...Topic Review: General Management Effective cross-cultural management has to be grounded in a detailed knowledge of individual cultures. Discuss using examples from two multinational companies. I/ Introduction: In times of rapid globalisation and economic development growth, the environment of business has become more and more complicated as a huge number of firms want to globally expand their businesses. Subsequently, the managerial implications of cross-cultural management is the challenge of this development. As Abbe (2007) states, cross-cultural leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who work in the global markets. Culture is the “software of mind” that can influence people’s patterns of thinking and behaving. (Hofstede, 1997). Referring to a work of He and Liu (2010), different characteristics of culture result in thinking, understanding and communication diversity. These diversities more or less make organisational development and management difficult. Therefore, multicultural managers should create cross-cultural training in their companies in order to increase effectiveness across culture. This essay will be discussing whether effective cross-cultural management has to be grounded in a detailed knowledge of individual cultures with examples of two multinational companies: Wal-Mart and Alfa Laval. II/ The Debate on Cross-Cultural Management: Globalisation has increased the awareness of consumers, and made nations more inter-dependent. In...
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...List the problems when east meet west may encounter and tell the way work out With the rapidly challging word, people throughout the world have found it increasingly necessary to minimize the rate of misunderstanding due to miscommunication in their contacts with another. In the oast most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geoographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. It might be said that technological advances have been most effective in creating the borderless word, the global community. As our world shrinks and its inhabitants become interdependent, people from remot cultures increasingly come into contact on a daily basis. It is no longer hard to find situations in which membes of ince isolared groups of people. Now these people may live thousands of miles away or right next door to each other. So all the people are faced with the challenge of understand this world. So when the east meet west, there are many problems. Some problems are listed as follows. First of all, the way of eating. All huaman beings have certain basic needs. Our fundamental needs for things that keep us alive. This is the physioligical need. All individuals must eat in order to survive. But what people eat, when they eat, and the manners in which they eat are all patterned by culture. No society views everything in its environment that is edible and might provide nurishment as food. Americans eat oysters but not snail. The French eat snails but...
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...origin and a franchisor for Chicago Style Pizza, has decided to expand his business into the Czech Republic. He knows it is a risky decision. When he became a franchisor, he had to overcome many difficulties. Steve anticipates he will face some of these difficulties again at the new location in Prague, Czech Republic. Although he was born in the United States, he has family and friends in the Czech Republic. Steve speaks Czech fluently, and has visited the country of his origin several times. In other words, he knows the people and the culture. Or does he? The purpose of this Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas paper is to analyze the major differences and incompatibilities between the U.S. and Czech cultures. I will analyze the cross-cultural differences between the United States and Czech Republic, determine comparative advantages in this country, and recommend ways to minimize the risks of establishing a franchise overseas. It is important for Steve Hafka to understand Czech Cuisine being that he has decided to expand his business in Czech. If he does not research the Czech culture, his pizza franchise may not be successful. Both cultures are quite compatible and the major differences come in attitudes of people. Americans are generally optimists, where the majority of Czechs are pessimists. Another difference between the Czechs and Americans is their level of confidence. Americans seem to be overly confident in anything they do where Czechs have a hard time...
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...develop a negotiation and communication strategy that will mitigate these differences in a way that will not unduly jeopardize the success of its new endeavors. While they considered the differences in the legality of their overseas standing, it is obvious that Generator failed to develop a plan that accounted for the cultural hurdles before entering into these partnerships. By entering into these partnerships they effectively mitigate the limitations of corporate ownership in these countries. In contrast, their lack of understanding and adapting to foreign ways of thinking has resulted in the potential alienation and humiliation of their partners. With their failure to proactively administer to these cultural differences Generator must now address these issues downstream. Ideally they would have fashioned their forward-looking communications in a manner that acknowledged the difference between Chinese and Thai culture and approached them from two different standpoints. By segmenting one country from the other they will have the opportunity to facilitate constructive negotiations that are culturally aligned with their intended audience. This would also encourage them to not group all Asian cultures together and repeat mistakes that they have made by using an ethnocentric approach to their prior dealings. Justification for the different approaches can be found in the research conducted by Geert Hofstede. Hofstede, a pioneer in the research of cross-cultural dynamics, developed...
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...Ethnocentric and Communication Breakdown In Our Culture By Cherie Anderson Intercultural Communication 23 October 2011 Ethnocentric and Communication Breakdown Well ethnocentric is viewing your own culture as more superior than any other culture. Ethnocentric refers to judging other cultures or political systems based on one's own. I really don’t feel that I am about this being that I am very open to other cultures. Though some cultures I do not believe in certain practices that they may do, but I don’t feel my culture is any more superior then another. What I mean by practices there are certain cultures where the women are to serve the man or pretty much have no voice in the household only the man. I am a very independent woman and believe that if I contribute to the table of the household just the same as the man I should get the same respect and treated equal. Also in some Asian cultures they believe it’s ok to eat puppies and use them for medicine. This I find to be horrifying being that in America we treat them as our pets. But then when it comes to the Eastern Indians we have in the country with Muslims I believe that they shouldn’t be fully covered in their head veils as France as banned such practices as well. In my view since the whole terrorist attack 9/11 I believe that it could be anyone under the veil not just a woman, possibly a male terrorist. So maybe I could be viewed a bit ethnocentric, but them probably is a majority of...
