international management

University of the Cumberlands

There is no single definition to describe culture; different people from different places do have their perspective on cultures. These difference in cultures makes it difficult for companies to build a culture for global operations across the world. anthropologist Edward Tylor

In the 1870s defined culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society” (Hill & Hult, 2020). There onwards, many people tried to explain what culture is by taking different approaches. But as per the textbook in terms of the team of Namenwirth and Weber, a culture can be view “as a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for a living. “(Hill & Hult, 2020) people sharing a similar set of values and norms can be considered from the same society. Values mean things that people from society think that are good. Values that are considered useful in one society can be regarded as wrong in another society. And norms are the social guidelines that govern people for their well-being within the society concerning the situation. Norms are categorized into folkways and mores. Folkways are each individual’s day to day life’s regular routines, whereas mores are the norms that are too followed at a societal level. (Hill & Hult, 2020)

The values and norms evolve over time depending on the people that exist in the society, the forces that lead to the evolvement of these values and norms related to a social culture are political philosophies like communist or democrat, economic philosophy, educational standards of the society, social structure, religion, and language. All these mentioned factors depend on the social stratification the depends on the socio-economic status of an individual, which includes family background like caste and class system, occupation how they are brought up, and the family income. (Hill & Hult, 2020)

In nations like America and Japan, most people consider themselves middle-class people because of the high degree of mobility and individualism, but in countries like the United Kingdom and India, relatively lack class mobility that leads to class consciousness. This class consciousness leads to a difference in the management approach and the labor contribution towards managers' thoughts. This kind of approach affects the business negatively as a result of lack of cooperation and an increase in industrial distribution, which in turn leads to an increase in prices of the products in nations. (Hill & Hult, 2020)

Different nations follow different sets of rules and regulations. The difference can be in any system like political system, judiciary laws, economic systems, or it can be in the cultures. All these are the issues that an international business face. For example, in nations like America, time is considered as money, and most of the people who work in America strictly follow time, whereas, in countries like Saudi, people feel time can be stretched. Similarly, something that is legal in one country can be illegal in another country, something that is normal practice in one country can be considered unethical in another country. All these issues are being faced by international businesses. (Hill & Hult, 2020)

The causes of unethical behavior by the managers in an organization that relate to business are societal and organizational culture, personal ethics that he or she inculcated over the years, the decision making that he or she developed over the years, and the leadership qualities and the way incline towards the goals like asking the employees to achieve unrealistic goals. (Hill & Hult, 2020)

The philosophical approaches that are applied globally to business ethics are the Friedman doctrine, the righteous moralist, cultural relativism. The Friedman doctrine expresses that the main social obligation of business is to expand benefits, as long as the organization remains inside the guidelines of law. Cultural relativism fights that one ought to embrace the morals of the way of life wherein one is working together. The honest moralist solidly applies home-nation morals to an outside circumstance. At the same time, the innocent immoralist accepts that if a chief of a worldwide sees that organizations from different countries are not following moral standards in a host country, that administrator ought not either. Utilitarian approach deal with morals that hold that the ethical worth of activities or practices is dictated by their outcomes and the best choices are those that produce the best use for the best number of individuals. Kantian ethics expresses that individuals ought to be treated as finishes and never absolutely as intends to the parts of the bargains. Individuals are not instruments, similar to a machine. Individuals have nobility and should be regarded as all things considered. Rights theories perceive that individuals have vital rights and benefits that rise above national limits and societies. These rights build up a base degree of ethically worthy conduct. (Hill & Hult, 2020)

To ensure that moral issues are considered in worldwide business choices, global managers can incorporate the following ethical considerations into their decision making ( a ) favor enlisting and advancing individuals with an all-around grounded feeling of individual morals, ( b ) fabricate a hierarchical culture and epitomize initiative practices that place a high incentive on moral conduct, ( c ) set up dynamic procedures that expect individuals to think about the moral element of business choices, ( d ) set up morals officials in the association with obligation regarding moral dynamic, ( e ) be ethically bold and urge others to do likewise, ( f ) make the corporate social duty a foundation of big business strategy, and ( g ) seek after systems that are maintainable. Multinational corporations that practice business-centered manageability coordinate a concentration around showcase direction, tending to the requirements of various partners, and holding fast to corporate social obligation standards. (Hill & Hult, 2020)

References

Hill, C. W. L. and Hult, G. T. M. (2020). Global Business Today (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.