Business Cultures: A Comparative Investigation - Term Paper Example

? Understanding Global Cultures Contents Introduction: 3 Features of Multicultural Organization: 3 Cultural aspects of Islam: 5 Difference between Islamic firms and other organizations 9 Conclusion: 10 References: 11 Introduction: Organizations today are increasingly becoming varied in terms of race, gender, nationality and ethnicity. This multiplicity brings considerable amount of prospective advantages such as greater creativeness and novelty, improved decision making capacity, and more thriving marketing approaches to various categories of customers. However, improved cultural diversity within a group of workers also paves the way for the impending costs in interpersonal divergence, communication hurdles and higher employee turnover. (Mansfield & Pevehouse, 2000) A multicultural organization consists mainly of 6 key features namely pluralism, structural incorporation, complete amalgamation of unofficial networks, elimination of discrimination and prejudice, equivalent recognition of organizational objectives with all the diverse teams and nominal amount of inter-team conflicts (Cox, 1991). Learned behavior and their consequences been shared or transmitted via those members of the society. (Linton, 1954) Certain companies have created an organizational architecture and model of business behavior which seems innovative in its design and is unparalleled in business (Cole 1995). The purpose of the study is to ensure that the contribution of human behavior is towards the organizational growth which enables to achieve greater efficiency. (Scholte, 2005) Malaysian culture of business is quite different than other Asian countries like china, India, japan etc. (Beeson, 2000) Features of Multicultural Organization: In the following paragraph we are going to discuss about all the six features of a multicultural organization – Pluralism refers to the mixed group of members in an organization and it also means taking proper measures to involve all the employees entirely that are different in terms of the central group dominating the organization.. There are a number of options for practicing acculturation within the organization, among which the most well-known being: 1. An unilateral procedure by which members of the minority culture take on the values and norms of the principal group within the workplace (this is called assimilation); 2. A course of action by which both majority and minority members of different cultural backgrounds accept some customs and rules of the other group (this is known as pluralism); 3. A state of affairs where there is modest scope of variation from each of the culturally different groups (this situation is referred to as cultural separatism). 4. Diversity training—managerial endeavor to inform and instruct administration and employee about diversity’s advantages to the organization (Kreitz, 2007) The concept of acculturation on the other hand is related to the cultural (customs and attitudes) characteristic of amalgamation of the diverse teams, as contrasting to simply make themselves physically available in the same setting (Buenker & Ratner, 2005, pp.18-20). Full structural integration: An organization generally comprises of people from various backgrounds and different locations. This involves dealing out with educational specializations and the variations in expertise and treating those evenly all through the organization. Full integration of informal networks: integration in informal networks in a multicultural organization is fostered through supervising and mentoring programs, particular social occasions and sustaining the cultural groups for the minorities. This element focuses on the stages of enclosure of the minority-culture employees in lunch/dinner gatherings, athletic and golf outings, and social associations conducted and repeated by organizational managers. It also takes into account the facets of counseling and several other informal developmental aspects within organizations. (Taggart & McDermott 1993) Absence of Prejudice: Any kind of prejudice or bias is avoided in a multicultural organization. However prejudice might tend to occur among the members of the minority-culture as well as among the members of the dominant-culture. It must be given significant emphasis that the realistic effect of prejudice formed by the members of the majority-culture is far more than that of the members of the minority-culture for the reason that their decision-making power is far greater than the minority-culture teams. (Giddens, 1999) Equal identification with organizational goals with all groups: Within a multicultural environment the members of the diverse teams play a crucial part in influencing the firm’s course of action and forming decision on how to reach its objectives and thus in this way they tend to understand the firm better and can realize their position within it. Minimal inter-group conflicts: In a multicultural firm, proper care is taken for maintaining least amount of inter-group conflicts on the basis of cultural disparity, through