Intercultural Management in Business

INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS

Introduction

The intercultural business environment is dependent on the cross-cultural communication between the organisations. The multicultural business environment is conducive towards the diversity and inclusion that leads towards the integration of innovative strategies for business development (Pikhart, 2017). The intercultural business environment of a machinery manufacturer that has a customer based in Japan has been analysed by applying suitable cultural frameworks. The machinery manufacturer is based in Portsmouth, England. In this report, the current data available for researching the international business environment and work culture has been assessed. The cultural issues faced by firms for a joint venture or merger have been discussed in this assignment. The distinctive features of management behaviour across the two different cultures have been analysed. Further, to evaluate the cultural framework of UK and Japan the Hofstede’s 5 dimensions have been used.

Research and produce current data on international organisations to support your arguments.

Asian culture v/s European culture

The international organisations have a dynamic organisational culture that integrates the various cultural approaches of the environment. The International business is concentrated no only across the borders but also spread across cultures (Sadiq, 2019). The work environment of the European culture and the Asian culture are diverse. The distinct features of the work culture in Asian and European business environment have been illustrated below.

Time etiquettes

The Asian culture values time and punctuality in their workplace. The Asian prefer being 10-15 minutes early for their business meetings as being late is frowned upon and sets a wrong impression among the colleagues(Richarz, 2020). The Japanese are obsessed with time and also have early trains as opposed to the delayed trains in the UK. Recently, a train had been delayed resulting in the employees being late for work. The staff are now being trained to avoid it from happening again (Demetriou, 2019). The European culture values time but is comparatively more relaxed about the time etiquette in business meetings than the Asian culture.

Criticism in the workplace

The western culture is blunt about their expectations from their employees and openly criticizes them for their mistakes. In the United Kingdom, a snarky joke about an issue is acceptable whereas in the eastern countries the business associates are more considerate before passing criticisms in the workplace(Stone, 2019). The eastern population is more reserved and avoids conflicts in the workplace at all costs.

Raising queries

European culture encourages people to ask questions to expand their understanding of a topic. The low-ranking employees are expected to raise queries about the tasks assigned to them. In contradiction, the Asian cultures disregard questions from the subordinates as disrespect to the authorities. In Asian culture, the employees do not openly discuss disagreements and point out flaws in the system(Stone, 2019).

The above analysis highlights the business environment of European and Asian cultures. The analysis has been performed keeping in mind the recent trends in the business environment. This analysis will further be helpful to perform the cross-cultural analysis of the United Kingdom and Japan.

Examine the problems found in the cross-cultural management of joint ventures and mergers.

Cultural Issues in Joint ventures and mergers

The joint ventures and mergers are subjected to cultural clashes in their business operations. The cultural issues within the business environment have a direct impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of business operations. These cultural issues in the cross-cultural management of the companies can be avoided by analysing the cultures of the regions involved in the joint venture and mergers(Velez-Calle, 2020). The analysis of the issues that might arise in the cross-cultural management in the joint ventures or mergers has been illustrated below.

Trust issues

The employees of the firms have to trust each other in the business environment to ensure a jovial work culture. The merger and joint ventures bring two groups of people together. The trust issues between these two groups should be addressed by the company to ensure a smooth flow of operations. The employees of the company have to work in harmony for business activities (Sapkotaet al., 2019). The communication barriers between the employees should be resolved by establishing transparency in operations.

Standpoint towards hierarchy

The reporting structure of the company should be defined for the employees to understand their reporting responsibilities. The employees can face difficulty in their work allocation due to undefined reporting structure of the organisation. The employee’s viewpoint towards the hierarchy of the company will require time to adjust (Febriani and Yancey, 2019). The lag in time required by the employees to adjust to the new hierarchy has to be allowed by the organisation.

Lack of coordination

The trust issues among the employees of the firms will result in a lack of coordination. The communication and the lack of cultural understanding will act as a barrier for the operations of the business. The integration of people and effective utilisation of communication strategies for enhancing the coordination between the employees will facilitate the transition required for the merger or joint venture. Office politics might act as a stimulus for employees to take undue advantage of their colleagues to move up the ladder(Herpy, 2020). The best way to counter this issue is to create a positive work environment.

Cultural differences

The mismatch of corporate culture leads to friction between the two teams. The work ethics of two different cultures might be different. For instance, the demanding work hours are usually in the Asian culture whereas in the European culture it is considered offensive to ask about work past the office hours. This friction might lead to ineffective profitability of the company.

Leadership and accountability

The leaders and owners of the new entity have to share their company with a merger or a joint venture. There can never be too many leaders in an organisation. The leader and the hierarchy in the company must be well defined describing leadership and accountability. The employees will know whom they are supposed to report to with the clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The involvement of the owner in the Merger negotiations and the transition period is a crucial part that will lead to a structured process moving forward(Herpy, 2020).

The above analysis highlights the cultural issues that might arise in the joint venture or merger. This analysis will be supportive of the companies that want to look into the issues that arise after the joint venture and merger. Further, the issues can be resolved by creating a positive corporate environment.

Compare and contrast the distinctive features of different management behaviour across two different cultures and draw on cultural frameworks in your analysis.

Compare and contrast the distinctive features of different management behaviour across two different cultures

Management behaviour across different cultures is diverse. The leading authority and organisational structure vary in different cultures. This diversity influences cultural integration. To study the extent of diversity in two different cultures the Japanese and the United Kingdom culture has been compared concerning the management behaviour in these cultures.

