National culture and management style - Essay Example

?National Culture and Management Style Table of Contents Overview 3 Part National Management Style’ 4 Concept of ‘National Culture’ In General and in the United Kingdom 4 Two Models of National Culture 6 Management Styles in the United Kingdom 8 Part 2: Reflection on Personal Experience 10 References 13 Overview Culture consists of structured ways of idea, feeling and reaction which is often attained and delivered by means of symbols. It is composed of different achievements relating to human group along with their personification in artifacts. The essential core of culture comprises conventional ideas along with their attached values. Culture tends to differentiate one group from that of another according to a definite collection of values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours which are generally transferred and interpreted over time within a group. It further attempts to make the collective unique and differentiates that particular collective from other collective (University of Groningen, 2002). National culture works as a substitute to societal culture. National culture consists of values, norms and behavioural patterns related to national group. There are numerous significant forces thereby shaping national culture such as ecological factors, religions, language, war and history (University of Groningen, 2002). The main objective of the essay is to critically review the concepts related to national culture in general and in the United Kingdom. The essay will further discuss two models related to national culture that can be used in the United Kingdom in terms of validity and usefulness. There are many literatures related to management styles performed in the United Kingdom, therefore the essay will also throw light upon such management styles. The other part of the essay endeavours to reflect upon the extent to which the organisational culture of Lloyds TSB reflects or is distinct from that of the national culture and the methods to manage the differences within the national culture. Part 1: ‘National Management Style’ Concept of ‘National Culture’ In General and in the United Kingdom It has been recognised that the managers as well as the employees in distinct cultures tend to introduce the codes of behavior as well as norms related to their own cultures in their workplace. The organisational processes as well as the managerial practices tend to be shaped with the assistance of these norms as cultural values. It is because of these reasons the organisation tends to implement numerous management practices. The national cultural values are discovered quickly, held quite deeply and can be altered slowly over the period of generation (ITAP International, 2012). Cultural participation is quite higher among certain groups of United Kingdom. The rate of participation tends to be quite higher among those in the upper socio economic groups along with the least deprived areas of England. The structure of involvement with the culture as well as sports alters widely in terms of region, there are few regional trends. It has been noted that in the North East of the UK there has been rise in the amount of people visiting museums, archives, galleries and heritage sites. However, the ratio of people visiting libraries remained steady. The phenomenon took place alongside an extensive fall in library visits in most of the other regions (National Statistics, 2011). It was since January to December 2010, nearly 34.8 per cent of the adults had involved themselves in culture digitally which had risen from 2008/2009. By the term ‘digital participation’ it can be comprehended as visiting a museum or gallery, theatre or concert, library or records websites of offices for any purpose except buying tickets (National Statistics, 2011). Furthermore, it was observed that from January to December 2010, 72.4 percent of those who were between 16 to 24 years old had been observed to perform active sports, and this statistics had fallen from 2005/2006 (National Statistics, 2011). The United Kingdom is identified as a secular society. It is also considered as a multi-faith society. Secular society signifies the claim that the impact of religion has dwindled in modern societies. Although as per the 2001 census, it had been found that 77% of people in Great Britain tend to pay greater attention to religion, however the secular description is based upon the argument that for most of this faith is quite superficial, and quite a few people are actively religious. On the other hand, by the term multi-faith label, the accord of numerous faith societies within the British civilization can be understood. Muslims are the next biggest religious group in Britain after Christians. For the people possessing a deep religious faith, it plays a significant part in their lives and they want to demonstrate their belief and faith publicly. Religion also tends to possess an impact upon the way business is conducted in the country. A majority of the companies in the UK ban wearing of cross or any other religious symbol because there might be health and safety considerations. It might also be of concern that by wearing a religious symbol offense might be caused for others who do not belong to the same religion. An employer may want to keep religious conflicts away from the workplace (Wetherly, 2010). There is rise in the population of the United Kingdom. In the year 2006, the population of the United Kingdom reached 60.2 million. It has been expected that within a short period of time further growth in population can be anticipated and it will reach almost 67 million. The point to be noted is that the United Kingdom has an ageing population which implies that there is a rising quantity and ratio of people at the top end of the age structure. Such ageing population can pose a serious challenge for the economy of the country along with society. Business houses must be stimulated to adopt a positive attitude to older workers by issues related to labour shortage leading from the declining birth rate. It is to be mentioned that alteration in the age structure of the population impacts businesses not only in terms of workforce involvement but also by means of their influence on the structure of consumer spending. It is because of the structure of immigration in the country that has generated a multicultural as well as cosmopolitan society. The UK can be described as a society featured by the co-existence of numerous cultures instead of a single homogenous culture. In terms of culture, there is clear division among those who view immigration as leading to enrichment of the British society and on the other hand there are groups who view multiculturalism to be weakening social cohesion and consider it as a threat to the traditional culture as well as way of life. It is of the belief that multiculturalism