Cross-Cultural Management and Communication in Business - Coursework Example

Cross-cultural Management and Communication in Business 2007 In today’s world, globalization has become an accepted phenomenon. Not only are manufacturing companies looking for new markets and low-cost production centers around the globe to maintain their competitive edge and to grow, service organizations also find growth prospects limited in home countries over the long run. Especially, countries that were economic laggards a few years back – like many in Asia and Latin America – are emerging as new economic powers hence inviting large doses of foreign investment both in manufacturing and services. With globalization of trade, industry and technology, every aspect of a business organization becomes internationalized. According to Goman (1994), "Markets no longer stop at national boundaries, neither do corporations…. For organizations to flourish, let alone survive, their perspective must be global." Hence, the business environment of global companies is considerably different now than what it was prior to the World War II when most companies concentrated on the domestic market or even during the Cold War era when companies originating from particular blocs operated in similar friendly countries. Imports were limited and products that were exported were basically the same as that sold at home. In the present times, on the other hand, multinational production is a reality, with the largest American and European companies conducting most of their businesses abroad. However, globalization is essentially an executive-led activity and the work force has hardly any role to play in this (Goman, 1994). Hence, managing in the global business environment that operates in multiple cultures requires a lot of learning issues for the executives. In such a scenario of global economic growth, international managers have a key role to play in different organizational and inter-personal cultures as well as with varied forms of governments and markets. As Stanek (2000) says, "Today's global organizations require international managers that understand and can respond to customers, governments and competitors alike". To begin with, the international managers must know what the local employees are thinking and what their perception about the required change is. Wright et al (1999, cited in Granell, 2000) found from a survey of organizations that globalization was the most important pressure for change in organizational culture, followed by technology advances, skill shortages and competition. Particularly for American and European companies, globalization was found to be the main incentive to change. It is for the leaders in the organization to anticipate the future of the company and constantly evolve. At the same time, the leaders need to encourage employees to question the prevailing situation and steps being taken. Employee feedback on their perception of the change is also critical. In a business environment that is changing continuously, employees are concerned over their security. Hence, they expect the management to provide them with comprehensive and honest answers to their concerns. Cultural integration is the most crucial aspect of international business since insensitivity to local culture might result in resistance from the local people, thus affecting overall services. For example, Granell (2000) describes the experience of a Cuban expatriate in Hong Kong who did not dare to take any decision without consulting feng shui after he found that local people did not respect a non-believer. Typically in Asia, collectivism prevails, by which group learning and execution of tasks are preferred to the western notion of individualism, in which individual aspirations and performance are encouraged (Granell, 2000). There are more subtle differences in the work cultures of the eastern and western world. Like, Americans are typically work-centered and do not hesitate to work late hours if a project needs to be completed. Europeans and Asians, on the other hand, despise working into “unsociable hours”, thereby provoking resistance if ordered to do so (Jassawala et al., 2004). Expatriates need to understand the values, attitudes and behavioral practices, including language use and gestures as well as inter-personal skills, in the host country. As Granell (2000) recognizes, an effective expatriate manager is one who can assess one’s own cultural background, understand the other’s culture and identify gaps and integrate strengths. HR professionals, whose roles are defined as “functional experts”, “business partners”, “facilitators for change” and “productivity consultants” (Ulrich, 1988 quoted in Granell, 2000), in particular need to consider the aspect of cultural integration most seriously when staffing a foreign subsidiary. Many expatriates often find hostility in the host country because of political differences between the countries. For example, Jassawalla (2004) described an American expatriate in Hong Kong having a tense relationship with his local colleagues after the U.S bombing of the Chinese embassy. Ethical issues, too, may emerge on decision-making of expatriates. Bribes, a common phenomenon in Asia, may be abhorrent to an American but have to handled delicately rather than aggressively in the host country. International managers require to be trained to develop soft skills, like listening and language skills as well as collective functioning and a good humor to take such differences in stride. Volatility in the political and economic sphere in the globalized world of today poses greater challenges for the international managers, who have to juggle between political disturbances, trade issues, exchange rate fluctuations in addition to the cultural differences (Syed-Mahmoud, 2003). Although businesses have always undergone processes of change, it has become all the more acute in the present times, largely because of technological changes. All businesses, particularly global organizations, face the challenges of globalization leading to changes in the competition scenario, deregulation in various markets, technological obsolescence and change, shifts in customer profiles and change in internal structure of the organization and values. The pace of change in the global business environment is very fast and it is quite likely that organizations that rest on past success miss the bus for change. Hence, managers or organizations need to be constantly aware of changes happening in the business environment and prepare for the most unanticipated occurrences. Goman (1994) says that change is inevitable, whether or not the managers like it, hence they have to be prepared to change under all circumstances. Hence, the international managers have to be much stronger individuals than those who work in local environments. Goman, who specializes in lecturing managers in communicating change, believes that the right communication is most important to facilitate the organization to transform. Especially