Cross-Cultural Communication Scenario - Assignment Example

Cross-Cultural Communication Scenario Name Institution Date Abstract Wang, a Japanese genius, was thrilled about signing his first international contract. Fred invited him to work for Fervid in Australia with a good salary offer and attractive work-life balance, compared to that of Hitachi. Two weeks later, Wang flew to Melbourne. However, Wang had never been to any English-speaking country, despite being a good English speaker. He was also less familiar with the Western cultural norms. Unfortunately, Wang could only get innovative when working within a group. He felt difficult adjusting to the individualist culture that made him reconsider the offer. Cross-Cultural Communication Scenario Background After graduating from the City University of Hong Kong in 2008 at the age of 15, Yitzuka Wang was absorbed into Hitachi Software Engineering Company in Tokyo, Japan where he specialised in designing and developing software for information systems management. Along the way, Wang developed a series of anti-phishing software, such as SiterWatcher, whose end-user downward reached 100,000 within the first month of launching, and whose enterprise version sold 12 licenses in 2009. Wang was also the developer behind EmailWatcher in 2010, which is a plug-in email filter for Microsoft Outlook that analyses web pages and fishy universal resource locators. Wang’s genius was secretly whispered in Hitachi’s corridors, and when Fred Morgan visited the firm in 2010 while looking to expand his business in Japan, Hitachi was his first stop. Fred was the entrepreneur behind Fervid Business Solutions. The company manufactured business management software in Melbourne, Australia. He started the company in 2003, after seeing a niche in the market for the manufacture of business management software, particularly for building customer relations and managing the supply chain. The company had 50 members of staff, six of them were dedicated to administrative tasks while the remaining were software developers, content developers and marketers. Fervid had acquired a greater market share of the Australian market by 2010, with more than 3,000 small to medium-sized businesses that were using its range of business solutions. The company was eyeing the Japanese market, and when network at Hitachi talked admirably about Wang, he knew he had found someone who could translate Fervid’s software solutions into Japanese. He asked for Wang’s contacts and reached him via email after flying back to Australia. However, joining Fervid did not presage good fortune, apart from the fat salary and an opportunity to build a foundation for an international experience that any millennial could not resist. Wang had read much about Fred Morgan in online blogs. The media was in love with this person’s charisma and business acumen. He had nothing but admiration for Fred. Working for Fred was, therefore, very fortunate and just the right time to sell his genius to the Western media before he clocked 20 years. Wang was thrilled about signing his first international contract. Fred invited him to work for Fervid with a good salary offer and attractive work-life balance, which got him startled. When he discussed the matter with his parents and siblings, they all spurred him to take the opportunity. Two weeks later, he flew to Melbourne. However, Wang had never been to any English-speaking country, despite being a good English speaker. He was also less familiar with the Western cultural norms. He met too many barriers that made him reconsider the offer. Current situation Once at Fervid, Wang ran into several difficulties while negotiating his contract. Fred, who had recruited him based on a strong recommendation from his Japanese networks, spoke rather fast and liberally, as he appeared to be seeking to get Wang into the team as soon as possible. Wang wanted to get to know first the company and its workers. He felt that Fred was rather hasty and pushy. To him, Fred seemed to be only interested in getting him for self-interest and appeared to be less concerned about his initial experience. At the same time, Fred’s nonverbal cues during the negotiation did not help. What bothered Wang is that he knew he was used to working in a group, at a communal table, rather than individually behind a desk. He feared that he would not be able to adjust in time, which would vex his new employer, leading to his dismissal. Wang was also afraid that specifics he detailed out in his résumé and work portfolio were insufficient, as he needed to prove himself and build a relationship with the staff first. Despite having flown more than 4,300 miles from Japan, he still needed time to make his decision. He also remained unsure whether Fred’s nonverbal communication, such as a stern eye contact, was a mark of assurance or strictness, openness or honesty. He felt intimidated and annoyed. Conversely, while meeting Wang in his office, Fred felt that his new employee was either uninterested or not listening, as Wang was avoiding his eyes. In reality, Wang wanted to make a good impression that he is polite, and so avoided searching directly into Fred’s eyes. The issue of language difference also created an invisible curtain between Fred and Wang. While Jack spoke fluent English with what Wang perceived to be a foreign twang, Wang was worried about his ability to communicate fluently in English. He also had difficulties catching some words, and just nodded to flatter Fred that he was in sync. The organisation structure was unusual for Wang. While Hynes (2007) claims on the risks of oversimplifying the definition of organisational structure cannot be overlooked when describing an organisational structure, Fervid Ltd consisted of