Cultural Differences Between Employees Management - Essay Example

 Cultural differences between employees have become of increasing importance in the modern-day business world. International corporations often have employees that move from country to country, and many companies that are based only in one country have multiple ethnicities, social, cultural and religious backgrounds working together. While conflicts and tensions may occur that managers must deal with, cultural differences may also be a strength if dealt with correctly. A PESTLE Analysis, which considers the external factors working on an organization, will be useful in examining how managers can overcome cultural problems. PESTLE stands for the following: Political The current and potential influences from political pressures. Economic The local, national and world economy impact. Sociological The ways in which changes in society affect the organisation. Technological The effect of new and emerging technology. Legal The effect of national and world legislation. Environmental The local, national and world environmental issues. (TrainingEssentials, 2006) While superficially it might seem the first three elements of the analysis, (Political, Economic and Sociological), might seem to be the most applicable to a discussion of culture within the workplace, the others are as well. PESTLE has been used by many companies to examine both the internal and external factors that will influence both present and future business. It is a way of viewing complex situations through the prism of a strong model that can both provide a rational framework for the examination of complex issues and also provide a foundation for possible alleviation of the problems discovered. Thus the problem of “culture” is one that is posed for nearly all managers in all businesses, but especially within increasingly diverse environments such as are found in Europe. First of all, what does “culture” mean? The dictionary defines it in the following manner: Culture. 1. The behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions and all other products of human work and thought, especially as expressed in a particular time or community. (American, 2004) What does such an esoteric subject have to do with the ordinary business environment one might ask? Basically, culture is all the beliefs, biases, likes, dislikes and general attitude towards life that an employee brings into the workplace. If all these were homogenous within each company then culture could be ignored as it would be shared and unified. Problems arise when a culture is not shared, specifically when a particular manner, way of speaking or belief conflicts with another. On a most basic level one might deal with the problem with hand gestures. In England the gesture of putting the second and third fingers up to someone is regarded as an insult, whereas in the United States this is just a way of simply stating “two”. An American who is not aware of the meaning of this sign in Britain will be surely at a disadvantage if she starts negotiating by saying that she will pay 2,000,000 for something with what she regarded as a harmless gesture. Similarly, an English businessman visiting America who does not know that this gesture is quite harmless in that country will be at a disadvantage. This is an extreme, but actually quite common example of how cultural problems can stem from communication problems. The manager dealing with this situation needs to communicate the differences in culture between the two parties involved, and hopefully resolve it in an amicable manner. Best of all would be to communicate the various cultural differences that might arise before they occur. Pre-warned is pre-armed in this case. A misunderstanding over physical gestures can be fairly easily dealt with, but more subtle cultural differences may be both more difficult to identify and thus to solve. Thus the issue of “personal space” comes to mind. A manager who is not aware that different cultures and nationalities have different senses of what is “personal” and what is “public” space he may cause unnecessary problems. For example an Italian may become more emotional and physical during negotiations, maybe even grabbing the arms or hands of a rival and/or colleague during the discourse. If the person being grabbed in this manner comes from a culture (such as England) in which such behavior is perceived as inappropriate a difficult situation may arise. The problem here is two-fold: first the Italian needs to know more about English culture, and the English person needs to be able to break out of their own cultural boundaries to understand that the Italian is not trying to be offensive. Thus the manager needs to encourage a sense of give-and-take within the company in which all cultures both understand and respect the differences among one another. A simple statement that grabbing someone’s arms is not ordinary in England, perhaps delivered in a humorous manner, should alleviate this situation. Cultural differences based on religion may be of great difficulty within a company. Religious beliefs are so profoundly and uncompromisingly held that offense may be caused completely be accident. For example, a Christian who crosses herself when she avoids an accident may offend a Muslim, for whom this symbol is associated with various historical facts such as the Crusades. This might seem absurd to the Christian, but should be taken seriously and perhaps behavior can be adapted. Religious symbols displayed on walls may also create conflict, as may certain religious statues that may be taken in utterly the wrong way by various cultures. For example, within Buddhism there is a well-known statue called “The Dream of the Buddha”. At first glance it appears quite harmless: just a large Buddha with a happy smile on his face and his eyes closed. However, if someone picks the statue up and looks underneath it, he will find a graphic carving of a much younger Buddha having sex with two women. Within Buddhism this is a sacred image, but to many other religions and even the non-religious, this statue might be seen as offensive and even a form of sexual harassment. The manager must decide what to do within this situation. The business situation within the European Union is particularly amenable to a PESTLE analysis. First, while businesses may work within a business culture that will be unique to a particular firm, corporation or organization, they are also profoundly influenced the the outside. These influences have become of great importance because Europe has been going through a paradigm of change for the last few decades. The breakdown of the Communist bloc and the creation of a much more cohesive European Union has brought about a situation in which workers from different countries move to other nations far more than they used to. Thus diversity within the workplace is no longer an ideal or an aim, but a reality. Many European countries had become used to a centuries-old homogeneity within the workforce. Those other cultures that did exist tended to be stable and known. Now cultures intermix with a dizzying speed and completeness. A cursory glance at the history of Europe during the Twentieth Century shows that countries that once killed tens of millions of one another’s citizens are now the closest of allies. Thus France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain: countries within which the World Wars were largely fought, have become unified to the point where there is serious talk of a genuine Union in which national borders become meaningless. A knowledge of this history is of great and vital practical importance to a manager working in Europe today. Without this knowledge many cultural differences that may spring up within a business may appear incomprehensible; but with it they can be placed in the context of a history in which implacable, intractable and uncompromising enemies have within a generation become the closest of friends. The fact that the idea of a war between, for example, France and Germany is laughably unlikely, is in itself remarkable because it is so unlikely. But the cultural differences that often brought about wars within Europe still exist within individuals, and may flare up if unchecked. A political/economic Union may be difficult to achieve, but a union of cultures, which involves the complexity of individual human experience and heritage, is even more problematic. It is this union that a modern European manager must try to manage, in as assertive a manner as possible, while acknowledging that cultural differences will always occur. Indeed, diverse cultures may actually be a blessing rather than a curse to business, as they bring new perspectives to the world of commerce that may provide new opportunities that were not imagined before. The task of the modern manager is to turn these cultural differences into advantages, to shepherd distrust and suspicion into liking and respect (Certo, 2005). One of the most obvious ways that culture can cause conflict is when there are different languages being spoken within the workplace. For example, there are currently many refugees and immigrants from Eastern Europe currently working in Italy, and there will surely be more when the EEC expands and welcomes new, but often poor countries, into the European system. Workers speaking different languages on the job create a series of problems for a manager. First, workers need to be able to communicate in a common language in order to be able to work together. If they cannot or do not communicate then work simply will not get done, and indeed, danger may occur. Second, cliques may grow up among the workers; those who speak the same language will tend to stick together. Third, some workers may think that others who are speaking in a language they do not understand are speaking “about them”, and this may cause conflict, aggression or even violence in some work-places, depending on the socio-economic background of the workers involved. (Holmes, 2003) So, with these risks involved, what should a manager do when faced with different languages in the work place? The first place to start (as is perhaps always the case in the current world climate of litigation first and discussion later) is to consider the legal requirements regarding whether a “one language only” workplace can be established (Vine, 2004) European law has yet to tackle the issue head-on, so an American example is useful. A court in southern Florida recently ruled that “an English-only rule by an employer does not violate Title VII (of the Civil Rights Act) as applied to bilingual employees as long as there is a legitimate business reason for the rule.” (Prado, 1999) Within the European Union it is clear that English is the language of international communications, as it is in the rest of the world. But it is also a fact that “one of the stated goals of the European Union is to promote linguistic diversity in the Community.” (Kalfon, 2006) Banning the speaking of any particular language within a business would thus be prohibited. Probably the best manner in which a manager can deal with this problem is to take a Machiavellian stance and avoid the problem in the first place through not hiring those who speak little of the native language, be it Italian or Lithuanian, unless it is absolutely necessary (Jay, 1975). This might be regarded as discrimination, but in fact is no more discriminatory than requiring certain skills or a level of education for a position. But what should the manager do if, as will often be the case, he is presented with the problem of different languages that was not of his making i.e. the person was hired before by another manager? Paradoxically, directness and honesty are the best policies here. A general meeting should be held in which employees can, without fear of retribution, speak their mind on the subject of a variety of languages being spoken in the workplace. Those who want to speak a particular language to one or two compatriots should be as free to speak as those from the majority language group. Communication of fears, desires, perceived threats and general emotions is the best way to counter language problems before they get out of hand. The manager should also consider all the other PESTLE variables to see if outside influences are effecting the conflict that is occurring within the workplace. Thus immigrants from particular national groups may essentially be bringing in conflicts from the outside into the workplace. For example, during the Yugoslavia civil war Bosnians and Serbs who would otherwise get on well on a personal level might feel the need to act as worst enemies. (West, 2001) This will be exasperated by the various national languages that will remind the people of their differences. The manager needs to have a good grasp on the political situation of the groups that he is dealing with. Again these outside situations, which may extend as far as different countries, may influence dynamics within the company. Communication between the workers and the manager, as well as among the workers themselves, is vital to bring such conflicts out into the open and to discuss them. While initially such discussions might appear to exasperate the problem through bringing them out into the open and verbalizing them, they will in fact at as a long-term safety valve so that the pressure of the emotions does not build up exponentially. To take Italy specifically, a manager must be aware of the importance of bella figura to the Italian people. Bella Figura is the ability to present oneself well and to behave with “an air of demure and formality and is a key element in Italian business culture.” (Communicaid, 2006) Part of this concept is the great importance given to appearance and what other people’s opinions are of a subject. It is thus important “to ensure that all presentations and business materials are aesthetically pleasing . . . “ (Communicaid, 2006) How does bella figura relate to the manager seeking to successfully supervise people within a company in an assertive, but friendly manner? First, the appearance of the type of management occurring must be pleasing – thus the manager must take care to carefully phrase and picture his management style to fit the people he is managing. He must also take into account the very visible, and often emotional, affective communication that takes place in Italy. For example, if the manager comes from England, a country that is known, rightly or wrongly for its rather remote and undemonstrative people, he may find the Italian tendency to have “openly expressed thoughts and feelings . . . emotions tend to flow easily in this culture with large hand gestures and personal close personal contact” somewhat disconcerting, if not alarming. The issue of personal space that is raised by the different degrees of personal expression and communication is also raised here. What might appear to be a friendly demonstration of the passion that an individual wishes to express on a subject might appear to be outright rude or even threatening to a person from a less demonstrative society. Within the PESTLE model these are essentially Sociological factors that can become of the utmost importance to the smooth running of a business/company. The apparent closeness that is allowed among employees may be countered by the fixed hierarchical structure that normally exists within Italian companies. Thus there is a clear division between ranks and little if any association (both within and outside the company) between the ranks. If the manager is working in a large Italian company she must be aware of the cordata (chain of command) that exists (Edwards, 1996) If she is a middle manager she must be aware that only the most senior managers tend to make important decisions, while middle management tends to be associated with the nuts-and-bolts daily operations. If the manager is Italian, then the apparent contradiction between the easy physical contact and verbal demonstrativeness of the people as opposed to the formality of the cordata will not be obvious. He will need to consider how they might appear to those employees who are not Italian natives (an