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ManagingAcrossCultures13.docxRunning Head: Managing Across Cultures 1
Managing Across Cultures
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Managing Across Cultures Report
In today’s global economy, working with people from different cultures is becoming the norm. Although this brings many rewards it also introduces challenges for both workers and management alike. All managers know that motivating their staff is the key to successful business. To do this, they must understand what drives their staff. But if their staff seem to think and behave in unexpected ways? This can happen when people from different cultures work together. Organizations are beginning to realize the importance of training their managers to become inter-culturally competent in order to ensure their staff continue to be motivated and productive.
The main issues to be discussed in this report are:
· How culture influences working styles
· Different management styles
· The importance of training managers to become inter-culturally competent.
How culture influences working styles
Apart from teaching concepts and skills, culture has big importance in shaping different aspects of thinking in our daily life experiences. Richard Nisbett, a cultural researcher discovered that culture has a fascinating influence how people think. He looked at the differences between Western (Europe, U.S etc.) cultured people and the Eastern (Asia, Africa etc.) cultured people according to their various ways of conducting themselves publically. Schneider, S. C (2003) Managing across culture. Pg. 98
The two cultures had wide difference on how each individual react in a room where there are different people with different ranks. In a broad view of speaking behavior, Western cultured looked at an individual achievement and performance. Members are not required to be much attuned to someone else who is in the room for them to speak since western people mostly do not have hierarchy in public expression .Steers, R.M. (2010), Management Across cultures, Pg. 102.
Eastern culture is more collective on the other side. The members focused on the hierarchy of the group with expectation of group members to think or play a role before themselves. Due to this, members of the Eastern culture carry themselves in a way that there should be respected levels of speaking considering who is in the room and of what importance is he or what is his position.
This act of individual or group considering hierarchy focusing emerges from the social interactions and goes beyond the way members habitually think of different aspect of the world. Mostly, the Western cultures try to extract objects out of their context and to ponder about them differently. This attribute, can be very helpful while doing science since it allows intense focus on properties of specific objects.
Members of Eastern culture tend to concentrate on the relationships among objects in considering the way objects change and relate in the contexts they are found. The focus process is important on the development of solutions in relation to social problems. This is because understanding society requires exploration process in one area of the society that affects the other. In this two examples there will be much production on the employees according to the Western culture since they will have more freedom to express what they feel is positive without considering the hierarchy. On the other hand, the Eastern cultured practice might find it a bit difficult in giving or expressing anything important that can change the business daily activities. This because suggestions will be highly dependent on the high hierarchy.
In summary a number of cultural aspects influences how we interact with other people due to cultural difference caused by different communication styles to give either a positive or negative result.
Management Styles
Managing people who have different cultures can be very difficult especially if someone has not had a proper training. Quality management skills on a manager brings success in his way of conducting different cultured employees. Global Management has helped many managers to cope up with this type of challenges by providing seminars and workshops that train them to comprehend the challenges of managing multi-cultured employees. The following ways explain how cultural differences can be managed.
Identifying your cultural baggage is the first style of coping up with cultural diversity. It is advisable that before any business becomes cultural competent there should be identification of cultural baggage. Cultural baggage is like a suitcase carrying your beliefs, prejudices, values and biases. This makes up part of who the employee is, how he work and what he feels comfortable with as well as what the employee does not want. Cultural baggage is sometimes the cause of an employee feeling frustrated and fearful when introduced to a foreign culture. An employee should be able to realize this since it can grab away his job if unable to. The employee at this point should be able to know his cultural baggage and unpack those items holding him back from the skills required to work in a diverse workplace.
Understanding different communication styles on a workplace is another management style. Different people from diverse cultures have different style of communication apart from their languages. One employee may be the right person who always get it right but another employee can take different routes of understanding to get what it was said. If an employee understands the different communication styles based on cultural difference, it can help in easing frustration and promote understanding. There are mainly five communication process that covers most cultures in the world. The linear versus circular communication where linear discussion is direct to the point and circular discussions involve giving stories around the point. Direct versus indirect where direct communication involves direct statement making on the people involved and indirect communication involves suggestions, implications and other cues. Detached versus attached communication where detached communication favors object while attached involves feeling and emotions. Concrete versus abstract communication where concrete assumes issues will be better comprehended with stories, examples and allegories. Abstract on the other side uses theories, data and principles.
Providing essential multi-cultural skills at work place is another important management style. A company should develop the skills that enables employees to effectively interact among themselves for the success of the organization. Diversity in a work place is dependent on the country’s diversity practices. If the country practices diversity then a company is highly likely to have diverse employees. Cultural variation are endless and it will be impossible for an employee to learn every culture and nobody should expect you to do that also. Therefore for an employee to develop cultural difference, he should develop cultural competence and know how the differences affects people’s belief, work, ethic, values and work schedule.
Importance of training managers to become inter-culturally competent.
Training managers has big importance on their competence in various ways as discussed below.
Communication. Much of the cultural trainings administered concentrates much on communicating with anyone clearly with understanding. Intercultural training is a bridge of helping people to appreciate the importance of communication on different cultures impact on the way they interact. When a manager appreciates this fact they can be able to understand what he was being told. This will ensure team cooperation between the manager and their colleagues while directing some orders leading to effective running.
Productivity and Efficiency. Due to effective communication, a company will be able to produce quality service. Intellectual training will not only help people to work better with each other but also develop a productive environment which meets quality leadership, quality
Services, reward schemes and retain recruitment paces. A manager will work better and therefore positively impacts production.
Competitive Advantage. A manager will be able to learn how to create competitive levels depending on cultural differences which makes him out due other competitors on the same business area. A good example is when a company A and company B want to venture on the same business in China with both having a great chances of succeeding. Assuming company A is from Europe while company B from U.S. If manager of company A sends out a negotiation team without doing a research on Chinese culture and etiquette, it is highly expected that its business will not be successful. On the other side, company B which has a manager who has done full research upon the Chinese company will lead his team to a successful business running by employing the right persons with skills required by the customers. When a manager is trained, he will not only be concentrating on a single culture but diverse instead.
Generally for any company to have a smooth running while executing its future projects, they should have an intercultural competent skills. However, for a manager to be highly competitive on this skills he should go through a learning process. Many companies now days consider a lot of things before employing a manager to run daily business things which requires inter-cultural understanding skills. A manager must put in consideration that they always dealing with different people form different cultural background.
References
SCHNEIDER, S. C., &BARSOUX, J.-L. (2003). Managing across cultures. Harlow, England, Financial Times Prentice Hall.
STEERS, R.M., SANCHEZ-RUNDE, C., & NARDON, L. (2010). Management Across cultures: Challenges and Strategies. Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.
CHUA, ROY Y.J., SHARON MOZGAI, & DAWN LAU. (2013).Transitions Asia: Managing Across cultures. Harvard Business School Press, 2014. Print.
