Impact of Culture on Globalization Strategies - Essay Example

 Impact Of Culture On Globalization Strategies EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………………………………………………..... 2 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………… 4 I. GLOBALIZATION……………………………………………………………….......... 4 A. Definition of Terms……………………………………………………………. 4 1. Global Organizations…………………………………………………… 5 2. Culture………………………………………………………………….. 5 3. Global Strategy…………………………………………………………. 8 B. Brief Historical Background………………………………………………….... 9 1. Origins of Globalization………………………………………………… 9 2. Contemporary Updates………………………………………………… 10 II. GLOBALIZATION STRATEGIES……………………………………………………10 A. Global Sourcing Strategy…………………………………………………….. 10 B. Global Corporate Culture…………………………………………………….. 11 C. Global Teams…………………………………………………………………. 12 III. IMPACT OF CULTURE ON GLOBALIZATION STRATEGIES…………………. 14 A. Importance of Culture in Global Organizations……………………………….14 B. Risks inherent in Global Organizations………………………………………. 16 1. Political Risks………………………………………………………….16 2. Economic Risks………………………………………………………..18 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………….19 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………….20 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Literatures of global strategy have evolved within two decades with the emergence of diverse perspectives and issues on globalization. The multitude of literatures on the subject enriched available information on global competition and strategy. The critical role that culture takes in global organizations need to be closely examined especially in American firms where globalization proliferates. Taking another perspective, it is likewise relevant to look into the effects of globalization on culture. Several studies have indicated that globalization actually destroys cultural identities of specific nations it pervades. Others aver that globalization creates and proliferates cultural identities. These issues indicate the complexity of globalization as a process as it involves influencing and affecting various sectors of the targeted markets, including the global economy, social structures, political systems, the physical environment, and the national, organizational and global culture it ultimately reaches. This cross cultural management project is written for American readers, businessmen, and global entrepreneurs to familiarize and update them on the subject. As the subject of various literatures on globalization, there is an assumption that globalization aims to impose Western culture through the proliferation of products and services targeted to non-Western countries. In this regard, the American firms engaged in global transactions must be made aware of not only of the impact of culture on global strategies – but more so, the impact of globalization on diverse cultures it pervades. The objectives on this research are as follows: (1) to proffer on relevant issues pertaining to global organizations: its definition and historical background; (2) to focus on the attributes and challenges of global strategies; (3) to analyze the role, importance and impact of culture on global organizations; and (4) to discuss the inherent risks in culture that likewise affects global strategies. This research would be made possible through a close examination of relevant literatures on globalization, organizational culture, and the impact of culture of globalization strategies. The researchers used various references ranging from books, articles from both academic research and academic practitioner journals, as well as from business press trade publications, among others. The findings from the research would be analyzed in the light of contemporary issues and their implications to future trends in globalized markets. There is an emerging ‘deterritorializing’ aspect of globalization on culture that needs to be closely examined to address its premeditating effects in the future. INTRODUCTION The evolution of business organizations have transcended barriers due to the rapid technological advancement that occurred within the last century. The classifications and categories of enterprises continue to increase due to factors encompassing developments in time, space and culture. Global corporations must be aware that the nature of the business relationship with diverse governments is of primary importance to manage factors influencing its performance. One of the elements that global organizations closely and continuously evaluate is culture. As the components and diverse perspectives of culture pervade global organizations, this research aims to proffer significant cultural issues which impact global strategies. I. GLOBALIZATION The concept of globalization encompasses theories beyond the traditional view that global corporations merely do business abroad. Doing so would restrict and limit the nature and attributes of global organizations. In this regard, it is pertinent at this point to define relevant terms that would be used throughout the essay. A. Definition of Terms 1. Global Organizations. In the paper written for Zinnov LLC entitled Global Organizations: An Analysis, the author described and source resources on a Global basis to provide superior quality product/service at the lowest cost possible.” (Zinnov, n.d., 4) Harmony between cultures is a critical and necessary element for the global organizations. A close awareness of traditions, values and practices within specific cultures enable global corporations to inculcate critical cultural elements in their strategy. This definition is more comprehensive in identifying sharing of resources from one country to another with the objective of maximizing revenues by minimization of costs. Mazrui (2001, 1) defined globalization as consisting of systems and operating processes aiming to ultimately be interrelated with global protocols on a continuously growing exchange of transactions among diverse countries and regions. Dictionary sources simply define global organizations as “an international alliance involving many different countries” (Free Dictionary, 2010, par. 1). It fails to mention the relevant elements differentiating it from multinational corporations; and making it synonymous to international or world organizations. 2. Culture The impact of culture on global organizations is so relevant and profound that it cannot be discounted in its unique attributes. An article entitled Culture (http://www.tamu.edu/classes/cosc/choudhury/culture.html) contained interesting and diverse definitions of culture depending on perspectives: Culture encompasses diverse elements of traditions, attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, religions, concepts of time and space, universal concepts, artifacts, among others, which are unique to a group of individuals across generations. Culture is defined as a set of knowledge accumulated and shared by diverse collection of individuals. Culture is considered a form of communication. Culture is enhanced behavior, cultivated and learned; it is considered a series of experiences accumulated through time and transferred socially. Culture is more famously known as a way of life unique to a common set of individuals learned through values, behaviors, symbols and beliefs which are accepted unconsciously and generally; ultimately passed through generations by imitation and communication. Culture is known as a form of communication through symbols. The more common symbols eminent within a group of people are: knowledge, skills, motives, attitudes, and values, which are experienced, learned and perpetuated within local communities through various institutions. Culture has been recognized to consist of both implicit and explicit patterns of acquired behavior transmitted by basically by symbols. These symbols are common to a group of people and manifested in their artifacts, traditional ideas and especially through values and beliefs. The culture systems are actually considered as a balance between products of action and conditioning influences that impact on the unique group. Culture is a totality of behavior learned by a group of individuals transferred from one generation to the other and considered as a long time tradition of that group. Culture is an intellectual programming of a collective measure which distinguishes one group of individuals from other members or categories of people from diverse places. (Culture, n.d., par. 1) In global organizations, culture plays an important part in influencing and affecting the host organizations’ operations in terms of interacting with a collective group of people, whose values, beliefs and traditions are diversely variant from theirs. In an article written by Cobb & Barker (1999) the authors emphasized that the changing nature of culture affect both ethical and cultural norms pervading each society. Trade, on the other hand, has an effect in adapting the cultural and ethical norms of MNCs. The authors clearly explained that long term business relationships between host and home countries create social interaction and an acceptance of cultural norms. Concurrently, some form of integration between the ethical and cultural norms of both countries will eventually evolve. There are ways to determine the extent of global involvement in cultural awareness. The article on Culture (n.d., par. 10) proffered that global organizations do not necessarily require exactly equal degrees of awareness of cultural orientations. The illustration indicated as Figure 1 shows how companies can understand the extent to which cultures at various levels interact and get involved globally. It depicts that as an organization moves farther from core business in the host company, the more it should have an understanding of diversity in culture. As companies move out and step into another axis, more awareness is eminent towards a greater understanding of diverse cultural orientations. Figure 1. Cultural Awareness and Extent of Global Involvement Reference: Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind. New York: McGraw Hill. 3. Global Strategy Before streamlining the definition to global strategy, it would be appropriate to define a strategy as taken in the context of business. Wagner (n.d.) in his International Business Notes on Global Strategy noted Jay B. Barney’s definition as “a firm’s theory about how to compete successfully” (par. 1). A global strategy therefore is an organization’s intricate and comprehensive design to compete successfully in the global market. According to Zou & Cavusgil, there are six major elements that consider the multidimensional perspective of global strategies, to wit: global market participation, concentration of value-adding activities, uniform program in marketing, integrated moves toward considering competitive factors, standardization of products, and coordination of value-adding activities. (1995, 62) As averred by Wagner (n.d., 4), global strategy is manifested by implementation of functions which are performed in one place but not necessarily in exactly the same place. As an example, an organization employing a global strategy could implement its finance function in the US, all production of critical components in US, do research and development in Germany, and finally comply with ultimate assembly in the Philippines. The global strategy is then considered a specialization strategy which is adopted by organizations exhibiting a set of commonly homogenous traits: (1) costs differ significantly across nationalities for various types of services and products; (2) low costs of transportation and border costs; and (3) substantially large fixed costs. Ultimately, when faced with pressures from competitors, organizations switch to specialization strategy for more effective implementation of global operations. B. Brief Historical Background 1. Origins of Globalization Mazrui (2001, 1) identified four major forces that influenced the evolution of globalization, to wit: empire, technology, religion and economy. These factors were found to be dependent on each other and have reinforcing pressures that interplay in global operations. The world-system theory presented by Lechner (2001) provided the impetus for Western Europe to search for other markets due to advances in technology. Factors such as military strength, advances in production and innovation, discovery of alternative means of transportation all contributed to reaching other nations. Accordingly, it was revealed that the world is considered to be destined for the accumulation of profits from the exchange of resources, products and services which are considered homogeneous in nature. (Lechner, 2001, par. 2) Another author who conducted a study on the history and evolution of globalization is Jerry Bentley who proffered that the following distinct marks are worth noting: some 500 thousand to a million years ago, there appeared to be a migration of the Homo erectus from Africa; in 4000 B.C.E, the horses are considered domesticated and the stout watercraft was invented; in 3500 B.C.E. the wheel was finally invented; after 3000 B.C.E., the camels were also considered domesticated; after 500 B.C.E., well traveled lanes in the seals of the Indian Oceans were established; in 200 B.C.E., the silk roads were considered opened for trading; after 200 B.C.E., there was the spread of diseases which were considered a epidemic in nature; after 1492, permanent contacts between the western, eastern hemisphere, and Oceania were prominently established; after 1600, the global trading companies have started to exist; after industrialization, modern modes of transportation and technologies in communication were developed; and finally, in the 20th century, the existence of an integration of globalized economies with transnational organizations emerged. (Riggs, 1998) 2. Contemporary Updates Wallerstein (1998) has revealed that globalization in the twentieth century was considered to have attained the limit in terms of geographic perspectives as capitalist markets and state systems were extended beyond capacities. During this era, the US has risen as a dominant power political, economic, ideological strength but whose leadership status has started to diminish due to factors concurrent with globalization. Wallerstein has identified this period as a transition era with new and emerging developing countries whose economies continue to grow and improve, the intricate patterns of globalization in previous decades have seized to affect contemporary markets. According to Lewis (2005, xxii), “the 21st century will be crunch time for Western managers in terms of meeting fierce and unrelenting Asian competition (especially from China)”. In addition, Lewis recognized other Asian markets to be the targets of future global organizations as they continue to grow and develop in terms of economic capabilities and resources and in population. These markets are identified as India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Brazil (Lewis, 2005, xxii). II. GLOBALIZATION STRATEGIES A. Global Strategy In an article written by Heil (2010), he initially emphasized that the development of a global strategy is premised on the overall strategy of the corporation which considers the following relevant aspects: (1) scope of operations; (2) allocation of resources; (3) competitive advantage; and (4) synergy (par. 20). Under global conditions, culture is seen as heterogeneous which consists of dissimilar elements or parts. Therefore, global organizations would design strategies taking into consideration the diversity of cultures in the markets they plan to operate. The study conducted by Zinnov indicated that global strategy employs the following factors to ensure an efficient operation in the global market: successively identified as leadership team, global message, change management and an organizational structure designed specifically for targeted markets (Zinnov, n.d., 5). A competent leadership team must understand components such as the intricate systems and processes of their core competencies, the functions they are to undertake, the culture of the target markets and the ability to change cultural framework in the targeted markets. The global message should discuss the status of the organization, the advantages of global strategies, the competitive advantage in the markets, and commitment to stakeholders. Change management and organization structure is implemented concurrently as the tasks require advising appropriate personnel on systems, processes, changes in responsibilities and tasks that go with globalization. The organizational structure, likewise, would encourage decentralization, a wide division of labor and an open span of control. (Zinnov, n.d., 6) B. Global Corporate Culture A global corporate culture is defined as set of values, goals and behaviors collected world wide (Zinnov, n.d., 7). The following elements are critical in understanding corporate culture in global markets: legal environment, language, social setup, material culture, politics, and education and values. Language is an important factor that needs to be learned for efficient global operations in foreign markets. The legal environment encompasses laws, rules, regulations and pertinent licensing requirements to do business. The social setup considers religion, values, and traditions of the society as they interrelate to business organizations. Material culture takes into account innovative products, services, and achievements unique to the national culture but must be imbibed by the host organization in their business activities. The political system considers structures and governance which impact global transactions. Finally, the educational system and values takes into account the general academic structure available in the foreign country and the values that the population has ingrained on education, as a whole. All of the factors have to be evaluated and closely examined by the host organization planning to expand its operations to global markets with cultural orientations that are diversely contrary to what the organization has been accustomed to. C. Global Teams The emergence of virtual teams came as a necessary spin-off from interactions that ensue from electronic networks. Concurrently, the concepts of leadership have adapted competencies catering to global virtual teams. In a study conducted by Jarvenpaa & Leidner (1998), they defined a virtual team as form of transformed organizational network (Miles & Snow, 1986) enabled by technological and communication development and advancement (Davidow & Malone, 1992; Jarvenpaa & Ives, 1994). The theoretical framework for virtual encompasses permeable boundaries and interfaces, project teams evolving rapidly in its inception to dissolution as needs in the target markets change, and people with diverse qualifications and skills are tapped across the spheres of space, culture and time (Kristof et al, 1995; Mowshowitz, 1997)”. A virtual global team (VGT) is hereby defined as “a temporary, culturally diverse, geographically dispersed, electronically communicating work group” (Kristof et al, 1995). According to Wong-MingJi (2009), there are two critical functions that GVT leaders are entrusted with: team development and performance management. Accordingly, she emphasized that currently, GVT leaders should possess certain qualities which would assist them in managing this type of enterprises, to wit: “competencies for GVT leaders can be classified into five broad categories: proficiencies and skills in computer-mediated communication systems (CMCS), a design of work process, competencies across cultural boundaries, inter-personal communication, and management of oneself. CMCS proficiency is critical in terms of aligning technology with strategic organizational goals. Work process design competencies are needed to effectively manage the workflows. Managing global virtual workflows depends on leadership skills to structure teams appropriately for subtasks, monitor work progress, establish expectations, maintain accountability, build a cohesive team, motivate team members, create trust, develop team identity, and manage conflicts (Wong-MingJi 2009). Knowledge of cross-cultural and interpersonal communication are likewise critical factors in ensuring GVTs encompass diverse cultural backgrounds of virtual teams. A knowledge of diverse cultures would incorporate and address issues concerning organizational culture and diversity. Finally, self-management “refers to adaptability in dealing with changes, emotional self-control, initiative for action, achievement orientation, trustworthiness, and integrity with consistency among values, emotions and behavior, optimistic view, and social competence” (Wong-MingJi 2009). The development of GVT leaders with self-management can positively influence team performance by rectifying areas of their own weaknesses and reinforcing their strengths. In addressing future trends, leadership competencies require the following: (1) readiness to adjust and adapt to the greater complexities and ambiguities required by GVTs; (2) innovativeness to capture the fast degrees of advances in technology and innovations in telecommunications which will create even more opportunities in the future; (3) ability to facilitate enforcement of organizational development and change management (Wong-MingJi 2009). In addition, Jarvenpaa & Leidner (1998) presented the following issues which should be addressed in the future: there is a recognized need for a structured system of research on profiles of virtual team members, requirements for tasks, capabilities for technologies, and other factors affecting the environment which affects reaction of team members enabling them to be encouraged and motivated to face challenges in the global environment. There is a strong need to closely examine leadership roles and styles which cater to the needs of these virtual global teams despite lack of direct contacts, in many cases. The concerns affecting cultural diversity of team members need to be examined and reviewed in the light to current developments in the global markets. II. IMPACT OF CULTURE ON GLOBALIZATION STRATEGIES A. Importance of Culture in Global Organizations When Culture Collide by Richard D. Lewis provided a comprehensive discourse on cultural diversity focusing on elements such as language, cultural conditioning, the concept of time and other unique mannerisms of traditional culture in specific countries. In addition, his views on leadership and management across cultures are highlighted through a discussion of diverse organizational scenarios including virtual teams, which was previously discussed, and decision-making, among others. A majority of his book was devoted to a comprehensive discussion of cultural orientations of specific countries starting from the United States as one of the English Speaking Countries, to Western, Central, and Eastern European Countries, Baltic, Nordic, and Middle Eastern Countries, before finally proffering cultural distinctions from Asian and Latin American Countries. The importance of culture emerges in learning cultural phenomena according to the four dimensions in Hofstede’s onion diagram: symbols, heroes, rituals and values. In one of his diagrams manifesting trust accorded by various cultural groups to family, friends, or foreigners, in general. It is interesting to note that Americans were previously classified as high-trust cultural group but showed a “declining trust level due to perceived corruption in state and national government and in their financial institutions, particularly in corporate governance” (Lewis, 2005, 146). Those countries which belong to the low-trust cultural category are China, Mexico, France and the Latin and Arab countries, whose people only trust their family and one or two close, lifetime friends (Lewis, 2005, 146). Leadership behavior, for example, is influenced and affected by the culture in which each leader and worker operates. Culture influences leadership philosophy and practice mainly through motivation. The idea that leadership works though people, however tautological, is vital for leaders in a culture that differs from their own. Culture affects people – their needs, wants, aspirations, all of which the leader must tap. Specifically Japanese leadership practices contrast sharply from American leadership approaches. The most distinctive characteristic of Japanese organizations centers on their participative approach to decision making. The typical Japanese manager is likely to decide major issues, for instance, changing the production process or setting up a new plant, through consensus of all those who would be affected by the decision even though this may involve fifty or even more people. Ultimately, decision responsibility is collective rather than individual. Although the process is time consuming, it is generally considered that a participative approach produces more creative decisions compared to individual decision-making. Committed workers are the key to increased productivity. Japanese leadership practices facilitate employee involvement that leads to higher productivity. Leadership style emphasizes paternalistic patterns where the leader assumes the role of a “father” who seeks consultation with his constituents. Ethical dilemmas are minimized using this style because through consultation, the leader utilized the consensus of the group in decision making process. This style is highly dependent on the organization’s culture which is long embedded and difficult to change. By delving into specific differences on any or all of the four dimensions of cultural phenomena, global organizations seeking to invest in foreign markets are given an orientation on areas they should focus on if strategies are to be effective in these markets. B. Risks inherent in Culture 1. Political Risks The nature of global markets has seen the inherent risks brought about by diverse political structures and governing bodies. A global enterprise must be aware that political risk can be managed with the proper techniques and strategies. The Eurasia Group and Pricewaterhouse Coopers define political risk as a change or transformation in political factors which cause the outcomes and values to be different from expected and thereby affects the attainment of originally defined corporate goals. As suggested, the following actions would assist global organizations in anticipating, measuring and managing political risks, to wit: (1) Current political risk should be evaluated in terms of the organization’s level of preparedness. The resources of