Pro and cons of desirable cultural differences

In the competitive advantage of desirable perspective: (Pons)

Culture serves as lens through which we perceive the other. Like the water surrounding the fish, culture distorts how we see the world and how the world sees us. Many argue that it is these types of unique institutional arrangements that were responsible for the pervious success of Japanese management. Although different to separate out, culture is deeply embedded in these institution derangements. For example, given the importance placed on the collective or grow it is not surprising to find such linkages among business or between business a government which in more individualist countries would be considered unjust collusion or undue interference.

Critics now say that this very system of education is to narrow .the point of these examples is to demonstrate that each country has its unique institutional and cultural characteristics, which can provide sources of competitive advantage at one point, only to become liabilities when the environment changes. Managers therefore need to evaluate the extent to which national culture can interfere with their company’s efforts to respond to strategic requirements and in the future.

In the disadvantage of desirable perspective: (Cons)

This will be increase culture clash’s opportunity. There is no shortage of evidence of cross-cultural friction between businesses. In every cross border alliance are seeds of potential cultural conflict and misunderstanding. Also, the problem is that it is cultural malaise may go unrecognized. It may therefore be some time before cultural differences are surfaced and diagnosed. Failure to pay attention culture can. In fact, have disastrous consequences.

Cultural clash

An American oil company set up a devilling operation on a Pacific Island and hired local labor. Within a week, all the foremen were found lined up on the floor, their throats cut. Only afterwards did they understand that hiring younger men as foremen to boss older workers was not acceptable in a society where age indicates status.

Johari window

For example, we can use the Johari window to shed light on what I know and do not know about myself and what others know and do not know about me. Through self disclosure and feedback, we can become more aware of the potential blind spots in how we see ourselves and how others us that may interfere with effective interaction.

On the other hand, there are features of American culture which the knows but they either do not know or may gave misapprehended. This provides opportunities to learn about the cultural richness of the other. Finally, despite the best intentions of both

parties, a business relationship can turn sour because of something cultural if which neither side is aware, Thus they can discuss difference s that the plain to see (obvious to both) and begin to explore or shed some light on what she cannot see (her blind spot), what they cannot see (their blind spot) and try to imagine what it is that both cannot see (shared blind spot).

Stereotypes

In trying to describe one’s own culture, we often call up it that others have of us.

Stereotypes represent mental files that are used to help process new information comparing it with past experience and knowledge of Americans. We then evaluate the present encounter as compared with past experience. This process undeniably simplifies the cogent reality, but it is necessary given the uncertainty and ambiguity inherent in cross-cultural encounters. However, although stereotypes may be necessary, they are far from sufficient.

The problem with stereotypes is not their existence but the way they are used .For example, if on meeting an American I assume that “All Americans are alike”, then I have simply imposed my mental file, or stereotype, on the current reality, cramming new data into old boxes.

Research indicates that managers are ineffective in cross cultural situations was they either deny having stereotypes, using them as a start point, but continually revising them as they gained more experience. These managers were constantly checking and rechecking, always updating the files against fill hand information. They were willing to question themselves and their stereotypes consciously unlearn and to redefine their experiences.

To conclusion:

We need to know a cultural difference is desirable. In the Johor window, we will know some space we cannot know and they cannot know it, so this is shared blind spot.

Also, we perhaps will get cultural clash. Like example of the American oil company. It have a age indicates status there. It cannot suitable for all of the places.

About Stereotypes, this is a useful starting point in business. Many of us have been brought up to think of stereotyping as bad. It is as ignorant and immoral — evidence of

Prejudice and bigotry and far from politically correct. It can indeed be wrong, based on misinformation and hurtful used to discredit the other. So cultural differences is important of the business area.

Task2

It is exploring cultural differences. It about differences of greeting rituals, making contact and dress codes. Let’s talk about the first one.

Greeting rituals

Greeting rituals is important of these rituals should not be overlooked. Some of countries, Likes United States, tend to pay less attention to protocol, but for others it is taken quite seriously. For example, failure to show respect by carefully exchanging and inspecting business cards in Japan can get business negotiations.

Otherwise, you have signed that you do not remember having greeted that person in the first place, and therefore that they are not important to you .Leaving rituals follow the same procedure.

Another part of the ritual that generates a fair amount of confusion is the degree of body contact in greetings. One MBA student from Hong Kong was quite distressed and uncomfortable when her French male colleagues insisted on kissing hello and goodbye,

About the South Africa, If you are a man, expect to hear ‘Mora, mender’¼ˆ’Morning, mister’¼‰from the Afrikaners.

