Paper Example on Cross-cultural Management

Abstract

Cross-cultural management refers to the efforts made by companies to control the employees from different cultures. UK, German, and China are nations with different culture that govern their business environments. UK employee prefer to work individually while in china and German employees prefer to work under a boss who is also a guide ad source of inspiration. Cultural issues have intensified with the current rate of globalization where people from different cultures work together in teams. Team leaders need to understand the cultural composition of his team to offer the guidance that will help avoid discrimination of certain culture. Cross cultural issues such domination by majority cultures and miscommunication should be considered and addressed in teams (Jandt, 2004 p14). Member of a team should be provides with equal opportunity to contributed towards the success of the group. Behavioral modification is important to ensure talents are nurtured to improve performance of the organization. Good behavioral should be rewarded and the bad ones punished.

Background of Your Case UK, Joint Venture, and Teams

Hofstede developed the cultural dimension theory due to his desired o comprehend what motivated employees across the world, to continue working. His theory identified six dimensions which included; normative vs pragmatic, collectivism vs individualism, power distance, indulgence vs restraint, femininity vs masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede, 1984 p3). These cultural perspectives are displayed by various nations across the world, as the paper shall focus on Germany, China, and UK. The culture of a nation also affects their relationships and models of conducting business. Germany is a western country and has a history of reunification and Division as see in the case of west and East Germany (Hofstede, 1984 p17). For this reason their culture revolves around collectivism and individualism. Their business culture is collectivistic and tends to avoid risk so they can also be measured with a low uncertainty culture. Germany is a hierarchical nation and has power distance culture where people will work hard to earn it, especially as seen in the business world. The subordinates are not seen as the work but resourceful since they can also be consulted. However, those who earn the leadership position are supposed to be resourceful and democratic. German is a masculine society with men expected to be assertive, ambitious and tough. Women are expected to be sensitive and tender and nurture relationships. China is predominantly a high power distance culture (Yeh and Chen, 2004 P55). Unlike German, the Chinese subordinate are considered to take a lower position not close to the superiors, who make decision for everything. The superiors can abuse power without consequences. In the business world employees tend to obey and avoid contradicting what the superiors suggests (Khairullah and Khairullah, 2013 p10). The ranking among Chinese especially in the business world is important and people tend to maintain it. Chinese like the Germans do not value uncertainty in situations since it is viewed a threat to their culture. China is a high avoidance nation, employees tend to delegate less duties to the subordinates due to the low level or trust placed on their subordinates. Finally, UK is predominantly an individualistic culture nation. The power distance and uncertainty are the lowest and measure at the same level. Being a masculine nation people are expected to compete for power right from school to business establishment and only the best is recognized. The UK culture tend to avoid uncertainties due to the related anxiety. The UK culture also promotes indulgence which is supported by their optimistic attitudes. The three nations are different in culture as rated based on the Hofstede cultures.

The Meaning of Culture

Culture is an embodiment of the beliefs, customs, law, and art that are used to define a person or a society (Rathje, 2009 p4). The experiences both organized and coincidental, help to shape culture. Culture help to distinguish one group to another as seen in the cases of China, japan, and Germany.

The Importance of Understanding the 7s Model

Mckinsey Consulting developed the 7s model to assist in the hoslitsic organization of a company. The theory is based on seven elements of an organization that require to operate in a synergy for business success. These elements are divided into soft and hard, with each connected to the pinnacle of the organization which is the shared values. Each element help to align activities in an organization towards meeting the goals and objectives of the organization. The elements are used to define the culture of an organization. There are three soft and fourth hard elements as described shown below.

The hard elements include structure, strategy, and systems. Strategy referrer o the plan for a company to successful compete in the market. The strategy need to be long-term and articulate to the companys vision, mission, and the goal. A strong strategy helps the company to have a competitive advantage into the market, and if the strategy is short term and still articulated to the other six elements it was bring forth results but not good as compared to when it is on long term. Systems is another element that is used to reveal the daily activities that defines a company. For instance, the channels for decision making within the organization and the communication patterns. This is the areas in a company that determines how business is conducted and it is a very important element to focus when planning for organizational change. Finally is the structure which defines the departments within an organization and the leadership structures within the company.

