CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT

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Abstract

Comprehending cultural dimensions becomes progressively significant as underlying multinational business activities continue to escalate. For any business organization to remain competitive and minimize problems, businesses can never undertake an ethnocentric methodology to staffing. In an attempt to identify how underlying organization ought to be structured worldwide, considerable research has been undertaken to identify diverse cultural dimensions. Thus, efficient use of prevailing cross cultural groups can offer a source of experience and inventive thinking to encourage the inexpensive position of any organization. Nevertheless, cultural differences can normally restrict with the fruitful completion of any project in the present multicultural global business community. To accomplish project objectives and avoid cultural misinterpretation, project administrators ought to be culturally complex and promote originality and motivation via stretchy leadership. Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions has recently become the most extensively accepted and most often cited model for cross cultural research. Nevertheless, the model assumes same rejoinders from all personalities in a culture and does not account for discrete differences. This paper will mainly designate the most well -known and recognized cross cultural management theories. The theories mainly take into consideration associations amidst populace, motivational alignment toward risk, definition of the company, insolences to time and environment. The paper will discuss motivation and training of multicultural project teams accompanied by pertinent insinuations for projects management. The prevailing finding from this study found important intra-cultural differences mainly based on the gender and religious orientation. The effect from the findings and requirements for prospects research are discussed.

Introduction

With the constant increasing globalization and more Multi-National Corporations and Organizations operating globally than before is profoundly influenced by hyper competition and is fundamental for MNC to uninterruptedly innovate whilst keeping cost down and the corresponding pace up lest they succumb under crushing competition from other companies. Combination of requirements for businesses mainly aim to keeping costs down, while increasing modernization and speed to market and tune with local market conditions and necessities that utilizes increasing Virtual Teams that frequently occur due to the nature of the geographic dispersal are normally multi-cultural in nature (Pauleen, 2007, 232-9). According to survey European companies such as General Motors have yearly revenues of US$100 million. Numerous companies have not introduce virtual working but rather evolved naturally in regard to managing teams facilitated via implementation of innovative ICT systems and corresponding modern communication systems.

The global context the management and advancement of populace inevitably results to taking into considerations of diversity and associated challenges. The discussion of the challenges facing General Motors pertains to working effectively across the borders. Identification of the main challenges that is capable of developing practices which balance global effectiveness, multinational plasticity and the building of international learning capability. The company maintains that accomplishing of the balance demands organizations to develop the cultural sensitivity and capability to accomplish and leverage learning to construct prospects capabilities.

Multicultural Management Theories

Hofstede developed a cultural model that is utilized in national work in identification of the five basic dimensions thus assisting in differentiating cultures and defined them with short definition. Companies functioning across cultures require to fully comprehend the effect that national culture has in a corporation. Companies functioning across cultures require to fully comprehending the impact that the national culture possess in a corporation. If indeed the national culture is dominant over a corporate culture, special challenges face managers operating in this circumstance as their workforces represent more nations (Pauleen, 2007, 232-9). Despite the upsurge in cross cultural research, management theory has not kept up with the demand for knowledge produced by globalization leaving limited basis for confidence.

Universalistic approach suggests that effective management is massively independent of cultural context and that active methods are likely to operate any place. This approach results to development of theories that are applicable in all cultures. Nevertheless, the approach is not common granted the current emphasis on globalization even though this assumption indirectly underlies research that ignores certain aspects of leadership that is universal.

A cultural uniqueness approach implies that cultural differences are significant that little reason exists to believe that what populace knows concerning management efficiency within one country.

Cultural contingency approach is utilized to study advantage of burgeoning literature are indeed important for empathetic the efficiency of management practices, and practices antithetical to an organization’s cultural background. Nevertheless, this approach distinguishes both etic and emic nature of cultures proclaiming that cultures with the same features exist in which a granted set of practices will be relatively operative, and other cultures with different features in which these practices will be less operative.

