Management across Cultures - Case Study Example

MANAGEMENT ACROSS CULTURES Name: Course: Professor: Institution: City & State: Date: Management across Cultures Management practices considerably differ across regional and national boundaries. Particular managerial behavior or culture may be acceptable in one culture but completely unacceptable in another cultural set-up. Diversity comprises of cultural factors such as, gender, race, age, physical capability, color, ethnicity, among other attributes (Kundu & Turan, 1999). Practices that may generate good results in a particular company may be counterproductive in another company. In the recent past, especially due to the increased globalization, managers have increasingly found themselves working in cultural diversified environments; hence the need to have a better understanding of cultural diversity becoming very critical in management (Mejias et al., 1996). This paper examines why such diversities exists and explores on some of the strategies that managers can put in place to address the problems that may arise while managing multicultural companies. Alongside, the paper has explored on a recent newspaper article that has discussed issues related with management across culture. A critique of the newspaper article is made in respect to cross cultural management practices as outlined by some books and articles. Finally, the paper concludes with some recommendations on the best practices to address the problem of cultural diversity in organizations. Culture is “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group (nation) from another.” (Hofstede, 2001, p. 14). Studies have revealed that ‘national culture’ has a relative impact on consensus and satisfaction of people from different countries (Tylor, 1871). Familiarizing with characteristics of countries in regard to cultural practices and believes makes it possible to understand how people from different countries may feel, think, and respond to different situations in workplaces (Hofstede, 1993). Ideally, diverse workforce has become part and parcel of today’s organizations. The impact of cultural diversity depends with the organizations’ overall strategy, as well as the environment within which a particular firm operates (Tjosvold & Leung, 2003). The recent trend whereby firms have continuously drifted away from simple structure to adopt a global outlook has along with it, increased the cultural diversity, and the need to change the conventional management practices and so as to effectively manage the companies (Tripp, 2002). Consequently, the managers have become more focused on managing the cultural diversity to increase the organizations’ competitive advantage. An organization that fails to develop competitive strategies resulting from cultural diversity is pushed out of business by other more competitive organizations (Torres and Bruxelles, 1992). An ideal organization culture that effectively manages diversity gives all the employees freedom to pursue their career aspirations without being inhibited by obstacles that result from nationality, race, gender, religion or other factors that do not contribute to productivity of an organization (Bryan, 1999). Managing diversity provides opportunity for the diverse workforce to exercise their full potential in an environment that advocates equity and a level playing ground for all the workers (Torres and Bruxelles, 1992). To manage global companies which are usually characterized by multicultural environment, the managers should recognize the unique differences of the workforce, and master the art of using it to the advantage of the company. Such differences should never be ignored or left to cause harm to the company (Adler, 1997). Mangers should rather be trained on how to use the differences to optimize the output of the workforce (Cascio, 1998). News paper Article: multicultural workforce requires multicultural leadership: March 25 2011 : http://gulfnews.com The author says that “Multinationals face the difficulty of operating in such a diverse culture and adapting a work culture from abroad to the UAE.”(Thekkepat, 2011). This is particularly true when considering that UAE is predominantly a Muslim region that practices Muslim culture and follows co-Islamic values together with stringent local traditional. That is why the author claims that it becomes very difficult for the multinationals to introduce their culture in this region (Cascio, 1998). The Muslim culture is so much cherished and respected that it becomes very hard to wish it away. However, other cultures need to be accommodated in multinational companies to ensure their effectiveness. The multinational corporations play an important role in promoting economic growth in this region, and as such, cultural differences should not cut the economic ties. Adequate strategies are undertaken by multinationals operating in this region to ensure success of their business despite the cultural differences (Cascio, 1998). Managing the diverse culture, languages and traditions of the UAE companies presents considerable obstacles to the managers. People from different walks of life not only have diversity in their social outlook but also have a diverse psychological impact which results from their cultural background (Reynolds, 1986). The business culture of UAE somewhat resembles the social values and norms of its people-who are predominantly Muslims. For example, the social cultural values in Europe, US and Asia are very different, yet they are