How Does Motivation Vary Across Cultures - Essay Example

?Motivation: How Does It Vary Across Culture Executive Summary Subway is an international company who is into the trend of expatriation. The management team decided to adapt this strategy in order to produce globally skilled employees, and to have a closer control and coordination of its international subsidiaries. However, the decision has produced negative effects such as low employee morale and high turnover. This is because employees are not anymore motivated primarily because of cross-cultural differences. In order to establish a clear perspective about the issue, the cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede have been applied. First and foremost, Subway must develop understanding and acceptance about cultural differences. This will be accomplished through an exchange and training programs to all of its subsidiaries to facilitate the easy exchange of information. With the concept of open-mindedness, expatriation will be successful. Finally, Subway must somehow consider other motivating factors and a change of management structure in order to remain competitive. 2. Terms of Reference Motivating people is one of the challenging tasks a manager must handle. Usually, work motivation among employees is influenced by cultural issues particularly in international companies. “Managing across cultures requires motivating employees from various cultures, but finding a framework for motivating and managing behavior across cultures has proven to be difficult” (Silverthorne, 2005, p.98). Based on the research conducted by Kreitner (2009, p.102), employees are looking for a process that is geographically coherent. However, because of diversity in individual needs and workplace expectations, motivating practices from one organization will not be anymore successful towards other jurisdiction. Management-Expert (ME) is a global firm that gives consulting services and training programs to all kinds of management issues. Being a cross-culture expert, ME caters a wide range of clients that include businesses, organizations and agencies in Southeast Asia, Middle East, Central Europe, and South America. On one hand, Subway is an international restaurant headquartered in Germany and is operating to almost 100 countries worldwide. For the past three years, the company has been successful in terms of revenue and operating income. Just recently, Subway management decided to expatriate workers for them to experience the culturally diverse global workforce. However, the company encountered some disadvantages and one of those is the adaptability to the culture of foreign environments. Because of these cross-cultural differences, employees are having low morale and at the same time turnover becomes high. Per evaluation of the management team, employee motivation is severely damaged. This briefing paper will serve to explain the nature of Subway’s problem, the overview and analysis of the situation, and some suggested remedies/ recommendations to the problem. 3. Overview of the Situation Expatriating employees is one of Subway’s management strategies to make their employees globally skillful. The organization’s objective is to increase the cultural intelligence of their employees in terms of adapting to different cultures. This is also some kind of private motivation among their front line people and managers for them to have a broader global perspective among their international subsidiaries. However, the decision brings some drawbacks and it caused a severe damage to the attitudes and behaviors of employees toward their jobs. In other words, employees are not anymore motivated plainly because of the differences in work values, practices, and culture of foreign environments. According to Finsterbusch (2003, p.6), even though most of the countries nowadays are driven by technological and economic development, there is still no room for uniformed global culture. Values will only shift based on the trend but the origin of the culture in which it is employed will not be constant and so dealing with expatriates need to be tough. Based on his survey, Hofstede believed that instead of imposing motivational theories into the system it would be better if these will be designed to local cultures (Kreitner, 2009, p.102). This theoretical reasoning and statistical analysis had lead to the discovery of the four dimensions of national culture that includes: individualism-collectivism; uncertainty avoidance; masculinity-femininity; and power distance (Hofstede, 1980, p.43). By applying these cultural dimensions, Subway can make overall presumptions about the nature of motivation. Along with these dimensions are some motivational factors like reward allocation that will increase employees involvement in their work. A participatory management particularly employee empowerment is also an effective management tool in order to increase employees satisfaction and motivation. 3.1 Cultural Dimensions Individualism vs. Collectivism. In some cultures, employees value their work based on self-interests and self-determination. Germany and other Western countries are individualist in nature, therefore Subway has an individualistic culture. Their employees who are expatriated in non-Western nations need to adapt the collectivist culture for them to act appropriately and confidently. To have them motivated and to increase morale, international managers in these countries must learn how to work with the group and accept different cultures in different ways. People in collectivist culture act mostly as a group and they value their work based on self-improvement. Collectivist tends to be loyal and committed in exchange to the protection they experienced, and they asked for the help of the group unlike the individualist. Individualistic culture has “focused on the importance of intrinsic motivation and the importance of personal choice and control” (Gelfand et al., 2004, p.456). This is a long-term motivation that cannot be forced to an individual because he must have the real interest first before he is motivated. Both