Cross-Cultural Management and Its Relevance within International Business - Essay Example

A Report on Cross Cultural Management NAME: COURSE: INSTRUCTOR: DATE: A Report on Cross Cultural Management Synopsis This report covers the aspect of cross cultural management and its relevance within international business. The relevance includes enhancing communication, giving companies a competitive advantage and keeping companies within the required legal frameworks on cultural fairness. The report further analyzes the reasons why some companies may fail to underline the need for cross cultural understanding. These reasons provided by the report include national barriers to cultural diversity, organizational customs, personal stereotypes against some other cultures, underestimation of the relevance of cultural diversity, conflicting objectives and lack of exposure by members to culturally diverse group settings. Lastly, this report recommends measures that can be put in place by organizations’ management to foster the aspect of cross cultures. These recommendations include respect and courtesy to other cultures, tolerating of diverse culturally oriented groups, amicable problem solution measures and encouraging interaction among members of diverse cultures. Introduction International managers ought to have a good comprehension of culture and its various diversities. Culture is more generally the different behavioral characteristics of individuals as well as their expectations regarding other peoples’ behavior when faced with certain contextual situations (Jackson, 2010, p.3). Company managers have to understand the different cultural dispositions of various stakeholders in their companies. This entails cross cultural management. In this report, the relevance of cross cultural management is discussed in detail. This includes enhancing communication in companies and giving them an upper hand among their competitors. Effective cross cultural management is also important in reflecting a good image of companies on both the domestic and global markets that foster cross-culturing practices. In addition to that, cross cultural management eliminates barriers to communication in the international market and gives companies a competitive advantage. This report also provides an insight into why there are some companies which fail to underline the need for cross cultural understanding. These reasons include both national and organizational cultural obstacles. Individual stereotypes against cultural diversity could also be a reason why some companies fail to emphasize this important factor of cross cultural management. Other reasons for this failure by companies to place importance on cross cultural management could be an underestimation of the importance of cultural diversity, conflicting goals and lack of exposure of members to culturally diverse working groups. Relevance of Cross Cultural Management within International Business First and foremost, cross cultural management enhances communication in a company. Communication is a key tool that all companies must embrace if they have to survive in business and achieve their objectives in the present competitive market. It is communication that creates a mutual understanding in organizations, increases a company’s profitability and enhances managerial efficiency (Gitimu, 2005, p.4). However, effective communication cannot be fostered if there are cultural barriers in an organization. A company’s management should endeavor to eliminate any cultural barriers that inhibit effective communication in their organizations. This is especially true for international businesses. Research by the Economic Intelligence Unit has shown that cross cultural communication can improve profits, revenues and market shares of companies by more than 50%. This really places emphasis on the extent to which organizations should embrace cross cultural management and foster communication among the workforce from different cultures to achieve improved results (Bean, 2010). Secondly, cross cultural management gives companies an upper hand over their competitors. Generally, the general public tends to respect organizations that have embraced cultural diversity and used it to promote their operations. The companies alongside their management are held in high esteem and seen as effective in handling a culturally diverse workforce. In addition to that, cross cultural management encourages an organization’s workforce to take part in achieving the goals of the business (Bean, 2010, p.10). A workforce that is valued and appreciated irrespective of their cultural backgrounds gets the morale and impetus to push forward the agendas of the business. Such a workforce brings on board different experiences and skills from their various working backgrounds. These diverse skills are harnessed by the management to promote the organization and increase its productivity. Cross cultural management also makes an organization comply with the legal frameworks put in place by relevant authorities concerning equality and employment opportunities. As more organizations undergo global expansion and internationalize their operations, most nations are coming up with “right to culture” laws that must be observed by all of their citizens’ employers. Examples of nations that really encourage employers to integrate views concerning the cross cultural management and fostering equality are the United Kingdom and Australia (Reyes, 2004, p.6). It therefore follows that companies which embrace cross cultural management will avoid unnecessary tribunals and cases regarding violation of fairness legislated Acts and laws. Reasons why Some Companies Fail to Underline the Need for Cross Cultural Understanding The first reason why some companies fail to underline the need for cross cultural understanding is there being national obstacles that inhibit cross cultural management. Some peoples’ national cultures have imparted on their mindsets that tend to alienate them from others with different cultures (Rozkwitalska, 2013, p.67). Swarthout (2014) observes that such stereotypes against cultural diversity frustrate any efforts to foster cross cultural management. There may also be obstacles regarding how the organizations are run that hinder cross cultural management. This would include organizational customs and practices that do not favor the need to have a workforce that embraces multicultural inclusions. Some individuals may also have their own personal reasons to abhor cultural diversity (Andrade, 2011, p.1). Jackson (2011, p.22) affirms that this may come from past experiences or misinterpretation of other peoples’ behavior. Such obstacles form reasons for some companies’ total failure to underline the need for cross cultural understanding. Some companies may also fail to underline the need for cross cultural understanding because its importance in those organizations has been underestimated. Top managers are fond of underestimating the need for cross cultural management or even overlooking it all together. Most organizations even term the cross cultural aspect as irrelevant. In some situations, some cultural practices may be given more importance in comparison to the others. This creates ill will among employees and increases cultural alienation. A research survey on the attention paid to culture in organizations was conducted in 2009 by Post-merger Integration Conference Survey based in New York and San Francisco (Andrade, 2011). Only two percent of the respondents interviewed agreed that much effort is directed to cultural integration in organizations. 