Is National Culture Still Relevant to Management in a Global Context - Essay Example

Lecturer Is National Culture still relevant to Management in a Global Context the case of Switzerland Introduction This article was written by Sylvie Chevrier and published by the International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management in 200. It provides an insightful analysis of the national culture in the development of global management. Using Switzerland as a case study, the scholar analyzes the importance of national political culture in promoting national unity, management culture and setting a pace which can be adopted by the global community. Just like Swizz which is a heterogeneous nation, the author appeals to every international manager to effectively apply the concepts of national culture in their managerial roles (DuBrin, A.J., 2007). In conclusion, the author recommends that national culture should not be restricted to a country, but be adopted by other nations in order to effectively manage the organizations. Brief Description In this article, Sylvie presents an exhaustive analysis of the role of national political culture in the management of organizations. She begins by introducing her topic by saying that culture is a very important aspect of management which needs to be applied by managers. Since everyone has an origin, it is good for each manager to know about different aspects of their cultural practices and translate them in the management of their respective organizations. Business is a universal practice which can not be limited to only one’s country. While using Swiss as a case study, Sylvie reports that it is a typical of example of a plural society. The heterogeneous state of this nation is attributed to its populations who are associated with diverse geographical, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Meaning, there exist the minority and majority groups who despite their differences, share the national identity of this great nation. However, as the scholar notes, the major component of this national identity is embedded in the national political culture. Despite the diversities, no stereotype should be constructed because it can not benefit the society in any way. Instead, it promotes disunity which is harmful both to the nation and the entire global community to which it is exposed (Stroh, L. K. et al., 2002). The author concludes by acknowledging that culture should not be overlooked especially by the international managers because it has imminent contributions to make in the management sector. Just the same way it helps in the country, national political culture can be adopted and applied beyond the country’s borders. This, she explains, using Swiss national culture which has been emulated many countries like China and India. With a set of national political culture, it can be easier to get something which unites people together regardless of their diverse backgrounds. This can be of a great value when used in international business. Theory and Literature In this research, there was an application of appropriate theories and models which can help in producing a good work. As a reputable scholar, Sylvie demonstrated her excellent research prowess by generating a high quality research which extensively used the necessary and appropriate research theories and models. A part from studying the current situation on the ground, she went ahead to trace the historical development of the use of national political culture cementing people together and encouraging business within and across the country’s borders (Aronoff, M.J., 2002). Besides, the researcher had to use a lot of resources as references. These are recommended research skills which can enable her to validate her work and make them more credible, authoritative and sound at all times. Since it was majorly a product of documentary analysis, the researcher was quite categorical in her choice of references. After identifying the research problem, she dedicated her time to conducting an extensive research in order to help her in substantiating her claims and make them more credible. At the same time, while selecting her references, she had to ensure that they came from a collection of scholarly works-books and peer-reviewed journals. A part from being written by credible authors, these resources were written after a thorough research by each of these scholars. Among the most significant resources in this research were written by renowned scholars including De Reynold, G., Dundes, A., Sackmann, S.A., Phillips, M. E., Soderberg, A-M., Rezayat, F., Markus, H. and Jankowicz, A.D. By doing this, the researcher was committed to producing an authoritative work which is given all the credibility it deserves. By quoting such like scholars, she was confirming to the readers that her work is actually researched, sound and valid. A part from making claims, she has an evidence to prove them. Further more, each of these references was relevant, useful and in a full support of all the claims made by the author in this research. This is a clear indication of a real research conducted by a knowledgeable researcher who acknowledges that for her work to be regarded as reliable, it should be supported by credible and authoritative publications. Research Approach In her entire work, Sylvie opted neither to conduct and experimental study nor to identify any population to be used in her research. Instead, she decided to conduct a thorough and properly designed documentary analysis in order to find out more information about the research problem. In doing this, she allocated a lot of time to visit her library in order to get different publications containing the past researches conducted about this problem (Kotter, P.J. & D.S. Cohen., 2002). One area in which the documentary analysis was conducted is when tracing the history of Swiss. As a case study, Swiss was supposed to be intensively studied. Several aspects of its population, culture, dynamism and changes had to be thoroughly unveiled. For the reader to grasp the research there is need to begin from understanding the historical development of the Swiss. This is one of the areas in which the researcher had to conduct a lot of research in order to report on. Therefore, after analyzing all the available resources, the researcher recorded that historically, Swiss is a heterogeneous nation. Since time immemorial, it has been divided a long the linguistic, religious and geographical lines. All this information is collected from the earlier researches which were conducted before this one was done. Meaning, without them, a different approach would have been applied. Research Findings Before discussing the findings of this research, it is important to begin by clarifying that in her analysis, Sylvie used Switzerland as her case study. Since she wanted to know about the implications of a national culture on international business, she had to dig deeper into the national culture of the people of Switzerland. Therefore, she found out that the most important element of this country is that