Concepts and Principles of International Management - Cirque du Soleil - Case Study Example

Concepts and Principles of International Management Contents Concepts and Principles of International Management Contents 2 Introduction 5 1Theories of Edward Hall 6 1.1.1High context versus low context cultures 6 1.1.2Monochromic versus polychromic cultures 7 1.1.3Proxemics 7 1.2.1 Power distance 8 1.2.2 Individualism versus collectivism 8 1.2.3 Masculinity versus femininity 8 1.2.4 Uncertainty avoidance 8 1.2.5 Long term versus short term orientation 8 1.2.6 Indulgence versus restraint 8 Canada 11 Geography: 11 People: 11 Government: 12 Economy: 12 China 13 Geography: 13 People: 13 Government: 14 Economy: 14 Chapter IV 15 4.1 Analysis based on Hall’s theories 15 4.1.1 Low context versus high context 15 4.1.2 Monochromic versus polychromic 15 4.1.3 Proxemics 16 4.2 Analysis of Hofstede’s six dimensional model 16 4.2.1 Power distance 16 4.2.2 Individualism versus collectivism 16 4.2.3 Masculinity versus femininity 16 4.2.4 Uncertainty avoidance 16 4.2.5 Long term versus short term orientation 17 Chapter V. Recommendation 17 Conclusion 20 References 22 Introduction The modern day organization has become truly global in its structure and method of operations. With the rise of this multi faced multi dimensional organization there has arisen several problems or rather challenges that were unknown or unthought-of in the past. The problems and challenges that arises in a multicultural multi dimensional organization are the problem of cross cultural differences, talent management etc. This challenge has to be effectively managed so that the organization can run smoothly. In the following page the case of Cirque du soleil is undertaken. The Cirque du Soleil is a Canadian circus or entertainment company. In fact it is the largest company of its kind in the whole world. The company employs people from different cultures who are experts in their field. For a circus or a particular performance to be appreciated by the audience every member of the troupe should function as a single unit. So it becomes the job and duty of the manager to look after the fact that the cultural differences are managed effectively so that the people work as a single unit. Theories of Hofstede’s six dimensional model and Theories of Edward Hall are used in this case study to describe the cultural differences and the influences of culture of the business environment of the company. According to the dimensional model cultural power has a huge impact on the people and its working process. Collectivism and individualism influences different cultures in developing the organizational process of Cirque du Soleil. Masculinity and femininity issues of various cultures often control the power of male and female in the company. For the amalgamation of various cultures the employees of Cirque du Soleil often faces these issues. This theory explains the risk taking capacity of different cultures. According to the culture the orientation of the people also differs. The company is also affected by the issues of restraint and indulgence culture. In the Theory of Edward Hall the non verbal communication of different cultures affecting the organization is described. The verbal and nonverbal culture of the employees can create many issues in the working process of the company. The monochromic and polychromic culture defines the task performing capacity of the people within a particular time. Different cultural people maintain a safe distance while communicating with each other. Cirque du Soleil has to maintain these cultural issues for performing smooth workflow process with its employees. Chapter 1: Theories of cross cultural management In today’s world a company’s operation is not limited to a particular country. Company’s in today’s dynamic world has in true sense become international. This in its effect means that the company has to operate in different countries and the people who work in the company are from different countries. This coming of different people and mixing of different cultures means that people of different cultures has to be managed effectively. There are several theories that aim at managing people of different cultures. The models that are applied in this particular case Edward Hall and Hofstede. 1.1 Theories of Edward Hall Different cultures differ on the basis of personal spaces that the people allow and the element of non verbal communication and how is time valued. These factors were considered by Hall and he gave theories on how to manage cross cultural differences (Ferraro, 2002). 1.1.1 High context versus low context cultures High context cultures are those where non verbal communication plays the major role in communication. Most of the communication is not explicitly said but is implied (Hall, 1966). The people belonging to the countries of Asia mostly communicate with each other through non verbal communication tools and limit the use of spoken words in communication. On the contrary in low context cultures most of the communication takes place through verbal or precisely spoken words. Nothing is implied. 1.1.2 Monochromic versus polychromic cultures In monochromic cultures people prefer on doing one task at a time and concentrate on the job the people do at a time. The emphasis is on personality and deadline and time is taken very seriously (Hall, 1983). In Polychromic cultures on the other hand people prefer on doing multiple tasks at a time. The deadlines and time schedules are not taken seriously and the emphasis on relationship building. 