28% of the respondents observed that just about the right level of attention is paid to cultural aspects while a whopping 70% observed that too little attention is paid on this aspect of culture. Another reason why some companies may fail to underline the need for cross cultural understanding is there being competitive and conflicting goals (Andrade, 2011). Sometimes it occurs that individuals or groups in an organization have varied objectives that they want to achieve. This creates a strained interaction among them. This may also lead to potential conflicts. Such conflicts, eliminate the need by organizations to have concrete cross cultural understanding. Lastly, some companies may fail to underline the need for cross cultural understanding because the members are not given a chance to integrate with others from different cultures and learn from them (Jackson, 2011). There are companies which are too rigid on matters of cross cultural integration. Such companies close their members to such opportunities of integrating with a diverse workforce. The result is a working staff that is culturally alienated and ignorant of cross cultural management. There are very few companies that are embracing the training of their members on cross cultural understanding and integration. In Germany, research by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry found that just about 40% of organizations are taking up and promoting such training activities. This is about the highest percentage worldwide. These are among the reasons why some companies have really failed in placing the required importance to managing cross cultures (Andrade, 2011). Recommendations to Foster Cross Cultural Management Managers are advised to put in place the following measures as steps to foster cross cultural management. First, managers should respect and be courteous to employers from different cultures. They should also learn to put up with these employees who are most likely used to different work practices. If such people are bound to make mistakes, managers are advised to correct them albeit with tolerance and understanding. Sometimes, problems relating to cultural diversity may occur in organizations. The management’s mettle is determined by how they get to the root cause of these problems and establish amicable solutions. It is also upon the management to identify any taboos relating to culture among their employees so that they avoid offending them or being misunderstood whether by speech or actions (Humes, 2013). The management should encourage interaction among the working staff from different cultural backgrounds and make them understand the importance of cultural cohesion (Primecz, Romani and Sackmann, 2011, p.6). Above all, the management should work under the framework of set legislations relating to cultural differences and be very flexible when it comes to adapting to diverse cultural practices by the workforce. If the management does not embrace the aspect of cross cultures, the organizational communication framework will deteriorate and appropriate responses disabled. In addition to that, the organization’s workforce will be very ineffective and inefficient. Lastly, the company’s customers will remain very dissatisfied. Conclusion In conclusion, cross cultural management is a very important factor in business management. It enhances communication in an organization, gives it a competitive advantage and saves it the agony of undergoing tribunals and legal petitions involving violation of cultural fairness laws. Companies fail to underline the need for cross cultural understanding because of organizational customs, national cultural barriers and individual stereotypes. It is therefore recommended that organizations embrace cross cultural management in order to attain high level achievements. Bibliography Andrade, S 2011, Breakdown Barriers to Cross Cultural Communication, viewed 13th May 2014 from http://technorati.com/business/gurus/article/break-down-barriers-to-cross-cultural/ Bean, R 2010, Managing Cultural Diversity. Training Program Resource Manual, Australian Multicultural Foundation, Victoria. viewed 13th May 2014 from http://amf.net.au/library/uploads/files/MCD_Training_Program_Resource_Manual.pdf Gitimu, P 2005, Intercultural Communication: Its Importance to Various Career Fields and Perspective by Various Authors, Online Journal for Workforce Education, Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 2-9. Humes, J 2013, Intercultural Management, viewed 13th May 2014 from http://www.freshbusinessthinking.com/articles_print.php?CID=13&AID=1011 Jackson, K 2010, Cross Cultural Management, Centre for Financial and Management Studies, SOAS, University of London, viewed 13th May 2014 from http://www.cefims.ac.uk/documents/sample-106.pdf Jackson, T 2011, International Management Ethics: Critical, Cross Cultural Perspective, London, Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 39496786. Primecz, H., Romani, L and Sackmann, S 2011, Cross Cultural Management in Practice: Culture and Negotiated Meanings, New York, Edward Elgar Publishing. Reyes, T 2004, From Cross Cultural Management Beyond Implementation, School of Management, RMT University Paper 161, viewed 13th May 2014 from http://www.upan1.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unpan043754.pdf Rozkwitalska, M 2013, Effective Cross Cultural Relationships in Multinational Corporations. Foreign Subsidiaries Viewpoint, Management Department. Gdansk School of Banking. viewed 13th May 2014 from http://www.academia.edu/3732624/Effective_cross-cultural_relationships_in_multinational_corporations._Foreign_subsidiaries_viewpoint Swarthout, D 2014, What are Cultural Barriers to Communication in the Workplace? Education Portal. viewed 13th May 2014 from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-are-cultural-barriers-to-communication-in-the-workplace-definition-examples-quiz.html#lesson Read More