International Perspectives in Organisations - Literature review Example

International Perspectives in Organisations Cultural constraints in management theories Introduction Management as currently used was invented by Americans. However, the practices and the theories involved may differ considerably as is viewed within USA. With regard to a study on France, Germany, Japan, Holland, overseas China, Russia, South-East Asia, Africa and the mainland China, the idiosyncrasies of the individual countries are highlighted. This paper also assesses the different types of models available. There is a plea for internationalisation of management theories so as to enrich these theories. There has been a debate on which management theory best fits a country. Richard & James (1963) and Herbert in Bounded Rationality share the same school of thought as employees and managers being humans. They further state that all theorists and writers as being humans hence their ideas being a reflection of the challenges their environments posed on them. Scot (1776) and John (1806-1873) argues that management is a process while managers are the persons involved. Conversely, this is not the case with the American sense as management is a collection of the process and the managers as a certain category of people. Germany, France, Japan, Holland and China lack the managerial system adopted by the USA. This is evident when a French management scholar and pioneer, Henri (1841-1925) and American Frederick (1856-1915) differ on arguments in spite of both of them being engineers in France and USA respectively. Conducting studies in the different countries had its own challenges. The 5 model used dimensions: i. Power distance ii. Individualism iii. Masculinity iv. Uncertainty avoidance and v. Long term orientation However, this model had shortcomings as for a better picture one ought to have a good knowledge and empathy of the local dynamics at hand. However, this was not true as people act, think and feel differently when faced with problems. Also, the American management model has its own idiosyncrasies. Stress on the market processes, the stress on the individual and stress on the managers rather than the workers are the disparities the American theories have from theories in other countries. Therefore, cultures at the national and corporate levels differ. This begs the abandonment of the culture as a common term as it raises a lot of debate. This because national cultures have fundamental and invisible values adopted by the nationals obtained in their childhood while organizational cultures are more inclined towards superficial characteristics which are acquired as new members join the organisation as young adults. Theories therefore despite being dotted with strange customs, beings, old fashioned techniques and immoral, may work or rather may not break more often as other similar theories do at our places of origin. It is of value that one takes home only the relevant and positive experiences which later if enriched by the local cultures will be a success. Model of getting more for less Every company always has the desire to get more (profits) while incurring the least possible inputs. This therefore sheds light on the importance of leadership and value of human capital that when used well result in economic value as well as the equal sharing of the human capital. There is also a focus on a model said to enable organisations build on their leadership capacities, engagement, embrace innovation and readiness to embrace change. Robinson et al., (2004) defines engagement as all the positive values held by an employee with regard to the organisation as well as its values. Maslach et al. (2001) describes engagement as the direct opposite of burn out. With increased pressure on companies to deliver, it is important that they don’t reciprocate this to employees as they would be subject to stress and not delivering in the long run or taking their services to another company. Kahn (1990) states engagement as the tapping into organisations members’ potential; to take up their roles at work. As one engages they express themselves physically and emotionally while playing their roles. A study by Alimo-Metcalfe, Bradley & Alban-Metcalfe (2011) had the sole responsibility of shedding light on the effects of engagement of the line leader and his/ her employees. Moreover, the research took into account ones level in the organisation, age, gender and ethnicity. The findings were that effective leadership affects the levels by which employees engage. However, question was raised on the findings whether they finally have an effect on the organisation’s performance and the productivity. According to Bolden & Gosling (2006), competency is denoted as a sheet music and further melodic representation, where arrangement and performance are perceived as being of life. This model had several shortcomings. The studies were only carried out across United Kingdom despite the fact that this model could not be applicable outside the borders of UK. Also, the model failed to take into account team productivity. This model also proved to be cross-sectional in nature and adopted measures that were subjective to performance. This therefore means that organisations should strive to create cultures where there are genuine engagements. Hence, there is a plea particularly to the senior managers to participate more in engagements, as they are of essence despite them being the least active in engagements. Leadership and globalisation Global leadership is of value for large multinational organisations. However, studies on this has either been generalised or narrowed down to a particular country despite of the company’s presence in many other countries. This therefore poses a challenge as the leader of the organisation is forced to adapt or rather blend with the different cultures present I the different countries the organisation has branches in. The importance of global leadership is to mould a leader who has the ability to influence people from different walks of life with different views, ideas and cultural backgrounds. It therefore