	Japan	The United Kingdom
Decision-making style	The decision-making process in Japan is very slow with attention to detail in every aspect. The Japanese are obsessed with detail before they make any decision. After the decisions are made in the corporate structure of Japanese firms there is no way they can change them(Zielinska, 2016). The detail-oriented approach while making a decision makes the Japanese decision-making style precise.	The UK approach towards the decision-making process has an extreme lack of attention to details. The people might take decisions about insufficient information. The decisions in the corporates are changed just as quickly the decisions have been made. Due to the lack of attention to detail and liberty to change them, the decision-making style is quick in the UK.
Corporate Meeting ethics	Japanese culture respects punctuality. Japan is passionate about time and considers it as disrespect if someone is late for a meeting. While introducing themselves in a business meeting the Japanese use their family name or last name first and then their first names.	The UK corporate value time and punctuality but are tolerant to some extent. The British managers meet with a firm handshake while introducing themselves. The British meetings are very long and sometimes unproductive.
Leadership and Hierarchy	The Japanese prefer to have a defined hierarchy in their corporate lifestyle. In Japan, the term "teacher" literally addresses someone that is born before you. Japanese culture respects elders and senior positions in society (Amri, 2019).	The British culture value teamwork and democracy in their work ethics(Rao-Nicholsonet al., 2020). The associates are encouraged to ask questions but in the end, the senior manager passes the final decision. In the business meetings, the senior managers talk and negotiate instead of the juniors.

Cultural frameworks

Hofstede's 5 dimensions is a framework that analyses the cross-cultural communication and cultural values. This framework has been utilised as a tool to perform the cross-cultural analysis between the British and Japanese Culture.

	Dimension	Japan	The United Kingdom
Power distance	The power distance is the extent to which the people have accepted that the power in the society is not equally balanced (Saleem and Larimo, 2017). The acceptance of inequality in the members of the society is the power distance within a culture.	Japan is a hierarchal society that is conscious of their hierarchal position. Japan is a meritocratic society which creates a balance between the societal hierarchy and one's capabilities (Amri, 2019)	The British have a low PDI (Power distance index) score which shows that the people in the society want to bridge the gap between the high class and the lower-middle-class working group. The society has a sense of fair play that believes every person deserves a chance to be treated equally
Individualism v/s Collectivism	The degree of dependence the society maintains with one another to maintain their self-image is assessed in this dimension. The individualist culture is where people look after just themselves in society whereas the collectivist society is where people act as a group in exchange for loyalty.	Japan is not a highly collectivist society like most of the Asian neighbours. Japan values the harmony of the group being in a paternalistic society. The Japanese are extremely loyal to their companies, unlike their Asian neighbours that seem to job hop more easily.	The UK is an individualist society that believes the route to happiness is personal fulfilment. The "ME" culture in Britain influences people to think for themselves from a tender age by figuring out what they want to do in their life.
Masculinity vs Femininity	The cultures that score high in this dimension are masculine and are driven by achievement and success (Saleem and Larimo, 2017). The cultures that score low in this dimension value the quality of life over success and competition.	The Japanese culture is highly masculine with severe competition and drives towards success. The children are taught from kindergarten to compete and win against their competitors in their sports day. The workaholic culture in Japan long and hard-working hours for success.	As compared to Japan UK scores low in this dimension. The UK still is a masculine society that is success-driven with performance ambition. The people in the UK are driven by a critical understanding of the value system in their culture.
Avoiding Uncertainty	This dimension deals with the ambiguity of the future. The comfort of the society towards the unforeseeable situations in the future is examined in this dimension (Taras, 2017).	Japan scores high in this dimension where it is constantly threatened by natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis and volcano eruptions. This phenomenon is also the reason for the changes being so difficult in Japan work culture.	The UK has a low score in this dimension where the people of the society are quite happy not knowing what the day brings. The British believe in "muddling through" uncomfortable situations which lead to them constantly changing their plans.
Long Term Orientation vs Short Term Orientation	The normative societies with time-honoured traditions score very low in this dimension whereas the pragmatic society is open to change and encourage prudence to prepare for the future.	The Japanese culture is a long term oriented society that values by setting good examples. The notion of the almighty god is unknown to their culture. Japanese culture has a high rate of investment which serves the durability of their companies.	The UK has an intermediate score of 51 in this dimension where they believe in the past values as a normative society and are open to integrating change in their system like a pragmatic society (Misak and Price, 2017).
Indulgence	Indulgence is the extent to which the members of society can control their desires and impulses (Taras, 2017). A weak control is called indulgence and a strong control is called restraint.	The Japanese score low in this dimension in contrast to indulgent societies. Restrained Japan does not emphasize on leisure time and gratitude for desires. Japan is restrained by social norms and their orientation.	The British have a high score and are classified as an indulgent society. The British people believe in realising their impulses instead of restraining them.

The above analysis has shed light on the distinctive features of the corporate lifestyle in the respective cultures. The cross-cultural framework has given an insight into the cultural differentiation of both regions. This framework can be utilised by the associates and employees that will be involved in the merger or joint venture or as a delegate or representative from a company visiting another nation.

Conclusions

The intercultural management in business comprises of the integration and consideration of the diverse cultures. In this report, the research of current data has been used to analyse the differences in the Asian and European culture. The cultural issues in cross-cultural management in a merger or a joint venture like trust issues, hierarchy, lack of coordination, leadership and accountability and cultural differences have been analysed. The distinctive features of the management behaviour in Japan and the UK like Decision-making style, Corporate meeting ethics and Leadership have been compared. Further, to assess the cultural framework of both countries has been analysed with the application of Hofstede's 5 dimensions. The Asian culture believes in confirming their decisions in a hierarchal position that leads to a slow decision-making process. Due to the low score in uncertainty avoidance in Japan, in the corporate culture, the managers tend to ask all the details of facts and figures.The long-term v/s short term dimension deals with how society values the past links for dealing with the changes in its present or future. The Japanese view their lives as a very short span in the history of mankind and thereby chose to live it wisely.

References

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