English-speaking white South Africans follow the British style of a polite, formal exchange of pleasantries Black South Africans are leisurely and informal in their greetings so expect to be asked questions about your trip and family.

Greeting Tip: Talking with your hands in your pockets is considered rude is pointing at someone with your index finger wagging, as it will be interpreted as a personal challenge.

Boasting and ostentation tends to be frowned upon and modesty appreciated. In public, most Canadians try to be tactful when dealing with other people and will avoid arguing or causing scenes in public. It is considered for people to speak in a foreign language in the presence of others who do not understand what is being said. Greetingã€€Tip: Francophone’s ( French speakers) are generally not as reserved as Anglophones ¼ˆEnglish speakers¼‰and are often likely to use expansive gestures, stand closer while talking and touch during a conversation.

Making contact

Next, it about the making contact. It is aspect of the initial encounter is the amount of physical space considered necessary to be comfortable. For example, the North American consider a perfectly friendly line of questioning may be deemed impertinent or overly familiar by non-Americans. This difference is particularly likely to manifest itself at the getting to know each other stage of an international negotiation or prospective collaboration.

Example of France, It is executives will not apperceives inquiries into other personal lives, their family circumstances or how they spent the weekend. Their professional life and their personal life are regarded as quite separate domains. A senior HR executive at Disneyland Paris expressed surprise at a French executive who, in eighteen months of working there, had not once bought his family to visit the park. This executive in question had no intention of making family and work even though the corporate culture actively encourages it.

Observations of how people get to know each other, the degree of formality and personal contact preferred, reveal underlying assumptions about what is considered to be public versus private space. Americans tend to be more open, informal and easy to approach than Europeans or Asians. However, Europeans often complain that relation ships with American tend to be superficial. While it may be more difficult to get to know a European, the relationship once established is often ore enduring.

Dress codes

The last one is about the dress code. It is a set of rules specifying the correct manner of dress while on the premises of the institution Also differs in degree of formality and can serve as a sublime signaling mechanism. For the Latin managers, personal style is important, while Anglo and Asian managers do not want to stand out or attract attraction in their dress. Also, corporate dress seems to be color-coded. Women working in the United Kingdom have been advised not to wear red or bright callously suits of dresses. Bankers at one Dutch ankh eschew brown suits.

Dress code may also signal task orientation. For example, rolled up shirt sleeves are considered a signal of “getting down to business” or “Relaxing on the job”. One very hot day, at an in house company seminar at a beautiful lakefront conference center, a German manager arrived in the dark tie and jacket. His colleagues arrived in more causal attire .When asked why he was so dressed up; he replied sternly “We’re here to work”.

Also, other companies are also encouraging workers to dress in ways to match the customer doing business with Levi-Strauss ay mean going to head office wearing jeans, rather than a channel suit. However, efforts to encourage a particular dress code, at work or otherwise, may be rejected, particularly in France and Italy where the style of dress is seen as an expression of the individual.

So, dress code will special from the different places.

Task3

Let talk about Hofstadter’s findings meaning and between the three FPD experts’ countries of the USA, France and South Africa:

The Hofstede’s findings are test about four value dimensions on countries. It is the power distance, uncertainly avoidance, individualism / collectivism and masculinity / fernininity.

Hofstede’s findings

Power Distance (PD)

The degree make by the PD when unequal distribution of power and wealth to be tolerate. These could be the level of hierarchy with determined in working places and distance between social areas. Malaysia rankings lower in Hoisted scales show for that they make large distances between ranks in an organization; communications may be likely to be through out the command page chain rather than direct areas.

Individualism (IC)

This is a work alone or in groups by the measure of whether people. It indicates the degree of social or society integration. Indigenous nation tend to be collectivizing where to original cultures had not became fracture picture. United States measure it when the lowest on this scale, singular achievement by theirs. This comes from a cultural up bring which expects peoples to be not dependent at a very early age. The lifestyle of a Guatemalan is likely to be based approximately close family ties with strong community support.

Masculinity (MF)

This scale does not refer, absolutely with dominance of gender. It dimension reveals the bias towards either masculine values of assertiveness, compositeness and materialism or values of assertiveness, likes quality of life, services and welfares. Japan ranks for the lowest on Hofstadter’s scale showing they are high of the male or female orient. Workplace is near to tyrannical. Peoples in these two countries are friendly to show more for their few workers empathy, They are likely to spend time on relationships and personal ties.