a mix of ‘bureaucracy’ and ‘democracy’. The model of ‘bureaucracy’ applied to the company’s executive management, who were all Australians. The rest of the staff was based on democracy and consisted of American and Australian expats. Fervid’s marketing and administration units are greatly formalized, where all employees are given well-defined roles, with a minimal span of control where the workers answer to the management. Because of this, it could be said that the two units have the features of “role culture.” On the other hand, the IT department was largely autonomous, where the software developers had a wide span of control and were at freedom to contact the department’s management, which prided itself in recruiting top-notch developers. This approach exemplifies the features of “club culture.” Wang was used to the hierarchical structure, where he received orders and directions from above, rather than use personal initiatives. According to Hynes (2007), the model of high- context and low-context culture describes the manner in which the feelings, opinions, and values of employees, as well as their background, affect their actions in any specific culture. Western countries like Australia are mostly considered to have low-context cultures, as organisations in the country have individualistic staffs that are prone to basing decisions on facts, and, therefore, go for the specifics noted in contracts. On the other hand, high-context cultures, such as in Japan, tend to have people who are collectivist and give high importance to interpersonal relationships. A divergence of expectations was a key area that appeared to create misunderstanding with his new team. His new colleagues placed a high value on making individual achievements and self-satisfaction, where each software developer was expected to be an authentic innovator and make personal achievements. The software developers viewed each other as worthy opponents. For this reason, there was little collaboration and a sense of commonality. The situation was just impossible for Wang. He observed that at his new workplace, people seemed to be motivated by self-glory, where, rather than work as a team, each of his colleagues strove to outshine the other. Wang also found such an environment difficult to adjust. Back in Tokyo, most of his innovations were credited to teamwork. In fact, he had learnt to work as part of a team. Working on own projects from start to finish independently was, therefore, a problem Again, he wondered why the administration’s staff never even orientated him and introduced him officially during his first week, apart from a three-hour briefing. Back at home, he was used to scenarios where the entry of each new colleague was marked by a celebration and endless handshaking. This was definitely because of the importance his Japanese cultures attached to collectivism. As Hynes (2007) argues, the aspects of “group needs’ and ‘group” are some of the most significant Japanese Confucian values. Besides, he had stressed in his resume that he is an effective team player, rather than an individualistic player, having led his teams to prominence in the Japanese mobile app market. He also noted that, apart from the staff in the administrative department who had recruited him, the rest of the departments, in such a small firm, showed little enthusiasm for his arrival. It hurt his feelings, and he felt less recognised, despite avid assurance from the staff at the administration department that everybody was elated to have him join the team. This was definitely not consistent with the Japanese Confucian values, whose cardinal principles include dependency, empathy, and high sensitivity to others’ feelings (Hynes 2007). Kawar (2012) also explains that the cardinal principle of dependency requires that one makes efforts to project himself to a larger group and in return expects acceptance. Wang felt he had been pushed to sign the contract. Despite working for three months, he felt he was getting somewhere, despite the prevailing low pressure to innovate at work. He had received a fat salary, an SUV, and a penthouse within the first month. Wang felt he did not deserve any of these, as his colleagues appeared to have flourishing ideas. He was expected to come up with the first innovative idea during the first month, but he was far from attaining this during the third month. Feelings of guilt clouded his judgment at work. At the same time, he wished to go back to Hitachi, where his genius found sufficient utility. However, he felt he had an option: hand over his resignation and return to Hitachi. He also felt he needed to talk over his problems with Fred. Questions 1. What cultural barriers did Wang encounter in Japan? 2. Advise Wang on what he should do? Reference List Hynes, K. (2007). "A case study: cross cultural misunderstanding in the workplace," Language, Culture and Communication, vol 39, pp11-23 Kawar, T. (2012). "Cross-cultural Differences in Management," International Journal of Business and Social Science vol 3 no 6, pp.105-111 Appendix Questionnaire 1. From which country are you from? 2. Before joining Fervid, where did you first work? 3. How did you get employed into Fervid Ltd at such a young age? 4. Why did you choose to come to Australia? 5. What attracted you to your current job in Australia, and not Japan? 6. What is it like Working in Japan compared to Australia? 7. How did you negotiate your work contract? 8. Does the organisational structure affect how you relate with your new colleagues? 9. What is the experience working in Australia? 10. Did you find it easy communicating with your new colleagues? 11. What cultural shocks did meet that you never expected? 12. Do you love your job? Would you want to stay longer? Read More