Reflection of knowledge Acquired in Cross-cultural Management - Assignment Example

CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT Reflection of knowledge Acquired in Cross-cultural Management In this field of study of cross-cultural management, I have acquired immense knowledge. On review of the lessons and experiences during the learning period, I am confident that I can be a successful manager. Nevertheless, there are areas that I would need to improve on in the coming year. According to Sweeney (2015, p. 44), one of the common great lessons is that the attributes that may lead to success of a manager in one culture, when applied in another cultural set up could lead to failures. Organizations in this age have diversified operations across various countries internationally. Managers that operate in their countries too often find themselves in conditions where they have to interact with clients, suppliers or employees originating from different countries with varying cultural practices and beliefs. Above these challenges, the modern organizations are increasingly consisting of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, making them multicultural organizations. It is therefore not enough to only seek and acquire traditional knowledge or training, but it is essential to be equipped with knowledge of surviving through cross-cultural organization systems. Managers therefore need the complex skills of operating through the multicultural settings of organizations to succeed internationally. This area of learning has also made me to value the international business management. Skills for understanding international business have been acquired and they have helped in acknowledging the cultural variations, and attaining skills for managing these international variations. Every life aspect gets influenced by culture and this is dictated by the perspective someone adopts to view the world and give direction to what is ethically tolerable in terms of behaviour. The definition of culture can be broadly said to be mutual interpretations, shared values or motives, identities and beliefs and, these factors are the outcomes of shared by members of a society and are passed over across generations (McFarlin & Sweeney 2011, n.p.). According to Mos et al. (2013, p.460), Society is a distinguishing factor that denotes a communal mind training of people mind from other people of a diverse class. Today, managers are confronted with an array of cultural challenges with the increased international businesses across borders and diversified workforce emanating from different backgrounds. It is therefore necessary for aspiring managers and the modern day managers to attain cultural consciousness, skills and knowledge. These skills and knowledge are essential for assisting the managers to be able to think creatively especially when dealing with workforces that emanate from different global backgrounds. Thinking beyond the borders of a managers own cultural beliefs and ideologies gives them the ability of viewing managerial issues through the view points of external cultural beliefs thus leading to attainment of critical success (Zellmer-Bruhn et. Al., 2008, p. 44). Contributions of Self Development to Managerial Roles Cultural self-awareness is another significant lesson learnt. This aspect helps one to identify and know the possible implications of his or her perceptions on different cultures. The extent of one’s cultural conditioning can also be determined by cultural self-awareness. Self-awareness is many-sided and has different dimensions. It is necessary for one to be conscious of the style in which their own cultural orientations have affected shaping their lives. Cultural self-awareness orientation also guides one in evaluation of their bias against other cultures and shape informed ways of engaging and carrying out interactions and transactions that involve intercultural interrelations. Samnani &Harrison (2013, p. 172), cultural self-awareness is essential because it offers a platform for comparing and contrasting the cultural characteristics of an individual with external cultures, leading to self-appreciation as a cultural person. Self-awareness also helps managers to operate comfortably in diverse cultural situations. Self-development enables one to adopt international thinking and therefore allows one to stay fully aware of the trends of business management and managerial events for improvement of efficiency in running businesses. Self-development enhances development of curiosity among managers therefore making them to be observant of the different cultural behaviours without irrational judgment, but with a view of enhancing best practice when dealing with cross-cultural businesses. Flexibility is enhanced through careful adaptation of a wide array of business styles, social environments and operational practices. Several other factors are learnt such as embracing inclusivity when running management positions. Inclusivity allows people from different social and cultural origins to be at ease, well understood, respected and their values and perspectives appreciated in an organization (Schomer 2000, p. 75). Organizational learning and personal development contributes various useful factors to the organization. Management of diversity enables management and staff who are drawn from diverse backgrounds to work in harmony and effectively, unity being the as teams with common goals. Interpersonal relations are enhanced allowing workforce members to express themselves and take in what other member’s contributions. Employees are inspired through motivational leadership to be responsible, proactive and acquire collaborative attitudes while contributing creatively to the organization despite their differences (Stahl & Mary, 2013, p.500). Thomas & Elly (1996, p. 80) state that management of culturally diverse workforce calls for diligence and uninterrupted attention in developing skills of the workforce. Therefore, credibility is the most prudent method of enhancing proper management of culturally diverse workforce. All these are possible when managers exercise and encourage trustworthy behaviour, integrity and forthrightness in an organization. Management of diversified workforce also requires patience and taking care of everyone’s’ needs, and keeping focus on the organizational long-term goals. Key Areas for Desirable Improvement The ranges, where I would like to upgrade on in cross-cultural management, include the following. I would love to enhance my level of communication across various cultural divides. I would like to upgrade on my resolution so that I would be smart to have notable influence on people who include customers, suppliers and fellow workmates based in different nations. I would also love to evaluate my personal managerial techniques in comparison to practices that are preferred internationally and learn to adapt as required. I