in a global organization, cross-cultural communication is crucial for developing homogeneity in the business culture. For example, the reserved manner of the British manager may be in contrast to the liveliness of a Latin American or the argumentative nature of the French, leading to cultural clash that is harmful to the organization’s work culture. Typically, greeting behaviors, business protocols, terms and rules of negotiations, social behavior, body language, religious and moral beliefs are potential points of clash between cultures. Hence, for successful global communication, managers need to be aware of these parameters of culture of the specific country that they are dealing with to avoid clash and harbor an effective communication strategy. Like in personal relationships, communication is as important as understanding each other in an organization. Change communication may be thoroughly misleading to employees when they hear bits and pieces from unofficial sources. On the other hand, candid and honest communication from the top management enables the employees to adjust to the change effectively. Communication patterns are inherently embedded in the culture that a person has grown up in and is accustomed with. While in the typical western culture, communication is what is obvious from the interaction, in many other cultures, like in the Middle East, there are various hidden assumptions made from the tone of speech, body language, and background and traits of the persons concerned. In such situations, various problems arise in communication at the work place. Although cross-culture trainings on religious and social differences are usually provided before sending a western official to international assignments, there are attitudinal differences between the westerners and those belong to other cultures that often result in clashes during communication. Kron (2007) provides a number of examples related to the American experience in the Middle East where cross-cultural differences result in communication gaps, particularly in the context of defense negotiations. Typically, the Americans are matter-of-fact communicators and believe in transparency. On the other hand, Arabs usually prefer to avoid head-on clashes and remain silent when they differ. Much of their dialogues are vague and oblong statements that are often misunderstood by a western person. Kron cites the example of Secretary of State Cohen not understanding that his Arab counterpart has endorsed the American stance when the latter said “you must always know that we’re friends”. Even in day-to-day business operations, cultural differences often hinder effective communication. For example, the American, being inherently optimistic, usually believe in starting off a project immediately and engage in a trial and error process, disregarding the possibilities of failure. In many other fatalistic cultures, on the other hand, individuals would not touch a project without studying all the pros and cons and being convinced about failure. Shame, honor, success and prestige (including family honor) are most critical in many cultures that are typically less individualistic. The American openness, transparency, ready-to-go, interactive attitude may not work in cultures that give great focus on social standing and hierarchy. It is usually perceived that much of the lacunae in cross-cultural communication begin from the trend towards e-mail communication that has further reduced personal interactions. In many cultures, body language and implicit personal behavior are more important than written messages, even when English is the predominant language of communication. It is most important that cultural biases are eliminated in all messages sent. Surveying the literature on internet communication as well as a questionnaire survey of foreign service nationals (FSNs), Dop (2001) found that FSNs believe that cultural differences in communication through the internet do not exist. Most FSNs believe that they understand the messages they receive and that their messages are understood, irrespective of the geographical spread of the communicators. Thus, the internet has been an aid to cross-cultural communication since individuals can review their messages before sending them and also understand the messages sent to them better without hindrances. To reduce barriers to cross-cultural communication, it is essential to socially interact with different cultural groups extensively. To do so, however, cultural biases in the mind should be eliminated. For example, the communicators should not be biased against any cultural group on account of race, ethnicity and color of skin. To improve cross-cultural communication, the most essential element is to get over fear and hesitation of interacting with different culture groups. As one migrant learner confessed in Potgeiter and Bredenkamp’s survey of immigrant South Africans said “I have realized that other people don’t bite”. Much of the barriers to cross-cultural communication are man-made and may be overcome with greater interaction and understanding. Recruiting international staff for international business is a crucial task. Technical skills and IQ levels are essential for any managerial job but for an overseas assignment, emotional intelligence (EI) is no less important (Jassawala et al, 2004). EI can be estimated by asking the managers questions on situations they are likely to face on their assignment. Other personality traits, like sense of humor, optimist attitude, adventurous nature and enthusiasm for interacting with different types of people are also essential for such assignments. Thus, cross-cultural management and communication is an extremely complex affair and incorporates not only management principles but also differences in economies, societies and politics. A successful global organization can grow across borders only if it assimilates the different cultural hues and parameters that it operates under. Works Cited Goman, Carol Kinsey, Managing in a Global Organization: Keys to Success in a Changing World, Crisp Professional Series, 1994 Kron, Henry “Hank”, Cross-cultural considerations for the United States Security Cooperation in the Middle East, DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management, Feb 2007, 29,1 Dop, Thomas M, Unexplored territory or a cross-cultural communication nightmare, DISAM Journal of International Security Assistance Management, Spring 2001, 23,3 Potgieter, Christo and Esther Bredenkamp, Cross-cultural communication: A Programme addressing the effect of migrant o…Childhood Education, Summer 2002, 78,4 Granell. E, Culture and Globalisation: a Latin American challenge, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol 32, No 3, 2000, pp89-93 Guthrie, John, Hilton International: Creating a Global Service Culture, available athttp://www.clomedia.com/content/templates/clo_article.asp?articleid=797&zoneid=9 Jassawalla. A, Truglia. Ciara and Grarvey. 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