Managing across Cultures - Issues and Perspectives - Literature review Example

MANAGING ACROSS CULTURES Name Institution Professor Course Date Managing across Cultures: Issues and Perspectives Introduction In the globalised society and economy, it is more than likely that managers will deal with people of different cultures regarding consumers, suppliers, and employees in the midst of giant corporations or small business entities. In this context, managers have the tendency to experience challenges in the pursuit of success when dealing with diverse cultures. Evidently, the achievement of success must relate to the ability and effectiveness of the manager to appreciate and manage actively across cultures. Management across cultures enables managers to have the opportunity to assess and understand how and why people around the world behave as they do, thus, the provision of the actionable mechanisms for success in the globalised business environment. The purpose of this essay is to elaborate on the critical issues and elements, as well as perspectives regarding managing across cultures. Issues and Perspectives of Managing Across Cultures In the recent years, globalisation has been one of the critical aspects of development under the influence of technological advancements. In this context, globalisation associates with the tendency to execute transactions and relationships across cultures. In the midst of these developments, various researchers have focused on the evaluation of mechanisms to manage across culture. These developments are ideal for the exploration of mechanisms to achieve sustainability, as well as competitiveness among the business entities seeking to maximize their goals and targets at the end of each fiscal period. The purpose of this section is to evaluate and explore such kinds of literature relating to the management across cultures. In their article, Early and Mosakowski (2004) sought to examine the concept of cultural intelligence as one of the critical elements in managing across cultures. In this context, the authors define cultural intelligence (CQ) as the ability and potentiality of the managers or individuals to cope with the national, business, and vocational cultural attributes. Evidently, cultural intelligence relates to the ability of the individuals to make sense of the unfamiliar contexts, thus, the platform to blend in. The article plays a critical role in the exploration of the concept of cultural intelligence, thus, the platform for understanding three sources of CQ: cognitive/head, physical/body, and heart/motivational/emotional. The concept of cultural intelligence, as evident in the article, proves to be an important tool in management across cultures. In the increasingly diverse business environment, it is ideal for the managers to enhance their ability to navigate through thicket of habits, gestures, and assumptions, which define diversities among the employees. Categorically, foreign cultures prove to be everywhere such as other nations, vocations, corporations, and regions. From this perspective, there is need for perceptiveness, as well as adaptability to interact with the people within the diverse cultures. In this aspect, CQ comes in handy for the managers in pursuit of social success, as well as organisational competitiveness in the industry and market of operation. Additionally, Early and Mosakowski (2004) provides 6-step model, which enables managers to engage in the cultivation of their cultural intelligence. These steps include examination of strengths and weakness of CQ, selection of training focusing on the weaknesses, application of the training, organisation of support, entry into the cultural setting, and re-evaluation through redefining further training. Alternatively, Brett, Behfar, and Kern (2006) focused on the exploration of the multicultural teams as the second issue in the management across cultures. According to this research article, multicultural teams have the tendency of generating frustrating dilemmas to the management. Evidently, cultural diversity creates substantial obstacles in pursuit of effective teamwork. Some of these obstacles are subtle and impossible to recognise until the existence of a significant damage. The challenge in the management of the multicultural teams relates to the recognition of the underlying causes of the cultural conflicts, thus, the platform to intervene in ways that the teams manage to get back on track. The approach is ideal in empowering the members towards dealing with the future challenges in multicultural contexts. These researchers did elaborate on four categories creating barriers for the achievement of success for the multicultural entities in the modern context. These categories include trouble with accents and fluency, direct and indirect communication, diverse attitudes toward hierarchy and authority, and conflicting norms in the course of decision-making by the management. In the course of overcoming these challenges, it is crucial to improve and internationalise communication in the early stages while building aspects of the multicultural communication team. It is also critical to engage in overcoming the challenges through coaching the international project teams for the success of the multicultural teams in the modern context. Additionally, Hong and Doz (2013) sought to explore the ability of L’Oreal in mastering the concept of multiculturalism, which is one of the techniques in the management across cultures. Categorically, global business entities desire to achieve economies of scale in the midst of demand for uniformity and integration of activities in the globalised economies across the world. In this context, companies look for customers in the emerging economies in pursuit of advantages of global scale, as well as desire for the local differentiation. The company has been able to utilize multiculturalism to increase competitive advantage through generation of creative associations while anticipating cross-cultural conflicts, as well as integration of new members from diverse cultures. Similarly, Thomas and Ely (1996) sought to explore and examine the influence of a new paradigm for the management of diversity, thus, the platform for managing across cultures. According to these researchers, diversity goes beyond increase in the number of the diverse group affiliations on the payroll. This expresses an initial step in the management of the diverse workforce for the utmost benefit in the organisational context. It is critical to understand the concept of diversity as the varied perspectives and approaches to work, which members of the diverse cultures bring in pursuit of competitive advantage and sustainability. Integration of the learning-and-effectiveness paradigm is essential in incorporating aspects of the models connecting diversity to diverse work approaches. The model plays a critical role in enabling managers or business leaders to explore their approach to diversity, as well as implications of such approaches in pursuit of effective management across cultures. Categorically, it is ideal for the managers to gain substantive knowledge on how to learn and assess the need to change their diversity initiatives for competitiveness in the globalised economy. In the development of her article, Meyer (2014) focuses on the exploration of the mechanisms and techniques towards navigating the cultural minefield. Categorically, the author highlights the influence of improved understanding ability of the cultural drivers of workers, customers, and suppliers in pursuit of success in the modern context. In the midst of increased multiculturalism, employees and managers aim at creating harmonious environment. Nevertheless, it is challenging for the managers to bridge cultural gaps. Business managers have the obligation to sidestep common stereotypes and learn to decode the behaviour of other cultures in the course of avoiding conflicts while capitalising on the strengths of the increased diversity in the modern context. In another context, Donaldson (1996) sought to explore and examine the role of ethical leadership in the management across cultures. According to this research article, lack of backdrop of shared attitudes and familiar laws defining ethical contributes to the absence of certainty. From this perspective, it is ideal for the business entities and managers to have ideal knowledge of the diverse cultures with the intention of maximising the image and reputation in the midst of diversity among the employees. Conversely, Neeley (2012) focused on the exploration of the role of language and communication in managing across cultures. In this context, the author highlights the fact that global business entities tend to speak English. Evidently, English language plays a critical role in the course of minimizing issues creating conflicts in the management across cultures. Categorically, English comes out as a global language of business, thus, the tendency of numerous multinational companies to mandate the language as the common corporate language. For instance, companies such as Daimler-Chrysler, Airbus, Nokia, Samsung, Technicolor, Microsoft in Beijing, and Fast Retailing are some of the business entities promoting the concept of English language as a critical element of communication. The approach aims at enabling quality and efficient communication and performance across cultures. On the other hand, Trompenaars and Wooliams (2011) focused on the development of the article entitled “lost in translation.” In this article, it is essential to note that people or individuals tend to various enormously in their perceptions, as well as response to failure. Moreover, these perceptions and responses emanate from cultural diversity. The authors engage in illustrating how forward-looking entities engage in the management towards reconciling cultural diversities towards creation of powerful platform for the achievement of innovation. Approaches to Managing Across Cultures In the course of managing across cultures, business researchers and practitioners have focused on the examination of the most effective approaches to minimize issues relating to diversity in the workplace. In the first instance, Wilson and Doz (2012) sought to explore and examine diverse rules in the management of the global innovation. This is through increased assessment of the challenges companies face in the midst of the dispersed global operations in pursuit of effective exploitation of ideas and capabilities for innovative projects. In the course of exploring this research, authors focused on the utilization of cases of 47 companies. These ten rules include (Wilson and Doz 2012): i. Business entities should start small in the development of set of collaboration competencies ii. Business entities should provide stable organisational context for anticipation of possible toxic side effects of reorganisation on the global innovation. iii. Assignment of oversight and substantive support responsibility to the senior manager as the ultimate decision maker iv. Utilization of the rigorous management and leadership under the influence of the robust tools, as well as processes v. Similarly, it is ideal to engage in the appointment of the lead site to take responsibility for the delivery of goals and outcomes of the project vi. Business entities need to invest time in the course of defining the concept of innovation for understanding of the goals and roles of each practitioner vii. Substantive allocation of resources in accordance with the capability rather than availability to exploit advantage through distinctive and differentiated knowledge across cultures viii. Construction of substantive knowledge overlap for effective and efficient collaboration, thus, platform for anticipating potential interdependencies ix. Minimising the number of partners, as well as subcontractors to minimise complexity and management burden x. Finally, it is ideal for the business entities to avoid overreliance on the technology communication, thus, effectiveness and efficiency in the management across cultures In the second instance, Bennett’s stages of ethnocentrism provide a platform for understanding effective