The Influence of Western Culture on Other Countries by Using Business Examples - Report Example

Running head: Western culture Analyze the influence of western culture on Other countries by using business examples Cultural evolution isan important aspect of human evolution and it is evident by comparison between the contemporary cultural practices and the ones followed few decades back. It is a natural process to adapt to changes and move on in life. However, when it comes to making business in a foreign land, it becomes difficult to first know the culture prevalent there and then adapt business policies to suit the culture so as to have maximum profit. History supports this fact by giving examples of numerous failed attempts of businesses because of improper cultural understanding. Following paper discusses: 1. The influence of western culture on countries in which they launch business and impose their culture. 2. The importance of understanding culture and social patterns of a region before starting a business there. Western Culture Technological advancement has opened doors to businesses worldwide. Nations have come virtually closer to each other as communication technology has improved by leaps and bounds. International as well as national businesses are ultimately the outcome of people (Payne). As can happen with software which doesn’t run successfully on a PC, same way incompatibility between people from different backgrounds can cause trouble in their interaction and dealings (Payne). Every person is very closely knit with the society that he or she lives in. Whether or not we accept the cultural norms of our society is immaterial because we are unknowingly a part of it and contribute towards shaping our culture in our own ways. We are sometimes not aware that our very thoughts and actions are dependent on our culture and we don’t so realize until we are confronted with something that is not in sync with our practices (Budelman, 2010). Let us carry forward this concept to understand business across national borders. It is relatively easy to run a business in a native town than at place we are not-so-familiar with. That is so because we need to understand geographical as well as cultural customs in the new place- right from language, ritual, habits, etiquettes, beliefs and lifestyles to religion. At some places friendly nature of interaction is preferred while at other places it is mandatory to behave formally at workplace. Language can itself be a critical barrier to smooth running of business let alone its growth. If some people believe consuming vegetarian products, then non-vegetarian products would not find acceptability amongst them. Hence it is not enough to merely identify the needs of people of a region, it is equally important to know how to make their needs available to them. This involves well planned, well surveyed and efficient use of resources. Ever since the end of World War II, American companies have ventured into different businesses all across the globe. It slowly came to light that enforcing native cultural practices in foreign land can hardly yield a successful business as people at different places are accustomed to different behavioral patterns and mannerism. However, history has in store for us various examples which show how western companies have imposed their cultural practices in other continents and thereby suffered a loss. A very famous example of failure of Wal-Mart in Germany and South Korea explains the point. It launched itself in Germany in the year 1998. Probably it expected the same response and hence the success as it had achieved in U.S. (Schaefer, 2006). But Wal-Mart suffered a loss of over 1 billion dollar because of problems due to inter-cultural differences (Schaefer, 2006). DeRoche rightly puts it that it isn’t possible for an organization however big it might be to go anywhere in the world and expect to survive without shaping its policies to local norms (2009). To give an example, neither enforcing long working hours proved successful nor was casual flirting with people at influential management positions allowed according to the Wal-Mart store’s policies (Schaefer, 2006). Employee relations were strained because of such enforced rules. Wal-Mart also faced the problem of poor response from customers because of its unfavorable pricing strategies. So on and on problems kept bursting in and Wal-Mart had to shut down their outlets at many places. It is much easier said than done. Because of the closing down of the store, many people lost their jobs, huge prior investments done in order to establish the store in the very first place proved unprofitable! A similar example of business failure is that of a Western Multinational Corporation in Eastern Europe; that of Rover in Bulgaria (Elenkov & Fileva, 2006). The Rover group had invested huge amount in coming up with the establishment of Bulgaria’s plant. It is considered to be one of the biggest foreign investment in Bulgaria so far with approximately 10,000 cars planned to be manufactured annually (Keith, 2008). What must have made the company shut down its plant even after implementing state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities? There are many theories some of which put forth the reason of competition in the market as the cause for fall of Rover group however it still remains the fact that socio-cultural aspects of working with Bulgarian people never matched with the western expectations and commitments desired. Let us delve into various reasons responsible for failure of brands when they cross their borders and know the solutions to overcome this problem. As stated by Bhan and Toscano, following factors are important: 1. Interpret; don’t translate: This implies that it is not sufficient to translate the messages and tag lines or intentions and motives of a company into language suitable for new