the organization, including controls and adequacy in risk management and mitigation would assist in preparing plans to address the political risk identified. (2) Planning and simulation of risks and opportunities which incorporates political risk would enable organizations to design appropriate methods to adjust risks according to changes in the political environment (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2009). (3) Strategic decision making process and risk management applications of global organizations must incorporate political risk factors to facilitate timely decisions especially in areas of investment and global operations (Pricewaterhouse Coopers 2009). (4) The organization’s assessment of capital allocations must include political risk components especially of instability to enable continuous and efficient management of decision making processes on a global scale (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2009). These measures are effective insofar as giving direction and focus to global organizations in addressing political risks. Global corporations must be aware that the nature of the business relationship with the host government is of primary importance to manage political risk. As averred by Gryphon (2002), business organizations in Western countries recognized that countries which have unstable political governments have greater financial potentials. As such, these organizations learn to use awareness in political risks and accept some limitations in managing them. Thus, global organizations even seek professional institutions to assist them in managing political risks due to the large expected returns that they project to generate despite the threats and costs of managing them. 2. Economic Risks Harvey (2009) defines a country’s economic risk as a nation’s developmental status in terms of factors affecting its economy and impacts transactions with international organizations. For example, global organizations must be aware that doing business in the Philippines exposes them to both economic and political risks. AsiaNews (2003) reported that the Philippines is considered as the most corrupt economical system in the Political and Economic Risk Council Asian Continent. The information is derived from contemporary research conducted by the Hong Kong based centre Political and Economic Risk Council (Perc), as published in the report date March 13, 2003. The Council indicated that the rationale for the finding is that the promises of politicians in the country continue to be implemented and therefore exasperated foreign investors planning to transact business in the country. By utilizing macroeconomic tools, a global corporation can anticipate economic risk of a country. Oetzel, Bettis and Zenner (2001) averred that an examination of risks among 17 nations during a period of 19 years revealed that fluctuations in currency have been used replacements for country risks as a whole. As indicated, commercial risk measures are not efficient in predicting the real risks that exist in the economy. CONCLUSION The impact of culture on global strategies is critical and relevant in terms of making host organizations aware and adept in applying strategic measures towards the achievement of organizational goals. Global organizations cannot merely exist and survive by imposing its national and corporate culture to foreign markets. There is a need to closely examine, not only theoretical frameworks on cultural dimensions affecting global organizations, but more so, the practical applications of actual experiences of global firms delving into foreign lands. The study was able to achieve its objective of proffering relevant issues pertaining to global organizations including differentiating global terms and historical background. It was able to discuss the attributes and challenges of global strategies and analyzed the role, importance and impact of culture on global organizations. The risks inherent in culture that likewise, affects and influences global strategies were finally discussed. As initially mentioned, there is an emerging ‘deterritorializing’ aspect of globalization on culture that needs to be closely examined to address its premeditating effects in the future. By deterritorializing, culture is transformed into a practically new culture by hybridity. The effect of globalization is the creation of a globalized culture – recognizing cultural diversity and acknowledging that the uniqueness of traditional values must continue to exist. Global strategies therefore are designed to incorporate the uniqueness inherent in every national culture and use these traits to their organizational and competitive advantage. REFERENCES Cobb, S.L. & Barker, T.S., 1999. A Survey of Ethics and Cultural Dimensions of MNCs. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal incorporating Journal of Global Competitiveness, 9(2): 11-18. Davidow, W.H., & Malone, W. S. 1992. The virtual corporation. New York, NY: Edward Burlingame Books/HarperBusiness, Harper Collins Publishers. Free Dictionary. 2010. Definition of Global Organizations. Retrieved 14 March 2010, from < http://www.thefreedictionary.com/global+organization> Harvey, C. R. 2009. Definition of Country Economic Risk. Hypertextual Finance Glossary. 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