embraces with it risk of ethnic tensions since it is believed that people prefer to locate themselves with their own kind. It can be analysed that like past there will be major alteration in the British society as well as culture. Movement in the values and the attitudes will offer prominence to issues such as social responsibility and environmentalism, equal opportunity and trust. The methods of globalisation along with trade and migration are found to make the British society diverse as well as cosmopolitan (Wetherly, 2010). Two Models of National Culture The two models that have been chosen for the purpose of this study are Hofstede model and Trompenaar's model. By investigating the British culture from the lens of the 5-D model, it can be comprehended in a better way in comparison to the culture of other countries of the world. The five dimensions of the model are power distance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation. Hofstede states that Britain ranks 35 in terms of power distance and thus sits in the lower ranking of power distance index. This implies that the UK is a country where it is believed that disparities amongst people need to be minimised. British people are generally individualistic and private people and thus the country ranks 89, which is quite high in terms of individualism. Britain scores 66 in masculinity dimension and is considered as a masculine society. It is a highly success oriented nation. The country ranks 35 and thus has a low score in terms of uncertainty avoidance. This implies that as a low uncertainty avoidance nation the British people are quite comfortable in ambiguous situations. Though the country does not have too many rules and regulations, they believe in adhering to whatever rules have been set up. The country scores 25 as a short term oriented society thereby driving high respect for history and tradition and thus pays due attention upon the attaining quick results in the future (Geert Hofstede, 2012). It can be stated that Trompenaars’ views at cultural differences in the same way as that of Hofstede, implementing bipolar scales, however he tends to add few more dimension such as universalist/particularise and specific/diffuse. The seven dimensions of Trompenaars are Universalism vs. Particularism, Specific vs. Diffuse, Individualism vs. Communitarianism, Achievement vs. Ascription, Affective vs. Neutral, Sequential vs. Synchronic and Internal vs. External control. Trompenaars views culture as the way in which human beings solve their problems. According to Trompenaars, the British people are Universalist by their nature because they follow developed regulations and live by concepts related to absolutes. Therefore, it can be stated that British people tend to highlight formal behavior. It has also been noted that the Britishers are direct in terms of their speech. They generally discuss the topic at first and then work outwards to less relevant points. British people are also considered to be individualistic which implies that there is less risk in terms of direct criticism (Hell, 2005). Trompenaars created his dimensions after Hofstede model; however Hofstede dimensions are quite popular and widely accepted in the literatures. Nevertheless, there are certain criticisms that are faced by the Hofstede model. The model was developed in 1960s. However, since 1960s there have been significant alterations. Therefore, the scores of the countries need to be updated on a regular basis (Donmez, 2007). It has further been noted that Hofstede’s findings are greatly dependent upon national culture. Evidence about this aspect can be observed from a study conducted by him on IBM staffs in which it was found that the impact of national culture on IBM staff in one particular country was similar to the extent in which it impacted IBM staff in other countries. Therefore, despite several criticisms being faced by Hofstede model, it can be stated that the model offers a clear and an accurate understanding of culture in the United Kingdom. Thus, the validity of the Hofstede model can be recognised (Williamson, 2002). Hofstede’s cultural dimension has been implemented in numerous areas for global branding as well as advertising along with identifying consumer behaviour. It assists in understanding the disparities in the concepts of self identity and personality which in turn helps to explain alterations in branding and communication strategies. Hofstede’s framework is useful for comprehending people’s conception of an organisation (Pheng & Yuquan, 2002). According to both Hofstede and Trompenaars, the UK is an individualistic society. The UK possesses comparatively democratic culture as per Trompenaars and the country is low in terms of power distance as per Hofstede. The UK is considered as a highly neutral country and thus has an achievement culture (Seangallaghersite, n.d.). Trompenaars’ study has been condemned by Hofstede as being culturally biased and thus he questioned on the representativeness of Trompenaars’ study (Piepenburg, 2011). However, the model offered by Trompenaars can be stated as being valid since it tends to offer a clear picture of the culture prevalent in the United Kingdom. The managers can make use of this model in order to understand how people behave and demonstrate their perceptions regarding certain phenomenon. Management Styles in the United Kingdom A survey conducted on workforce by Chartered Management Institute (CMI) identifies three types of management styles prevailing in the United Kingdom. These management styles are authoritarian, bureaucratic as well as secretive management styles (Woods, 2010). Most of the employees in the United Kingdom have claimed that they identify a dominant management style in the workplace as unfavourable which might put UK’s economic recovery at risk. From the survey, it was observed that only 10% of the workers in the United Kingdom believed that their managers were accessible and 7% of the workers felt that the seniors of the company were empowering. It has been determined by the chief executive of CMI that for the purpose of improving the condition of the United Kingdom, it is vital for the business leaders to take initiative, be accessible and empowering (HR Review, 2010). It has further been observed that the British people tend to work for greater number of days and for longer hours. The concept related to ‘Protestant work ethic’ was found to be higher in British people. British managers are found to be quickly adopting the same set of work as well as leisure attitudes which imply that if they are self-confident and self-sufficient in their work, the managers of Britain tend to act similarly in their private freedom area (Expatica, 2012). It can be concluded that the United Kingdom is a secular society and thus pays due attention upon the religion. It has been noted that with the pace of time there will