Cultural Dimensions And Its Impact On The Corporate World

The term "culture" has been used more and more recently but what exactly does it mean? Some have even regarded culture as "the most central problem of all social science" (Malinowski, 1939). According to Merriam Webster (2016), culture is defined as the arts and other manifestations of human achievements. If culture was as simple as Merriam-Webster defines it then the lives of anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists would be much easier. As we know, culture varies greatly across religion, countries, and some cases in just states; the difference between the north and the south. We can conclude that culture is a set of shared thoughts, values, and cognitions (Geertz, 1973). With culture in itself varying tremendously based on values and location, then surely organizational culture is no simple concept either. The term "organizational culture" has just recently become to be used more (Barley, 1988). Though there may be disagreements on defining culture universally, researchers tend to agree that culture is of vital importance in an organizational context, whether that organization is a company or a government (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa, 1986).

International marketing or business is uniquely different from the local market because the product price, place and promotion is vastly different from what is been offered to local customers (Johansson, 2000) With the emergence of the information technology, cross border marketing has never been a distant dream. However, it has never been easier even for giant multinational companies to face challenges that come in international business. The biggest challenge comes from the culture which varies from country to country.

Culture is an observable, powerful force in any organization. “Made up of its members’ shared values, beliefs, symbols, and behaviors, culture guides individual decisions and actions at the unconscious level. As a result, it can have a potent effect on a company’s well-being and success” (One Page, n.d.).

Armstrong (1999) cites the work of Furnham and Gunter (1993) defining culture as ‘the commonly held beliefs, attitudes and values that exist in an organisation. Put more simply, culture is ‘the way we do things around here’.

The continuous growth in global business interactions and partnerships constitute the necessity for business partners to understand the cultural differences in society. This growth has led to increased competition and customer expectations which drives the need for innovation from a variety of human resources (Saray, Patache, Ceran (2017). The importance of understanding the international business culture and how to properly communicate is extremely crucial to form a strong relationship. The driving force behind human behavior is culture (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014, pp.11). Behaviors, attitudes, productivity, and morals are all driven by culture (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014, pp.11). The ability to recognize the cultural differences, emphasize employees’ roles, drive empowerment and make the necessary accommodations is a key measure to achieving strategic goals (Saray, Patace, Ceran (2017).

“Culture consists of the symbols, rituals, language, and social dramas that highlight organizational life, including myths, stories, and jargon. It includes the shared meanings associated with the symbols, rituals, and language. Culture combines the philosophy of the firm with beliefs, expectations, and values shared by members. It contains the stories and myths about the company's founder and its current leading figures. Organizational culture consists of a set of shared meanings and values held by a set of members in an organization that distinguish the organization from other organizations. An organization's culture determines how it perceives and reacts to the larger environment (Becker, 1982; Schein, 1996). Culture determines the nature

The world we live in today is made up of many countries, each unique in their own way, each continually growing as they try to adapt to a rapid changing environment and economy. The way in which each country adapts to these changes relies heavily on the culture, traditions, customs and overall way of life of the given society (Wharton). When it comes to the global economy, every country has its own definition of what being successful really means and the leadership that leads to success is defined differently as well. The way in which a leader needs to adjust their strategies are dependent upon the individual culture they are working with. Within each culture, there are certain elements that can impact the success of an organization. I will be discussing what these elements are and how they can help or hinder the success of an organization.

The definition of culture in this context can be deducted from Trompenaars (1998): “The essence of culture is not what is visible on the surface. It is the shared ways groups of people understand and interpret the world.” (p. 3). From this statement we can extract that people with different cultures see and interpret the world in their own way. Thus, to motivate employees with different cultural backgrounds it is necessary to understand the interpretation the employees have of certain norms and values.

When asked to describe what culture is many people often associated with ethnic or national backgrounds, but the idea of businesses or organizations having their own cultural identities often doesn't come to mind. All businesses and organizations have their own way of running themselves and for that reason, their employees incorporate their own values based on the atmosphere which they must conform to everyday. This atmosphere influences greatly on how people work in an organization, employees can realize the relaxed state of their environment or merely to the abrasive ideals that are taken up by their employer. A business's cultural characteristics include things such as required work hours, appreciation of ideas, and dress code; all of these

According to Greenwood (1957), culture is defined as "The interactions of social roles required by these formal and informal groups generate a social configuration unique to the profession" (p. 52). In any profession, it is important to respect others cultures, beliefs, and values.

Cultural organization is unique and configures their norms, beliefs, values, and behavioral characteristics into the individual and groups that unite to get things accomplished. Patterns begin to evolve and become a rule of basic assumption; whether it is a new idea, one recently discovered or under development by a certain group as they learn to cope with internal integration and external adaptation problems. Cultural characteristics are hard to define because culture is multi-dimensional with integrated components that intertwine at different levels and ever-changing which takes time to establish and therefore time to change it also. Culture becomes the fabric or social glue that unites its participants, this will counteract any processes that are different becomes an unavoidable side-effect of life in an organization. Mutual understandings and a shared system of meanings becomes the basis of communication in a cultural organization. Functions of a society need to be fulfilled with a certain amount of satisfaction or culture can impede the efficiency of that organization. Problems with this concept arise when trying to categorize culture or when, why, or how corporate culture should be changed or finding the best, healthiest or most desirable one.

Culture is something developed over time by a group of people not just created by one person. Referring back to gender role in society this was not something that humans were born with but it was created and reinforced over long-period of time. Now more recently we can see these behaviors changing where women work more, men help with chores, and the roles are starting to merge. Culture also has a way of shaping one’s view and values in the world. Culture also shapes our behavior and our reason for doing certain things which is known as cultural behavior. The difficult thing about cultures is that no two cultures are the same so it is not a “one size fits all.” You have to take time to learn each culture and some cultures you will fit in better into than others. This is like a work place have that has developed a culture that constantly changes as new employees come and old one leave. If you are more laid back then you will fit into a work culture that is more flexible then one that is tightly structured.

International business has been a part of society for centuries. With the introduction of modern technological advances, countries have moved from participating in business ventures primarily by land or boat and advanced to virtual environments and acquiring passports that enable flights all over the world. This impact has challenged businesses to improve their cultural relations as they venture into unknown markets that are on the opposite end of their cultural spectrum and perspective. The world is a vast melting pot of all walks of life. The business world is no different and requires even sharper skills, especially when entering environments that may be tense or chaotic. This paper examines the country of Italy and how its culture impacts business domestically and internationally. It discusses the various strengths and weaknesses of its economic environment and the potential gains or losses a foreign investor may consider when deciding whether or not enter the Italian market.

Culture can be defined as a way of thinking, behaving or working that exists in a particular region or organization. It must be followed by vast majority of people from one generation to other. According to Hellriegel and Slocum (2011), across cultures competency can be defined as the ability to understand and quickly act in a culture different from one’s own. Across-cultural competence is a set of behaviors, values, and policies that may be developed at an individual level, in a system, or organizational level with the ability to constructively interact and work effectively across cultures and in diverse cultural situations. It should recognize differences and similarities among other cultures.

A culture is a set of values that are adopted by people who co-habit any place. It consists of shared traits and lifestyles. Within an organization, culture refers to values and norms that are prevalent throughout the workplace and amongst the employees. This includes their mannerisms, attitudes, and work ethic. Culture within an organization exerts control over the behavior of people. Growth and success of a company depends largely on the type of culture which is prevalent within an organization.