Businesses competing internationally normally face a variety of challenges and none is more daunting than accomplishing an understanding of unfamiliar. The annual report of General Motors mainly refers to the attempts made and corresponding activities designed to encourage cultural understanding and sensitivity (Pauleen, 2007, 232-9). Culture has variously been defined from diverse perspectives due to different contexts, time, society, organization and nationality. It is the customary and traditional way of thinking and undertaking duties, which is normally shared to greater extent to all the members of business organization in order to be accepted into service within the firm.

Challenges for managing multicultural teams

Teamwork

Utilization of teams in diverse forms has been recognized as a valuable tool to advance incorporation, productivity and innovation in companies and corresponding organizations. Teamwork has become more commonplace in numerous companies and organizations, diverse types of teams have evolved in organizations and include top management teams, cross functional, project teams, intra and inter-organizational teams. This normally aid in numerous benefits such as faster and better decision making, developing of more dedicated and accountable workers, reducing of administrative overheads due to the responsibilities and participation via self-managed teams. Team working is one of the mounting evidence and opinion that designates most effective framework for General Motors in accomplishing performance goals in regard to initiation of superior changeability and flexibility in responding quickly to market challenges and opportunities. In the view of dynamism which entails organizational learning and competitive success highlights that are the fundamental role of efficient team functioning. Global organizations have increasing move to employ groups of managers from diverse nationalities in order to work together successfully either as enduring management teams and resource definite projects addressing crucial business issues. Conversely, General Motors have realized that bringing such group of managers is challenging and performance is not continually at the level compulsory or expected. The process of addressing such issues associating to the advancement of efficient international management teams involves inclusion of numerous areas.

The problems of working in diverse cultures become stronger when companies work across cultures particularly General Motors since it sells products made within one country in a different national market. It also occurs when managers who are educated and have worked within one culture are sent to work in other corresponding cultures. This is problem is faced by American and European managers that were sent by GM to work in subsidiaries within China exemplify this. Manager from the America are utilized to more or less democratic workplaces in which workers take a certain amount of personal responsibility and are prejudiced of excessively directive leaders. The clash of cultures frequently results to misunderstanding and severe problems when American managers simply assume the task carried out devoid of the stipulated order. Management of the expatriates poses special challenges for the human resources function.

Globalization and diversity

The world of business has steadily shrunk due to emergence of better information technology. It is currently comparatively easy to manage a business with operations and customers within numerous different sections of the world. Convergence with global market and cultures is becoming more similar.

The management of the team mainly consists of member from culturally diverse backgrounds bring particular challenges to the fore for team leaders and corresponding managers. Identification of underlying challenges offers four strategies to overcoming these challenges that are faced by GM. The culturally related challenges identified center around the subsequent locations that is the direct versus indirect communication style of messages are purely embedded in the way it is presented rather than being direct and explicit. These issues with accent fluency lead to diverse attitudes concerning authority and hierarchy. Teams frequently possess flat design since it lack hierarchy in regard to development of actual discomfort within diverse cultures and conflicting norms for decision making. Moreover, particular cultures decisions are made swiftly and decisively while other cultures prefer to take considerable time in deliberation thus posing great to management of General Motors.

Overcoming of the challenges comes for implementation of four strategies mainly adaptation ,realization and openly accepting issues surrounding cultural gaps thereby finding means of working around effectively. The company ought to initiate structural and management intervention in changing the configuration of the teams and bringing in relatively higher level manager to aid set norms and groups regulations.

Cultural diversity and the team management of management virtual teams

Virtual teams are increasingly common as a fundamental section of MNC strategic design in regard to GM. The cross cultural dimension is frequently required due to the actual nature of the international virtual teams, which crosses time topographical, organizational coupled with cultural boundaries. Diverse theoretical frameworks exist concerning the subject of Culture and Cultural differences amidst populace.