individualism and collectivism have numerous implications to Subway particularly in terms of motivation such as individualist motivation comes after success while collectivist motivation comes after failure (Sandoval & Lee, 2006, p.163). Power Distance. High power distance and individualism are “more likely to favor decisions made by individual managers or employees;”... low power distance and collectivist are “more likely to benefit from an intervention that introduces participation in decision making to the workplace” (Latham, 2007, p.155). Countries with high power distance is very much concern with organizational hierarchy and inequality in the distribution of power. In contrast, low power distance demonstrates fairness in the distribution of power, and individuals under this culture are given the authority to share their initiatives particularly in making decisions (Daft, 2008, p.340). Therefore, people in high power distance culture will be motivated if directed by those in senior positions because they respect those who are in authority. On the other hand, low power distance people will be motivated if they are being acknowledged by their superiors through a participatory right in making decisions. If only the value system as well as flexibility between employees and supervisors will be coherent, motivation in performing job is expected to be at greater value (London, 2001, p.285). In terms of management structure, high power distance is related to the M-form organization wherein power comes from the top to the bottom of the organization, while low power distance signifies the N-form organization wherein power is devolved to front line people in the organization. This empowerment will make “employees more motivated, more productive, and more satisfied with their jobs” (Odendaal, 2009, p.176). Uncertainty Avoidance. Hofstede (1997) defined this dimension as “the extent to which the members of the culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations.” This dimension talked about ambiguity wherein if the country is high in uncertainty avoidance, employees motivation comes from the rules and security measures offered by the job. People in this culture want to have clear instructions and formally structured activities because they are threatened by failures and ambiguity of the future. They also give importance to lifetime employment and not on finding what is interesting and challenging (Gitman & McDaniel, 2009, p.246). Motivation in a culture with low uncertainty avoidance is manifested by achievement, flexible rules, and informal structured activities, and people are prepared to take risks because they are comfortable in ambiguous situations. Masculinity - Femininity. “Masculine culture is focus on achievement, competitiveness, strength and material success..., while “feminine cultures emphasize sexual equality, nurturance, quality of life, supportiveness, and affection” (West & Turner, 2009, p.93). Employees who belong to the culture of masculinity are motivated by success in terms of money while those who belong to the culture of femininity are very much particular on people and warm relationships. 3.2 Motivational Factors To some extent, employees’ motivation is influenced by motivational factors which any organizations must consider. On the other hand, high employee morale can be achieved if there is job satisfaction. Motivational factors can be based on achievement and rewards. Motivation that comes from accomplishment or satisfaction is called intrinsic motivation while those that come from external incentives are called extrinsic motivation (Levin et al., 2001, p.240). It is a fact that expatriation is a trend in the 20th century wherein more and more organizations are shifting to these phenomenon. Expatriates also are seeing this approach as an opportunity to acquire things that they need and want. In other words, money makes them motivated. However, in reality, the purpose of this approach is to provide them with the liberty and trust so that they can achieve great results much higher to personal success and satisfaction. As employees learned to realize this wide expectations, they will be intrinsically motivated not for rewards but for a greater depth of learning and job satisfaction. Extrinsic rewards will only contribute short term of commitment and motivation but receiving something out from an accomplishment keeps motivation for a longer period of time. It is up to the managers to look what type of motivators will they use in shaping the organization, what is important is to choose a reward wherein there is personal satisfaction of accomplishment than personal satisfaction of material things. 3.3 Employee Empowerment Organizational structure in the industrial age is not anymore valid in the information age considering the evolution of new business practices. Top-down command is the most popular model used by majority of managers during the industrial age; however, this model has negative effects to employee in terms of reducing morale and workforce motivation (Goodinson-McLaren, 2007, p.164). Employee will be more motivated if they get involved with the operations of the company particularly in making decisions. This recommended strategy is called empowerment which is one of the elements of the new organizational structure. Through empowerment, mutual trust and total commitment will be developed between the company and the employees. Obtaining these advantages depends upon the culture of a certain country if they acknowledged this kind of organizational structure. 