Conflict Resolution Training and Survey Feedback. (Fine, 1995, p.190) Cultural aspects of Islam: Muslims today outline one of the major religious clusters around the world. In the United Kingdom alone the Muslim inhabitants form around 1.5 million of the population. As with people from any environment, if they do not find a comfortable circumstance and if they do not get understood within their company or office, it is probable that they would sooner or later look for vacancy somewhere else. In order to make best use of preservation of the young Muslim employees, it is even more significant as a result; that their sensitivity is kept in mind. In this regard we can discuss the work culture of the Saudi Arabia which is known to be a Muslim oriented country. The Saudi Arabia is a region that follows many myths and stereotypes. Prior to starting any business in this country it is crucial to gain knowledge about the aspects such as business etiquette, business culture, negotiation, and meeting protocol techniques.  Through such insights typecast can be broken down and hindrances towards efficient communication can get diminished. It is prudent to keep in mind while operating business in the Saudi Arabia, that the huge variety contained by the area includes a common religion, a definite language and a specific culture making the nation’s general features and traits putting stress of the exact attributes of the Islamic work culture that clearly exhibits its difference with that of the work culture of other countries. In the following sections the different business culture of the Saudi Arabia will be discussed. There are certain things which people have in general are cultural ideas and standards. (Benedict, 1934) The discussion on Saudi Arabia remains incomplete without the mention of Islam. Islam infuses at all levels of the community. It offers values, rules for personal life, direction, social relations and the means of conducting business. We can consider a few instances of the demonstrations of the religion. Muslims are required to pray 5 times per day. The timings of prayer are broadcasted by the nearby mosques which is known as the “call to prayer” or adhan/azan. It is not mandatory for all Muslims to visit the mosque. They have the option of praying in the office or at home. Regular schedules, meetings and appointments must be appropriately fitted in according to the prayer times. Friday is known as Jumuah in Islam which represents the specific day for congregational prayer known as Salat and it is compulsory for all the men to be present at. Business should be avoided in the nation of Saudi Arabia throughout the month of Ramadan. The Muslim people are habituated to fasts that extend from sunrise till twilight which involves restrictions on drinking, eating, and smoking. For the duration of the business hours the general activities are abridged on the basis of the nature of the organization or company. There are 2 remarkable events of celebration in Islam namely Eid al-Adha followed by the yearly pilgrimage visit and Eid al-Fitr which is followed by the festival of Ramadan. The holidays on these 2 occasions continue roughly for 3 days though it is not unusual for the administration of the countries to extend the holidays. The traditional expression of greeting among the Islam people is “Asalamu alaykum” which means “let peace & tranquility be with you”. In reply the other person is expected to say “wa alaykum salam” which means “and let peace & tranquility be with you too”. Handshakes are must while concluding business deals. (Gannon & Pillai, 2012) According to World Bank data GDP for Saudi Arabia in 2012 was 711,049,600,000. (World Bank, n.d.) As a responsible member of the society man needs to acquire knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom and several capabilities and habits. (Tyler,1973) The Geert Hofstede evaluation for Saudi Arabia is roughly indistinguishable from other countries of Arab as the Islamic belief plays a significant part in the lives of the people. Further the cultural evaluations also play a major role in the work life of Arab. Huge power distance attributes and uncertainty avoidance traits are the major features for this area. This involves the aloofness of the leaders from the groups and putting clear instructions. The scores for the Power Distance Index and Uncertainty Avoidance Index are 80 and 68 respectively. For the Masculinity index the country scores 52 and for the Individualism parameter the country gets the 38th rank which is pretty low in comparison to the world average ranking i.e.64. Thus when summarizing the attributes of the work culture of the nation it can be said that the people of this nation are more inclined towards following a caste arrangement which restricts flexibility and mobility. The nation is also known for being extremely rule-oriented that functions on the basis of strict rules, laws, controls and regulations in order to lessen the extent of ambiguity, but at the same time inequalities between power and wealth equally exists within the country, also