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...Fachhochschule Köln Cologne University of Applied Sciences Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Research paper of the discipline “Cross Cultural Competence SS 2012” Made by: Brovchenko Ekaterina Dzyuba Stanislav Shushunina Tatiana 2012 Content Summary 1. Targets, tasks and problems of research During the last ten years aspects of cross-cultural competence provoke theoretical and practical interest due to international relations development. Cross-cultural competence is not restricted by discussion of different questions and problems on the international level; it becomes a part of everyday people life including education sphere. Our team has received results of survey that is carried out among students of Germany, Uzbekistan and Albania. This survey about how culture affects the requirements for teaching offers. Respondents were offered to answer 26 questions according to education aspects and personal questions. In addition we had list of statistical data that should be collected about every country. For us it was necessary to compare found date and obtained results of existing survey and then to find correlation between it. We have considered three given countries: Germany, Uzbekistan and Albania. Germany, officially the Federal Republic...
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...Culture and Ethnicity Arevalo-Flechas, L. (2009). Diversity: From the White House to “Our House”. AORN Journal. 89(2), 261-264. Diversity in the government with the continuous mass immigration creates a new environment in which the nursing practice should conform and adjust its standard to provide invaluable care to everyone. This article discusses the role of perioperative nurses in providing excellent care to culturally diverse population. This can be done through cross-cultural training and tools to assist in developing skills such as self awareness, communication and new learning. Culturally and Linguistically Appropriately Standards of Service (CLAS) have been created to guide health care agencies in better communication thus better patient satisfaction. There is also the use of cultural broker who acts as an advocate on behalf of another individual from a different culture has gained much attention and greatly enhances communication. Providing in-service to staff, use of interpreters and cultural brokers and implementation of standard collection of data on race and ethnicity creates readiness to deliver culturally competent health services. Lowe, J., Archibald, C. (2009). Cultural Diversity: The Intention of Nursing. Nursing Forum. 44(1), 11-18. This article addresses cultural diversity in nursing and focuses on competence in providing appropriate nursing care to a growing culturally/ethnically diverse patient...
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...Discuss Culture and Quality 1.0 Introduction As the world becomes more global each day, the borders among countries have started to disappear. The integration between nations highlights the importance of ‘culture’ in almost every aspects of human life. Today, people, companies and even governments shape and orient their acts correlated to this interaction process. Increased impact of national identity leads companies and marketers to build up unique strategies in order to be successful worldwide. The biggest reason of this is the different needs and expectations of people in different countries. Every culture has distinctive norms and values which have shaped the perception of customers for years. Nowadays, the concept of perceived product quality is increasingly becoming more important on the minds. Although there are a lot of definitions, each of them are defined as common meaning; that is, quality is basically ability to meet the customer’s needs and expectations. Perception of quality varies from person to person and even from culture to culture. Therefore, the national identity and cultural values and norms might have an important role on the customers’ quality perception. Even if all the features and the prices of the product are same, it can create different opinions and perceptions in different countries and cultures. How may culture affect the ‘product quality perception’ of consumers? 1.1 Culture ‘Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies...
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... |Intercultural Communication | Copyright © 2010, 2009, 2004 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description The purpose of this course is to assist students in understanding and applying the principles of effective intercultural communication in a diverse society and in global commerce. Students will develop an understanding of why and how cultural issues influence effective communication. This course introduces techniques for improving written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills in response to intercultural settings. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Lustig, M. W. & Koester, J. (2010). Intercultural competence: Interpersonal communication across cultures...
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...QUESTION 5- ALTERNATIVE ANSWER What are the main cultural problems for international marketing strategies? Culture includes all that is learned in relation to values, traditions, beliefs, religions, rituals and customs. International marketing needs to take into account the culture of the country in which the company wishes to market as culture influences consumer tastes, attitudes and demand patterns. Cultural differences will need to be satisfied when designing all the company’s marketing communications and activities Cultural differences can be measured by Hofstede’s work on the four dimensions of culture Individualism/collectivism The extent to which individuals prefer to act in the interest of the group rather than in their own self-interest Power distance This refers to the way in which interpersonal relationships are formed when there are perceived differences in power. Masculinity/femininity The extent to which a culture is characterized by assertiveness, rather than nurturing Uncertainty avoidance The extent to which individuals are threatened by uncertainty and risk and thus adopt beliefs and behaviors that help them to avoid the uncertainty Hofstede’s cultural dimensions can be used by companies when designing international marketing activities e.g. American consumers tend to be individualistic, masculine, low in power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Therefore, they tend to be receptive to aggressive messages, innovative products...
