Business Information Technology and Logistics - Assignment Example

Question 1 Managing cultural differences which exist between nations is a key driver to success as being able to manage it helps to reap productive results. It has been identified that the greater barrier that arises between nations is primarily due to enculturation. This has been further defined by Hofstede as the programming of the mind which helps to differentiate one member of the homosexual group from due to some differences that exist in their traits. This paper evaluates and compares the culture of Australia and China by using the Hofstedes Five Cultural dimensions which focuses on distance learning, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism and long term orientation (Hofstede, 1980). In addition to it the paper also focuses on the different insights which help to offer the similarities and dissimilarities between the culture of both the country and the manner in which people have to act so that the cultural differences are reduced and maximum productivity is gained. Hofstede cultural dimension evaluates the different cultural factors which have an impact on the person and the society using factor analysis which helps to give different points to different dimensions and helps to understand the manner in which different factors has an influence or role of culture. The cultural dimension evaluates the culture based on distance learning, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism and long term orientation (Hofstede, 1980). This is as below Power Distance which is part of Hofstede dimension for cultural differences states that all individuals within the society are not the same or equal and helps to understand the attitude or culture which is prevalent within the society (Aguinis, 2002). This looks at understanding the manner in which the less powerful members or institutions accept the power which is unequally distributed within the society. It is seen that China has a high power distance of 80 which shows that people accept the fact that inequalities within the society will persist and they are ready to accept it. The working culture thereby looks to follow the subordinate-superior relationship and there is no mechanism to deal with the abuse against the superiors. This is backed by the fact that individuals are influenced through formal authority and believe in the capability of other person to lead and guide them. This leads towards creating a culture where people don’t aspire beyond their ranks and are willing to work under their superiors within the role that have been assigned to them. Australia on the other hand is almost opposite to China as the power distance shows a score of 36 showing that hierarchy within the organization is developed for convenience so that the daily activities can be carried out easily. This is supported by the fact that managers are always accessible and the entire group relies on each other to carry out the different functions and duties and functions so that a team can be developed with the required expertise to carry out the different functions effectively. This has led towards the development of communication channel which is both formal and informal and ensures better participation from all the members (Yukl, Falbe & Youn, 2003). This has helped Australia to develop a culture which is supportive and aims at carrying out the different activities through which maximum productivity is generated and better use of the resources becomes possible. The second aspect which Hofstede cultural dimension stresses on is individualism. Individualism looks to address the manner in which there is interdependence within the member of the society in carrying out the different activities. This looks to address on issues and confronts whether the society uses the word “I” or “We” in carrying out the activities as it will highlight the degree of individualism which is present within the society (Triandis, 2005). China has a score of 20 demonstrating a highly collective culture which highlights that people prefer to work within a group and gives importance to group goals than personal goals. This at times also results in preferential treatment as people who are known and family members are promoted easily compared to other person working within the same group. This is a situation where people look to be committed towards individuals but might not show the same degree of commitment towards the organization. At times the culture might reflect a cold attitude towards outsider but when the insider comes than the attitude is completely different and reflects a different welcome (Ting-Toomey, 2005). The culture as a result looks to focus on person relationship which is given a high degree of importance and prevails over the business objectives and the goals of the organization. This type of culture might help the organization is certain areas whereas might have an impact on overall performance of the organization but the group might be able to perform in a better manner. In comparison to China, Australia denotes a low collective culture as the score is 90 which transforms to the fact that individualism within the Australian culture is very high. This transforms into a situation where people look to ensure that they are able to benefit from the different decisions which are taken and look towards the betterment of them and their families and society or the group member is given little importance. The business community thereby looks at ensuring that the employees are self reliant and take initiative to carry