4. Analysis of the Situation: SWOT Subway is now dealing with the problems of low morale and high turnover among its employees primarily caused by cross-cultural differences. In truth, there are many factors that affect motivation and these are sometimes intangible that operate within our awareness such as culture. These cultural differences must be recognized first in order to understand each other’s practices and to avoid unnecessary problems that will impede business operation. In terms of individualism vs. collectivism, Subway being a German based company is said to be individualist in nature. Their employees and managers need to learn the management of a team rather than individuals for they are dealing with countries that are low in individualism. They will be more motivated if they will show strong sense of responsibility towards relationship rather than the task itself. In power distance, managers expatriate in high power distance country is expected to take the initiatives in making plans and decision because employees in this country are entitled to show respect or deference to those in authority. Furthermore, uncertainty avoidance among German managers is strong and they are used to explicit rules and formally structured activities. If they will be sent to low uncertainty avoidance country then they must learn the approaches of flexibility and openness. They must also allow employees to execute what is expected from them for they are more motivated by achievement. Lastly, they must also develop the value of care and preservation. Countries with low masculinity are very much particular in relationships than material things like money. To analyze further the situation of Subway in dealing with these cross-cultural differences, a SWOT analysis will be presented: Strengths. Subway is a global market leader in terms of revenue, and net income both in domestic and international market. The company gives emphasis on franchising as one of their growth strategy that is why their operating income is high. It has also a high brand recall that attracts a wide range of customer. Weaknesses. Despite of being a global company, Subway is still heavily relying on its domestic market. The company is also having difficulty in controlling operational costs resulting to an increased liability. Subway is also vulnerable to cultural differences which are not properly managed that consequently hamper the operation of the business. Opportunities. Subway must involve in market expansion to increase profitability. As it expanded the scope of this target market, it is also an opportunity to expand target consumer in order to increase demand. The company also needs to create a trend of organic food to have an innovative product line. Threats. The downturn of economy particularly in the domestic market is one of the dangers Subway must be prepared for. Competition is also becoming so intense in the emergence of fast food competitors. With this, Subway needs to focus on price competitiveness and product quality in order to remain competitive. Through the information depicted in the SWOT analysis, it would be easy for ME to give the appropriate services for Subway’s current situation. Knowing what are the company’s strengths and weaknesses will serve as a guide on what areas of motivation does the company need to focus; while uncovering opportunities will eventually lead to the elimination of weaknesses and minimizing threats. 5. Solutions and Recommendations Geography is not a limitation of business success. This is probably the perspective of Subway who prefers to be competitive in the global market. Global operation also needs globally skilled people who are not in the next town or down the street but they are need to be constantly searched (Kreitner, 2009, p.95). Geocentric companies like Subway need to look beyond nationality and search based on skills that a person may contribute to the company. Today’s workforce is very much different and for managers and business leaders to effectively deal with the workforce of the twentieth century, they “must be willing to give up traditional beliefs about the role of motivation and factors that affect employee motivation” (Marciano, 2010). Cross-cultural differences will always be a problem to the company if understanding will not be developed. Recognizing at the same time accepting these differences is the best solution to this problem. This process is not simple because it requires a full cooperation of management personnel and front line employee to extend extra effort in the awareness of cultural differences. First, an exchange program will be implemented by sending representatives to each of Subway’s subsidiaries and learn how they do business, their organizational structure, and how they managed employees. Through this, people will be given the chance to understand cross-cultural management. The next thing to do is to develop corporate training programs that will facilitate employees in dealing with cultural differences. Lastly, the result of the program will be deliberated among the working committees from major departments and they will be the one to decide when expatriation will happen. Communication process is also an important aspect in dealing with cultural differences (Adekola & Sergi, 2007, p.232). All of the mentioned concepts will be merged, and the results will be evaluated to see if the training and preparations compensate. To accept a new culture, managers, business leaders, and employees must be open-minded and look forward for positive results. This is only a part of the many solutions Subway can refer to, and the decision as to the best solutions is up to them. 6. Forecasts and Outcomes Definitely, accepting other culture just to be motivated means giving up of own beliefs. Actually this is only a preliminary step in order to become a good international employee. The outcome will be positive if employees before heading for a foreign country have done some preparations in handling cross-cultural differences. International managers at the same time will be effective if they possess cross-cultural management skills. If Subway will consider the exchange program as well as the corporate training program, the outcome of the expatriation will be favourable to the company. Aside from producing globally skilled employees, they will also gain a closer governance and coordination of their international subsidiaries. As forecasted, using expatriates among companies are increasing despite of some drawbacks because it is now the trend in most international companies (Latta, 2006, p.43). 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