and efficient management across cultures. This model is critical to understanding the concepts of intercultural competence and sensitivity. Intercultural competence refers to the ability or technique of thinking, as well as acting intercultural appropriate ways. On the other hand, intercultural sensitivity towards discriminating and experiencing relevant cultural differences. The model is essential in explaining how and why people tend to think and feel the way they do about cultural difference. Evidently, the model provides the platform for the realisation of effective coaching and development to work efficiently with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. According to this theory, cultural sensitivity, as well as cultural differences tends to represent substantive obstacles or benefits for the generation or creation of relationships and effective communication across cultures. Categorically, the model proves to be ideal for the improvement of productivity, innovation, and creativity. The model incorporates six stages: denial, defense reversal, minimisation, acceptance, adaptation, and integration. At the denial stage, managers or leaders tend to demonstrate comfort with the familiar, thus, lack of anxiety to complicate life in the midst of cultural diversities. Similarly, such leaders do not have the ability to notice cultural diversity around them, thus, the approach to engage in maintaining separation from other cultures or backgrounds. In the second phase, there is the concept of defense in which managers and practitioners demonstrate strong commitment to their thoughts, as well as feelings about culture and diversity. In other instance, managers at this stage demonstrate elements of distrust of the cultural behaviour or ideas, which differ from their own. Nevertheless, these managers are aware of the existence of other cultures, but have incomplete understanding of such cultures because of stereotyping and negative feelings towards the cultures. In this stage, there is the concept of reversal, which proves to be opposite to the essence of defense (Bennett and Bennett, 1993). In this context, managers feel that other cultures are better, thus, exhibition of distrust regarding their culture. In the third stage, there is the concept of minimisation, which managers from other cultures emanate with similarity to the organisational practitioners. Managers and leaders demonstrate awareness of other cultures around them with substantive knowledge regarding differences in celebrations, as well as customs (Bennett and Bennett, 1993). The approach is essential in enabling managers to treat others from different cultures in the same manner they would expect to be target audiences. This provides the platform for the fourth stage relating to acceptance. The stage demonstrates awareness of cultures, thus, the platform for accepting the fact that one’s culture is one of the avenues of experiencing reality across the universe. The stage demonstrates curiosity about other cultures, thus, exploitation of opportunities to learn about these cultures. The fifth stage of the model relates to adaptation, which provides platform for recognition of values of diversity at the workplace in solving diverse or different issues (Bennett and Bennett, 1993). The phase is ideal in enabling leaders to act in appropriate ways to achieve success in the management across cultures. Finally, there is the concept of integration. This relates to integration of diverse extents into more than one cultural perspective, thus, the concept of cultural competence. These attributes enable leaders to realise their goals and targets at the end of each fiscal period while addressing the demands and expectations of the target audiences. Importance, Reflection, and Conclusion Exploring of this topic is essential in the development of the cultural intelligence to facilitate effective and efficient management across cultures. Similarly, effective understanding of the topic is essential in overcoming conflicts among multicultural teams, thus, the platform for the adoption and implementation of common language for efficiency in communication. The topic enhances my understanding of diverse perspective in managing across cultures through incorporating varying cultural practices in resolving ethical issues. Categorically, I have been able to learn diverse issues and elements in the course of executing this essay. In the first instance, I have been able to learn about the issues and perspectives regarding managing across cultures. The essay did offer avenue towards understanding the gap in the existing literatures on managing across cultures. Conclusively, managing across cultures proves to be a complex encounter, thus, the need to incorporate effective and efficient understanding of issues and perspectives in the globalised economy. List of References Behfar, K., Kern, M. and Brett, J., 2006, “Managing challenges in multicultural teams,” Research on managing groups and teams, 9, pp. 233-262. Bennett, M.J. and Bennett, M.J., 1993, “Intercultural sensitivity,” Principles of training and development; Portland, OR: Portland State University. Donaldson, T., 1996. Values in tension: Ethics away from home. Harvard Business Review, 74(5), p.48. Earley, P.C. and Mosakowski, E., 2004, “Cultural intelligence,” Harvard business review, 82(10), pp.139-146. Gregersen, H.B. and Black, J.S., 1999, “The right way to manage expats,” Harvard business review, 77(2), pp. 52-59. Hong, H.J. and Doz, Y., 2013, “L’Oreal masters multiculturalism,” Harvard Business Review, 91(6), pp. 114-118. Meyer, E., 2014, “Navigating the cultural minefield,” Harvard business review, 92(5), pp. 119-123. Neeley, T., 2012. Global business speaks English: Why you need a language strategy now. Thomas, D.A. and Ely, R.J., 1996, “Making differences matter,” Harvard business review, 74(5), pp. 79-90. Trompenaats F and Woolliams P, 2011, “Lost in Translation,” Harvard Business Review pp. 1-6. Wilson, K. and Doz, Y.L., 2012, “10 Rules for managing global innovation,” Harvard business review, 90(10), pp. 84-90. Read More