be significant changes in the British society as well as culture. The country tends to score low in terms of power distance and thus ranks high in terms of individualism. The people of the United Kingdom tend to demonstrate highly formal behavior and focuses upon universalism. It is because of the anticipation that there will be alteration in the British society as well as culture, the two models of cultural dimension such as Trompenaars model and Hofstede model need to be updated regularly. Part 2: Reflection on Personal Experience I have worked as a personal banking manager in Lloyds TSB, where I have gained numerous experiences related to the impact of national culture in our organisation. It can be stated that the management style of the bank is such that the workers are informed in clear terms what they are expected to attain and as a result the workers try hard to attain the objectives. Each employee in Lloyds TSB is expected to meet the sales target. The organisational culture of the organisation is quite strict and rigid where weekly meetings are held in order to control the activities of the staff. Weekly targets are set up for the sales team. In lieu of this fact it can be stated that Lloyds TSB follows authoritarian management style. The organisational culture of Lloyds TSB can be better understood with the help of Johnson and Scholes’ cultural web. There are six elements in the model and by analysing each factor, it becomes easier to identify what is working well in Lloyds TSB, what is not working and what needs to be altered (Johnson, n.d.). Lloyds Banking Group’s CEO Antonio Horta-Osorio attempts to reduce the number of executives reporting to him and thus attempts to entrust more. The CEO of the company has admitted in the public that he is an authentic leader. He states that he can become better at entrusting, at arranging for the direction of the bank and will not focus upon micro-managing each thing (IEDP, 2012). At Lloyds TSB, the company wants its colleagues to have a good work life balance and thus it offers its employees with flexible working options. The company tends to recruit, train and promote the employees based upon the merit and not upon the age of that specific member. The company’s customers as well as the employees are drawn from numerous faiths and religions. The company tends to place greater respect to such differences and the line managers are offered with adequate support. On request the employees are also offered prayer room. The bank is a member of ‘Race for Opportunity’ which is considered to be an organisation possessing 150 businesses that puts forward the business case related to race. The company strives hard to attain gender equality (Lloyds TSB, 2012). Lloyds TSB focuses upon communicating regarding the goals and the objectives to its members openly and honestly. It is committed to working through all major alterations that tend to influence its colleagues carefully and sensitively. The senior leaders of the company lead by example and thus attempt to reflect on the five core Lloyds Banking Group values. It has been identified that the company keeps bringing in alterations in its management team in order to ensure that the Group has the optimum structure in order to endorse the execution of its strategy (Lloyds Banking Group, 2012). According to Hofstede model, Lloyds Banking Group ranks high in terms of power distance. It is found to have a disciplined organisational culture. The company also focuses more upon precision. It has high employee commitment and thus tends to focus upon mass production and efficiency. The bank also pays due attention towards creating new markets (Manikantan, 2010). It is apparent that though Lloyds TSB has merged with numerous companies in the near past, they were all of same culture so that the company’s original culture does not get diluted. The company is customer oriented and thus attempts to recruit talented people by means of tough selection procedure (Lloyds TSB, 2012). It has been observed that the company tends to generate framework for employee clear learning as well as future needs. If the clients are found to be satisfied with the service of the company then in such circumstances the employees are rewarded. The company also offers personal development programs for the employees. Lloyds TSB is generally role structured and thus is characterised as strong banking system. The company’s productivity is quite higher owing to good environment. The company’s vision statement focuses upon being the one of the best financial service provider companies in the United Kingdom. The company’s corporate values are created from the top and thus greater emphasis is placed upon the communication of responsibility to followers (Lloyds TSB, 2012). The leadership style followed by Lloyds TSB is generally controlling style where the group receives the information and thus the leader takes the decision. Leader is observed to consult with the individual concerned and thus make the decision. It can be analysed that the company makes use of autocratic style where the leaders tend to empower the worker less. The leadership style of the company is more telling and less selling (Lloyds TSB, 2007). The organisational culture of Lloyds Banking Group is almost similar to the national culture of the United Kingdom. United Kingdom ranks low in terms of power distance. Similarly, in Lloyds TSB, the power distance is quite low. This is apparent from the case that the superiors of the bank treat their subordinates with due respect and the managers of the company tend to socialise with subordinates. It is because of low power distance at Lloyds Banking Group the company is capable of developing faster (Gary A Scott, 2012). Furthermore, I found that Lloyds TSB focuses more on autocratic management style which implies the managers tend to possess high masculinity dimension. This makes it apparent that the organisational culture of Lloyds Banking group is similar to the national culture of the United Kingdom. However, the country has low uncertainty avoidance while the company seems to score high in terms of uncertainty avoidance. Therefore, there are noticeable differences in between the organisational culture and national culture. Lloyds TSB seems to focus more upon tradition and values and thus it can be concluded that the organisational culture of Lloyds TSB is similar to the national culture of the United Kingdom in majority of the cultural dimensions. There is quite less negative influence of culture, which transforms the organisation to be a pleasant workplace (Paszkowska, n.d.). References Donmez, O., 2007. The transfer of Organisational Culture in Multinational Companies. Abstract. [Online] Available at: http://edissertations.nottingham.ac.uk/1109/1/07MSclixod.pdf [Accessed April 18, 2012]. Erez, M., 2000. 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