The Role Of Culture In International Business - Essay Example

The Role Of Culture In International Business Introduction The role of culture is pivotal for successful international business. In global business, the impact of the diverse cultures is vital for constructing fruitful and effective International Relationships. In recent years, the upsurge of internationalization and globalization has become imperative. According to Franklin Root, a business environment is formed by the global economy that require corporations to start instead of viewing from an universal global perception and need firms to look past the customary mode of thinking. The implementation and development of new plan entails cultural alignment within the incorporated strategy. The success of the organization is dependent upon understanding the cultural behavior. There are several benefits of understanding culture which includes enabling cooperation, enhancing tem motivation, aids communication, posture the organization for success, establishment of immediate rapport and building optimistic relations. Hence, it can be notified that it is crucial for international business to promote responsiveness and awareness of cultural concerns to confirm efficiency. Thailand is formerly recognized as Siam and publicly identified as Kingdom of Thailand. Thailand is at the middle of the Indochina peninsula. Between the year 1985 and 1996, the country experienced rapid upsurge of economy and turn out to be foremost exporter and newly industrialized country. The cultural background of Thailand is incorporated by individualities indigenous and cultural philosophies to the area which is lately known as the modern of Thailand. The prime purpose of the paper is to provide vivid explanation with literature review and brief introduction on Thailand. Furthermore, the paper applies the findings of the theoretical models and literature review to assess the social changes and features of unique culture of the country. Literature review At times individuals is viewed as the vastly cultured person. This means that individual has certain characteristics such as taste for literature, manner, music and speech which makes different from diverse cultural background. In sociology and anthropology, the term culture is used in a special intellect. Furthermore, it refers to the feelings, thoughts, beliefs and behavior of human beings. Several anthropologists and sociologists defined culture in numerous ways. Edward Taylor, one of the renowned British anthropologists, defined culture as the composite whole which comprises of art, knowledge, law, belief, custom, morals and other traditions and capabilities of human beings. According to Robert Morrison Maclver, culture is well-defined as the expression in modes of thinking and living of human beings. M. J. Herskovits defines culture as the mental map which enables individuals to guide in relationship to other people and surroundings. The effect of transcontinental politics, industrialization and business towards the damage of environment has upsurge the importance of cultural process. Moreover, this enabled cultural courses to take centre-stage to address the issues towards the development. The culture in society regulates the operating procedure of firms. Moreover, the cultures provide a set of rules and series of pattern to certify co-operation of the group members and individuals to adjust on environmental state. These series of pattern provided by culture helps to meet the socio-cultural and biological demands of group members or individuals. There are four aspects which resembles the importance of culture and function of culture to the society. The culture help to cultivates, reproduce, reproduces and communicates. Culture can help to communicate with variety of media, formats, cultural artifacts and advertisements. The over-arching aim of hundreds of dissimilar detailed messages is to connect a visualization of the importance of life. Culture also helps people to grow and develop. Culture helps to develop souls of individuals by creating worlds and communication to live and descriptions to inhibit. The cultural dimensions theory of Hofstede The cultural dimensions theory of Hofstede is a framework and model developed by Geert Hofstede. The model is based on cross-cultural communication. The cultural dimension theory use factor analysis to describe the influence of cultural background on the values of the associates. This theory is widely used in cross-cultural communication, international management and cross-cultural psychology. According to Geert Hofstede, culture is defined as the collective and combined programming of the mind which enables to differentiate people from others. The values of every countries culture can be statically distinguished from each other in to five dimensions. Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity and long term orientation are five groups to distinguish country culture (Tannen, 1995, pp.138-148). National culture difference model by Trompenaar National culture difference model is developed by Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaar. It is a framework which is applied to management and general business for cross-cultural communication. The seven dimension of the model of national cultural differences are individualism vs. collectivism, universalism vs. particularism, internal vs. external, specific vs. diffuse relationships, neutral vs. emotional, achievement vs. ascription and sequential vs. Synchronic (Hirschhom and Gilmore, 1992, pp. 104-115). Intercultural business communication Intercultural business communication is defined as the ability to negotiate and communicate with people from diverse cultural background about effective execution of work. It is vital for international business to incorporate effective models and theories in the