place of business. Local people there may not understand what exactly the company is trying to convey. This creates a considerable communication gap. Hence one of the solutions to overcome communication problem is to appoint a core execution team of members belonging to the foreign place. Through their co-operation and understanding, better ways can be found to implement company’s business strategy. (Bhan and Toscano, 2006) 2. Leadership: It is important to keep a consistent check on people working on assigned project and be informed about their basic manners. Their arrogance, taken-for-granted nature, lousiness at workplace, lack of commitment, disinterest in local culture etc can prove harmful for the company’s business. A company may include local people but these people may not be good representatives of the place at all! Appointment of a well experienced executive officer is very essential. (Bhan and Toscano, 2006) 3. Training programs: Basically a company has to be open to accept changes in its plan of implementation of business at a new place. This kind of flexibility is utmost important. For the same, there are many cross-cultural training programs and consultancies which take up the task of training people from both places working together to be acquainted with different cultures. Such training eases the tension among employees; they find it better to work at a place which is familiar to them. Eventually, the company as a whole builds a strong team of people who are co-operative with each other. This small step can multiply the sales of the company. 4. Quality: Maintaining high quality of products and delivering them in the hands of customer as promised to them is vital to keep old customers intact and attract new ones. Keeping the given word is the key to achieve trust of customers. Not only commodities/ products’ quality is important but also of people working therein. Well qualified people suitable for the job should be selected and their tasks should be supervised regularly and sometimes by ‘surprise inspection teams’. 5. Value: Value of any product is relative to the place that the company has to do business in. For example, as stated by Bhan and Toscano, AT&T once supplied cables to Japan which were to be laid underground. However the Japanese company rejected the product as it looked ‘ugly’ according to them. They consider aesthetics very important and attach it straight with quality of the product. Similarly, in factors related to Wal-Mart’s failure, we come to know that Germans regarded smiling as flirting and hence they could not learn to value it as an act of courtesy (Bhan & Toscano, 2006). Thus, these minute cultural differences should be studied in advance and implemented to avoid cultural conflicts because of trivial issues. It becomes important to understand that every country has its special basic formula of doing a business. Different businesses evolve from this basic structure. The basic structure implies liking of people, their requirements, fascination and spending limit of prospective customers. 6. Advertisement: Successful advertisement is a pre-requisite to accomplish a business. Proper hoardings and television advertisements which would identify with people of the country should be telecasted to increase popularity and reach masses over a broad spectrum. Economy is another factor which comes into picture whenever we talk of business and money-making. Success of a business hugely contributes towards development of economy of a country. Although size of company matters as it affects numerical figures directly, still every business venture however small it may seem, is important for economical growth of any country. Among the various factors which determine success rate of cross cultural businesses, we cannot deny that cultural issues, however small n petty they might be, are definitely a cause of great concern and one of the dominant factors for the failure of business across border. They should be attended with due attention. It’s not that western companies would stop crossing boundaries of other countries because of some losses that they incurred. In fact, a little more effort on their part in understanding the culture different to theirs and implementing it successfully can give them giant success; such success proves beneficial not only to western states but also to other countries. Hence it would be highly appreciated for ‘non-western’ people to incorporate some changes willingly within their lifestyles for overall progress of their nation. References Budelman, R. (2010, April 23). Indian Cultural Tips. Retrieved from http://www.stylusinc.com/business/india/cultural_tips.htm Payne, N. (n.d.). Cross Cultural Solutions for International Business. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Cross-Cultural-Solutions-for-International-Business&id=482 DeRoche, C. (2009, December 01). Western Influence on Other Countries. Retrieved from http://socyberty.com/issues/western-influence-on-other-countries/ Elenkov, D and Fileva, T. (2006). Anatomy of a business failure: Accepting the “bad luck” explanation vs proactively learning in international business. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 13, (2). 132-141. Link: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/13527600610662311 Schaefer, L. (2006, July 28). World’sBiggest Retailer Wal-Mart Closes Up Shop in Germany. Retrieved from http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2112746,00.html Keith, A. (2008, September, 20). Roadcar: Bulgarian Maestros. Retrieved from http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?awbulgariaf.htm Bhan, N. and Toscano M. (2006, September 13). Lessons from Wal-Mart: Five Common Mistakes When Brands Cross Borders. Retrieved from http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/lessons-from-wal-mart-five-common-mistakes-when-brands-cross-bor Read More