Managing Cross-cultural Organization - Term Paper Example

Running head: MANAGING CROSS-CULTURAL ORGANIZATION Managing Cross-cultural organization Insert Insert Insert Instructor’s Name 24 November 2010 Part 1. ESSAY Why the two chosen items are better than the others In an attempt to evaluate the worth of a material to be used to develop a paper, one usually applies the CRAP test criterion. CRAP is an acronym for Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Personal opinion. The test requires that the material to be used be current, i.e. newly revised or updated. The information contained in the material should be reliable having been obtained from various sources. This requires that a list of reference materials be given at the end of the work to help the reader obtain more insight of the subject of discussion. The authorship of a material to be used also needs to be specified to enhance its reliability. Whether a subject in the material is a fact or a personal opinion is also important. Facts supported by other evidences are given more weight compared to personal opinions. The blog Anthropologists in Cross Cultural Management does not comply with some of the criteria provided in the CRAP method. This method requires that a source be current and reliable and that its authority be well defined. Even though the material is current having been written in February 2009, it is the opinion of and individual and has not been supported by any form of reference. The material is also quite short and does not cover the entire topic managing multicultural environment. In the CRAP criteria, it is preferred that the publisher of a material have a knowledge of the subject to be addressed and if possible give a comprehensive introduction to the contents of the work. Emerald publishers draw journals from several university libraries all over the world and such introduction is not possible. Moreover, the journal may be lacking citations. Managing and harnessing the powers of Cross-Cultural differences has much of what is required. A list of materials read given at the end of the work indicates that it is not purely an individual’s opinion and that similar observation and argument can be obtained from other materials as well. It is also current having been modified on August 03, 2009 at 7:02:55 PM. This source also has links to other and referring to these sources is quite convenient. The several advertisements on the page all relate to the same topic and therefore cannot bore the reader. The sources of materials from Wikipedia are not known. Worse still, anonymous writers can join the team and make changes to an existing document. Therefore, the information from such sources can only be used to obtain a general overview of a topic. This can then be used to obtain references from the valid relevant sources. Such a material can in several cases be biased and intended to suite individual interests. A Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Social and Behavioral Applications is a material satisfying most of the requirements of the CRAP test. The site’s update is done quite often and as such and such it qualifies to be termed current. The material is a contribution of several writers who give references to the works cited. In that regard, the material is not seen as a personal opinion but rather a universal fact that can be supported. The material also explores a wide area of the topic and is therefore suitable for use. It is in the view of the above arguments that I chose to use the following two materials: A Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Social and Behavioral Applications and Managing and Harnessing the Powers of Cross-Cultural Differences. Part 2. REPORT Report on Multicultural Management Introduction The culture of a particular group of people or a society refers to the beliefs and practices that they have in common, which in turn influence their way of life, how they behave, how they reason, as well as how they value things. It refers to a tool that an individual uses to relate to the entire world, how one views other people and how others view him (Bibikova & Kotelnikov, n.d). In that context, an individual can be from different cultures depending on where he is at the time of reference, ethnicity, nationality, religious faith, age, his career, and even the working place. Multicultural Society A society may comprise people of the same culture or those drawn from different cultures. Cultural differences can be viewed in different ways. Multicultural societies have been on the light of critics towards the end of the last century and the beginning of the current century. Such societies have been in existence since the ancient time but the current shift of attention to them is because of what transpires among these groups due to cultural differences. The differences may also emanate from other factors. Managing a multicultural organization An organization that has members drawn from the same culture does find it easy in executing its activities. Planning and execution of activities in such an organization is simple given the homogeneity of the culture. However, problems arise when the members of the organization come from different cultures. When the employees and the top management are from different cultures or when the employees themselves are heterogeneous in culture, then, forming associations and good relations with each other becomes a problem (Berry et al, 1997, p. 380). Ranging from the concept of time management, communication, personal position when speaking and even the position of the eye during a conversation, different cultures behave differently. In some cultures, time consciousness is the basis on which when could build confidence on the other. In such a case, failure to be in time causes mistrust. Looking at somebody straight in the eye when talking to each other is acceptable in some cultures; however, it is seen as misconduct in others. Language also differs across cultures so that an information or statement in one culture could mean a very different thing in the other culture. Researches have shown that in an organization where the top official is