Case Analysis: Culture Compass Online (CCOL) - Essay Example

Case Analysis: Culture Compass Online (CCOL) Case Analysis: Culture Compass Online (CCOL) Trompenaars and Woolliams (2003, p. 3) reiterate that as business becomes globalized and workforce more diverse, leaders and managers together with their organizations, must understand and acknowledge the significant importance that “culture” plays in all these. Individuals and nations embrace varied and diverse cultural orientations, which significantly influence how they do business, lead, as well as manage organizations.

As such, cross-cultural competence is essential for leaders, managers, as well as organizations; in enabling them effectively do business, lead and mange across cultures (Trompenaars & Woolliams, 200, p.3). The two argue that the critical approach to cultural competence in leadership, management and doing business is to recognize, respect and reconcile cultural differences. Culture Compass OnLine uses Web technology to enable leaders, managers and business organizations, to generate and understand their own cross cultural profile.

This adds value to their cross cultural leadership, management and business interventions (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, n.d). The purpose of this paper is to summarize the cultural orientation of Japan, then compare it to the cultural orientations of Thailand, Italy and Brazil. With regard to standards by which relationships are measured, Japanese tend to be Universalists, as they incline towards following rules and dealing equally and fairly with all business cases (Sato, 2011, p.161). This can be said of people from Italy, who like Japanese, tend to focus more on rules than relationships.

However, people from Thailand and Brazil are more of Particularistic, as they tend to adapt a more relaxed view on rules as relations develop with regard to doing business. Thus, leadership, management and doing business with Japanese, will require consistency, uniform procedures, fairness, professional arguments and quicker negotiations. Japanese demonstrate a higher score towards Communitarian culture as compared to Individualism. This is a similar cultural orientation to that of Brazil and Thailand.

However, Italians are slightly Communitarian and Individualistic. Thus, in doing business with Japanese, quick decisions are normal, management is by objective, and individual needs must continually be adjusted. Japanese also exhibit a more diffuse cultural orientation, similar to that exhibited by those from Thailand. They are initially cool and seem to be indirect, closed and introvert. However, Brazilians and Italians are more specific in their cultural orientation (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, n.d). With regard to expression of emotions and the interplay between reason and emotion in human and business relationship, Japanese tend to be neutral like those from Thailand, as compared to Brazilians and Italians who tend to be more Affective.

As such, in business circumstances, Japanese will carefully control their emotions and reluctant to show feelings (Sato, 2011, p.161). However, this does not mean they are disinterested, bored or have no such feelings, but are focused on the discussions. Japanese like Brazilians, and unlike those from Thailand and Italy, assign personal status more through ascription as compared to achievement. To those in leadership, management and doing business with Japanese, credit is given to knowledge, experience, skills and competence, and not background and titles.

Management is by objective and workforces are paid for performance. Although the Japanese culture gives more emphasis to both the present and the future, the past also plays significant roles in the way they lead, manage and do business across cultures. Similarly, those from Brazil, Thailand and Italy, emphasize the future and the present. However, for those from Thailand, the present has more significance while for Italians; the present has little importance as compared to both the past and the future.

Japanese see themselves as adaptive to their environment and vests significance on their business partners, colleagues, customers and recognizes the ups and downs in the business environment (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, n.d). Brazilians, Italians and those from Thailand, score to the middle of external and internal control. As such, Japanese are more focused on their immediate group and comfortable with win-win situation in business and organization arrangements (Nishiyama, 2000, p. 9). ReferencesNishiyama, K. (2000). Doing Business with Japan: Successful Strategies for Intercultural Communication.

Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.Sato, K. (2011). Industry and Business in Japan. New York: RoutledgeTrompenaars Hampden-Turner. (N.d). Culture Compass OnLine: Cross Cultural Profile. Retrieved from: http://www.cultureforbusiness.com/cc/index1.htmTrompenaars, F., & Woolliams, P. (2003). Business across Cultures. West Sussex: Capstone Publishing Ltd.