Uncertainty Avoidance (UA)

Uncertainty Avoidance refers to a society discomfort with uncertainty. It refers preferring predictability by the way in which peoples will grant with the future time, whether they have implanted control, or whether events are beyond their control. People with low Uncertainty Avoidance will necessitate structure and order with clear rules and guidelines. Therefore, people in New York will be reluctance to make resolution and they will require very structured work arrangement.

Let talk about three FPD experts’ countries characteristic of the United States, France and South Africa:

United States:

United States. Is the highest individual country of the world? It is in Village market and low context culture, in strumental of firms, high level of explicitness. Also, even low UA, organization is in dependent from individual and high job mobility.

When in the decision making, they will slowly in implementation and less tradition,

South Africa:

It is in Family or tribe. But also likely from USA They are so loyalty, Generalist and output control.

France:

It is in pyramid of people. They are centralized decisional making, coordination at the top less delegation, cloisonné highly specialized, strong role of staff, analytic facility and input control.

When in information and communicate with the worker. They will limited flow of information with between groups, information passed via personal connection, information seen as source of power ant it is important for limited participative nature of into flows.

When it is in decision making, they will have euphemize power and hierarchy and centralize decision making.

Two factors between the three FPD experts’ countries:

French companies are often characterized by French managers as compartmentalized, very clearly structured vertically as well as horizontally .This makes very clear the personal roles and responsibility, privileges and obligations and hence the degree of discretion un performing one’s job. Thus the flow of information between groups is limited. Furthermore, given the view of organization as a social system based on relationships information may not be readily shared as it is viewed as personal, it is not public. For these reasons, it is not surprising that informal communication assumes cinsiferable importance in French companies. Informal channels compensate for the centralized, formalized and limited participative nature of information flows.

Also, companies in cultures which emphasize power and hierarchy are more likely to centralize decision making, For example, France has the reputation of being .Here the government plays an important role in determining company strategy and

Policy, deciding who is to acquire whom and often choosing top management.

The difference in decision making between Nordic and Latin European firms was sharply illustrated when Sweden’s Electrolux acquired Italy’s Zabussi, The Swedish top management was often frustrated in its efforts to get Italian managers to arrive ate consensus among them in solving problems. The Italian managers, in turn expected the senior management to settle problems such as transfer pricing between Italian product lines and the UK sales offices.

Let’s to compare four value dimensions on countries between the United States, France and South Africa:

To base on, the hostages ranking United States. And South Africa is lower power distance than France. They have a large distance for that.

About the individualism, they are guide high in the ranking. So they are high individualism country.

About the masculinity, the United States and South Africa should is masculinity country. But France is femininity country.

Lastly, the uncertainty avoidance. France is highest of three countries. They also have a larage distance for that value.

Task4

We need to talk about the three primary task strategies and how to use in the FPD Company:

Firstly, need to discuss something about controlling model and adapting model +

Controlling model

The controlling model can be characterized as centralized and formalized. Top management may call in expert consultants to assist in devising strategies. Formal strategic planning units may be established to devise plans to be submitted to top management or the board for deliberation .Formal scanning units may also exist that are responsible for tracking environment event. Scanning is focused and in depth in order to obtain the necessary information.

Information I often obtained from industry reports or consultants and tend to be quantitative and objective. Forecasting, econometric models and structured scenarios are used to analyze the information. Based on this information and analysis, top management makes the decisions and then hands them down to be implanted. Implementation entails through planning, setting clear and specific targets, explicit communication of what is to be done and how persistent follow through and then linking performance goals with rewards.

Decisions are taken by those presumed to have the most power or knowledge namely top management .As the top managers are consider to be national economic actors or agents .They are assumed to make the best decisions in line with individual interests. Therefore they need to be held accountable and control by systems or supervisor boards. Given different individual interests, the decision making process is seen as more political.

The monophonic view of time as lines and segment means that strategic decisions were seen as discrete events and action steps can be planned within a given timetable. Thus implementation is highly task and achievement oriented concrete actions can be planned and the results measure.

Adapting Model

In contact, the adapting model is more decentralized and informal. Responsibility for strategy is diffused throughout the organization. Scanning is broader based and less systematic. Information is gathered from personal sources, friends and colleagues, and through observation and thus tends to be more qualitative and subjective.

Information is interpreted through intuitive models .Intense discussion is encouraged involving many people from all levels within the organization.

Strategic decisions are expected to be reached through consensus.

