Intercultural management: Reward Systems, Leadership Styles

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Question 1
In designing an appropriate reward system, understanding culture differences in motivation is important. What are the five most prominent reward categories, and how does culture impact these five categories?
It is important to understand cultural differences when designing an appropriate reward system in order to actually motivate those one wishes to motivate. This is true if one is posted to a foreign country or simply in charge of a diverse workforce in America. The five most prominent reward categories are: job content, career, social status, financial, and professional. . In the United States there is a greater focus on financial, social status, job content, career and professional reward systems. In contrast, the Japanese focus on seniority, bonuses, and permanent jobs. In China, rewards focus on social benefits.
Some cultures are very hierarchical whereas others are formed more on mutual respect. Employees may not understand American manager expectations that they are independent and self motivated. Job security is impacted in that some cultures emphasize security over risk, and prefer a steady income with a lifetime employer. French and Italian workers tend to value job security highly (Phelen, 2010). In contrast, in America, for instance, we tend to be more loyal to our own careers and interest in hiring and performance bonuses. Financial incentives tend to motivate those in countries with high individualism. Other cultures stress group membership for compensation. This corresponds with career development, in which Americans may be more likely to be motivated to manage their own careers, whereas many other countries, including India, for instance, it is the expectation that the manager will look out for and help manage the employee's future. Many cultures are shocked by the performance evaluation, in which one is directly informed as to their perceived strengths and weaknesses. Many cultures find this to be too confrontational and legalistic, whereas other methods seem to have less clarity to Americans familiar with the process. Motivation differs in different cultures with "appeal to duty, authority, company loyalty, group rewards or regular after-work socializing" (Schomer, 2001) having less effect than personal growth and monetary gain for Americans. Other cultures value personal loyalty, company prestige and appeal to authority as ...