Cross-Cultural Concepts and Issues Which Could Arise - Essay Example

?Introduction A large amount of discussion has centred around whether barriers between cultures have gradually diminished (Nordstrom, 1991). Many suggest that the world, particularly the business world, has become increasingly homogenous. Despite these developments, businesses who incorporate cross-cultural elements into their activities experience difficulties as a result of differences in cultural backgrounds, languages and value systems. Problems caused by cultural differences in international firms are problematic on every level; from negotiations between companies across the globe to the management of international teams. While the benefits of successful cross-cultural activities are many, the problems which are posed to companies on an everyday basis must be dealt with effectively if the awards are to be reaped. This paper will assess the management issues which could arise in an international team consisting of English, Chinese, Spanish and Finnish members. It will then seek to propose methods for addressing these issues and dealing with them effectively. Cross-Cultural Concepts and Issues Which Could Arise There exist many differing theories as to the way in which cultures differ considerably on several levels. One pertinent theory put forth by Maletzke (1996) categorises cultural differences into 9 groups. Although these will be briefly stated, they are relevant in assessing which problems could arise for a manager of an international group. Maletzke states that cultural differences can consist in many different categories (1996). The national character of a culture consists in the shared basic behavioural patterns and personality traits of the people in the culture. In the business arena this can be an issue if one culture, being inherently different to another, finds it difficult to understand, or co-operate with the other. For example, the Spanish culture is open, loud and friendly whereas the Finnish culture is formal, softly spoken and favours courteousness. This may cause the Finnish person to be offended or overwhelmed by the playful, less formal characteristics of the Spanish person. The Spanish may also overwhelm the Chinese person as Chinese tend to be more softly spoken and less verbal. Another important element of culture is time concept, which has the potential to differ greatly between cultures and cause problems when co-ordinating meetings and planning schedules. Here there exists the potential for the Chinese and the English person to conflict in that the former is less prompt for meetings, and often has no fixed start or end time whereas the English person desires a more specified form of time management. This also applies to the Spanish who may stand alone in his lack of planning, relaxed perception of time and lack of willingness to restrict his day to particularly planned schedules and meeting times. The space concept of culture can cause problems in that the Finnish, English and Chinese may conflict with the Spanish concept of space. The Mediterranean culture of the Spanish places little importance on private space, and may even adopt constant forms of physical contact in order to communicate and express himself. This may cause discomfort, particularly for the Finnish culture which is likely to see physical contact between mere business associates as inappropriate and even offensive. For example, the Finnish method of greeting is a simple handshake with a smile, as is the English method. The Spanish is more likely to shake hands, yet place a hand on the back of the person he greets, or even kiss the cheek of the person he greets. The two methods are rather different and have the potential to cause issues in the business arena. Perception as a facet of culture also has the potential to be an issue, in that it could represents which each culture defines as important and non-important. Perhaps the largest potential of raising issues is the language and non-verbal communication of each culture. Of course, different languages are a major problem, though more importantly, even if all 4 cultures share for example a sound knowledge of English, non-verbal communication may differ greatly between them. The Spanish culture is extremely non-verbal; it employs the use of hand gestures and tones which could be misunderstood as aggressive or dramatic by the other cultures. The Chinese tend to disagree in a non verbal manner, as they generally have problems saying no. The British culture is extremely direct, and such a direct manner of communication is likely to raise issues with the Finnish culture which is more humble, modest, and courteous. The modest tones of the Finnish may be overpowered by the loud, expressive tones of the Spanish, as well as the Spanish tendency to interrupt – something which the Finnish culture finds extremely rude. The way in which the different cultures have different thought patterns may also raise issues and problems as to how goals and tasks are approached and dealt with. The Spanish tends to take more risks and deal with problems as and when they arise, whereas the other cultures prefer to plan ahead, pre-solve any potential problems, and plan considerably before dealing with a task or a goal. The Spanish may find this frustrating as he is more of a doer than a thinker. Hot the different cultures view relationships may also be an issue, as the Finnish tend to keep business relationships separate, and on a more formal level than their personal relationships. The Spanish culture has no problem making a friend in the workplace, and even though his familial ties are paramount, he will put a lot of effort into turning business associates into friends. The other cultures may find this inappropriate or unnecessary, yet this is the way in which the Spanish is likely to feel more comfortable when conducting business. There are thus many different facets to the culture, which can differ between cultures and this has the potential to cause problems and issues in the workplace. Factors such as power distance which convey the degree of inequality in power and wealth between people in a culture can affect how they approach concepts of equality, authority, and so on Hofstede (1984). This could cause problems for the cultures that place less importance on authority, particularly for the manager. Whether the cultures are individualist or collectivist depends on whether they promote loose interpersonal relationships, independence or interdependence and close ties between others. The Spanish culture (also, but to a lesser degree, the Chinese culture) is rather interdependent – they place importance on close ties, whereas the British culture is much more independent. Similarly, the masculinity or femininity of a culture has a great effect on the displays (or not) of dominance and the valuing of performance or achievement (masculine) over welfare or nurturance (feminine). This could cause issues for the managerial post in that the mixture of feminist and masculine cultures has the potential to create different values within the business team and thus reduce the degree of shared goals the members possess. Additionally, the degree of uncertainty avoidance conveys the degree to which a culture prefers structured or unstructured situations. Cultures which have high uncertainty avoidance tend to have a very low tolerance for ambiguity, which results in a rather conservative and rule-oriented society such as that of England. Cultures which have low uncertainty avoidance possess less concern about ambiguity and therefore such societies are less regulated and more defined by risk taking, such as the Spanish. This can cause issues, as the low uncertainty avoidance is likely to ignore rules and regulations, whereas the high uncertainty avoidance culture will experience extreme difficulty in deviating from rules and regulations. This could cause conflict within the team, particularly between the English and the Spanish. The universalist culture will similarly favour rules and standards over particular needs – such cultures view rules as applying equally and universally to members. Exceptions would be considered to weaken the rule; this is very resonant of the British and Finnish cultures. On the other hand, particularistic cultures favour human connection and friendship and intimate relationships with those around them as far as possible. Such cultures tend to favour the spirit of the law over the letter of the law (Trompenaars And Hampden Turner 1997) and are thus more likely to deviate from specific rules is they see fit. This is likely to be the Spanish culture, and also the Chinese culture has the potential (albeit less) to deviate from rules, as they tend to apply them to specific situations than see them as a whole. This can raise issues for the international team in that those who see fit to deviate from regulations and rules if necessary may cause conflict with the cultures that prefer to follow the specific rules no matter what. Another potential difference between the culture in the international team is their classification as communitarian or individualist. Individualistic cultures tend to place the individual before the community and hence prioritize individual happiness, welfare, fulfilment and freedom. In contrast, communitarian cultures place the community before its individuals and thus assess the quality of life of the individual in the context of the community – to the degree to which he serves the interests of the community (Trompenaars and Hampden Turner, 1997). Those in horizontal individualistic cultures aim be unique and to do their own thing, whereas those in vertical individualistic cultures do not only seek to be the best but they also desire autonomy. Individuals who are horizontal collectivists tend to amalgamate with their in-groups. In contrast, hierarchy collectivists are more willing to sacrifice themselves for their in-groups, and hence are generally vertical in their orientation (Triandis & Suh, 2002). How to Address the Issues It can thus be seen that the potential issues which could arise within the international group are many. As a cross-cultural manager it is important to understand the different cultures and to become familiar with their traits as well as how they differ and have the potential to conflict with other cultures. This would enable to cross-cultural manager to adopt strategies which either avoid or ease the conflicts which could so easily arise. Perhaps the biggest problem is how they different cultures will communicate with each other, and this can be eased by the providing of guidelines to help the individuals to adopt effective communicational methods with their team members. This form of language socialisation is important because it provides the opportunity to undertake “an investigation of how language both presupposes and creates anew, social relations in cultural context” (Rymes 2008: 1). Communication can occur in verbal and nonverbal modes; language is accompanied by body language, appearance and gestures. Different meaning scan thus be attributed to these elements depending on the culture. While similar cultures will ascribe the same meaning to both verbal and non verbal communication, different cultures may misunderstand the message even at the slightest action. It is thus proposed that training could play an important role in teaching members the verbal and non verbal cues of different cultures so that they may understand the message that is being communicated. It is common practice for companies and businesses to invest time and money into training and educating international team members so that problems can be avoided. This is a form of heightened awareness which is important if a cross-cultural team is to function effectively. It can thus be stated that the cultural differences of an international team have the potential raise endless issues, concerns and problems. However, a rational, appropriate response to dealing with such issues and problems is not impossible. It is perhaps suggestible that the most important aspect is awareness, education and traninig. With an understanding of how the concerned cultures differ in the aforementioned aspects, particularly language and communication, an approach can be taken which aims to educate and train the members of the team so that they are able to take on and understand the cultural characteristics of those they work with. This will enable to English to understand the unstructured manner of the Spanish, while the Spanish will understand the quieter and more formal nature of the Finnish. If each member of the multinational team is able to gain and possess a knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of the cultures they work with, then methods and strategies can be employed which can ease the issues which are raised as a results of their differences. It is important that cross-cultural managers understand the need to educate and train international teams in such a manner. . References Hofstede, G. 1997, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, 2nd edn, McGraw-Hill, New York. Maletzke, G. 1996, International Communication, Westdeutscher Verlag, Berlin. Nordstrom, K. & Vahlne, J-E. 1992, ‘Is the Globe Shrinking?: Psychic Distance and the Establishment of Swedish Sales Subsidiaries During the last 100 Years’, Paper presented at the International Trade and Finante Association’s Annual Conference April 22-25, 1992, Laredo Texas. Rymes, A. 2008, ‘Language Socialization and the Linguistic Anthropology of Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education’, 2 Springer 8. Triandis, H.C., & Suh, E.M. 2002, ‘Cultural Influences on Personality’, Annual Review of Psychology 53: 133-160. Trompenaars, F. & Hampden Turner, C. 1997, Riding the Waves of Culture, McGraw-Hill, New York. Read More