the high score for the uncertainty avoidance index states that the work cultures in the Islamic areas influence the population to avoid taking risky projects and prevent themselves from trying something new. As a result the Islamic organizations are habituated to have a control on the whole lot so that unexpected situations can be eliminated and avoided. Moreover, the masculinity index indicates that the female population of the Arab World has got limited access in the fields of work and business and it may be due to the rules of the Muslim religion to a certain extent than a pattern of their culture. Additionally the people of the Islamic nations are known to have a collectivist view regarding the society which influences them to form groups and believe in long-term relationships. It is a very effective system of experienced behavior pattern that are significance of a selective people of a society. (Czinkota et al,1999) In this regard it is prominent to showcase the example of Qatar Petroleum which is an enterprise owned by the state which operates in the areas of exploration, drilling, production, processing, carrying and storing petroleum and gas. The company’s mission is to make sure that the State derives utmost assistance from its petroleum reserves by devoting itself indirectly or directly in all tasks that would attach additional value to the resources. The firm’s aim is to contribute a major part of its earnings towards the national affluence of Qatar via efficient, environmental friendly and safe exploitation of the state’s hydrocarbon resources and with the means of various related functions. Recently, Mr. Ahmad Ali Al-Mawlawi, the Director of Administration of Qatar Petroleum received the “HR Champion of Change Award,” after a contest with several HR leaders of the state, at the occasion of 8th Annual Human Assets Expansion Summit MENA 2013. QP was also awarded for “Distinction in Learning and Development” at the 5th MENA HR excellence Awards (a part of the summit). The MENA HR excellence Awards identifies exceptional accomplishments by organizations and individuals in the domain of human resource management in the MENA area. The company is dedicated towards their employee engagement policies that include- Paying compensation including salary and other benefits which are always fair and sometimes more than the market rate and these are given on a timely manner without delay. The employees are offered with wide-ranging benefit packages including the paid holidays, paid time off, paid vacation and health insurance. The employees of QP enjoy recreation and sports facilities, housing and maintenance and medical care which reflect the organization’s compassion for the aspects related to human beings. The organization ensures job security to the employees so that the employees can concentrate on the main functions and objectives of the firm without worrying about other aspects. (Fukuyama, 1992) The employees are allowed to take part in the decision making process of the firm and take accountability for the jobs done by them. The concept of Worker’s Participation in Management is religiously followed by the Qatar Petroleum where the employees are encouraged to take part in management’s decision making activities and offer suggestions. Culture is a mixture of science and knowledge. (Burrell & Morgan, 1979) However after going through the conclusions drawn by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, it can be said that the Islamic organizations would get benefitted if they are handled by International leaders since these leaders would prove to be impartial to the race, class and gender within the nation and would allow an equal and unbiased growth among the employees (Moten 2011). Among several cultures like Tough-guy macho culture, Work hard play hard culture, bet your company culture, Process culture, power culture, role culture, task culture, person culture. Process culture is also known as classical bureaucracy of Weberian. Here individuals concentrate on process where risks and feedbacks are very low. (Deal and Kennedy, 1982) Difference between Islamic firms and other organizations In the modern era, the Western European and American multinational corporations are considering Islamic nations (especially those having prominent oil reserves) as profitable sectors for their goods and services. (Stiglitz, 2002) Like in other parts of the globe, joint ventures and subsidiaries utilizing at least primarily, cadre of specialist staffs and managers from the domestic office are regarded as significant means for exploring these markets. As a small number of Westerners figure out the “Moslem mentality” (Wright 1981), the expatriate employees typically gets limited premonition of the organizational behavior issues they are expected to experience. . A major point stated in the book of “Islamic Perspectives on Management and Organization” by Abbas Ali is that the Islamic organizations might take up the pattern of the Western-style in running their organizations however work is completed keeping in view the acknowledged societal