Some Evidence for the Cultural Relativity of Organizational Development Programs

Abstract

In this article, we explore the cultural relativity of organizational development programs by investigating the effects of two different "value-laden" change programs in the Finnish cultural milieu. The evidence distinctly illustrates different effect patterns between foreign and domestic programs. In the American program the effects appeared mainly in the management system and, more specifically, in the individual managers. The domestic program, however, experienced stronger — and longer lasting — effects at the organizational level. The barriers experienced during the introduction of the foreign program reflected quite well the cultural differences we found earlier between the countries studied. The major hypothesis based on the data is that the cultural impact on the transfer process is mediated through the different positions of managers in different countries rather than through the different need and value systems of individual managers.