Rather than a discrete strategic decision parse, a strategic direction tends to emerge. Implementation is then locally determined, keeping within this general strategic frame. Adjustments can then be made to unforeseen events and strategy can be refining on an ongoing basis. Responsibility and accountability are assigned to the collective.

The underlying assumptions in this model are that the environment cannot be ready known or controlled. Therefore the organization must be flexible and prepare to react to unforeseeable environmental events Personal relationships and interactions

Are considering key to developing shared understanding, thus information sources are more personal and subjective.

Thus the strategy that emerged tended to be adaptive rather than being constrain by industry definitions and fix strategic plans. The previous success of Japanese firms was attribute to the absence of rigid planning systems .Their willingness to adapt and shift to changing environments and their use of intuition and feel as guides .If will success was also attribute to their taking a long term perspective, being willing to invest time and effort without immediate results.

Finally, current interest in developing core competencies and in creating learning organizations represents a shirt towards the adapting model. The rapidly and sometimes radically, changing business environment represent serious challenges to assumptions of environment certainty and organization control.

FPD Will is choosing Adapting Model:

It is because the FPD’s CEO can not always stay in America. They have other work in the Canada or haven’t told us. So Adapting Model must be more suitable for them.

The Adapting Model has some special for the FPD.

Flexibility-Prepare to react unfortableevents and continue to improve. Likes the FPD can buy or sell the multi-story building easily.

Decentralized and informlized likes the FPD can disperse the manage work to the different nationality experts to work .They are need to make normal company to have a good result in each years.

Information—qualities and subjective likes the FPD want to know the global or

American real property market to resell the flays easily to earn more moneys

Cultural assumptions:

Environment cannot be known is usually in the future, cannot have a quickly the sense of touch to think future how to do and give a good planning.

Personal relationships and interactions are keys —-this is also suitable for the FPD, because they need to have different national manager in the same compact to manager the workers. So I suggest they will have at least twice meeting besides on jobs every week will better.

Internal capabilities. This is quite different to confirm in interview or only see one time.

Continuous improvement .It needs to prepare some money to train the worker, improve the company efficiency.

Task5

The four key considerations would be useful for FPD in their new venture in relation to balancing profit with ethical behavior is, let talk about it for us:

First, we have responsibility to improve the environment. Guiding values and commitments sense and clearly communicable. Company’s manager is personally committee, conceivable and agreeable to take action on the values by theirs. Company systems and structures support reinforce for its values. Managers through out the company have the decision making skills, erudition and competencies need to make ethically sound method on a day to day over a round.

Legal or Ethical Matrix

Also, we will get four keys about its. For example, we should use the Legal or Ethical Matrix. This is helps the manager only have abort fifty percents will be unknown what to do, some will be embrace and some one will avoid. Also helps them to acknowledge where there is dissimilitude and to understand the reasons for these differences. For example, the ambiguity and ambivalence about business ethics in Russia are strongly related to the currant political and economic uncertainties, as well as the pervious methods found necessary for survival.

Thus certain ethical standards may be universal. It includes honesty, integrity and protection of society, customer and employees. Others may retain culturally specific. IT includes reciprocity, whistle blowing, profit maximization, social benefits, patent palladium and price fixing. These cultural ponder differences in significance well-placed on what is best for the teams, rather than what is good for individual, on accomplishment rather than belonging and on social harmony rather than adherence to abstract principles.

Towards a global civilization

The first keys is to recognize where there are similarities and where there are differences, what are the cultural or institutional reasons for theses differences and how to arrive are some shared way of resolving them. One recommendation is ‘to identify and make explicit diverse ethical norms and evaluate them against certain universal, but minimalist moral principles’.

Ultimately, the way that these decisions are taken by companies and managers will more likely retain culturally determined. Those from individualist cultures such as Americans will look within themselves, asking if they can personally live with the decisions taken, Those from collectivist cultures will look for those around them and ask how the others will live with them.

Perhaps globalization of the economy will necessitate the convergence of rules and regulations for doing business and perhaps even ethics. Nevertheless, the

assumptions underlying economic and political integration, as well as notions of globalization, however deeply rooted or near to one’s heart, need to be acknowledged and challenged. The very ideologies of free market of democracy and of equal opportunity carry with them ethical baggage. We too often accept them as given.

Corruption

The second keys are about the corruption. It means the bribery, embezzlement and extortion. For example, in the United States passed the foreign corrupt practices which made behavior abroad subject to the same penalties as at the home. As certain practices, such as bribery, were sometimes consider the only way of doing business in certain environments, American companies had to find other ways ire had to leave.

