achieved alone. Therefore, it is important to identify people who support the change. However, there will be numerous people who have a different point of view. Opposed opinions have to be understood and to be taken into consideration. It enhances the opportunity of good communication and can provide new perspectives and additional options to pursue. At the same time, an open communication offers insights into concerns which should be addressed personally in order to reinsure team members individually and to avoid unjustified rumors. There always will be resistance and it is up to the manager to decide whether to integrate opponents into the project. It’s not possible to receive 100% support for a change-project but the number of opponents should not dominate the project-team otherwise they might destroy both; the project and the team.

“It is likely that the influence behavior of managers reflects cultural values and traditions. Cross-cultural research has shown that compared to Americans and the Swiss, the Chinese value collectivism and power distance more and assertiveness less (Fu & Taber, 1998; Hofstede, 1980, 1993; Ralston, Gustafson, Cheung, & Terpstra, 1993). These differences in values suggest that American and Swiss managers may be more inclined to use direct confrontation to resolve problems and conflicts. In contrast, Chinese managers may prefer indirect forms of influence that rely on personal relationships and avoid loss of face (for both agent and the target).” [2]

[1] APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW, 2003, 52 (1), 68–82 Cross-cultural Differences in Perceived Effectiveness of Influence Tactics for Initiating or Resisting Change Gary Yukl State University of New York at Albany, USA Ping Ping Fu Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Robert McDonald Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA 

[2] APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW, 2003, 52 (1), 68–82 Cross-cultural Differences in Perceived Effectiveness of Influence Tactics for Initiating or Resisting Change Gary Yukl State University of New York at Albany, USA Ping Ping Fu Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Robert McDonald Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA