Understanding the Mistakes Committed by Donaldson - Case Study Example

1. Businesses looking to be successful over a longer period of time will have to look towards finding out ways through which the business will be able to reduce the mistakes in the future. This requires that the management looks towards understanding the mistakes by evaluating the different alternatives so that business is able to gain efficiency. The case highlights some of the mistakes that have been committed by Donaldson. Donaldson have been a part for the organization for some time now but despite it hasn’t been able to formulate a mechanism through which the risks and the mistakes made are controlled. One of the mistakes committed by Donaldson was that he wasn’t able to understand the cultural differences that existed between organizations working in different places. The lack of skills shown by Donaldson to deal with the manner in which culture differs resulted in differences between the different members of different organizations. This made it difficult for the Donaldson to execute the plans as determined as Donaldson didn’t understand the importance culture has on management practices and the manner the business working is altered due to it (Warner & Joynt, 2002). The fact that management practices are guided and determined through social settings which are influenced by local and cultural norms were completely ignored (Downes, Thomas and Singley, 2002). This made it difficult for Donaldson to change in the manner he used to work. Donaldson continued on the same approach like taking extra time in arranging papers whereas the other culture thought it as wastage of time and wanted it to be done before time. This created differences and made it difficult for the entire organization to come together and work as a single unit. The case also shows that Donaldson was unable to predict the cultural and other changes that have to be done to be able to present better and ensure that the objectives were better delivered. It is identified that economic development to a large extend depends on predicting the cultural changes (Richardson & McKenna, 2002) and the inability of Donaldson to identify those was an area which highlighted major problems for the business. A factor which can help in this direction is the manner in which consumerism has gained importance due to wide use of internet has enabled the business to change with changing times (Ward and R-Deuba, 2000). The fact that Donaldson wasn’t able to identify those shows that the cultural changes and the manner in which consumerism was gaining importance was not managed which affected the decisions taken by Donaldson. The mistakes were committed by Donaldson due to the fact that the future growth and success that the organization has seen on account of the policy changes made by Donaldson which made him look towards using similar concepts. The fact that Donaldson didn’t lay importance to understand the manner in which there were cultural changes and differences between the culture has an effect on the business resulted in little or no changes in the manner the business was conducted. The case shows that individualism was a concept which was greatly relied on and Donaldson looked towards using a fundamental where cultural aspects were ignored and the business looked towards adopting this method (Zakaria, 2000). The mistakes also shows that Donaldson wasn’t able to understand the surrounding factors that were influencing his decision making skills and was acting as a barrier in delivering quality performances. The fact that Donaldson totally ignored the manner in which the meetings were held and didn’t look towards understanding the situation from the perspective of others shows a lack of clear understanding to understand the manner in which the performance gets affected and had a bearing on the final objective as working together became difficult. It is the responsibility of Donaldson and the other members within the organization to bring forward the issue to Donaldson. The management has to look towards bringing the issue in front of Donaldson and making him understand the manner in which cultural differences which is an important aspect especially in international business was ignored. The management has to look towards ensuring that Donaldson understands the manner in which the business will be able to carry out new contracts and increase their business if cross cultural differences are understood and a mechanism is developed which looks towards ensuring that the business is able to deal with the differences is a better way. The fact that the management was not able to deal with Donaldson affected his motivational level and his working style was affected. This made Donaldson loose interest in the job as the different parameters on which he used to perform didn’t provide him the same benefits. It is seen that they key factors determining success is the manner the person is conscious of his own behavior which has an influence on uncertainity & incertitude management (Giacalone & Beard, 2004). This resulted in a loss of focus for Donaldson and he was not able to deal in the same efficient manner for which he was profound. This affected the working style of everyone involved around him and made people doubt whether he was the same person who was able to deliver performance when required. This resulted in raising doubts about the person caliber and skills and since Donaldson showed the inability to deal with intercultural adjustments the effects were very bad and resulted in decisions which affected the overall potential and opportunity that Donaldson had to improve the working style of the business. 2. The company has a huge role in determining the skills and areas which are of prime importance in being able to deliver quality performance and requires that a framework is developed through which the organization will be able to provide better results. The involvement of the organization required in this direction is very high as it will provide the basic fundamentals and infrastructure which will help the employees to deal with the surrounding factors satisfactorily and ensure that better results are achieved. The company could have looked towards providing the training and skills so that Donaldson could have dealt with the services of using him as an expatriate so that the differences between the cultures that existed could have been marginalized. Before moving on it is important to understand an expatriate. An expatriate is a person who is sent to another office of the same company in a different location so that the person gets the required knowledge and training to deal with the cultural differences and is done for a short period of time (Romero, 2002). The successful implementation of policies and growth of an organization largely depends on selecting the right person with the correct skills and sending the person across the border so that cultural issues can be handled (Selmer, 1999). This was an aspect which could have been used by the company and ensure that Donaldson would have been developing his skills and use it in a manner to gain efficiency and remove the differences that existed. Using expatriates in transactions which are involved over different countries will help to gain better coordination and control and will provide a complete understanding of the rules and governing procedure being followed by different country (Maurer & Li, 2006). This will thereby help Donaldson to ensure that the process of coordination develops and provides the required control which will ensure proper integration of the organization and provide long term positive returns which the business is looking at (Downes and Thomas, 2000). The role of Donaldson will increase as he will be able to control the subsidiaries better which will help to gain some degree of control on the local activities and will provide Donaldson the required space through which improved performance is delivered (Torbiorn, 2004). The process of providing training will be able to ensure that the organizational activities are able to share the vital resources and knowledge through a process of sharing and combination which will benefit both the organization (Grant, 2006). This is possible when Donaldson is provided the required training as it will help him to act as an expatriate and provide a clear understanding of the manner in which the business will be done. This will act as a stimulus through which positive relations will be developed and Donaldson will be able to develop business relations which is faltering at the moment due to differences being witnessed between the cultures. This will also facilitate the manner in which culture shock which was prevalent in the working style of Donaldson will be dealt. The required training which the organization looks towards providing through the way of expatriate will ensure that the nervousness and puzzling attitude which Donaldson had due to cultural differences will be marginalized (Neuliep, 2003). Since, people going to a new place which has a different culture still look towards adopting the same culture which was prevalent in the home country. These results in cultural shock and being able to get the required cross cultural training will act as a cushion through which this problem will be solved (Waxin & Panaccio, 2005). This will help Donaldson to learn the required skills and information pertaining to a different culture through which the ability to cope and work in a foreign environment is fostered and will help in contributing positively towards the goal of the business (Froster, 2000). This will thereby act as a stance through which Donaldson will be able to provide valuable inputs and remove the differences which exist in the present working system. In addition to it the management has to look towards ensuring that Donaldson is provided both with the pre departure training and post departure training so that the business is able to provide maximum benefit. The pre departure training will provide details regarding “cultural imperatives and customs, business etiquettes of that country, dressing system, cultural adiaphorous, customs that are necessary and optional to attend for participants, and also good language training” (Avril & Magnini, 2007) so that Donaldson is able to deliver quality performance on the stated standards. During the post departure training Donaldson will have to look towards working on the job where the culture of the country where the compang is going to perform has to be determined (Suutari & Burch, 2001). Providing the post departure training will be able to ensure that maximum benefits are being provided so that the cultural shock and cross cultural adjustments are handled in a better way so that dealing with different issues like taxes, and counseling are dealt in the most efficient manner (Sims & Schraeder, 2004). This will help Donaldson to be able to identify the manner in which cultural differences are dealt and will thereby help to deal with the manner in which the business is conducted between both the parties. The training process will also require the use of cognitive, behavioral & affective strategy through which the business will be able to find out a manner through which effective methods to improve business can be determined (Waxin & Panaccio, 2005). This will help Donaldson to remove the differences which will help to provide the required impetus through which the business will able to deal with the cultural differences and by using the services of expatriates will be able to find out the manner in which the business is able to perform in a better manner. This will also help Donaldson to ensure a mechanism through which effective methods can be developed. This will thereby help the organization to be able to find out a method through which the business the cultural differences will be removed and effective business goals will be identified and ensure proper growth opportunity. 3. The present policy of the company shows little information pertaining to expatriates as the company didn’t lay importance on developing a framework which will help to provide the required training to some of its employees are able to perform the job of an expatriate. The lack of proper training methods to be able to provide the required skills to its employees is seen as a major hindrance in the path of the organization to deliver quality result. The company shows little pre departure preparation for the employees who are going to perform in a different country which has resulted in creating cultural differences. The most important thing here is that the company looks towards developing a method which will look towards dealing with the different element like individual autonomy, uniqueness, individual expression, dignity and respect and finally humanness which will help to find out the manner in which cultural differences can be removed (Wang and Hinrichs, 2005). This is an aspect which the management has ignored and didn’t lay any relevance on identifying the manner in which proper training system can be developed so that efficiency is gained in the system. The lack of proper identification of strategy which will help to deal with the manner in which cultural differences will be addressed is an area of concern which the management has overlooked. This will require that the management looks towards finding out the different tools through which the problem gets solved. Increasing the role of expatriate will help to ensure that the management is able to involve with the local nationals in a better way and will provide the appropriate setting through which the business will be able to deal with the cultural issues (Black, Mendenhall & Oddou, 2001). This requires that a fundamental is developed through which a method which looks towards providing both on and off the job training so that the person is able to comply with the job of an expatriate will help to provide the required fundamentals which will guide the management. This will also act as a strategy through which the business looks towards developing long term relations and focuses on the business dealing that are being conducted. The process of providing training will be able to ensure that the organizational activities are able to share the vital resources and knowledge through a process of sharing and combination which will benefit both the organization (Grant, 2006). The training process will also require the use of cognitive, behavioral & affective strategy through which the business will be able to find out a manner through which effective methods to improve business can be determined (Waxin & Panaccio, 2005). This will help the management to deal with the present deficiencies which are arising due to difference in culture and will provide the basic strength and provisions through which the business is able to handle the problems associated with cross culture better. Thus, looking towards ensuring that employees working in the organization are provided with the required training and developing a training program for them will serve the purpose as it will ensure that the business is able to deal with the gaps and develop a fundamental through which better business decisions are taken and the cultural differences which exist is removed. References Avril, A. and Magnini, V. 2007. A holistic approach to expatriate successes. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19 (1), 53-64 Black, J. S., Mendenhall, M.E. & Oddou, G. 2001. Toward a comprehensive model of international adjustment: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives. Academy of Managemnet Review, 16 (2), 291-317 Downes, M., Thomas, A. and Singley, R. 2002. Predicting Expatriates job satisfaction: The role of firm internationalization’, Career Development International, 7 (1), 24-36. Downes, M. and Thomas, A. 2000. 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