Stereotype challenge

Guard against stereotype and recognize national cultural dimensions do not offer for comprehension of individuals, gaining an understanding of the main framework is valuable for international administrators in regard to dealing with multi-cultural virtual teams. Management of virtual teams depicted the challenge most on the misinterpretation due to the cultural and language differences within the teams that work globally. Most of the cultural framework is mainly based on five dimensions of the cultural distance, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus feminist.

Power distance challenge

Power distance dimension is the main concern for the General Motor in the distribution of power in the diverse culture. Within the high power distance society, a small minority of populace maintain important portion of the power and prestige. Power and corresponding prestige are more equally distributed within the low power distance culture.

Uncertainty avoidance and individualism

Uncertainty avoidance is mainly concern with the extent to which members of a culture are capable to admit ambiguity and uncertainty. Countries with elevated uncertainty avoidance are more probable to advance elaborate system of rules and processes. Individualism is mainly concern with the extent to which members of a particular society define themselves as the personalities of a group. Within a high individualistic society, individual capability and accomplishments are normally recognized and rewarded. Within a collective society that is with relatively low individualism, individual accomplishments are solely significant in assisting the group within the company.

Team share the cultures of the society and organization require management techniques and training and development of primarily within individualist based on the cultural assumptions that does not hold in collectivist cultures. Project management skills entail communications and managing performance. Nevertheless, within the managing teams with members from collectivist societies thus an individual ought to discuss individual’s performance and capabilities openly by the team members as intolerable loss of face. Moreover, societies possess more elusive, indirect means of collaborating feedback. This includes withdrawal of normal favor through mutually trusted intermediary.

Cross culture differences

Cultural dimensions mainly replicate fundamental challenges that with which any company and society has to cope but for which solutions fluctuate. The dimensions are categorizing into groups namely relations amidst populace, motivational orientation, and attitude towards time, control, socio-Cultural dimensions, context, convergers and divergers.

Control

Control challenges of General Motors mainly come in the identification of internal and external control which normally dictates its environment and operation. It includes relations with the prevailing nature that pertain to the development of an attitude towards natural environment and the survival of the GM relies on acting against nature.

Workforce

Multicultural workforce is rapidly and irreversibly becoming the norm in a massive number of organizational situations. Inappropriately, presently it influences organizational performance destructively. Moreover, the dramatic alterations that is taking place around the universe particularly General Motors are mainly due to the rapid changes in technology and new service opportunities coupled with the evolution of new national infrastructures and competitive environments. Common arrangements are thus essential across borders since there is a distinct support of interest which offers a noteworthy incentive for compliance. Therefore, nations and corresponding organizations are more attractions imply a global network such as global mission, global vision, and global markets and corresponding interdependence on a global economy. Learning on the management of diversity is a changing process. Nevertheless, managing cultural diversity is extremely cumbersome as it depends on time, voluntariness, action and demands optimistic, dynamic and truthful strategy.

Motivation and Training of Multi-Cultural project teams

Cultural differences among project team member might generate additional misapprehension and problems for incentive and training of General Motors. Differences amidst Western and corresponding non-Western cultures can be utilized in the classification of the effect of various values on motivation and training. The clash of culture values result in conflicts that impact project results destructively. The culture held by people tends to place themselves ahead of everyone and solving the problem requires rotation of the workforce. For instance Sub-Saharan Africa have extended family system is seen as integral section of the culture, which is wonderful social security in a very indeterminate environment. But this is barricade to advancing a modern economy. It makes buildup of the capital for business problematic. Moreover, it also has nepotism rather than an authentic civil service system.

Culture matters

Conventionally, organizations were administered via application of the ethnocentric approach to culture which normally assumes that nay society possess similar fundamental values and goals that characterize Western countries. Nevertheless, the present concept of culture is cumbersome to define in practice that extensively accepts that culture results to important impacts on organizations. Culture differs in any society or underlying social group hence posing great challenge to the operation of General Motors. Social utility function is normally under the cultural situations that have numerous dimensions such as performance, administration style, and environmental situations approximately construed. The functional form of General Motors utility function depends on the prevailing cultural conditions that mainly include the possibility of different arguments within varied cultures. The performance of General Motors is normally seen as a function of management style practical, the environment approximately construed and corresponding cultural variables.