from a culture different from the employees, or similar to a fraction, then the management will be faced by strong opposition in many cases. However, the employees will be carrying on quite well. Planning on how to overcome such challenges in a multi-cultural setting is therefore an important managerial task. Failure to act on these cultural differences by the management in a company or organization can lower the performance of the organization (Bibikova & Kotelnikov, n.d). A major challenge in handling a cross-cultural organization is the different understanding of how one should conduct oneself by different cultures. They define a responsible leader differently posing a challenge on obtaining a universal view. Managing an employer/employee relation may be shaken if, for instance, an employer acknowledges and values an immediate response whereas the employee takes that lightly. The problems could be given several approaches some of which are discussed here: Such problems can be overcome by encouraging exposure to several cultures. Both the employer and the employer need to be informed of the position of each culture on such an issue. Communication is often the central pillar in trying to cut across cultures. Bibikova and Kotelnikov (n.d) observed that the best way to enhance communication across cultures is to first accept the existence of different cultures and be very ready and willing to learn and adopt them. Cultural differences should not be seen only as a barrier to the smooth running of an organization. Past studies have revealed that the cultural diversity among the employees and the employer should not negatively influence the employer/employee relation. Instead, the management should take the advantage of the work force diversity to help achieve the overall goal of the organization. In a well-managed system, the individuals are encouraged to interact with each other initially to establish that rapport needed. A common way of understanding and reasoning will then be established. As a result, what seemed to be a barrier would now encourage teamwork, which would be a benefit to both the organization and the workers (Berry et al, 1997 p. 381). This is facilitated by the fact that the cross-cultural behavior of individuals at a work place is connected to factors as closeness in the cultures, their similarities and individual goals and sociotypes. Closeness and similarities in different cultures alongside their goals will encourage good relations. Moreover, different views of individuals from different cultures should be harnessed by the management to come up with some possible new ideas. As Berry et al (1997) observed organizations could benefit from their cross-cultural workers by giving rooms for the divergent views that can enable them come up with inventive and innovative strategies. Two forces that appear to be acting in opposite directions could be channeled to a perpendicular direction to give a stronger resultant force. Harmonizing conflicting views is thus the best approach in a business environment (Bibikova & Kotelnikov, n.d). Another approach to overcoming the challenges of diverse culture is that adopted by some organizations operating globally. Two methods are involved in this exercise. In the first place, the rules and regulations to govern the organization’s operation are established including the job specifications. The values and customs that are required of a worker are specified here. They apply to every worker regardless of your ethnicity and culture. Those operating in the home country have little task in implementing these policy. However, there is need to export this culture to be adopted at work place to the foreign establishments to help the new employees to be adapt to the working environment. This approach has the disadvantage that it could be quite expensive in some cases since there is need to employ more specialists to disseminate the new culture to the employees in the foreign state. Worse still, this new system may not be in line with the socio-political atmosphere in this foreign country. In such cases, the programs designed at the organization’s headquarters have to be revised to meet the political and social standards currently prevailing in that state. For instance, the use of English language by foreign investors in France was seen as an attempt to assimilate the French language. The foreigners were forced to shift to French. This makes it more expensive especially when such expatriates are not available. Despite such difficulties to be encountered, those organizations that practice these cultural control systems usually succeed in their foreign investments more than their counterparts adopting the objective bureaucratic system do. Conclusion It is therefore worth noting that, the organizations that want to survive in the current market experiencing a global competition should acknowledge the existence of diverse culture among the various people. They should not regard this as a liability on their management but rather an important resource that can be used to facilitate inventions and innovations. Instead of restricting the operation of an organization to people from the same culture, they should encourage foreigners as well. Countries like Japan and China that are more restricted to their culture including language have less promising foreign investment compared to the investments back at home. Those that happen to be in a foreign work place should not be upset. They should take this as an opportunity to learn and explore the way of life adopted by other people in the world. Learning several foreign language increases an employee’s potential in the job market. It could as well save the individual’s life during a political conflict while in a foreign land. References Berry, J.W. et al. (1997). Handbook of Cross-cultural Psychology: Social behavior and Applications. Second Edition. MA: John Berry. Bibikova, A. and Kotelnikov, V. (n.d). Managing Cross-cultural differences: Managing and Harnessing the Power of Cross-cultural Differences. Available at http://www.1000ventures.com/ten3_operations/customized/cross-cultural_differences_china-us.html. Read More