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Author: Portwood, James D.
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Beres, Mary E.
Portwood, James D.
Explaining Cultural Differences in the Perceived Role of Work: An Intranational Cross Cultural Study
In: Organizational Functioning in a Cross Cultural Perspective. G.W. England, et al., eds. Kent, OH: Kent State, University Press, 1979
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Older Men
Publisher: Department of Economics, Kent State University
Keyword(s): Behavior; Ethnic Groups/Ethnicity; Ethnic Studies; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Modeling; Socioeconomic Background; Wages; Work Attitudes

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study proposes a model explaining culture's influence on organizations. Central to the model is an understanding of culture as a frame of reference consisting of beliefs, values, and behaviors which members of a group have found beneficial to their survival and have transmitted to successive generations. Using this definition, the study examines the relationship between culture and work attitudes while controlling for socioeconomic class, socio-ecological environment, socialization environment, and personal circumstances. Findings indicate that workers with north or west European ancestry are more likely to value work for itself than workers with central or east European ancestry. Workers with African ancestry are more likely to value work for the wages it produces. These differences are significant even after controlling for the factors listed above. Results from this study suggest that organizations may consist of multicultural workers with diverse work attitudes even after people have been in a single country or geographic area for several generations.
Bibliography Citation
Beres, Mary E. and James D. Portwood. "Explaining Cultural Differences in the Perceived Role of Work: An Intranational Cross Cultural Study" In: Organizational Functioning in a Cross Cultural Perspective. G.W. England, et al., eds. Kent, OH: Kent State, University Press, 1979