would also love to get to know how to lead across international organizational structures and how to manage them according to different complex cultural systems. Question Two National Culture and Values can have an impact on the Management Style and Practice of International Managers I agree with this statement. The reasons for agreement with the statement are documented below. According to the definition of management, it is stated that management in a process that involves practice and develops gradually. This implies that management is a process that is subjected to continuous variations according to circumstances that vary from time and place. However, the main objective here is to find out the managerial issues that may influence decisions of managers in relation to cultural and value systems. The world is undergoing rapid development and the leaders continue experiencing newer challenges in the course of managing businesses in countries with divergent cultures. Specific styles of management may be effective for a given culture, but when applied in a different country, it would fail if not modified (Shiel, 2001, p. 119). National values and cultural practices are major determinants of management teams to set strategic decisions and direction the organization should take. All organizations are bound to change with the ever-changing international organizational dynamics and styles for conducting daily business processes. On the international scene, management has important roles of providing leadership and the leadership styles should conform to national and cultural values systems. Compliance to the cultural and value systems enables businesses to capitalize on their output and profitability. Various people in the market places identify with various values to inform their decisions in relation to their value and cultural beliefs and systems (Neeler & Kaplan, 2014, p.74). Various theories will be examined to expound more on the managerial functions and how they are affected by cultural beliefs and national values. According to Amma et al. (2013, p. 96), the approach of management adopted and practiced by a manager is determined by the manager’s values and beliefs. The beliefs of a manager create perceptions in the workforce on what to expect from the manager in conditions of the characteristics of the leader. For instance, across some cultural practices, leaders are expected to make independent decisions and the employees are bound to accept the independent decisions made by the manager. On the other hand, in other cultural systems, it may be unacceptable for a leader to make independent decisions and expect the employees to abide by such decisions. In such cultures, consultations have to be carried out in democratic manner to come up with common agreements instead (Rubera &Griffith, 2014, p. 15). According to Gormley (1996, P. 185), culture and national values have numerous components. One of the mainly significant cultural components is language. Language provides important factors of getting to understand national cultural practices and values. The opinions, beliefs, values and attitudes of given groupings of people are better understood by getting to understand their language. Internationally, the English language is commonly used as a language of business that is applicable universally. However, the fact that English gets widely used as a universal language does not vindicate the existence of cultural variations. The use of English language creates a disconnect and creates weak links between the managers that adopt English and people from different cultural backgrounds. National and regional characteristics are influenced by religion, which in turn plays part in influencing the business culture of people sharing a common religion. People of a similar religion also share central values. For instance, among the Protestants, there is so much value attached to delayed saving, investment and gratification. According to Max Weber 1904 writing, the way of the Protestants of conducting business especially their ethics of work are in spirit of capitalism. The Protestant work ethics tend to have them believe in working hard and getting rewarded in the long run. These work ethics enable managers to mould their styles of management and tie them towards the dimension of the work ethics. This encourages employees to work hard and make the believe in getting rewarded after hard work. Managers therefore must be sensitive to the religious beliefs of their workforces to motivate the employees without contravening their values and cultural viewpoints, which are usually tied to their religions (Barlet, 2014, n.p). In many circumstances, cross-cultural issues of management often come up in different business circumstances. For instance, in particular firms, managers who emanate from foreign cultural background, for example have to acquaint themselves with the local culture of the employees they head in the host nation. For example, there could be different requirements in the host country for human resource management styles and organization structures. When organizations perform mergers and acquisitions, there has to be compromise because there are always differences across various cultures. Managers have to make decisions that would make balanced compromises that accommodate both cultures in the ventures involving multicultural situations. Mangers have to counter the cultural differences by adopting methods that would create good supplier and buyer relationships. This is possible by coming up with culture sensitive manipulation of marketing, production, and advertising methods (Javidan & House, 2001, p 300). National values and culture give the dimension of the context of business. The behaviours of buying and decision-making are influenced by cultures and values, religious affiliations and norms of various people from particular regions. Values and cultural beliefs greatly manipulate face-to-face interactions between individuals from varied social backgrounds. Efficiency of these communications is determined but the cultural diversity. In turn, managers can determine how well to communicate based on national values and culture in multicultural work environments. Based on the diverse cultural values, managers are able to make sound decisions especially involving the setting of strategies and planning the office layout hierarchically from senior level management to the lowest level of management (Bhargava, 2006, p. 102). According to Shah & Syed (2013, p. 220), national values and cultures also lead firms into making varying decision making and organizational practices. The varying practices related to decision making are based on their sources of evolution and the subcultures and cultures they consist of. Successful partnerships and alliances are deemed to succeed at relationship levels of company-to-company and business relations across