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

Both Africa and China can be categorized as collectivist cultures and hence they tend to depend on groups for decision making. However as compared to China, African culture is highly masculine in terms of behavior. They display typical male attributes such as independence, and values inherent in males such as aggressive goal behavior, material possessions, and assertiveness are given precedence over feminine traits such as social relevance and welfare of others. China on the other hand, has a medium feminity culture and value relationships more, which is perceived by the Africans as a sign of weakness.

Both Africa and China differ greatly in terms of their attitudes towards management of conflicts within organizations. Since China is a more feminine cultural attributes, more emphasis is given on relationships and almost all business decisions are centered on maintaining and sustaining cordial business relations. China tends to avoid conflicts and use authority and indirect influence in dealing with conflicts. They tend to avoid bringing problems out in the open and strive to resolve them privately.

Africans on the other hand implement a direct approach to resolve conflicts, by using rational methods and communication to arrive at a common consensus or agreement. The various challenges encountered by people from different cultural backgrounds include communication problems, problems in amicable resolution of conflicts, problems in achieving a common consensus due to differences in risk taking abilities and attitudes, etc. These cultural differences inherent in people prevent them from understanding others and at times lead to misinterpretation of the thoughts or ideas being communicated (Bührig and Thije, 2006; Gudykunst, 2003).

Furthermore the cultural difference in attitudes plays a key role in the manner in which a given task is executed and determines the success / failure of the