Culturisation is the place where culture meets standardisation. I have invented the term by combining "culture" and "standardisation". Both concepts are vital for international company and were a focal area of my doctoral research.
Cultural competence extends beyond simple awareness to the practical ability to apply knowledge of cultural differences at work. Many practitioners and researchers indicate that this skill is a core part of an international manager's toolkit.
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, a former Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé SA said almost two decades ago:
“Frankly speaking, I cannot imagine a top manager at Nestlé who has not lived in several countries and who does not speak at least two or three languages.”
These expectations are high but rational. Cross-border collaboration requires ability to interact with other cultures and nothing is better than live experience.
While cultural competence is crucial, standardisation also plays a significant role in international business. It is not a sexy topic; it is often considered as a devil of the world, which takes away a freedom of choice. I argue that standardisation can actually increase creativity and the ability to focus on what truly matters. For more on this, see my post: #25 The Magical Number 7: The Key to Improvisation.
We can standardise:
Qualifications: By setting education standards, apprenticeships, and internal training requirements. As I found out during a tour of the IWC factory in Schaffhausen, the renowned Swiss watch manufacturer requires people to work 20 years before they can be awarded the title of Master Watchmaker. A remarkable case of dedication to the development of key staff. This method is however generally time-consuming and costly. (see: #28 - 10 Thousand Hours to Heaven)
Processes: By defining precise steps to follow. For instance, McDonald's has a standardised process for preparing their menu items, ensuring consistency in quality and service across all their global locations. Although this type of standardisation is strict and can create adaptation challenges, it helps them to maintain brand integrity.
Work outcome - By defining expected outcomes, such as product specification. An example is Apple’s product design standards, which specify the exact materials, dimensions, and performance criteria for each device, ensuring uniformity and high quality in every product shipped worldwide.
Boundary Conditions: By defining the parameters within which one can freely operate, such as speed limits on the road. In the workplace, Google sets boundary conditions by allowing employees to spend 20% of their time on projects of their choice, fostering innovation within defined limits.
Implementing standards across borders must consider cultural differences, which manifest themselves in preferences for different types of standardisation, willingness to change, and working in line with defined principles. Those challenges clearly relate to the resilience of international organisation - its ability to effectively integrate differences and react to complex challenges of cross-cultural environment.
I recently discussed these interlinks during lectures at Munich University of Applied Sciences. This is a broad topic, and I will return to the mechanics of culturisation in future posts.
For now consider these questions:
What are your personal preferences for standardisation types?
Does your national culture have preferences for certain types of standards or rather values flexibility and power of individual choices?
How can you apply standards to improve the performance of yourself, your team, your organisation?
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