values and norms (Ali 2005). However after going through the conclusions drawn by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, it can be said that the Islamic organizations would get benefitted if they are handled by International leaders since these leaders would prove to be impartial to the race, class and gender within the nation and would allow an equal and unbiased growth among the employees (Moten 2011) Conclusion: Thus it is recommended for the Islamic firms to keep pace with the organizational behavior of the modern business era and introduce a diverse work environment within their organizations. Further it is highly recommended to these firms that although the people would be allowed to practice their respective religion norms, the organizations should not encourage any kind of differentiation and discrimination among its employees. The differences among the gender and race as discussed earlier, should be entirely eliminated from the organization’s functions. With these principles in mind, the Islamic Organizations would flourish in the near future. Diversity in workforce can be often regarded as a positive force paving the way for the efficient team functioning (Knight, 1999). Diversity has been defined by CIPD as “Diversity is valuing everyone as an individual – valuing people as employees, customers and clients” (CIPD, 2005). This discussion cannot be completed without the key international organization like WTO (WTO, n.d.), World Bank (World Bank, n.d.), IMF (IMF, n.d.), UN (UNRISD, 2000). References: Buenker, J.D. & Ratner, L.(2005). Multiculturalism in the United States: A Comparative Guide to Acculturation and Ethnicity. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group. CIPD. (2005). MANAGING DIVERSITY: PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE AT WORK – BUT EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. CIPD: UK. Cox, T. (1991). The multicultural organization, 1 Vol. 5 No. 2. [Pdf] The University of Michigan. Fine, M.G. (1995). Building Successful Multicultural Organizations: Challenges and Opportunities. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group. Knight, D. (1999). TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM DIVERSITY, GROUP PROCESS, AND STRATEGIC CONSENSUS. [Pdf] Available at Kreitz, P. A. (2007). Best Practices for Managing Organizational Diversity. [Pdf] Available at < http://www.slac.stanford.edu/cgi-wrap/getdoc/slac-pub-12499.pdf> Cole, G. A. Organisational Behaviour. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. 1995. Print. Wright, Peter. Management International Review, Vol. 21, No. 2 pp. 86-94. Springer. 1981. Web. Ali, Abbas. Islamic Perspectives on Management and Organization. UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. 2005. Print. Moten, Abdul Rashid. “Leadership in the West and the Islamic World: A Comparative Analysis”. World Applied Sciences Journal 15 (3): 339-349. 2011. Pdf. Ganon, M.J & Pillai, R. 2012. Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 31 Nations, Clusters of Nations, Continents, and Diversity. USA: SAGE Publications, Inc. The World Bank. (n.d.). GDP (current US$). Available at http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD[Accessed on 7/12/13] Hawkins, (2010). Consumer Behavior. India: Tata McGraw-Hill Education International Monetary Fund. (n.d.). Overview. Available at http://www.imf.org/external/about/overview.htm[Accessed on 7/12/13] The World Bank. (n.d.). What we do. Available at http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/what-we-do[Accessed on 7/12/13] World Trade Organization. (n.d.). What is the WTO?. Available at http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm [Accessed on 7/12/13] Mansfield, E.D. & Pevehouse, J.C. (2000) “Trade Blocs, Trade Flows and International Conflict” International Organization 54 (4) 775-808. Scholte, J.A. (2005) Globalization: A Critical Introduction [Chapter 6]. Stiglitz J.E. (2002) Globalization and its Discontents, Norton and Company: New York [Chapter 1]. Taggart J.H. & McDermott M.C. (1993) The Essence of International Business, Prentice Hall: New York [Chapter 3]. UNRISD (2000) Civil Society Organizations and Service Provision UN: Geneva Beeson, M. (2000) “Mahathir and the Markets: Globalisation and the pursuit of Economic Autonomy in Malaysia” Pacific Affairs 73 (3) 335-351 Giddens, A. (1999) Runaway World. Great Britain: Bookmarque Ltd. Fukuyama, F. (1992) End of History and the Last Man. USA: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Vyuptakesh, S. (1999) International Business: Concept, Environment and Strategy. New Delhi:Pearson Education India Tyler, M. (1973) The big book of soft toys. USA:McGraw-Hill Gorecki, J (1954) Justifying Ethics: Human Rights and Human Nature. USA:Transaction Publishers Wikipedians (1934) Culture. USA:Pedia Press Burrell and Morgan, (1979) Myths, Narratives and the Dilemma of Managerial Support: Organizational learning as an alternative?. Germany:Springer Deal, E. & Kennedy, A.A. (2000) Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. USA:Perseus Books Read More