cross culture management

· Present here the business scenario description illustrated by an example.

· Rationale of the relevance of the topic (the importance of studying this 2 nations culture differences)

· Aim of the report

Analyze the Relevant concepts, models and theories to date.

The importance of cross culture management is International business….

The growth of interest around the topic,

Discuss the main theories; in here you must establish comparisons, analyses, therefore creating some kind of debate.

Consider these:

The emic and etic approach

Dimensions of culture; Hofstede, Trompenaars, Hall etc.

If you are going to analyze management approaches; Max Waber, Taylor, Deal and Kenedy, Shineider, Handy….

Example Example Example communication styles

……..Edward T. Hall researched on intercultural nonverbal communication. He was an American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher. He is remembered for developing the concept of proxemics and exploring cultural and social cohesion, and describing how people behave and react in different types of culturally defined personal space. He identifies four dimensions explaining differences in behaviours across cultures… these are high and low context, proxemics, time and space…. (French,2015). ….Explain the importance of understanding these cultural dimensions….

You must apply the models illustrated by examples to:

Direct vs Indirect Communication

Trouble with accents and fluency

Differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority

Conflicting norms for decision making

Consider the examples

Universalism vs. Communitarianism (this is related to decision making)

Universalism is the belief that one way of doing things suits everybody (Trompenaars and Hampden-turners, 1997). In countries that have high universalism, such as USA there are many formal rules everyone is expected to follow, whereas in….. For negotiation in countries with high universalism a cause of conflict could be managers not allowing time for decisions with clear instructions and precision…….. (Trompenaars and Hampden-turners, 1997).

Neutral vs Emotional A neutral culture is a culture in which emotions are not relevant for society…. An emotional culture is a culture in which emotions are expressed openly and naturally…..(add citation) the Japanese culture is in that sense a neutral culture, where business relationships are instrumental and focused on objectives so is USA…..being both countries neutral negotiations will most likely be………

If you analyze Hall’s context and information speed (This is related to communication style)

Space, and relationships within space (proxemics) Intimate distance, personal distance, social distance and public distance vary across cultures Notions of territoriality are also relevant here. Japanese people are said to need less personal space than Americans, for instance, and will stand close to one another without discomfort (Hall, 1959). Add what kind of conflict might happen due to proxemics

Context. Cultures can be characterized as high-context or low-context cultures. The dimension refers to the tendency to use messages with less or more details specific to the context. Japan has a high context culture, where rules and contextual elements are generally clear to communication partners and do not need to be expressed by language (Hall, 1976).

Many elements of the message are implicit. People in USA who do not know these implicit rules will not understand the message. Therefore this may lead the party to short answers, avoiding what is taken by the culture for granted. Asking some inappropriate questions that are culturally implicit may unmask the manager as provoking, thus harming the trust-based relationship (Hall, 1976).

Speed of information flow Cultures favouring fast messages will favour short and succinct information. Cultures where people prefer slow messages will favour detailed and more significant information. When referring to information speed Japan has a slow message culture, where personal relationships take a long time to strengthen (add citation).

Your conclusion should summarize the main findings and points….e.g., what are the main differences between Japan and USA culture and main conflicts. Leave the reader with something to think about…e.g ……..there are still lot to learn about cross culture, therefore it is important to continue to …….

· Present your recommendations in bullet points

· The recommendations should be solutions for the main conflicts raised in the body of your work.

French, R., (2015) Cross-cultural management in work organisations. 3rd ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Hall, E. T. (1959) The silent language. New York: Doubleday.

Hall, E. T. (1959) Beyond culture. New York: Doubleday.

Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C. (1997) Riding the waves of culture. 2nd ed. London: Nicholas Brealey.