Cross-Cultural Management - Looking Into Intercultural Teams - Essay Example

Cross Cultural Management: Looking Into Intercultural Teams This paper wishes to discuss sundry issues related to the question “When they are good, they are very very good; when they are bad they are horrid !  Is this a fair evaluation of inter-cultural teams ?” Initially, the current paper presents some concepts pertinent to the adjustment of multi-cultural managers to their work offshore, which, if carried out effectively, will assist them greatly in forming a good intercultural team. This is followed by a discussion of some facets for cross-cultural adjustment for managing multi-cultural teams, coaching for repatriation, building teams in international contexts, predeparture expatriation training programmes, sponsorship programmes and social activities, and building high-performing global teams. In the end, it is concluded that however horrid some intercultural teams may be, this is not without a solution, given the roster of interventions that may be carried out to increase their effectiveness. One of the key issues that ought to be considered in setting up such a facility and in the recruitment and selection of multi-cultural managers is their capacity to adjust effectually to the role. This means that they should be willing and able to learn about the pecualirities of the culture to which they would be deployed, including the traits of power distance, masculinity, human orientation, achievement, and future orientation. Another issue is their willingness to undergo expatriation training. Their mother companies and satellite offices ought to provide the infrastructure for such training but the candidates for expatriation must have the unique task and people skills that will make them effective in their offshore assignments. Expatriate candidates must also adjust effectively to their new living conditions, and learn as much as they can about the new norms. They should be willing to undergo cultural training programmes. The expatriate candidate should be highly trainable; through pre-departure training programmes, they should be immediately be adept at the nuances of their new environment and culture. Finally, they should be able to blend well with a cross-cultural team, and depending on their role even spearhead the building of teams in a global context. Effectual Work Adjustment Based on a past research by Kabasakal and Bodur (1997), some cultures are characterised by a strong slant towards collectivism and both societal and organisational levels. It may perhaps be useful for the multinational company to initially analyse the culture to which they would assign managers in terms of power distance, masculinity, human orientation, achievement, and future orientation (Hofstede, 1983). It may also look into the business culture’s commitment and sense of duty to the organisation, respect for managerial hierarchy, type of leadership, and other ethical norms. Armed with such knowledge, multi-cultural managers can definitely influence the expectations of its multi-cultural managers and help in their adjustment to the new work environment (Hofstede, 1983). The research of Mendenhall and Oddou (1985) indicate that adjustment to the cross-cultural facets of a global assignment requires three distinct personal abilities, as follows: 1) the capacity to sustain a valued sense of self; 2) the ability to associate to host nationals; 3) the ability to intellectually appreciate the belief systems that underpin behaviours in the host country. If multi-cultural managers will be oriented with these traits, it would have been easier for them to adjust because their expectations were more effectively managed (Black, 1990b; Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985). If they possessed such traits, it would have been more probable for them to adjust easily in their offshore assignment. In a related vein, the multinational company is obliged to help select those individuals with these ideal traits for expatriation assignments. However, while the organisation may try its best to send ideal candidates, they are frequently unavailable – thus, tradeoffs and compromises may be needed. Multi-cultural managers ought to try their best to find out what makes their foreign counterparts ‘tick’. They could start with learning the basics of the culture, norms, beliefs, and customs. They should also take every chance to interface with their colleagues to facilitate this socio-cultural adjustment process. Facets of Cross Cultural Adjustment for Multi-cultural Managers Coaching for Repatriation While empirical evidence is not conclusive, it may be worthwhile to consider that an expatriate’s expectations regarding his return assignment is associated to his in-country adjustment. Naumann (1992) and Selmer (1995) suggest a serious consideration of career implications and repatriation concerns in expatriate training programmes. Multinational companies should clarify to its multi-cultural managers the premium of the assignment to the individual’s career and explain his career alternatives afterwards. There ought to be a reconciliation of whether such an assignment is aligned to the person’s overall career goals. If managers perceive that their global assignment is the beginning of a critical part of their career they may be highly motivated and may throw themselves more wholeheartedly into their new role. These managers may seek out contact with local nationals as well as take initiative to enhance performance. Building Teams in International Contexts There are several reasons for mergers or joint ventures’ failures. Following an analysis of the 700 most expensive global deals from 1996 to 1998 and interviewing 107 executives from these organisations, KPMG suggests the following golden rules for successful integration. Directors must let themselves out of the boardroom. Multi-cultural managers must have hands-on leadership and a strong results orientation. They ought to clear their calendars and allot time for everything such as meetings, visits to partner facilities, to simply having time to reflect through their interactions. In addition, they must clarify with local managers that the combination process is being prioritised and that this entails their own time and concentration. It is crucial for the expatriate to be actively engaged in the integration. They ought to lead from the front, project themselves as very approachable to new staff and actively involve themselves in the joint venture (Marks, 1997). Establish a clear direction for the new business. Feelings of uncertainty regarding the joint venture to which the expatriate was assigned may be resolved by clarifying one’s goals. The expatriate ought to have a serious discussion with local executives on the future vision values, goals, and policies of the joint venture. There should also be a premium placed on improving shareholder value in crafting the new vision. Moreover, the executive team of the company being acquired and the expatriate should concur about the vision and the strategy for the new entity. Consequently, this may be cascaded clearly to the whole company (Marks, 1997). Clarify the cultural, emotional and political issues. The expatriate must be able to exhibit a gut-level comprehension of what it is like to be an employee during the joint venture combination process. If he is successful in doing so, people may be more willing to let go of their existing attitudes and the ways they were accustomed to, and to accept novel ones consistent with his vision. He must then be constantly aware of the concerns of employees. This means trying to empathise with them, which may only be possible by spending a considerable amount of time with them, across levels and departments (Marks, 1997). Optimise involvement. The most potent way to solicit support for change is by optimising employee involvement in the consultation process. While strong leadership is critical for effective integration, the necessity of cascading involvement into the process is as equally important. If the expatriate utilises a top-down approach coming from only a limited number of people, this is likely to result in weak buy-in and impact on change process. The engagement of a majority will allow synergy, generate momentum, and determine problem areas early on. The integration team of two companies should be composed of staff who have credibility and influence within the organisation (Appelbaum et al., 2000). Emphasise communication. The expatriate assigned to a merger or an acquisition ought to give clear, aligned and accurate data – this will enhance the coping of employees, and ultimately translate to increased productivity. He must also encourage transparency in all communication channels. Corporate culture, although extremely resistant to change, can indeed be changed with an optimal communication plan established. Such a plan ought to share the following to employees: The shared vision for the new company. The nature and development of the joint venture and the anticipated benefits. Results and rough timescales for future decisions (Rifkin, 1997). Ensure clarity around roles and decision lines. A quick transition can vent energy and decrease the likelihood of stressful periods which can hamper productivity. To retain critical staff, management has to expedite decisions about the new structure, and the accompanying roles and skill gaps. The expatriate and the local executive team should exercise transparency throughout the whole process, clarity about the new roles, and prompt communication of decisions. It is critical that clear decision making process be formed, based on empirical information and analysis. This also assists in funneling all key decisions through clear lines of authority and evading unnecessary bottlenecks at the most senior level (The Manager Mentor, 2002). Be customer centric. To maintain the confidence of customers, the expatriate and the local executive team ought to share future product strategy maps with the customer. This must be done as soon as possible to assure the customer and make him feel secure about his purchasing decisions (Simpson, 2000). Be flexible. Integration is fine, but to become a market leader after such an integration or joint venture necessitates a synergy of strengths. In some instances, the cultures may be very distinct that a merger or joint venture may not be the most logical and sensible approach (Emerge International, 2002). The acquiring company must also be keen at preserving the intangibles that made the company being acquired a good player within its niche. (Kaplan, 2001). Predeparture Expatriation Training Programmes Multinational companies ought to ensure that training programmes are given to candidates for expatriation to facilitate their adjustment to amenities, overall living conditions, and social norms. For example, cultural diversity training programmes and learning sessions concentrating on values, habits, beliefs, religion and language of the locals must be part of the preparation of multi-cultural managers. These will help them undergo the indoctrination period more easily and quickly. In this context, multi-cultural managers should also be keenly aware of the particular facets of life in the local country. If multi-cultural managers that their families are made aware of these information and their expectations well managed, then unwelcome surprises may be avoided (Cavusgil et al., 1992; Marlin et al., 1995; Tung, 1982). Sponsorship Programmes and Social Activities Multi-cultural managers may feel alienated in adjusting to the new conditions at the new company and perhaps in the new country, in general. They may wish to maintain their self identity and their cultural norms more than ever. While this seems ordinary, such emotions may also cause the adjustment process to be even more difficult. Thus, to counter such tendency for isolation and expedite adjustment to social life in the country, it may be necessary to accord them culturally enriching venues for the multi-cultural managers (Marlin et al, 1995). The mother company may consider setting up recreational and entertainment activities such as sight seeing time, sports events, company picnics and the like. These are opportunities for the multi-cultural managers to interact socially with their local counterparts. These interactions outside of the work setting may allow more positive attitudes to emerge between the two nationalities and prepare the foundation for building mutual trust and cohesiveness at work. If the multi-cultural managers will minimise their social interface with the locals, and concentrate solely on work-related tasks, they risk being out of touch with local ways, the accepted manner of doing things, isolations, and perhaps even organisational insignificance. This is because in most countries, being an “in” team member necessitates team interaction beyond work – which is deemed effectual (Cavusgil et al., 1992; Marlin et al., 1995; Tung, 1982). Apart from structured social activities, building national sponsorship programmes may also be beneficial in easing the socio-cultural adjustment of multi-cultural managers. Sponsorship programmes could particularly be useful if the sponsoring family’s characteristics match that of the expatriate family in terms of the age and gender of the children, for instance (Cavusgil et al., 1992; Marlin et al., 1995; Tung, 1982). Mentorship and Pre-departure Preparation Multinational companies may also consider pre-departure training on the local business environment and its culture. This will certainly help them to better prepare about what to expect and expedite their adjustment period. On their part, the receiving companuy may consider establishing a mentorship programme for these multi-cultural managers. The delegation of a senior executive from the offshore company to act as a mentor will not only assist the expatriate in gaining