1.1.3 Proxemics Proxemics is the study of distances. People of different cultures have different measurements of what they consider as safe distance while standing in proximity with different people. It is very essential to know and respect these spaces that different people feel safe with. 1.2 Theories of Geert Hofstede This theory determines how the values of the company are influenced by culture. There are six models which prove this theory. 1.2.1 Power distance Here the in equal power distribution is described. In the low power distance society power distribution is democratic. In high power distance society power is concentrated in the hands of few people. 1.2.2 Individualism versus collectivism In individualistic culture high emphasis is given on the individual decision. In collective culture emphasis is given on the group decision for encouraging people. 1.2.3 Masculinity versus femininity In masculinity culture male person dominates the society and the decisions. In femininity high value is given to women. They play a major role in every process of the society. 1.2.4 Uncertainty avoidance There are some cultures which have a high tendency and capacity to take risk. But some of the cultures prefer in avoiding risk. 1.2.5 Long term versus short term orientation The cultures in long term orientation adopt changes, save money and invest it. The cultures of short term orientation have high value, put less effort on work and spend more money. 1.2.6 Indulgence versus restraint Indulgence culture involves in having fun, enjoying life and beliefs in freedom of expression. Restraint culture natural needs are suppressed by social rules. Chapter II. Description of the project This project deals with the organization Cirque du Soleil. The organization needs new employees to continue its business. The organizations performs circus in different countries of the world. Earlier in every two years the company used approximately 50 new artists. But in the present time Cirque du Soleil requires almost 100 new artists every year. The aim of the project to is to find suitable and appropriate artists for its business which will attract more audience. This project describes the process of finding best talent for the organization by the casting director Murielle Cantin. The artists of this company belong from different countries. Therefore they have different cultural background. The organization follows various theories of cross cultural management for managing its resources efficiently and effectively. The cultural differences of its employees are described in with the help of various cultural theories. Edward Hall theories have been used which show the cultures of people of different places. Managing people of various countries can be effectively done by implementing these theories. The Theories of Geert Hofstede is a six dimensional model which explains the power distance, uncertainty avoidance, short term and long term orientation, Masculinity versus femininity etc. This project also describes about the company. It is the first circus which performed its business without using any animals. Cirque’s artists are its main resources. The company puts a huge effort to make its artists happy and satisfied. The casting director of the company faces many problems and difficulties in finding right artists. The project also discusses about different problems of the artists and the employees of Cirque. The company also faces problems in case of generating revenue from different countries. The Asian tours of the company are less successful whereas the North American tours are successful. The high ticket price of the circus decreases its number of audiences. Chapter III. Company profiles 3.1 Company overview Cirque du Soleil was established in 1984. The company was formed by a group of street performers. It is a Canadian entertainment company. The company is the world’s largest theatrical producer. The organization was foundered by two street performers Gilles Ste-Croix and Guy Laliberté. In the beginning the company had only 73 employees but in 2001it had more than 2100 employees throughout the world. Two owners of the company manage the whole business. Laliberté looks after the creative production of Cirque. The business process of the company is managed by Gautier. He looks after the financing matters and external partnership of the company. The company is made of full creative people. Therefore artistic revolution creates a huge impact on the artists of this company. The company tired decentralized management system in the mid of 1990. It made three regional divisions like Asia, North America and Europe to support its business process and its travelling around the world. But the organization faced a failure in this business model. So the company builds centralized management system having its headquarters at Montreal. The company wants to have an aggressive growth. But as per the owners, by establishing strong corporate rules will hamper the growth of the company. It will create constrain in the freedom of its employees. Cirque have different types of employees or artists like acrobats, clowns, persons performing dance dramas, gymnasts, theaters etc. For eradicating cultural boundaries the company used Latin surrounding language. Cirque is characterized with various features of globalization from its very beginning. The company went on a tour to different other American countries and in 1990 Cirque supported the European production. In 1992 for the first time the firm performed in Asia. The company very effectively presents its mystique, cross cultural and branding message (Watson and Head, 2013). The company has its own multimedia division named as Cirque du Soleil Images. In 2000 it build IMAX large-format film production. The company has diversified in its commercial activities which involves merchandising and publishing. The organization opened its first store in 1998 in Florida. A concept of entertainment complex is developed by the company. It highlights the Blend of performing arts, creation and architecture. Cirque hired many persons who teach the other employees of the company different ways and techniques to perform their work. The organization has its artists who belong from different countries of the world. The new artists of the company help its business to grow. 3.2 Country Overview Canada It is a North American country made up of three territories and ten provinces. Boundary of the country is extended from Atlantic to Pacific. In the North ward the country has Arctic Ocean. Geography: Area: 9.98 million sq km Capital city: Ottawa Other cities: Toronto, Ontario. Climate: Cold weather with snow fall. Canada experiences arctic and subarctic climate. The country has long winter and short summer season. People: Nationality: Canadian Population (2011): 33,476,688 Ethnic groups: 76.7% White, 14.2% Asian, 2.9% Black, 0.5% multiracial, 4.3% Aboriginal, 1.2% Latin American, 0.3% other. Religions: Christianity Language: English and French Adult literacy: 52% Life expectancy – 84years for women and 80 years for men Government: Government type: Constitutional monarchy and Federal parliamentary. Economy: Currency: Canadian dollar. GDP (2014): $1.794 trillion Per capita GDP: $50,577 Natural resources: uranium, gold, diamonds, nickel, lead, crude petroleum. Agriculture Products: barley, wheat and oilseeds. Industry types: Service industry, manufacturing industry, natural resource industry. Main Exports: Gold, Crude oil, cars, coal top and LPG. Main destinations: China, USA, Japan, UK, Mexico. Main Imports: electronic products, chemicals, durable consumer goods, machinery. Main countries of origin: China, USA, Mexico, UK, Hong Kong, Netherlands. China The country is located in the Eastern part of Asia. It is officially known as People Republic of China. It is a sovereign state. China is the most populous country of the world. Geography: Area: 9,596,961 km Capital city: Beijing Other cities: Shanghai, .Xian, Chengdu, Sanya, Xiamen. Climate: Extremely diversified climate. Dry and hot summers with very cold winters People: Nationality: Chinese Population (2013): 1,357,380,000 Ethnic groups: 91.51% Han Religions: Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. Language: Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian Adult literacy: 95.1% Life expectancy – 73 years for female and 75 years for male Government: Government type: Single party state Economy: Currency: Renminbi (yuan) GDP (2013): $16.149 trillion Per capita GDP: $11,868 Natural resources: rare earth elements, magnetite, lead, aluminum, zinc, uranium. Agriculture Products: cash crops, wheat, rice and corn. Industry types: energy industry, machinery manufacturing, natural gas, petroleum industry, automobile, steel. Main Exports: Machineries, electronic equipments, furniture, plastic, clothing Main destinations: Hong Kong, USA, Japan, Germany, South Korea. Main Imports: Crude petroleum, iron ore, gold, integrated circuits, cars. Main countries of origin: Japan, USA, South Korea, UK, Germany Chapter IV 4.1 Analysis based on Hall’s theories In the following paragraphs the examples of China and Canada to understand the difference of culture that exists between these two countries. 4.1.1 Low context versus high context China and its people live in a culture that is exhibited by high context. People of China do not give much emphasis on verbal communication (Hall’s cultural factors (no date). Most of the communication is non verbal. The people of china like other Asian countries understand the limitation of words alone in communication. They use gestures, facial expression and other body language components to express their idea. Canadian people in contrast to the Chinese people are those who believe and deal with a low context culture. Most of the communication is verbal. There is little or no communication that occurs non-verbally. 4.1.2 Monochromic versus polychromic The culture and people of China are Polychromic or prefer to do multiple tasks at a time. The emphasis is put on building long term relationship. The Chinese businessman and people feel that there is lot of time to do a particular job and there is pressure of deadlines. The culture of Canada in on the other hand monochromic or they prefer to do one job at a particular time. There is lot of emphasis on meeting deadlines and time limits. The people tend to allocate separate time for work and home. 4.1.3 Proxemics People in China prefer to stand and interact more closely with each other than people of Canada. In Canada people require more personal space. If someone ventures too close to an unknown person who belongs to Canada that person might feel threatened because one is venturing into the personal space of the Canadian person. However the person from china would not feel the same as he has less requirement of personal space 4.2 Analysis of Hofstede’s six dimensional model 4.2.1 Power distance The power distribution in Cirque du Soleil Company is done by its two owners. Here the cultural differences regarding these issues are not given priority (Hofstede, no date).The employees or the artists who perform well are given more importance. 