expected to work in UAE. This means that people from these regions exhibits varied attitudes and perspectives as well. When people from this diverse cultural background merge to work in a UAE firm, a lot of conflict arises as a result of the many differences that are presented by cultural backgrounds. If not managed well, such difference results into massive counter productivity of the business (Mueller, 1998). The international companies quickly find models that are both respective of local culture and globally competitive. The concept is to localize globalization so as to achieve their best results. For example, many of the international corporations in UAE employ unique management and marketing strategies with the aim of appealing and satisfying the regions diverse population. As a result, most of the people in this region together with the government welcome the presence of these companies (Mueller, 1998). The success of the many multinational companies that operate around this region shows that proper management can create co-existence of even the strongest conservative culture, with the modernity and hence promoting economic development (Grunbaum, 1997). The author has agreed with the fact that globalization is becoming reality. He adds that any company that ignores the concept of globalization is headed to fail. His arguments are very true because globalization requires companies to build their competitive edge, failure to which they are outmatched by their competitors (Mueller, 1998). To establish a successful multinational company in UAE, the author stresses that the companies must incorporate influence practices and values of this diverse culture through “implementing multicultural leadership, not only will a company’s working environment be a better, more enjoyable place to work, but you will be able to better handle the needs of your multicultural customers.” (Thekkepat, 2011, p. 4). Different stakeholders have different needs and perceptions, and hence require a well planned and coordinated course of action to fulfill their needs (Hofstede, 2001). The author suggest that leaders of international needs extensive training which should start at earlier child hood age so that they can adopt to different cultural backgrounds. This can help a person to learn different cultures and be in a position to understand and lead people from diverse cultural background (Grunbaum, 1997). The essence of a leader being exposed to diversified cultural background is to be capable of acting as a bridge cultures. UAE is a country populated with people from different cultural background (Ghareeb & Ibrahim, 1997). The biggest percentage of expatriated comes from other countries. UAE has a rich heritage and divergent culture. The number of expatriate and multinational companies has increased in the recent past hence calling for new methods of business management in the region. As such, understanding cultural interaction between expatriates has become very important. The expatriates from other countries have promoted the development of the country and hence their existence should be encouraged through adequate strategies (Grunbaum, 1997). Conclusion The widespread cultural diversity within the modern organizations has presented management with more challenges and has revolutionized the way companies are run. Not even a single company that expects take advantage of the globalization trend can escape the realities of cultural complexities. It is however important for the managers to adopt strategies that can help the organizations become more competitive rather than less competitive in the midst of the diverse culture (Luthans, 1995). A successful multicultural leader goes beyond boundaries of a national culture. Managing diversity provides opportunity for the diverse workforce to exercise their full potential in an environment that advocates for equity and a level playing ground for all the workers (Torres and Bruxelles, 1992). To manage global companies which are usually characterized by multicultural environment, the managers should recognize the unique differences of the workforce, and master the art of using them to the advantage of the company. Such differences should never be ignored or left to cause harm to the company (Hofstede, 1997). In those regions like UAE which significantly rely on expatriate population for developments and skills, their roles and attitudes should be understood (Randi, 2006). Recognizing the attributes of different countries in respect to cultural behaviors can help managers of international companies understand how people from different countries may feel, think and respond to different situations in workplaces, and hence enhance productivity (Small, 1992). References Adler, N. J., 1997. International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour. Cincinnati: South- Western College Publishing. Bryan, J.H., 1999. The Diversity Imperative, Executive Excellence. New Delhi: Sage. Cascio, W. F., 1998. Managing Human Resources – Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits, Boston: McGraw Hill. Ghareeb, E. & Ibrahim A., 1997. Perspectives on the United Arab Emirates. London: Trident. Grunbaum, L., 1997. 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Portland: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company. Tylor, E., 1871. Primitive Culture. London: Murray. Tjosvold, D. & Leung, K., 2003. Cross-cultural management: foundations and future. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. Read More