a profound understanding of local business culture but may also influence others in accepting them more readily since they are under the mentorship of a figurehead. The receiving office should also be keen about learning the practices of their counterparts from the head office. Companies which have proven themselves effective at assimilating non-natives into their fold accord training not only for their expatriate managers but also for their local supervisors (John & Roberts, 1996). Building High-Performing Global Teams For international organisations, there is an impending necessity to get groups of managers from various nationalities to collaborate either as long lasting management teams or to resource specific projects resolving critical business issues. Numerous organisations have found that bringing such groups of managers together can be difficult and performance is not always at the level necessary or expected. The expatriate must 1) consider the nature and influence of national cultural differences, and 2) value diversity; and 3) build cultural understanding and awareness. The nature and influence of national cultural differences. It is helpful to determine a clear framework for comprehending and analysing cultural differences. One such theoretical framework has been developed by Hofstede (1983). In his original work, he determined four key dimensions which influence national cultural differences. These are: Individualism/collectivism: This aspect reflects the degree to which individuals value self-determination instead of their behaviour being determined by the collective will of a group or organisation. Power-distance: At the core of this dimension lies the question of participation in decision making. In low power-distance cultures, employees seek involvement and have a desire for a participative management style. At the other end of this continuum, employees tend to work and behave in a specific way because they recognise that they will be directed to do so by management. Uncertainty avoidance: This facet is involved with employees’ tolerance of ambiguity or uncertainty in their working environment. In cultures which have a high uncertainty avoidance, employees will look for clearly defined, formal rules and conventions governing their behaviour. Masculinity/femininity: This is perhaps the most difficult dimension to use in an organisational context. In reality, the hardship is more to do with terminology and linguistics, in Hofstede’s work the dimension related to values. In highly “masculine cultures” dominant values relate to assertiveness and material acquisition. In highly “feminine cultures” values emphasise on relationships among people, concern for others and quality of life. The results of Hofstede’s research are frequently borne out and reinforced by the practical experience of multinationals seeking to deploy international HR policies. Higgs and Phelps (1990) undertook research into Japanese financial organisations operating in UK markets and their findings showed evidence of practical experience which was explicable in terms of Hofstede’s framework. In practice this has significant implications for the development of global management teams. Using this framework, it is possible for the expatriate to identify differences in responses to management styles, organisational preferences and motivation patterns. There are some distinct differences which can impact on the way in which managers from different cultures may behave and perform in a team. For instance, for uncertainty avoidance, it may be seen that a UK member (low uncertainty avoidance) and Japanese member (high uncertainty avoidance) of a management team would have significant differences in their initial perceptions and expectations of both team purposes and processes. From this brief illustration it is, hopefully, apparent that in order to build effective international management teams it is necessary to create an environment which both recognises and values cultural diversity and tries to acquire cultural awareness and sensitivity. Valuing diversity. Frequently, multinationals see the cultural diversity within their operations as an area of difficulty rather than as an opportunity to build competitive advantage. This point is well illustrated by an exercise in the early 1980s carried out by Laurent and Adler (n.d.). Global executives attending management seminars in France were asked to list the advantages and disadvantages of cultural diversity for their organisations. All of the participants were able to determine disadvantages less than 30 per cent could determine any advantage. Usually, comprehending the nature and value of cultural diversity is not well ingrained within an organisation’s thinking and practice. In several ways thinking in this area has not been cultivated aligned with the trend of globalisation (Houlder, n.d.). It may well be that effective performance of international management teams has as much to do with the values of multinationals as with the development processes. Adler (1983) lends evidence for this in her analysis of organisational strategies for the management of cultural diversity. However, it is critical not only to comprehend the distinctions between cultures. It is also important to determine the potential advantages and disadvantages that will probably be brought to a team by managers of different cultures. Building cultural understanding and awareness. Hofstede (1983) submitted a general framework for developing competencies for cross-cultural operations, as follows: building awareness of culture and cultural differences; developing knowledge of the impact of cultural differences and of the of the relative strengths and weaknesses of different cultures in a managerial setting; and building skills in identifying the impact of different cultural settings for managerial problems adapting behaviours to achieve effective results in different cultural settings. More specifically, the expatriate may concentrate on the following in aspiring to have an effective global, cross cultural team: Develop cohesion and consistency in teamworking; Establish a shared and compelling vision and understanding; Ensure quality dialogue among local members; Develop feedback mechanisms to review and enhance team processes (Kakabadse & Myers, 1994). Conclusion The peculiarities of culture do introduce complexities into the relationships between multi-cultural managers and their local counterparts. However, if the mother company and the satellite office are willing to collaborate to expedite their adjustment, then intercultural teams would turn out not to that “horrid” after all. Some of the options that may be considered as alternatives for intervention are coaching, predeparture training programmes, and techniques on how to build competitive global teams. References Adler, N.J. (1983). Organisational development in a multicultural environment. 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