nations when there is proper understanding of the different cultures involved. Understanding different cultures lead to sound decision making by managers without compromising on the desired results of the decisions made by management. Barlet (2014, n.p) says that national values and culture majorly have practical effects on all elements of business management decisions. The national values and culture have a manipulative effect on almost all the organizational structures from management of the labour relationships to the structures of decision-making. The attitudes of individual workers towards the management are also informed by their core values and cultural differences. The likings of consumers are also influenced by their culture and value systems. For a company to do exemplarily well in a foreign country or market, the product packaging, or the packaging of the service must be made by the management to be in a way that connects and meets the needs or requirements of people who observe particular ideological and cultural values. The way the advertisements and features of products are presented, the services provided, documentation and technical support must be guided by differences in the values and the cultural beliefs of the target clients. When management fails to acknowledge the differences in cultural value and cultural systems, the result could be blunders in marketing and mistakes in communicating to the clients that are targeted by the business. National values and culture provide prescription for acceptable language to people of the same region or common culture. A word could be used to mean god in one culture while when used in the same context in a different culture, could be very offensive to people of that culture. Misuse of particular words across cultures could lead to product failures because of association to offensive language. Therefore, this reinforces the significance of language across cultural differences (Rubera & Griffith, 2014, p. 16). According to Mos et al., (2013, p. 462), based on being sensitive to language use across cultures, managers must carry out basic due diligence on the language used to market the same product across different cultures. National values and cultures have huge roles in the success of strategies and therefore must be taken to consideration all the time when conducting product-marketing decisions especially in foreign marketplaces that they are not familiar with. Language, a basic component of culture could lead to massive failure even for the most seasoned and successful companies if not diligently applied in the course of business operations. The biggest obstacle to successful management of product success and organizational success lies in the lack consideration of national values and culture of particular countries and consumers. In the same manner, due consideration of cultural and value systems lead to achievement of success in any organization. International managers must therefore be sensitive to the cultural systems and values of different nations in their decision-making processes to achieve success in their operations (Thomas & Ely, 1996, p.80). Since national values and cultures play major roles in the success of organizational management, managers should keep away from relying on their own methods of doing things and embrace sensitivity to cultural differences. Reliance on own way of doing things by managers, and assuming that their methods are superior to any other ideas could lead to massive failures of strategies especially in international management arena. The major undertaking required of the managers is to recognize the differences and put them together with the gains that can be obtained from the various approaches and styles brought about by cultural and value systems of various groups of customers. The managers therefore need to adapt and adjust their strategic decisions to adapt with the values and cultures of different individuals in the international business decision-making stage. For enhanced success, the decisions should be tailor made to fit and adapt uniquely to different people in different markets and partnerships in ways that suit different cultures. This way, businesses are deemed to succeed because of adequate cultural and value system consideration (Shiel, 2001, p. 120). National values and cultural differences are very important despite the continuous harmonization of management patterns and globalization trends. The cultural differences remain even as there is common access to international spaces through the internet. As long as the differences continue existing, management teams must always consider the differences in making their decisions on management matters. Despite the concept of cultural convergence, it is difficult to do away with the core values and cultural beliefs acquired from different societal backgrounds (Hoffman & Shipper, 2012, p. 1420). Cultures continue to exist in the varying attributes and the companies’ ways of operations continue to differ because of the variations in cultures and how people from different cultures work and operate. Globalization has enabled many companies to operate across various cultural groups. This has made management of internationally participating companies experience complex situations in doing business globally. Even as managers should make decisions based on the national values and cultural beliefs of the market of operations, it is important to note that cultural stereotypes could cause obstacles for business. For example, when gauging the prowess of Arabs against the English, the two groups when are looking for loans to run a business. Bankers from empirical knowledge will judge that Arabs are more successful than the English at running small business. However, when this stereotype is used in denying the English loans for establishing a business may be outright racial discrimination, which is generally unacceptable and unethical and contrary to laws guarding against discrimination (Javidan & House, 2001, p. 301). Individuals sharing a common country have similar cultural features. Culture and nationality go hand in hand even though countries consist of a large range of religions, tribes, ways of behaviours and beliefs. Despite these differences, there are subcultures that exist among individual nations. The best way managers can reap benefits from good decisions based on national values and cultures is distinguishing and making the sub cultural stereotypes simple and comparing them with national stereotypes (Shiel, 2001, p. 121)..Therefore, national values and cultural stereotypes are very important in assisting managers to map out strategies for entry and being successful in international markets. The national values help to define the shared values of employees and managers and more importantly define the characteristics of consumers. 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