out the different functions and responsibilities so that they are able to grow and benefit over a longer period of time. This also ensures transparency and ensures that the hiring decision of the employees or members is done on merit and there exist a situation where priority is given to performance over other things (Smith, Peterson, Akande, Callan, and Cho, 2004). This thereby translates to a phenomenon where Australia is able to carry out the different activities effectively in comparison to other. The third aspect which Hofstede cultural dimension stresses on is Feminity or Masculinity and states that a society is driven by competition, achievement, and success, which an individual looks to attain through different strategies so that they are able to develop a value chain which determines human behavior within the organization (Sosik and Dong, 2002). China has been able to get a score of 66 which shows masculinity stating that the society is success driven. This is seen in the Chinese culture as people are willing to sacrifice their families and leisure time for work. This culture ensures that they prefer work and look towards accomplishing success in whatever they undertake and don’t fear competition and look forward towards success. Australia on the other hand matches the culture of China and has a score of 61 showing masculinity culture. This states that Australian also look at success and is their driving force in life. This also gives them a scope through which they are able to remove the individual differences and aim for achievement and success. The fourth aspect which Hofstede cultural dimension stresses on is uncertainty avoidance which states the manner in which people within a culture reacts to different unknown situations and the steps they take so that such instances can be avoided (Weaver, 2000). It is seen that China has got a score of 30 which states low uncertainty avoidance suggesting that the culture looks at being ambiguous and prefers to work in smaller groups (Chang, 2005). The culture highlights the increased dependence on small families work environment and is adaptable to different situations that the business unfolds. Australia on the other hand has a score of 51 showing that they are pragmatic specifying the importance of having both generalist and experts within the working environment. The organization focuses on planning and is willing to make changes to suit the business environment and conditions (Leung, 2007). This has also resulted in low emotions being displayed in the working environment and is ready to take initiates and is ready for changes. The fifth aspect which Hofstede cultural dimension stresses on is long term orientation which states the manner in which the society is pragmatic and future oriented and looks at dealing with things in a manner through which maximum productivity can be generated. China had got a score of 118 showing a high long term orientation stating that organizations look for long term and are persistent with the changes and developments (Chang, 2005). This is matched by the fact that relationship are developed for long term and the entire working style focuses on using the resources in the most determined manner so that better productivity can be ensured. Australia on the other hand has a score of 31 showing short term orientation. This states that the culture looks at short term obligations and traditions are given importance to. This thereby makes the organization measure their performance on the short term basis and if the desired results are not taking places than changes are made to suit the business requirements. Thus, there exist a lot of cultural differences between Australia and China which has to be given importance to so that the differences which exist is reduced and the organization is able to perform in the best possible manner. References Aguinis, H. 2002. The Search for Universals in Cross-Cultural Organisational Behavior. Chapter to appear in J Greenberg (ed), Organisational Behavior: The state of the science (2nd ed) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.  Chang, S. 2005. International expansion strategy of Chinese firms: Capability building through sequential entry. Academy of Management Journal, 38 (2), 383-407. Hofstede, G, 1980. Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Leung, K. 2007. Negotiation and reward allocations across cultures in PC Earley and M Erez (eds) New Perspectives on International Industrial/organisational Psychology, pp 640-675 Sosik, J. and Dong, J. 2002. Work-group characteristics and performance in collectivistic and individualistic cultures. The Journal of Social Psychology. Washington, 5-23 Smith PB, MF Peterson, D Akande, V Callan, and NG Cho, 2004. Organisational management in 14 countries: A comparison with Hofstede's dimensions" in AM Bouvy, FJR van de Vijver, P Boski and Schmitz (eds), Journeys into Cross-cultural Psychology, pp 364-73. Amsterdam: Swets and Zeitlinger Ting-Toomey S, 2005. Toward a theory of conflict and culture. In WB Gudykunst, LP Stewart, S Ting-Toomey (eds). Communication, Culture and Organizational Processes, pp 71-86. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Triandis, C. 2005. Individualism and Collectivism, pp 43-44. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press Weaver, K, 2000. Attitudes toward Cooperative Strategies: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Entrepreneurs. Journal of International Business Studies, 31, 591-609 Yukl, G., Falbe, C. & Youn, J. 2003. Patterns of influence behavior for managers. Group and Organization Management, 18, 5-28 Question 4 Technological transformation has provided an opportunity through which the food industry has been able to bring a complete change in the manner decisions were taken. This has been supported by the fact that barcode technology through the use of RFID has enabled the users and the trading partners to bring the required transformation in carrying out the different activities. The paper evaluates the manner in which the use of RFID technology has helped to bring a complete transformation in the food industry and its trade partners which has thereby facilitated the overall business and growth that the food industry has been able to witness. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has revolutionized the supply chain industry and has helped to develop new wave of efficiency through which the food industry has been able to grow. RFID has helped the food industry to optimize the supply chain process by ensuring that the material flow is better managed, helped to collect real time data, has developed the forecasting and production requirement decisions, and has smoothened the ebb and flow of the required goods and services through which the needs and requirements of the customers are easily met (Sharma, Citurs & Konsynski, 2007). This has been met by the fact that radio tags has ensured that proper tracking of the inventory has ensured just-in-time delivery which has thereby enabled the foods to be delivered across the globe. Since, RFID allows the opportunity to be used a versatile tool has helped to develop cross functionality and the use in different applications like asset tracking and automations which has thereby helped to bring the changes in the food industry. This has helped to develop the food industry by developing the required fundamentals through which better decisions can be taken and has helped the food industry to ensure that the needs and demands of the customers are satisfied. This is further aided by the fact that RFID enables the user to use the technology for determining the work in progress and will help to develop the required insights through which production og goods within the food industry will be better managed (Sarma, Brock & Engels, 2001). RFID has also helped to gain deeper insights through which customer buying habits and requirements can be understood. This has helped the food industry to understand the needs and requirements of the customers better so that the food industry can develop the required products so that the need of the customers can be satisfied. The food industry has thereby been able to use the different benefits of technology and has been able to develop the required parameters through which better products and services have been developed (Yang & Jarvenpaa, 2005). This has been backed by a study which states that using RFID technology has helped the food industry to reduce warehouse cost by 20%, reduce inventory holding by 20%, and finally has helped to increase sale by 3 to 4 percent (Wu, Nystrom, Lin & Yu, 2006). The overall development due to the use of RFID technology has thereby shaped the performance of the food industry. This has been supported by big retail players like Wal-Mart which has made it imperative that all its suppliers and players uses radio tagging method through the use of RFID so that better management of the resources becomes possible and has thereby helped the food industry to gain from it. Organizations have stressed the importance and need of using RFID technology because of the fact that it allows the manufacturers and the suppliers to use different applications and process. The overall development due to the use of RFID has been such that it has helped to optimize the supply chain thereby providing the required efficiency which has helped to reduce cost and has developed new market for the products and services (Vijayaraman & Osyk, 2006). This has benefitted the overall food industry and has strengthened the manner and process through which the food industry works. The food industry as a result has been able to benefit greatly and has contributed immensely towards the growth of the entire industry. RFID has helped to develop the supply chain as visibility of goods have become better and has thereby developed the product lifecycle. Using radio tags has provided the opportunity to see the speed at which the products move which thereby helps the food provider to identify the products which are being consumed quickly. This has helped to ensure that the food manufacturers are able to identify the mechanism through which the different products are being sold and has helped to find out the manner in which the food industry works. This has helped the food industry to ensure that using RFID the losses due to theft has decreased by 11-14 percent, reduced the logistics expenses by 5% and has further ensured that the out of stock chances reduces by 9% to 14% (Jeyaraj, Rottman & Lacity, 2006). The overall development has thereby been significant and has enabled the food industry to develop the required fundamentals through which better results are achieved. Using the process of RFID has ensured that the movement of goods in and out can be easily monitored and has thereby provided the opportunity through which better decisions have been taken. It has also ensured that the retrieval time for finding the products can be easily located. This has ensured that the overall development of the new technology has helped to control temperature, humidity and other perishable goods (Whitaker, Mithas & Krishnan, 2007). This has thereby brought the required changes through which the food industry has helped to ensure that customers can be better satisfied and has helped to ensure better opportunity of growth. RFID has also helped to capture better data which thereby ensures that the food industry has been able to understand the different dimensions through which the customer needs can be understood. This has helped the food industry to produce goods and services according to the needs of the customers and has thereby helped to ensure that the requirements of the customers are satisfied (Tajima, 2007). The overall changes due to the growth in technology have enabled the food industry to develop the required parameters through which the needs of the customers can be satisfied. The food industry due to the use of technology through the use of RFID has been further able to reduce thefts and have developed the required mechanism which ensures proper monitoring. This has helped to satisfy most of the needs and requirements of the customers (Brown & Russel, 2007). The trading partners as a result has been to gain from the use of RFID as they have to start using the technology and through this the food industry has been able to develop the required fundamentals through which the benefits have been widespread. The trading partners through the use of RFID have been able to link the different needs and requirements of the society and have thereby developed the mechanism through which better customer satisfaction has been developed. This has ensured that the overall development of technology has ensured that customers can better understood and based on it the needs and requirements of the society can be better catered. The food industry due to it has been able to grow and has provided an opportunity where the use of technology is going to grow in the future and will help the food industry to garner better benefits through the use of RFID. Another important factor which needs to be considered while using RFID is that it has helped the food industry to use it over different resources in a better manner. This has helped to understand the needs of the entire industry and has thereby ensured that better requirements of the customers can be satisfied. The overall benefits from the use of RFID are such that it has ensured that the developments have been such through which business and the society has gained (Atkinson & McKay, 2007). The use of different resources as a result of technology advancement has helped the food industry to bring the required changes through which the business has been able to gain better efficiency. The paper thereby explores the manner in which the use of RFID technology has enabled the food industry to bring the complete change and has developed the business fundamentals through which the food industry has gained. This has helped the business to ensure that the food industry to bring the complete change and has thereby developed the required fundamentals through which better development becomes possible. This has helped to ensure that the food manufacturers are able to identify the mechanism through which the different products are being sold and has helped to find out the manner in which the food industry works. The overall developments has been such that it has brought a complete change in the food industry and has thereby enabled the entire society to bring the required changes through which better development in the future becomes possible. This has helped to develop the food industry by developing the required fundamentals through which better decisions can be taken and has helped the food industry to ensure that the needs and demands of the customers are satisfied. Thus, there has been a complete change through which the food industry works and has thereby enabled that using RFID has helped to develop the entire industry and the different trading partners involved in the food industry has gained and provides a better opportunity for the future. References Atkinson, R. & McKay, A. 2007. Digital Prosperity: Understanding the Economic Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Washington Brown, I. & Russel, J. 2007. Radio frequency identification technology: An exploratory study on adoption in the South African retail sector. International Journal of Information Management, 27 (4), 250-265 Jeyaraj, A., Rottman, J. & Lacity, M. 2006. A review of the predITors, linkages, and biases in IT innovation adoption research. Journal of Information Technology, 21, 1-23. Sharma, A., Citurs, A. & Konsynski, B. 2007. Strategic and Institutional Perspectives in the Adoption and Early Integration of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Proceedings of the 40th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS’07), Hawaii Sarma, S., Brock, D. & Engels, D. 2001. Radio Frequency Identification and the Electronic Product Code. IEEE Micro, 21 (6), 50–54 Tajima, M. 2007. Strategic Value of RFID in Supply Chain Management. Journal of Purchasing & Supply Chain Management, 13 (4), 261-273 Vijayaraman, B. & Osyk, B. 2006. An empirical study of RFID implementation in the warehousing industry. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 17 (1), 6-20 Whitaker, J., Mithas, S. & Krishnan, M. 2007. A Field Study of RFID Deployment and Return Expectations. Forthcoming in: Production and Operations Management Wu, N., Nystrom, M., Lin, T. & Yu, H. 2006. Challenges to global RFID adoption. Technovation 26, 1317-1323 Yang, G. & Jarvenpaa, S. 2005. Trust and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Adoption within an Alliance. Proceedings of the 38th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS’05), Hawaii Question 9 Wal-Mart for their success in the Asian industry needs to look at understanding the cultural differences which exist between the different places and have to look at reducing the cultural differences so that better understanding can be generated. This will help to generate the required response through which the organization will be able to identify the different needs and requirements after removing the cultural differences. This will thereby help to develop the required fundamentals through which Wal-Mart will be able to satisfy the needs of the customers and the other players involved within the industry. Wal-Mart for their long term success has to ensure proper cultural integration which will strengthen the working style and provide the required impetus through which superior performance is delivered. This will require the following steps to be taken while they look to work in India or China especially the Asian markets Firstly, Wal-Mart has to develop training programs which will educate the employees about different culture. This will include the different habits and practices of other culture and while developing or educating an employee about other culture care should be taken to ensure that no minority employee within the employee is singled out. This will thereby require developing a training program which looks to fill the gap and educates the employee about different culture (Czinkota, Ronkainen, Catherine, & Tim, 2013). Secondly, encourage open discussions and forums where the employees are able to discuss the doubts they have regarding another culture. This will help to reduce the preconceived notion that the employees have and will help to create a forum through which discussions takes place. This has to be accompanied by proper civil and cultural requirement so that overall effectiveness is gained (Czinkota, Ronkainen, Catherine, & Tim, 2013). Thirdly, the organization needs to treat each employee properly and individually. This should be matched by asking the employees their preferences and the manner they work so that better understanding of the culture can be ensured. This has to be matched by developing a culture which looks to understand the employees and based on it develop a method which will help them to perform effectively (Franco, 2009). Fourthly, employees should be provided the required time when they are able to adjust and bring the required changes which will foster better development of the employees and ensure that they are able to contribute positively towards the organization. This will make the employees understand the culture prevalent in the organization and will direct the employees to perform in the most effective manner (Leidner, Alavi & Kayworth, 2006). Fifthly, discuss the different cultural issues openly so that better understanding can be generated. This will help to understand the culture of the organization and bring the required changes in the working style of employees. This will also make the employees understand the culture and bring the required transformation through which business improves (Czinkota, Ronkainen, Catherine, & Tim, 2013). While looking to develop a process through which organization is looking at developing the culture sensitive issue emphasis has to be laid on developing a process through which the overall effectiveness is generated in the process. This will help in proper estimation of process through which better control can be ensured and so that overall development of the employees after considering the cultural factors is developed (Alexander, Page & Wentling, 2003). Wal-Mart has been following a model where they look at ensuring that best quality products are provided to the customers at the lowest possible price. The organization has to look at working on the same fundamentals where they will look at ensuring that they purchase quality products and provides the same at the lowest possible price. The chances of success further increases due to the fact that the Asian economy is a growing economy where the disposable income per person is low. This provides an opportunity where Wal-Mart through their same business model can penetrate into the markets and create a different brand image for its products and services. The business model further followed looks at ensuring that maximum information is provided to the customers by looking at the product. This provides an opportunity where the customers can compare the different products and can also look at developing the required fundamentals through which they will be able to use the same model successfully. This will further require that Wal-Mart while looking to incorporate the same business model brings the required changes in the cultural aspect and ensures that better customer satisfaction is ensured. The success of any organization is largely dependent on the manner the organization is able to communicate among the team members. Since, organization have different kind of people belonging to different culture and background the complexities increases as dealing with people belonging to different culture requires special effort and ways (VanDeVen, 2006). People belonging to different culture get influenced by different factors and also denote a different sort of personality. Lack of communication due to cultural and personality barriers will create doubts in the mind of the employees and will not clearly provide the required direction based on which the group