4.2.2 Individualism versus collectivism Both individualism and collectivism cultural factors are followed by the company. In the circus the artists needs to perform individually and also in a group. Both of these factors are equally important in this business. 4.2.3 Masculinity versus femininity The cultural difference of Masculinity and femininity are discarded here. 4.2.4 Uncertainty avoidance The organization follows low uncertainty avoidance. Every employees of this company have to take risk for their job. 4.2.5 Long term versus short term orientation Cirque du Soleil Company maintains long term orientation in its work process. The employees of this firm have to be flexible in adopting different changing situations. They have to give huge effort to perform their duty (Hofstede, 2001). Chapter V. Recommendation The Cirque du Soleil uses troops from different countries for the various acts it showcases to its audience. In fact its casting director has to search the entire globe for finding unique talents. However when an organization hires people of different cultures it has to be aware that there exists cultural differences amongst the people of different cultures and so the company must be able to manage these cultural differences well. To be able to perfectly mange the cultural differences that exist between people belonging to different cultures is all the more important in case of Cirque du Soleil because if different members of the troupe do not perform well because if they cannot gel well with each other they will not be able to perform well together and the final act would not be appealing to the audience(Pears and Shields, 2009) The company already has taken several steps to alleviate cultural differences among individuals of the company. For example in a particular performance the casting director had to be extra patient while handling the Chinese troupe because these people were not only different in terms of language that they spoke but also the culture of china was entirely different from people from countries such as Canada and likewise countries. The company never uses any handbook to tell people the way that should dress or a particular tattoo that they should not wear in order to maintain the office decorum. The members of the circus, especially the acrobatic group has a very tough schedule. In addition to that most of the time the people have to spend a lot of time outside their home in travelling with the troupe. Hence in order to ensure that these people do not feel homesick and can do their work with undivided dedication and attention the manager has to handle the employees with extra care and patience. The main thing is to assure the employees that the circus company cares about them and looks after their benefits and their concerns. This goes a long way in motivating the people and ensuring that they give their 100% in every act. One way of ensuring the motivation of the employees is that the people of different cultures are not differentiated on the basis of cultural differences but are equally treated irrespective of cultural difference. This concept of fair and equal treatment is itself blurred in case of dealing with people of different cultures. For example when dealing with a people of china the employer has to be extra caring and some element of personal touch however that personal touch may not be appreciated by an individual coming from say Canada. The main thing while estimating the cultural differences of people belonging to different countries is to respect the different culture and to develop a tendency of mutual respect and understanding of the people of one culture towards the people of a different culture (Thomas, 2008). In order to achieve this it is recommended that people or employees that are working at the Cirque du Soleil are made aware about the subtle aspects of the people of different cultures. To achieve a situation where people of different cultures interact with each other in a coherent way and gel with each other well the people of different cultures they should encourage people of different cultures to engage in greater interactions amongst themselves so that they are able to sort out the differences and work coherently. The company should encourage the employees so that they engage in more group tasks. The company should encourage the people so that they come up with any suggestions or any grievances that they have regarding treatment at the workplace. By maintaining high cultural integrity it is recommended to the company to penetrate new markets for the growth of the firm. This strategic decision will help the company to enrich its performance by showing the performance of different people belonging from various cultures. Hiring people from more different cultural background will improve the activities and the show quality of the company. Artists or employees belonging from various cultural backgrounds have many positive factors which will help to develop the internal environment of cirque