Culture differences in business relations (report based on case study) - Essay Example

Case Study In the wake of globalization, the world has seized being a disintegrated market and is fast moving towardsbeing a common market. A market comprised of diverse groupings driven by a need to maximize their investments. The physical boundaries are first waning as people from different parts of the world interact at a personal and business level. Besides these boundaries, an arising challenge results from the diverse cultures of people who congregate to pursue common business interests.

Culture dictates how people think, how people behave, how people operate and how they relate. Simply, it defines people’s interactions. Thus understanding a people’s culture determines whether or not one gets along with these people. The inability to understand these cultures has become one major reason for business’s downfall as people fail to understand what each culture prefers and its unique attributes. This makes it difficult to define any relationship or address any of these preferences and thus a business may never come out of its infancy.

This study addresses four questions, these are founded on a cultural study headlined as “culture differences in business relations; the case of China and Africa. Question one There were six points highlighted in the case study. All of these points emanate from cultural differences but address variant points. The first point addresses cultural differences in business strategies, to this end the study defines that people’s attitudes towards cooperation are likely to be influenced by the underlying values of their society.

In this case, Africans are reluctant to cooperate given their masculine culture view which depicts cooperation as submission and thus a sign of weakness. On the other hand Chinese pay more attention to relationships. The author defines this as “guanxi”, which means relation or connection. In the second point, the write implores conflict management. To this, he points that Chinese prefer indirect ways or working out problems, this is very much in line with their high regard to harmony and personal relationships.

Africans managers confront problems and bring them out in the open. The next point is risk taking/avoiding, both African and Chinese managers show almost similar levels of reluctance to risky ventures. Among Africans, the lower level managers are unwilling to take on decisions without deference to superiors this delays decision making. The other point is on decision making, here Chinese are seen to make participatory decisions, employees accept decisions handed down by their supervisors and they resist participation in decision making.

In the African setting, decisions are made by individuals, the managers. They do not consult but can defer to their supervisors. The other point is on work-group characteristics, in this point Chinese are seen to value people and the relations which they take time to understand. Africans just like their American and European counterparts are focused on the deal and do not mind the people or the relation. The last point is on motivation, the approach in motivating among Africans is based on performance (principle of equity) whereas among the Chinese it is based on bolstering equality (principle of equality).

Question two The greatest challenge while dealing with people from different cultures and countries comes from their different views on the variant business operations and relations. These differences arise from the relationships resulting from the business, for instance there are challenges on coordinating work groups, defining business strategies, settling conflicts, risk taking/risk avoiding and motivating people. All these are crucial aspects of an organizations and determine how well business functions are achieved and how individuals in these businesses relate to each other.

These can influence a business or an organization both positively and negatively. There is a positive influence when the concerned parties understand these aspects properly and are able to cordially relate, there is a negative influence when people from diverse cultural settings do not understand each other (French, 2011.p.531). An example of negative influence would be using a direct approach to solve problems in a Chinese setting. This will ultimately harm relations as these prefer a harmonious way of solving problems.

An example of another negative influence is using pay to motivate people in China, failure to harmonize pay for the same workgroup acts to demoralize people in China whereas it boosts performance in the African setting (Robbins, 2009.p.242). Positive influence results when an African businessman understands the importance of relations to a Chinese counterpart thus taking time to establish a rapport and understand each other at a personal level Question three Companies launching international business must think outside the box as they must not only strategize in regard to market opportunities and threats but must also strategize on how to assimilate their diverse culture with the local culture.

The local culture (host culture) determines approaches and relationships that the business must adapt (Shajahan & Shajahan, 2004.p.255). Even though a business must launch with a well versed workforce on the business’s operations and culture it must also strategize on how these operations and how these individuals will fit in the wider culture. For instance, a business in Africa will have to alter its pay structure and reward system while launching in China. Question four The quoted fragment underscores the importance of understanding people and their cultures as most critical in a business’s success.

The implication is that by understanding how people in a given setting react, relate and interact a business is providing itself a chance of integrating with these people (Fox, 2006.p.35). In turn, this ability to relate creates a chance through which a business can perceive opportunities and fulfill them thus ensuring sustenance. This sustenance cannot be guaranteed by understanding a market (Neelankavil & Rai, 2009.p.69). As evident in this study, every business and business person must seek to understand the culture of different people with whom they interact for business purposes.

This is because culture is the underlying determinant of behavior and perceptions. Failure to understand these aspects condemns a business to failure as it sets it in a collision path with the people who provide the means through which the business can achieve its objectives and implement its wider strategy. Bibliography Brooks, I. (2009). Organisational behaviour: individuals, groups and organisation. Harlow, England, Prentice Hall/Financial Times. Fox, W. (2006). Managing organisational behaviour.

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