Cross cultural business issues - Essay Example

Cross-cultural communication has been identified as one of the core skills for global leaders to succeed and sustain their position in the global arena. Cross-cultural communication does not necessarily mean multiple languages and fluency, but also includes aspects of verbal and nonverbal cues that usually form major part of communication process (Aycan, 132). Effective communication can be achieved by managers only when these differences are understood and adopted in a manner that will foster effective relationships with people from different nationalities and cultures.

According to Kroeber and Kluckhola , culture refers to patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values (qtd in Karahanna, Evaristo & Srite, 33). This clearly indicates how culture shapes communication as well as understanding.

Geert Hofstede was the first one to successfully explain the relationship between management and social values possessed by the leaders, which are in turn influenced by their cultures. His studies based on various incidental variables such as similarities and differences between societies explained organizational setups in different societies. Further, his studies also revealed that workplace values, culture, behavior etc were influenced by the national culture and social norms of the nation.

Hence, national culture has a great impact on corporate culture, which is shaped by the founders of the organization and the same implemented through practices followed at the organization (Lowe, 121). Hofstede’s study derived various dimensions that impact societies, and have a profound influence