du soleil. Moreover the circus artists belonging from different culture have many potentialities and talents. So if the company gives more importance on these factors then cirque du soleil can have a competitive advantage. It will help to develop its market. The main product this firm offers is providing entertainment to people throughout the world (Tjosvold and Leung, 2003). By its circus the company generates huge revenue from different countries of the world. But the major challenge cirque du soleil faces is finding out appropriate and suitable artists for its business. For this reason the company can maintain a separate strong department which will be only responsible for hiring perfect artists. This will help in organizing effective process of business management within the organization. Cirque du soleil is recommended to give motivational speech to its employees and artists to increase their dedication toward work. The firm can organize various Seminars with its various artists. It will help to increase their interactions with ordinary common people. By this the company and its employees will create a bond with the audience. It can enhance the activities and the performance of the company. A strong bond of the audience with its artists will let the artists know about the like disliking of the people. So they can make performance according to the preference of the audience which will entertain them. This will also help the company to innovate many new activities and performances of circus. Cirque du soleil is recommended to organize shows of different cultures. This will build strong relationship with the audience. Different countries have different cultures. Depicting those cultures in their in their shows will attract more audience. This will also help its employees to gather knowledge about the culture of that country and adopt in that environment. The individual positive qualities and characteristics of the employees of different cultures are recommended to encourage by the firm. By this process the individual performances of the artists in the circus will improve its quality. The circus also requires group and collective work. Encouraging the culture of collectivism will improve the group performance of the artists. The firm should give equal opportunity to its employees. This will help them to motivate the artists and increase their quality of performance. The improvement of the training and development system of the company will increase the potentialities and skills of the artists. It will help them to match the performer’s needs. It will improve the development of the organization. Cirque du soleil can get involved in the business of manufacturing sportswear and sports equipment by diversifying its business. This will help the firm to generate more revenue. The strategic decision will also help in popularizing the brand. The staffs of the organizations will become more loyal towards the firm for its popular brand presence. Cirque du soleil can do joint venture with different circus companies to enhance its human resource capacity and delivering shows of far better qualities. Conclusion In Cirque du Soleil, people that work with the company belong to different cultures. The company has to manage the employees effectively and efficiently so that they work with full dedication in the company. In order to ensure that the people of different cultures gel with the company well the company must do everything that it can to alleviate problems that arise due to cultural differences. This is done so as to ensure that that the people belonging to different cultures can gel with each other well so that the final act that the different performers bring together is great and unique. In order to achieve this manager take extra care so that the people belonging to different cultures do not feel alienated. The manager takes extra care of the people of different cultures so that they do not homesick. The acrobatic teams belonging to china are taken extra care of so that they give their best performance in the acrobatic drill. The manager takes personal care to identify if they have any particular injuries. The company also has an internal bulletin where people can list any particular grievance that they have against the company. In order to increase the coordination amongst the employees and to ensure that they gel with each other well the company must ensure that the employees must work in groups and the employees become aware of the characteristics of people belonging to different groups. References Ferraro G. 2002. The Cultural Dimension of International Business. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Hall’s cultural factors (no date). Available at: [Accessed 08th january 2015] Hall, E. 1966. The Hidden Dimension. New York: Anchor Hall, E. 1983. The Dance of Life. New York: Anchor Hofstede, (no date). Masculinity versus Femininity Available at:< http://www.andrews.edu/~tidwell/bsad560/HofstedeMasculinity.html > [Accessed 08th January 2015] Hofstede, G. 2001. Culture’s Consequences. London: Sage Publications. Pears, R. and Shields, G. 2009 “Cite them Right”. Durham: Pear Tree Books. Thomas, D. 2008. Successful Cross-Cultural Management. London: Sage Publications. Tjosvold, D. and Leung, K. 2003. Cross-Cultural Management: Foundations and Future. Hampshire: Ashgate. Watson, D. and Head, A. 2013. Corporate finance: principles and practice. Harlow: Pearson. Read More