Cross-National Work Experience Interview - Essay Example

The second part is a reflection of what I learned from the interview. One of the most revealing answers was on how Joseph believes culture affects the way management decisions are made in Kenya and in the U.S. and the specific aspects of culture that he could identify. Joseph noted that the potential to engage in an unethical decision such as seeking ways to avoid tax compliance is more common in his former station in Kenya than in the U.S. According to him, the tendency is almost inexistent in the U.S. The Kenyan system offers lesser supervision to tourism activities, thereby allowing greater room for manipulation of records, including misreporting of income.

Employee motivation is another area where the two countries appear to have completely distinct approaches. Tips are a common way of motivating the ‘tour-crew’ after completing assignments. Due to the nature of the industry, individual employees are often assigned to individual tourists for specific assignments such as driving to a destination and mountain climbing. In Kenya, management allows employees to settle ‘tip’ queries with the customers without reporting the same to management.

However, tips form a basic part of the remuneration of employees in the American culture. The interviewee further noted that formal communication in the U.S entity he works for is mainly through email for non-urgent issues to promote reference, while phone calls, text messages and direct communication are more prevalent in Kenya. As a result, the U.S. entity has a sizeable collection of emails, offering reference to how strategic decision making is effected, especially during times of crises.

By contrast, there were no established guidelines on how to deal with specific types of crises in his former station, which implies that the authority in charge is free to offer a solution as it deems wise. By