The soft skills include styles, skills, and staff who are all connected the major element which is shared values. Skills refers to the expertise employee have to effectively handle their roles at the company. During the process of organizational change, specific skills to be reinforced and aborted are chosen. The changes is based on the change in strategy that require different mode of operation. Styles refers to the mode of conduct by the senior management team. It also refers to their role in decision making that translate into action that shape the progress of the company towards the goals and objects. Style also reflect the leadership style that top management apply to achieve the desired results by the organization. Staff is another element in this category and refers to the employees who run the routine activities of the company. Styles also refers to the companys recruitment, rewarding, motivation, and retention styles among other issues related to maintaining the employees within an organization. The human resource department performs this role on behalf of the organization (Pu, 2010 p7). This element is vital as it is the basic driving force of an organization. Recruitment of the best skills ensures that a company need for competitive advantage if fulfilled. The soft and hard elements of an organization are designed to reflect the shared values of the firms which include the goal vision, mission, and the objectives.

The Application of the Model to the Team

Each of the 7s model elements can be used to make better teams in a company to achieve best result (Baroto, Arvand, and Ahmad, 2014 p34). For instance, the staff from different departments need to coordinate their efforts in pulling efforts towards the companys goals. All staff should be motivated to contribute towards the operating strategy of the organization. When member of a team have one goal, they focus their strength towards it and achieve it with ease. The style of leadership in an organization should be one that encourage positive interaction between the subordinate and senior staffs. This way the organization is able to share vital information that will improve its competitive advantage in the market. This situation will also inspire employee to focus on their creativity to strengthen the position of the company in the industry. The styles of management also affects the channels for conflict resolution and whistleblowing. For instance, when organization allow subordinate to interact with their manager without unnecessary hierarchical intimidation, information employees get a chance for solving their conflict easily. This is also a chance for employees to report instances of undermining the progress of the company through whistle blowing. For a team to be effective, each member need to have a different skill to contribute to towards achieve of the common goal. The ability to identify, recruit, and retain a good skill has a long-term effect on the progress of the company. When the team in a company works in harmony, the systems work smoothly which leads to the achievement of the goals and objectives. The team decision making patters should consider that their resolution affects the operations and efforts of the rest of the organization.

The structure of the organizations can be replicated in teams, where the team leader is in charge of the activities within the group and connects them to the rest of the company (Ravanfar, 2015 p10). This way teams will have order and therefore effective in their operations. Organized teams are more productive since the leadership provides the procedure for meeting different goals. Teams standout based on their strategy of operation. The strategy determine the productivity for instance, in teams where the leader does everything while the member enjoy the ride the progress becomes very slow. However, when the team leader delegates duties it provides the members with a chance to show their creativity and delivery good results for the team. The strategy of operation within the team should be deliberated upon before the teams sets for it goals. Finally the team should have shared values that will help to guide the member action and behavior within the organization. Behavior refer to the mode of conduct for instance, if the member adheres to rules governing the operation of the team, decisions can be made conveniently. Such atmosphere encourages all members to share their skill or knowledge without feeling intimidated by the member who appear to be more resources. The team leaders has a role for making all members feel that they contributions are valuable and encourage them to do more.

The Main Reason for Cross-Cultural Training and Development.

The present world is depicted by globalization that has an impact on information sharing, improvement of infrastructure, and multicultural gatherings. It has also contributed in multicultural workplaces, and political structures in various nation (Black, and Mendenhall,m1990 p115). Culture impacts all that we do, at home, and at work. For this reason, the cultures re reflected in daily interaction among people and at times it can be problematic in the workplace id employees are not cultural-competent. The following reason makes the training and development of cross-cultural skills an important aspect.

Cooperation among employees is important when working towards a common goal. In a multicultural environment t this may be difficult and hence the need to train and develop their cross cultural skills (Zakaria, 2000 p495). The skills acquired will lead to establishment of effective teams that meet companys goals and objectives. Such skills will foster positive relationships among employees at the workplace. For this reasons, mangers should identify the different cultural need at the work place to implement the necessary action.

Cross-cultural training and development is vital for conflict resolution at the work place. Employee from different cult...