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...Running head: The Understanding of Communication in Language and Diversity The Understanding of Communication in Language and Diversity Sabah Rawnak Grand Canyon University COM-101 Kimberly Thompson 1/24/2010 The Understanding of Communication in Language and Diversity Communication is a very important aspect in our life. It helps human beings connect with each other. Communications brings people together and acknowledge the different cultures. Today, we have so many different cultures, language and skin colors. Each culture has its own way of communicating. I am from Bangladesh and I can honestly say how hard it was for me to communicate when I first arrived in America. It took me several years to understand the American culture, speak English, make friends and communicate. I learned how important it is to understand communication in language and diversity to develop and appreciation for different cultures in order to improve our communication skills. There were two things that stood out in the two resources that I found. One thing was I was able to compare my life with the author’s writing. Steven A. Beebe, Diana K. Ivy and Susan J. Beebe (2008) point out in Communication: Principle for a Lifetime to manage your anxiety to adjust. I was very anxious to learn English and be like an American. I was impatient and wanted to fit in with my classmates and make friends. Richard D. Bucher (2008) in Diversity Consciousness: Opening Our Minds to People, Culture...
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...Hofstede's Framework for Assessing Culture He has found five dimensions of culture in his study of national work related values: • Low vs. High Power Distance - the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Low power distance (e.g. Austria, Israel, Denmark, New Zealand) expect and accept power relations that are more consultative or democratic. People relate to one another more as equals regardless of formal positions. Subordinates are more comfortable with and demand the right to contribute to and critique the decision making of those in power. In High power distance countries (e.g. Malaysia, Slovakia) less powerful accept power relations that are more autocratic and paternalistic. Subordinates acknowledge the power of others simply based on where they are situated in certain formal, hierarchical positions. As such the Power Distance Index Hofstede defines does not reflect an objective difference in power distribution but rather the way people perceive power differences. In Europe, Power Distance tends to be lower in Northern countries and higher in Southern and Eastern parts. There seems to be an admittedly disputable correlation with predominant religions. • Individualism vs. collectivism - individualism is contrasted with collectivism, and refers to the extent to which people are expected to stand up for themselves and to choose their own affiliations, or alternatively act predominantly...
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...Running head: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT International Human Resource management Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date: Hofstede developed the theory of cultural differences to describe the different effects that culture could have on an organisation. He classified cultures of different countries into five dimensions. The first was power distance which expounded on inequality and how different nations viewed it. He maintained that inequality is inevitable in societies, but some societies allow it to grow so that there can be difference in power, prestige and wealth. The inequality is formalised through hierarchies in the organisation. The second dimension is the uncertainty avoidance which explained how societies dealt with risks that may occur in the future and how the members of the society yearn to achieve certainty. Another dimension was masculinity versus femininity. He explained that in masculine societies, focus is on dominance and competition while feminine societies focus on humility, a society where people help each other out and with a high level of cooperation. The forth was Individualism versus collectivism. Individualism is where an individual only watches over himself or his close family members while collectivism refers to where there is concern for the whole group in the society (Hofstede, 1987). The last dimension is Long-Term Orientation (LTO) which was developed in the 90’s due to the realization that the Asian cultures...
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... | | |COM/285 Version 3 | | |Introduction to Business Communication | | |Group ID MEBM091AS: | Copyright © 2010, 2009, 2008 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course introduces students to the foundations of communication in a business setting. Students are exposed to various topics related to interpersonal and group communication within the context of applications in an office or virtual office setting. Students will develop skills in the forms of written communication, including memos, e-mails, business letters, and reports. Communication ethics and cross-cultural communications are also explored. Upon completing the course, students will have an awareness of their personal communication style and be able to identify areas for further exploration of communication as a business skill. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor...
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...Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: A Comparison of Greece and U.S. Human Resource Management Approaches By Kelly M. Mistretta MBOL2 MBA 533, Human Resource in Management Dr. James C. Dumville Saint Leo University – Center for Online Learning September 9, 2012 Name: Kelly Mistretta Title: Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: A Comparison of Greece and U.S. Human Resource Management Approaches Date: September 9, 2012 Abstract Globalization continues to become more important in the business culture in our world. No longer can management focus only on companies within their own country. Businesses are forced to compete with companies from other countries. With the increased global competition, a business must understand other cultures if they hope to remain competitive and have continued success. There are several models that show the influence of cultural differences between nations. Hofstede’s model, called the theory of cultural relativity of organization practices is the most recognized model. Hofstede’s model focuses on cultural influences and work behaviors in five different dimensions. Each dimension has important implications in understanding business. This paper will compare the Hofstede analysis of Greece and the United States. Biographical Sketch Kelly Mistretta is currently an MBA student at Saint Leo University. Mistretta has a BA in Accounting and plans to obtain an MBA to equip her with improved business skills to better contribute to society...
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