Cross Cultural Management- Dancom Case Study

Having worked in overseas, he has seen cultural differences in terms of the methods used to manage employees in different countries, and believe that it is an important point to consider in terms of the approach used to motivate employees. Especially with regards to the hiring of foreign talents in Singapore, he believes that special care needs to be taken to ensure that any clashes in culture do not alienate these employees.

(5)While it’s always been said that having a diverse workforce will allow a broader range of ideas and experiences, in the case of Adesemi it certainly backfired. According to Monique, the diverse workforce was a hindrance for Adesemi in the sense that the cultural difference caused more challenges than results. Monique notes that she spent most of her time diffusing situations that were merely misinterpretation between colleagues in part due to cultural difference and acceptances. Monique’s provides the example of the co-worker coming back from vacation being greeted by another co-worker with a comment regarding her weight. For Adesemi success, it required for each employee to act as independent “mini-CEOs” and be autonomous; independent thinkers when necessary. Instead the workforce was very directional, lacking thinking initiative. (6)Throughout reading the “Dream Deferred”, it is evident that the need for a local partner is critically for the entrance into an emerging market. However, according to Monique, the local partner must also have vested interest in the company. In order to hold them to the success of the company, they too must be a stakeholder with a want to seeing the company succeed.

Choice of not seeing diversity of culture results in limiting the ability for its management. This involved minimizing the issues being caused while there is maximization of advantages and key benefits allowed (Latimer, 2012). When there is lack of consideration across diversity of culture, foreigners end up becoming mere projections related to organizations.

It is crucial for today's business personnel to understand the impact of cross cultural differences on business, trade and internal company organization. The success or failure of a company, venture, merger or acquisition is essentially in the hands of people. If these people are not cross culturally aware then misunderstandings, offence and a breakdown in communication can occur.

Cultural differences, as related to doing business, come into play here. Significant cross cultural conflicts between parents of different nationalities paved the way for the dissolution of the joint venture between Delta and Terralumen. In a Board of Director’s meeting, the American-Spanish joint venture

“I had the cognizance in that situation, but not the mindfulness,” he said. “And both are key.” (Carter, 2014) Cultural shock is becoming more relevant because of the globalization of business today. Most explanations define cultural shock as “the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country”. (Annenberg, 2013) Culture affects every aspect of each human on the planet, so there is no doubt that culture shock can make or break management in global corporations. The styles and decisions used by managers are affected and defined by its culture and values. Mr. Geert Hofstede carried out a comprehensive study on how values in the work place are influenced by

Cross Cultural management explains the behaviour of people in organizations worldwide, helping managers and firms to understand how to act in business matters dealing with the different cultures. (Adler, 2008)

Cultural differences between countries have strong effects on individual personality and behavior, as well as on organizational culture (Hofstede 2001). These differences can be a significant barrier for an international business leader. Failure to understand and adapt to these differences may

. Geert Hofstede (1980) describes culture as, ‘a source of conflict rather than synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster’. Justin Paul (2011) also supports this view stating that, human beings tend to have an instinct ‘deep inside’ that all human beings are the same. Therefore, if one goes into another country and makes decisions based on how one operates in one’s home country-‘the chances are that he or she will make some very bad decisions’ (Paul 2011). Hence, different types of factors need to be understood to ensure that you and the business are readily available to adapt to any change in culture or environment, this will be shown by a number of examples involving companies that have successfully set up business and others that have failed significantly all due to the lack of understanding of CCM.

The purpose of this essay to demonstrate the cultural differences between the UK manager going to work as an expatriate manager in Colombia. By taking into consideration Hofstede, Bond, Trompenaars and other cross cultural management researchers to advise the UK manager about the Colombian culture, taking into consideration the differences between leadership styles, decision making, recruitment and selection, motivation, planning and team versus individual working.The reason for selecting Colombia was that according to the results by Geert Hofstede, these two countries are very opposite to one another. Therefore it will be good to compare the differences and the similarities between the countries’ culture.

Furthermore, communication of goals, strategies and tactics can be challenging to translate between distinctive business cultures. The concept of cross-communication is very important because in addition to outgoing communication from the organization, the third party must have the capacity to absorb and manage the new knowledge. Cultural measures like “power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and masculinity,” learning culture, motivation, and creative climate must be researched and understood so that they don’t become cultural barriers and they could pose unique management challenges (Robert, 2014).

The objective of this study is to answer as to what the differences are in a low-context and a high-context culture and how one would advise a friend with a low-context culture to do business in a high context culture.

Power/Distance (PD), “refers to the degree of inequality that exists- and is accepted- among people with and without power. A high PD score indicates that society accepts an unequal distribution of power, and that people understand “their place” in the system. Low PD means that power is shared and well dispersed.” (www.mindtools.com) As an example from the article, Myers goes on to say, “there were basically four levels: VP, director, manager, and worker bee. You only talked to people at your level.” SK Telecom boasted that

Managers were concerned about knowing and understanding each and every perspective of their employee’s cultures. As they know that without studying or knowing the culture, coordination cannot be built between the employees. It is the existing perspective of managers dealing with cross-cultural management (Sultana, 2013).

As more businesses turn to international markets, professionals are discovering themselves in overseas locales, wheeling and dealing like never before. Thus to be successful working abroad, one must understand the different aspects of a culture and how the cultural dimensions play a role in business transactions, negotiations, and managerial positions. Once those differences and dimensions are understood a person must be willing to make personal adjustments and implement courses of action to accomplish acculturation. Consequently, our cultural intelligence, literacy, and communication abilities play a significant role in the success or failure of working internationally; furthermore, establishing credibility amongst colleagues.