requires the leader to be flexible enough and adapt fast, have high levels of tolerance and a global way of thinking; so as to understand the many types of cultures and leadership, legal and political landscapes, as well as the competitive frameworks in place. This is similar to the previous research mentioned-above as it highlights similarity in cultures in some countries and a contrast on the same. Example is Brazil and Egypt sharing high in-group collectiveness, but differs on orientation of performance. Moreover, France and USA both have a moderate performance on uncertainty avoidance but digress on power distance. China and USA registered high performance orientation but vary on collectivism of its in-groups. More so, it was noted that there were both similarities and differences in the profiles of leadership for the countries in question. However, there is a rise in the shortage of global leaders. This is a headache for the companies leading in the market as they forced to deduce new ways of moulding these much needed attributes in global leaders. This can be solved by making available to their managers huge chunks of information on different cultures and global issues for specific countries of under study. There are also software packages available for self-training. This is important as people living and working in cultures not their own can train and get useful information o the country they are interested in. Issuance of formal education can also play a role in moulding of world leaders. This therefore raises question on the fate of those who cannot afford or get access to formal education like in Africa and South-East Asia. Moreover, experts still raise lots of questions on the effectiveness of formal education on an organisation’s managers in making them global leaders. It is for this reason that experts are of the opinion that long term assignments to foreign countries as the single most powerful way of making global leaders. Global justice and international business The duty of standing for a theoretical framework entailing the duties of multinational corporations to the four billion people who live at the bottom of the pyramid has proven to be an up-hill task. The article has put forward four ways in which one can put an end to this. First, it argues out that corporations are well understood as agents standing for global justice. The second argument is that there are two spheres of a normal legitimacy that are in line with the role of business corporations as well as enterprises in spearheading global justice: i. Relevance of institutions championing for global governance ii. How legit corporations and other business enterprises are However, these arguments have put much focus on legitimacy of the corporates and other business enterprises and this is a shortcoming of this article. The famous of all political conceptions present hitherto stands for moral legitimacy of most corporate grounded on a democracy that’s deliberated. Scholars have put it across that this deliberative democracy has been unpersuasive mainly due to: i. Lack of theoretical specifications of the deliberation process ii. The high probability of failure of this democracy in the globe as a whole iii. Vulnerability, illiteracy and deprivation of resources to the majority forming the base of the pyramid. However, there is an option for those believe that conception that’s politically inclined is still viable. This is through Rawls’s concept of justice that not only proved to be important but also influential. However, this article questioned the assumption that Rawls’s theoretical structure could provide the need for corporations to provide justice over the globe satisfactorily to the wish of everyone regardless of their social class. Never the less, the paper came to the defence of ethical conceptions backed up by a sound set of duties intertwined to the relationship with every stakeholder involved in the organisation. This was in contrast with the political inception. This position is diversified in coverage and based on the varying arguments put forward by the different human rights groups across the globe. This school of thought puts in place the main duties of corporations working in this era of a globalised world. This theory also fails to illustrate solutions that these corporations offer for developing countries in Africa as well as South-East Asia where a majority of their residents/ nationals form the vast majority of the base of the pyramid. Conclusion It therefore means that international perspectives in organisations differ from one organisation to the other as well as from one person to the other. Organisations should see to it that they raise the living standards of the environment within which they are located. This could be through the provision of social amenities, education as well as equal distribution of resources. Superpower countries should also desist from imposing their management theories on developing countries. This is evident with American management theories have been put into practice in Africa and some of the countries instead are becoming poorer. Countries ought to embrace management theories that well fit with their culture plays an important role in choosing the kind of theory to be adopted. China as one of the fastest growing economies conducts business with regard to trust hence organisations are run by families with the help of a little social capital. Instead, they send their kids to prestigious institutions abroad but upon return they practice whatever they learnt well blended with their culture hence their success. Reference list: Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, J. (2008). ‘Engaging Leadership: Creating Organisations that Maximise the Potential of their People’. London: CIPD. Alimo-Metcalfe, B. & Alban-Metcalfe, Juliette. (2011a). Leadership in public sector organisations. In J. Storey (ed.).(2nd edn) Leadership in Organisations: Current Issues &Key Trends, . London: Routledge. Alimo-Metcalfe, B., Alban-Metcalfe, J., Bradley, M.,Mariathasan, J. & Samele, C. (2008). 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