goals and the individual goals can be achieved (Engleberg & Wynn, 2002). The paper explores the manner in which personality and culture has an influence on the process of communication within the organization and the method which will help them to deal with the situation effectively. This will thereby help to improve the understanding and provide the relevant dimensions based on which the overall performance and effectiveness of the organization and employees can improve. Wal-Mart in order to succeed in an international environment requires talented managing and ethical leaders. Ethics play an important role in the international level as well as non compliance or unethical means can lead to complete shutdown of the company’s outlets in its operating country. The organization needs to find such talent and also sustain its existing managing leaders. Wal-Mart can be easily lured to low cost products which might prove to be fatal and unethical on its part by providing the Asian markets with quality products (Chorda, Valencia & Valencia, 2010). The company in order to achieve success should rather concentrate on providing quality products at best value for its products and try to eliminate any ethical dilemma which prevails in a particular industry. Culture and personality has an influence on the performance of an organization differently as the process of influencing people is different. People from different culture have different understanding with regard to signs, body language, process of communication, and others which thereby has an impact on decision making. Since, different culture demonstrates different traits it becomes difficult to make people belonging to different culture to come together and requires special efforts from the management to bring the required transformation. To deal with it organizations look to provide specific training which is aimed at improving the understanding of different body language (Cragan, Wright & Kasch, 2008). This helps to facilitate the communication process and helps to devise the required method through which effective communication takes place. The matter complicates when people with different personality comes together. Since, people with different personality have different ways to do the same things it thereby results in creating gaps and makes it difficult for the entire organization to come together and work as a unit (Mehrabian and Susan, 2007). To be effective organizations have to look towards dealing with the issues by determining ways which will help to remove the differences which exist between the employees and need to create a way which will ensure that communication process becomes effective and provides the organization with an opportunity to grow and develop so that the objective are met. Wal-Mart thereby needs to lay emphasis on understanding the differences which exist between the different cultures and has to find out ways through which the gaps can be filled. This will help to fill the cultural gaps which exist and will help to develop the required fundamentals through which better needs of the customers can be ascertained (McGraw, 2004). At no cost should the culture of the common people be hurt as it could cause immense damage to the reputation of the company and may also invite huge governmental and other regulations and problems in its operating style. It is most important to match with the cultural requirements of the local consumers. This will thereby help to bring the required changes and ensure development of a process through which the cultural issues can be addressed. This will help to fill the gaps and ensure that the overall process provides the required momentum through which acceptability in different markets becomes possible. The process will entail towards a situation where understanding the different culture will provide an opportunity for Wal-Mart to cater to a bigger market and will provide the required impetus and development through which long term sustainability of the business will become possible as the needs of the customers will be better satisfied. References Alexander, A., Page, V. & Wentling, T. 2003. Motivation & barriers to participation in virtual knowledge sharing. 7 (1), 45-58 Cragan, J. F., Wright, D. W. & Kasch, C. R. 2008. Communication in small groups: Theory, process, and skills. New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Chorda, I., Valencia, J. & Valencia, U. 2010. How Organizational Culture Affects Innovation in Large Sized ICT Firms: A Pilot Study. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 23 (3), pp.169‐189 Engleberg, I. N. & Wynn, D. J. 2002. Working in groups: Communication principles and strategies. Sudbury, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Franco, G. 2009. Training and development in an era of change management. Journal of Management Research, 9 (1), pp. 37 Leidner, D., Alavi, M. & Kayworth, T. 2006. The role of culture in knowledge management: A Case Study of Two Global Firms. International Journal of e-collaboration. 2 (1), 17-40 Mehrabian, A. and Susan, R. 2007. Inference of attitudes from nonverbal communication in two channels, Journal of Consulting Psychology 31, 248-252 McGraw, P. 2004. Influences of HRM practices in MNC’s. International Journal of Manpower, 25 (6), 535-546 Czinkota, T., Ronkainen, S., Catherine, B. & Tim, R. 2013. The effects of culture on work place strategy of upward influence. University of Bangkok, Elsevier Inc VanDeVen, A. 2006. Central Problems in the Management of Innovation. Management Science, 32 (5), pp. 590-607 Read More