business process to motivate people from other culture to work together. The primary job of intercultural communicator is to learn the values, beliefs, norms and customs of different culture. Furthermore, intercultural communicator also has to recognize effective process to portray successful incorporation of information to people through nonverbal and verbal communication (Hogan, 2012, p.19). The prime function of the intercultural business communication process is to enhance the understanding of intermediated and mediated communication phenomena of culture. Intercultural interaction, culture general and culture specific are the three separate research avenues of intercultural business communication. Edward T. Hall Study The study of Edward T. Hall is based on providing key tendencies of culture to communicate. Hall identified low-context and high-context culture is the way in which information is communicated. This is one of the theoretical frameworks which are effectively used by corporation in Thailand to study the inter-cultural business communication. This model and theory is implemented by businesses to assess the influence of culture towards the marketing undertakings (Hall, Evans and Nixon, 2013, p.29). Intercultural theory is one of the methods that are used to explain communicators to adapt at the situation of purpose related encounters. Country study Over the centuries, Thailand has conserved its exclusive ethnicities and identities by welcoming diversified culture. Moreover, this acceptance of diverse culture in the country had upsurge the relations with the external world. The people of Thailand are known for race, faith, generosity, friendliness and tolerance. The findings of the literature review are being effectively incorporated to evaluate the region, beliefs and social norms of Thailand (Hallinan and Jackson, 2008, p.75). Hofstede study in Thailand The cultural dimensions theory of Hofstede on Thailand culture provide detailed information about the way people from different culture think and deep drivers of Thai culture. The dimension of power distance deals with the fact of attitude of Thailand culture towards inequalities. According to Power-Distance Index, the score of Thailand is 64. Furthermore, the score is slightly lower than that of other Asian countries. The society of Thailand accepts inequalities. Moreover, a firm sequence of protocol and commence can witnessed from Thai culture. The common form of greeting in Thailand is the Wai. In return for guidance and protection, it is viewed that employees from different cultural background working in Thailand show respect, deference and loyalty to superiors. The flow of information is more controlled and hierarchical. The power distance is high in Thailand (Gay, Hall, Janes and Madsen, 2013, p.82). People from all around the world in Thailand are respected. The most probable aspect that can be noticeable from Thailand culture is bargaining. There are no products in the country made with the image of Buddha and King. Another aspect of culture of Thailand is uncertainty avoidance. Tradition of the country is valued and can be viewed from decorated traditional symbols inside the taxi. The prime objective of the people of Thailand is to control everything that can benefit to avoid and eliminate any occurrence of unanticipated. The low score on masculinity dimension resembles the fact that Thailand is feminine society. This lower level informs that the society is less competitive and assertive. It is also Thailand is extremely collectivist country where people belong in assemblies and take care of themselves in interchange of respect and loyalty. The people of Thailand value altruism with the hospitality and benevolence. Collectivism is viewed as important part, emotions are important and strangers are treated as friends (Cox, 2004, p.12). Moreover, group is pivotal factor in the part of decision making process. Cultural diversity model Seven dimensions of culture by Trompenaar help to identify the essential dimensions of culture. People of Thailand are from particularism cultures that focus more on building trust and relationship. The introduction of new requirement is satisfied by adaptation of contracts in specific circumstances. Different requirements are adapted by creation of effective human resource policies and local variations of corporations. The society of Thailand is categorized by hierarchical backgrounds and ethnicities where people of the community occupy altered ranked social locations. Inferiority and superiority marks the social interactions. Old culture Thailand people are specified higher rank which demands obedience, respect and care. The courtesy and respect of Thai people is demonstrated by how head comes down and height of the hands held. The sign of respect and greeting is done by the Wai. The beliefs and practices of Thailand is what makes it most fascinating place to visit than that of other Western countries. The main language of Thailand is Tai. Mon-Khmer, Malay, Lao and Chinese are other languages that are spoken in Thailand. This notifies the cultural diversity in Thailand (D’Almedia, 2007, p.16). The hierarchical relationships are respected by Thailand people. When any stranger comes in the society of Thailand, they are placed in to hierarchy. This makes easier for stranger from international countries to know how they are going to be treated in Thailand. This resembles the fact that employee from outside nations working in Thailand can their level of respect and care. The culture of Thailand focuses on individualism where groups are preferred than that of individuals. The Thailand people respect for inherited and ascribed rank. The economic development and openness in Thailand is on lower side. People emphasize less on future and development possibilities. Edward T. Hall model on cultural