Codes of conduct

Also, the third keys are about codes of conduct. It can help to provide guidelines and are being developed within companies as well as across countries. Differences were also found in the content of these codes. While all of the European company codes addressed the question of employee conduct differences were found in what that means .For example, ensuring equal opportunity, The French and British codes stressed the importance of employees to the organization, reinforcing a sense of belonging and collective goals.

Reasons for differences

The last keys is about reasons for differences .How business ethics is defined, debated and judged which are due to distinctive institutional, legal, social and cultural contexts.

The importances of this more collective, consensual approach in those outsiders, very often entrepreneurs, are the first to take the fall. The economic power of the entrepreneurial overseas Chinese makes them a target for local economic or political problems, as in Malaysia and Indonesia.

So the insistence individualism thus requires universalism, that the same set of morals or rules and regulations apply to everyone. This results in the US legalistic approach to ethics. The emphasis on individualism results in attributing ethical behavior to the CEO, as in the case of Tylenol and downplaying the possibility that the behavior may not have happened without the supporting organizational culture. The legalistic approach may also result in an emphasis on compliance means

doing and rather than on encouraging in terrify means being.

Task6

There are two views of culture and strategy.

It is a rational and economic view and the dynamic view method. Let talk about us.

Rational view

The rational view is including the prescribed tools and techniques, affirm the belief and value of a “rational analytic” approach. This approach takes for granted certain assumptions. It assumes for similarly perceived and analyzed by intelligent managers.

In fact, rather than taking them as objective realities .It can be argued that both

Environments and organizations are subjective realities that are perceived and enacted in different ways. This means that managers see different things. It is create different realities and then act accordingly. This multiple interpretations and responses to supposedly similar situations are likely. Also, national culture can play an important hole in determining different types of strategic behavior.

The rational analytic approach also assumes that managers making strategic decisions follow a similar route, gathering all relevant information, generating all possible alternatives, evaluating the costs and benefits of each alternative, choosing the optimal solution and then acting upon it.

Finally, such of the discussion to date regarding starting management has been based on beliefs that environments and organizations are objective realties and that strategic decision making is a rational and analytic process. Digging deeper, we discover underlying assumptions that environment are intelligible and predictable and that by taking action or doing strategic objectives can be achieved. This functionalist instrumental view of the world. However, may be challenged in other cultures.

Dynamic view

Dynamic view method is a moved more method. It means the worker and the manager usually haven’t use the brain to think the method. They want to do the job quickly but usually have an error or they cannot use the best method. It is not good for everyone. But perhaps can use less time to finish the work.

About the method, who has been a rather to the strategic planning approach, usually in a collective process of learning. These views assumes that managers have less control over their environments which are

It is highlights the hole of feelings or emotions not just analytic rationally. It questions the nature of truth as determined by facts and figures and logic rather than by spiritual purpose.

Assumptions regarding the nature of truth and reality are different that touch cannot be

determined by simplistic theories of cause and effect.

More recently in the field of strategic management there has been a growing interest in developing organizational resources and capabilities. These resources based and core competencies views suggest that building corporate charter provides the capability and flexibility to respond by placing the emphasis on what the company does. The focus is on having the right stuff or strategic traits, rather than necessarily making the right moves or strategic.

The extensive body of research comparing Japanese and Western companies points to distinctive national patterns in strategic management. Yet the underlying cultural reasons for these differences have not been sufficiently examined. While the emphasis in this chapter is on national culture, industry and corporate cultures also play in important role in determining strategy, which will be discussed further on.

FPD at this moment in time use the view will be:

I think it will use the Rational view.

It includes the prescribed tools and techniques .When you can do the work more rational, u can use less time to do the work but the thinking will be more .The workers and manager may be to hold more meeting to discuss company daily mode.

Like to sort:

Universalism planning .It can make the job clearly.

Deal environment .It can give the worker have more space and opportunity to recognize environment

Objectives You can have more targets, do the work quickly and efficiency.

Words from tasks 1 to task6 is 4729 Words

Reference

Internal conflict and governance (1992), New York: St. Martin’s Press

Cultural studies (1993), Ingles, Fred., Oxford : Blackwell

Dynamics of intercultural communication (1995), Madison, Wis.: Brown & Benchmark

Cultural selection (1996), Taylor, Gary, New York,: Basic Books,

Throwaways: work culture and consumer education (1993), Watkins, Evan, Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press

The cultures of globalization (1998), Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press,

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