The Issue of Cultural Difference - Essay Example

Cultural Difference and Globalization

Introduction

Due to the increased globalization and the vast number of companies entering the international trade and market sector, global change has experienced many challenges, including managing business operations across boundaries. When companies or organizations consider venturing into the international market, a significant factor to put in mind is the cultural difference between and among the countries of interest (Brook, 2019). The foreign culture is not viewed at the country of origin of a particular product, hence recognizing, understanding, and respecting the new culture without relying on these cultures' beliefs and perceptions (Brook, 2019). Understanding the foreign cultures in international trade will help create mutual respect and trust in the organization and the products offered hence resulting in a competitive advantage. The main reason that contributes to an organization seeking new international markets is to follow its internationally located customers and enhance the market growth.

Summary and Overview of Cultural Difference

Culture is a complex and challenging concept to understand. Culture is there in the international market, especially when it comes to negotiations and entails diverse cultural factors. Therefore, to recognize and define international trade, it is essential to explore the culture and what it involves. Culture is the beliefs, attitudes, and customs that distinguish groups of people in terms of nation, city, or even a single business. Language, values, attitudes, education, social institutions, aesthetics, and religion are the cultural factors that have a primary significance on the business flow (Deari et al., 2008).

In international trade, negotiations should understand the role of cultural differences and their effects on negotiations. According to Brook (2019), cultural difference is viewed in terms of values and the challenges of navigating into the international business. Value adversity is influenced by the misunderstandings that arise from the perceptions of equality, objectivity, and time (Deari et al. 2008). In terms of time, different people have different concepts of time. For instance, the North American people have a strong sense of time that is linear, while those in the Middle East region have a weak sense of time that is somewhat cyclic. Therefore, when negotiating in such a market area with a linear sense of time, the company needs to offer quick opportunities that portray a competitive advantage in such a market.

Compare and Contrast Culture difference results from three factors: cultural forces, cultural messages, and the consumer's decision-making process (Deari et al., 2008). The product details are the drivers that influence culture, including education and national identity. For instance, there exists a Western culture that is facilitated by urbanization and technological adversities. Morality is also a factor of cultural messages. For example, most people in the Asian region are Arabs in nature who have a strong sense of their beliefs. Considering the Muslim cultural practices are objective to eating certain foods such as pork. Hence, when conducting a business related to food products, the organization may consider eliminating the food product to grow in such a market. Some regions have a morally acceptable dress code, especially at official duties, whereas others have no definite dressing code.

The Perspective of Cultural Difference

According to Brook (2019), the organizations and companies trying to navigate into new regions should consider the divisions of culture and its practices that arise between the country of origin and other nations. Different actions and let's consider products, and different persons can differently interpret brand titles. When venturing into new markets, a business organization should consider the engraved practices and hence cause problems in international interactions. Such practices are there and cannot be easily eradicated; hence organizations should be fully aware of them and try to avoid them, not necessarily remove or cancel them completely. People recognize and appreciate cultural sensitivity. But what exactly does cultural sensitivity mean, especially when it comes to organizations? Cultural sensitivity is the sense of acknowledging the differences and similarities in culture among people without assigning them as values or morality (Dabbah, 2020). That is without defining their degree of rightness or wrongness. Suppose a company acknowledges the cultural difference in their market countries and produces products that fit the regions. In that case, consumers feel respected (Brook, 2019), hence becoming an important tool in building customer's trust.

Today, businesses, especially in developed countries like the US, are working with clients, customers and other people from a wide global scoop of people with different cultures (Brook, 2019). Globalization is rapid, and hence there is no time to waste in trying to understand cultures in detail. Hence organizations and firms desire to enter into the global markets need to listen to and conduct research on the different market areas to identify their non-verbal language, tone and word choice (Brook, 2019). On the other hand, Drash (2016) claims that globalization has led to an increased number of foreigners in the already developed countries like the US. Data shows that the number of students in the various university and educational institutions in America increases, with approximately 30% of these international students composed of the Chinese (Drash, 2016). Besides, more parents seem to prefer taking their children for degree courses in the US than any other region in the international setting. The increase in the student population reflects the increase in the number of individuals and organisations trying to fit in the already developed countries' market levels to increase their profit margin. Due to the increased population of foreigners in the US, gaps will be created concerning cultural differences and language barriers. Both articles recognize the cultural difference and its impact on globalisation through taking unique standards and perceptions.

Implications and recommendations for conducting international business

This study aimed to analyze the various factors that impact international trade when it comes to cultural differences. Cultural diversities define the cultural beliefs and practices present in particular groups of people and can be different among other people (Brook, 2019). The most influential cultural factors in international business include packaging, bringing out favorable implications in certain regions while harmful in others. For instance, certain countries are burning the use of plastic bags as a means of packaging goods; hence, when marketing a product with this type of packaging, the business's chances are very high. Also, when packaging, the complexion and color of the product used should be put into consideration, as different people have different interpretations of color. For example, some people view green color as representing nature and positively accepting a product with such a color. However, such packaging is not acceptable in Japan as the green color is prohibited since it is their national symbol. The concern arises from product consumption culture where individual regions are high consumers of certain products than others. For instance, countries use wholesale as a distribution method, hence a better market for products than others. Therefore, an organization should consider the regions that adopt the wholesale distribution approach over the retail method for better output or increased profit margin.

Culture affects international trade in the following area; communication and etiquette (Brook, 2019). Global businesses need to avoid misunderstandings from consumers and employees, especially when creating a corporate branch in other parts of the world. Communication is a crucial factor that helps a business successfully navigate into the business world. Hence an organisation needs to use and recognize the best language to use, especially during negotiations. The Chinese tone of language is identified as rude, while the Germans are said to observe excessive politeness (Moss, 2016). The Chinese are considered loud talkers, and there is a need to understand them first before judging. Hence a Chinese company navigating into Europe should consider using European persons in the organisation to capture people during negotiations. Communication can be verbal and non-verbal. The non-verbal includes the choice of color used in products. Organisations may consider using different colors for their commodities so that they can prosper internationally. The use of etiquette is vital for any organization since some cultural norms demand the use of formalities during interactions while others shy away from address via formalities (Moss, 2016). Punctuality in some cultures is considered morally right and highly encouraged by other cultures; hence an international organisation should consider the importance of punctuality and etiquette as viewed by different individuals.

Two Questions Unanswered

Two questions that have not been answered through the various research on cultural differences as a factor of international trade. One is there a global culture that can serve all regions as a market for their products, and the question of is their value-based behaviors have a positive impact on international trade. From the above case study, we recognize the implications and role of culture in international trade. There is a close link that relates value to cultural norms and believes. However, not all value-based behavior is negatively linked to culture. Therefore there is a need to outline the various activities that positively or necessitate the growth of markets in the international sector. Also, some common beliefs and customs are performed by humans as a whole; therefore, there should be an identified universal culture that business organisations need to use in strategizing and venturing into the international business.