Response to Classmates Discussions

Week 5 Discussion 2

Julie Wolfe

An international company looking to expand into a local market must understand the local culture and practices because it affects every facet of the business. It is present in every business interaction and strategic decision (Hummel, 2012). Everything from business relationships, consumer marketing and sales, negotiating business deals, and advertisements of goods or products can be negatively or positively impacted by a company’s understanding of the local culture.

An example of this is time orientation. Western cultures have an expectation of being on-time, if not early, to business meetings (Hummel, 2012). Showing up late to a meeting with someone would be considered a lack of respect for their time and would set a poor tone for the rest of the meeting. In terms of long-term timeframes, Chinese culture focuses much more on longevity than the short-term (Hummel, 2012). Business planning goes far beyond a quarter or year, but often focuses on the next decade or decades.

Another example is communication. Some would say communication can be difficult even if all parties involved speak the same language. Introducing language barriers, tones, mannerisms, and gestures that may be commonly accepted in one culture but considered insulting in another, can highlight the importance of communication. For example, in the US and Germany, it is common for people to speak loudly and assertively when sharing ideas, but in Japan people tend to speak softly and take a passive tone when making suggestions (Twose, 2019). Understanding these concepts could be the difference between a successful business venture and a failed one.

References

Collier, D. A, & Evans, J. R. (2019). Operations and supply chain management. Cengage Learning.

Hummel, Denise P. (2012, May). Understanding the importance of culture in global business. Oracle.

https://blogs.oracle.com/profit/understanding-the-importance-of-culture-in-global-business

Twose, R. (2019, May 21). How does culture affect international business? Industry Blog.

https://www.languageinsight.com/blog/2019/how-does-culture-affect-international-business/

Lisa Schreiner

Operations managers must understand the local culture and practices of the countries in which the firm does business to cut supply chain costs and increase customer response time, creating a successful organization. Acceptable practices in the US can be offensive in other countries and vice versa. Some countries practice extensive afternoon socialization periods and a laid-back view on work versus family time. The US tends to keep its workforce grinding away with long hours and expects availability on weekends. Communicating with employees and external customers on the same level of respect and commitment reflects the loyalty a manager has for business relationships. Building these relationships provides competitive advantage and bargaining power when negotiating supply chain service contracts.

Consequences leading to business failure will present themselves if operations managers do not take the time to learn and understand local culture and practices. Some politically corrupt countries withhold permits or require bribes to expand international business. Learning the common practices provides management with the ability to run an efficient or responsive supply chain and determine if a push or pull inventory management system will work in the process. As an operations manager represents adaptability to a culture, they gain acceptance by local businesses and the support of staff to optimize supply chain processes through efficiency and effectiveness (Collier & Evans, 2019). Otherwise, an organization can be subject to high manufacturing costs and transportation costs with the inability to source and distribute products (Collier & Evans, 2019).

 

Reference

Collier, D. A, & Evans, J. R. (2019). Operations and supply chain management. Cengage Learning.