increasing number with a rapidly mobile workforce), and to make allowances/explain the situation accordingly. Workers from cultures that stress pure merit over other factors may find the Italian custom of deferring to the oldest person at a meeting rather archaic. If they speak up and contradict such an individual, especially if they are not a known part of the family/culture, they risk giving offense. Here, again, forewarned is forearmed, so the manager needs to communicate these cultural peculiarities before they become an opportunity for conflict. It is much easier to prevent a conflict than to stop it once it is in full swing(Plunkett, 1986). Turning to managers working in Lithuania or with Lithuanian workers. The World Bank lists Lithuania as having a “44” on the Rigidity of Employment Index. (World, 2006) This index, which ranges between 0-100, with the higher scores representing more rigid regulations, basically measures the difficulties employers have in Lithuania in hiring and firing employees. This index will affect both a manager working with Lithuanian employees in another European country, and one working in Lithuania itself. Workers within Lithuania are used to a fairly lax hiring and firing regime, although the conditions are still stricter than in the rest of Europe, where the mean index score is 37 (World Bank, 2006). For the manager this is important because she can uses these statistics to glean the overall business culture that Lithuanians are used to. Many Lithuanians remember, and indeed, were working within a planned economy when Lithuania was a part of the Communist Bloc. The economic and business environment at this time was radically different to the one that exists today. A manager needs to be aware that workers who were used to this environment expected few rewards, but perhaps even fewer work standards to live up to. (Sedelmeier, 2005) Jobs were guaranteed, even if they involved doing nothing of practical value. While the reasons for the collapse of this system are beyond the scope of this paper, it must be said that the essentially illogical system that existed then probably still has an influence over the attitudes of older workers today. Thus a manager may find a conflict between the culture of hard work and reward that she will be used to and the culture of low work/few rewards that many of the workers will be used to. How to counter this profound difference in work culture? Once again, recognition that the problem exists, and that it can be solved will be the first step towards a positive solution. A company-wide discussion of the problems induced by cultural attitudes towards work, particularly a Communist and post-Communist mentality will initially help. This will be important because, taking into account the whole of PESTLE, the lighting speed with which the Eastern Bloc eventually fell led to the appearance that the Communist mentality had been swept aside with equal completeness. This was not the case (Vachudova, 2005) The manager faced with this culture clash must be sure not to cast it as somehow a negative reflection of the individual workers, but rather as a sociological and historical fact that needs to be tackled by all concerned. In order to be assertive in this situation the manager must, paradoxically, seem as objective and dispassionate as possible. A lack of ‘blame’ will lead to a rectification of the problem far faster than using normal human resource techniques of intervention in poor performance. It should be noted that most workers/employees will not want a history and sociology lesson within the workplace. They will want practical solutions to a work environment that will be influencing all of them in a negative manner. However, with PESTLE in mind, the manager should carefully consider the wider implications of what is occurring. The culture of Eastern Europe changed with incredible rapidity on the outside, but inner change takes longer and is less obvious (Johnson, 2001) Works Cited Certo, SC. Modern Management. Prentice-Hall, New York: 2005. Edwards, V. Manual of Business Italian. Routledge, London: 1996. Holmes, J. Stubbe, M. Power and Politeness in the Workplace: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Talk at Work. Longman, London: 2003. Howes, NR. Modern Project Management: Successfully Integrating Project Management Knowledge Areas and Processes. AMA, New York: 2001. Jay, A. Modern Management and Machiavelli. New Trade, London: 1975. Johnson, L. Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends. Oxford UP, London: 2001. Kenna, P. Business Italy: A Practical Guide to Understanding Italian Business Culture. Passport, London: 1994. Kalfon, N. “European Language Policies: Watch your Language”. Internet Marketing, 2005. Plunkett, W. Introduction to Management. Kent, New York: 1986. Prado v. L. Luria & Son. Sedelmeier, U. The Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe. Cornell UP, New York: 2005. Vachudova, M. Europe Undivided: Democracy, Leverage and Integration after Communism. Oxford UP, Oxford: 2005. Vine, B. Getting Things Done at Work: The Discourse of Power in Workplace Interaction. Benjamins, Amsterdam: 2004. West, Rebecca. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Italian Culture. Cambridge UP, Cambridge: 2001. The World Bank, Doing Business: Explore Economies, World Bank, New York: 2006. www.communicaid.com www.trainingessentials.org Read More