it is made up of people from different backgrounds. The first major issue which causes diversity in this nation is language. Meaning, all the people from different parts of the country are identified by their linguistic affiliation. There are three main linguistic divisions: German speakers (74%); French speakers (20%); Italian speakers (4.5%); Romanish speakers (300,000). Secondly, the Swiss are identified by their religion. Although it is a Christian nation, it is made up of the Roman Catholics (mostly French speakers) and Protestants (mostly German speakers). Lastly, the country’s citizens are identified by the geographical region from which they come. However, despite this plurality, the Swiss has made it a tradition that they should values their diversity by not using it as a reason to polarize the country. As a nation, it has become a tradition not to discriminate against people because of their linguistic background. Instead, they use their diversities as an important factor which unites them since they value tolerance (Joshi, R.M., 2009). This is the origin of what constitutes the national culture of these people which should be copied by the business community. Meaning, as the researcher found out, a set of national culture when used well, should be translated and used in consolidating the people (Kertzer, D.I., 2007). The Swiss have embraced their national identity in instituting a set of national values which help in managing business. With all the diversities not withstanding, Switzerland has a set of national political culture which helps in regulating management practices and therefore determining the activities done and the direction taken by the professionals in the country (Sullivan, D., 2007). Once such a culture is perfectively used within the country, it is then translated into the international sphere where it helps in shaping international community. Because of the importance of the Swiss national political culture, many countries have borrowed it. To the Chinese, it has been equated to the norms and ethical values which spearhead the nation. To the Indians, the Swiss national political culture has helped in promoting unity because it can be closely associated to their highly regarded concept of purity which does not need to be violated whatsoever. Thus, the researcher found out that the national culture has great implications on global management. Conclusion In her conclusion, Sylvie emphasizes that national culture is very important for each and every country. A part from uniting the people, it forms a basis of practices which can be adopted by the international community. Regarding the Swiss national political culture, the researcher concludes that culture has no limitation because many aspects of it can be applied beyond its countries borders (Sullivan, D., 2007). Thus, she recommends that international managers should use their national culture in their management activities. The world is made up of many countries. Each country needs to not only to make political and economic contributions, but also cultural. Personal Reflection I would like to begin by commending Sylvie for her excellent job. Actually, this research demonstrates that she is a reputable scholar with undoubted research skills. A part from identifying an area which still needs to be thoroughly understood, she dedicates her time to produce a high quality work which can be of great importance both to the readers and other scholars who might be intending to conduct a further research about this topic. Everything was properly organized right from the beginning up to the end. Thus, her research becomes a good and ideal one which can be relied upon as a true and accurate set of data to be used in the future (Gomez-Mejia, L.R. et al., 2008). Besides, she conducts an extensive analysis on the documents that she selected to use and focus on as her main source of data. Each of these resources was properly chosen by making sure that they are written by some of the most credible authors in this area of study. Thus, because of a careful selection of the resources, her work stood out very strongly and supported a lot. By using only credible resources, the researcher was committed to make her research be an authoritative one with all the required evidences that can make them to be relied upon by anyone who wants to use it. About the findings, I would like to point out that they are quite accurate and represent the real picture in the country. As she examines, Swiss is a highly heterogeneous nation composed of many people from diverse backgrounds (Aronoff, M.J., 2002). Meaning, true to her analysis, the culture, language and geography can be used to identify the people of Switzerland. However, as she says, it is true that this has not been used to propagate any disunity. Instead, it helps in promoting a national identity especially through the institution of a national political culture. Moreover, I would like to say that Sylvie’s report that the Swiss national political culture has implications in the management is a right observation. Actually, it is true that national values can be relied upon to help in coming up with a frame work under which the professionals might operate. Therefore, as she says, such a national political value can be translated into the management practices even beyond the country. In justifying this point, she uses countries such as China and India whose national political cultures have been influenced by the Swiss’. In this regard, I would like to agree that Sylvie’s findings are quite real because they depict the real picture in the society. Furthermore, her conclusions are justifiable and closely related to the findings (Joshi, R.M., 2009). In conclusion, it is my considered opinion that this was a product of extensive research conducted by a reputable scholar. By focusing on Switzerland, the researcher was able to produce a good work which can help in understanding much about management from both a national and global perspective. I qualify this research to be a valid and accurate work which can be relied upon to understand much about this topic. Bibliography Aronoff, M.J. (2002) “Political Culture,” in International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Neil J. Smelser and Paul B. Baltes, eds. Oxford: Elsevier Publishers. DuBrin, A.J. (2007). Human Relations Interpersonal Job-Oriented Skills (9th Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Gomez-Mejia, L.R. et al. (2008). Management: People, Performance, Change, 3rd edition. New York, New York USA: McGraw-Hill. Joshi, R.M. (2009) International Business. London: Oxford University Press. Kertzer, D.I. (2007) Ritual, Politics, and Power. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Kotter, P.J. & D.S. Cohen. (2002). The Heart of Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Sullivan, D. (2007). International Business: environment and operations, 11th Edition. New York: Prentice Hall. Stroh, L. K. et al. (2002). Organizational behavior: A management challenge. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Read More