diversity Edward T. Hall presented a popular model and framework which states that Thailand is based on high-context cultures. This context of communication and culture is based on presenting message which includes communication cues rather than speech and text. Some of the communication cues implemented by Thai people are the use of silence, Para-verbal cues, eye movement and body language. A high-context culture of Thailand is collectivist, contemplative, intuitive and relational. The culture of Thailand values the group performance rather than individuality. Tradition and history of Thailand is strong. This resembles the fact the high-context culture of Thailand have strong sense of history and traditions. Moreover, the prime focus on belief and history creates an occasion for high-context culture (Lauring, 2011, pp.231-255). Individual with high-context tends to need time for adaptation and may ask for assistance. In case on introduction of international business in Thailand, people are more sensitive to advertising and nuances. Many international corporations try to implement cultural theoretical models and framework of Hofstede and Edward T. Hallto enter high-context culture of Thailand. Markets have to consider using more cultural and local images to maintain sustainability and appeal consumers. The use of formal and direct style of marketing can be more beneficial to countries with high-context culture like Thailand. Posture, facial expressions and tone of voice are some of the primary non-verbal cues that are implemented by international business in Thailand to reach to high-context culture. The implementation of leadership style and guidelines by international organization across global countries may not be suitable for certain cultures. Thailand is viewed as the feminine country which requires effective hospitality and generosity. The use of word-of-mouth is the standout business strategy of international corporations in Thailand. Hence, it can be notified that it is vital for global organizations to use Hofstede model, culture difference model of Fons Trompenaar and Edward T. Hall model to understand cultural background of Thailand. The people of Thailand are more normative and have great respect for their traditions to achieve success. Thailand is regarded as the collectivist country. Furthermore, people of Thailand are integrated in to cohesive and strong groups. This integration of belief to be in groups is preserved by people to protect them by maintaining loyalty and traditional cultural background (Madlock, 2012, pp. 169-184). These are some of the cultural background of Thailand which is required to be verified and addresses by international organization to grow their market. Conclusion This can be concluded that it is vital for international corporations to understand the value and importance of culture. The collective norms in current Thailand private and public corporations are professional capabilities, the development of employee skills, increased technical capabilities and knowledge management. Intercultural business communication is well-defined as the process of interacting with people of diverse cultural background. Place like palaces and temples in Thailand are respected by local people. There are many tips which foreigners need to identify and know before interacting people of Thailand. The culture of Thailand is viewed as the refreshing as people are relaxed, friendly and generous to people with different cultural background. Thailand is known as the land of smiles. One of the most complex forms of communication is smiling. Foreigners can sometimes misinterpret the smiling and laughing of people in Thailand. Therefore, foreigners need to be patient to read people. There is a belief in Thai community that group is more significant and important that can of individualism. People of Thailand differ in the level of social status, education, religious upbringing, experiences and environment. Thai people are relatively inquisitive and sensitive. The criticism of the royal family and God is required to be avoided by foreigners. The denunciation of their monks and religion is viewed as the bad practice. Thai people love good jokes and are primarily fun loving human beings. Furthermore, the humour of the people is related to any situations and events. Therefore, this are some of the list of guidelines and information that foreigners need to know before communicating with Thai people. References Chitakornkijsil, P., 2010. Intercultural communication challenges and multinational organization communication. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 3(2), pp. 6-20. Cox, T., 2004. Cultural Diversity in Organizations. London: Berrett-Koehler. D’Almedia, C., 2007. The Effects of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. London: ProQuest. Gay, P., Hall, S., Janes, L., and Madsen, A., 2013. Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman. London: Sage. Hall, S., Evans, J., and Nixon, S., 2013. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage. Hallinan, C., and Jackson, S., 2008. Social and Cultural Diversity in a sporting world. New Jersey: Emerald. Hirschhorn, L., and Gilmore, T., 1992. “The new boundaries of the “Boundary-less” company”, Harvard business review, 70 (3), pp. 104 – 115. Hogan, M., 2012. The Four Skills of Cultural Diversity Competence. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Lauring, J., 2011. Intercultural organizational communication: The social organizing of interaction in international encounters. Journal of Business Communication, 48(2), pp. 231-255. Madlock, P. E., 2012. The influence of power distance and communication on Mexican workers. Journal of Business Communication, 49(2), pp. 169-184 . Tannen, D., 1995. The power of talk: Who gets heard and why. Harvard Business Review, 73(5), pp. 138-148. Read More