Cultural vector itself is the function of numerous factors such as performance, management choices of organization and environmental conditions thus depicting that culture is dynamic and affect operation of business organizations. Moreover, the changes are normally planned, unintended whilst some can be prohibited, retarded and advanced. Thus, the manager of GM has to apply instinct in choosing management style in order to maximize utility, controlling cultural conditions and other corresponding variables, which is extremely challenging and cumbersome (Pauleen, 2007, 232-9). Conversely, maximization problem is difficult for culture since it depends on numerous factors within the society.

Cultural research as it associates to the international business is normally stimulated in no small means by the quickening pace of the global business activities. No unit of the multinational companies is affected more directly than the underlying Human Resource Management department. Global organizations ought to continually reexamine their people policies as they expand into the new countries and the corresponding managers who have knowledge and understanding of the national cultures ought to guide these modifications. Lack of comprehension and sensitivity to the cultural transformations across cultures can results to business and corresponding expatriate failures.

Culture is viewed as a potential tentative block for General Motors therefore there is need to escalate knowledge and comprehension of its intricacies ought to remain a lofty primacy. Cultural conflicts need to be counterbalanced rapidly. Moreover, cultural differences within numerous countries rarely depicts an opportunity for gain for General Motors but rather represent primary source of confrontation and corresponding potential vehicle for the disaster. Cultural differences results in a manager from one culture not comprehending the underlying responses within the market of a subordinate rose within another culture. Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions has become broadly accepted and most often cited model for the cross cultural research. It initially identified four main cultural dimension differentiating populace based on their underlying country of residence. The cultural dimensions mainly entail power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and corresponding masculinity. Moreover, Confucian dynamism is also a major challenge. All these dimensions pose great challenge to the operation of the General Motors.

Building cultural understanding and awareness to overcome challenges

General framework for constructing suitable competences for functioning within cross cultural basis is found within the Hofstede. This is normally construction of the awareness of own culture and cultural differences. Advancement of knowledge framework to curb effect of cultural differences and underlying weakness of diverse cultures within a managerial setting as well as constructing of skills of identifying effect of different cultural settings for managerial problems. This will mainly operate in adapting to behaviors of accomplishing effective results of General Motors within diverse cultural settings. Working on actual challenges and issues in multicultural setting utilization a structured framework and requires skills and comprehension of modern development in business. Practical approach and framework is strengthened within a study of European managers. Moreover, highlights the significance of developing skills in regard to team background and recommends advancement in actual teams designed.

Embedding team development

Framework is valuable in constructing a specific team the global issues studied in intensive organization extensive approach. General Motors has move to build multicultural management teams and leverage the ensuing diversity signifies a major change (Ting-Toomey, 1999, 134-9). Viewing the underlying process in background of the change management framework summarizes probable whole framework for constructing more operative multinational management teams utilizing Lewin’s model.

Conclusions

The developing trend to globalization of business is granting rise to need for the advancement of efficient and operative worldwide managements teams (Ting-Toomey, 1999, 134-9). For numerous organizations such as General Motors cross cultural issues and more openly and methodically comprehension and valuing is required for the welfares of diversity within the global teams. Accomplishing requires integration and practice associating to the team building, considerate of benefits of contradictory personal styles and behaviors. Even though there is a belief in regard to accomplished working with specific teams, truthfully efficacious global players that are probable embedded in the change via incorporated alterations to assortment, advancement, reward and acknowledgment policies and practices. The value of efficient multicultural working is normally captured at numerous levels within the organization and global teams to accomplishing lofty performance levels more swiftly and dependably. This is aid organizations to build global competence and competitive advantages.

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