Introduction to Culture

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1 When person from one cultural background, meet, interact with, understand and deal with person from other cultural background. That is cross-cultural management.

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2 According to Bobst1, Cross Cultural Management (CCM) is “the capability to manage different attitudes, culture, religion and habits to achieve best business results.” Mead went deep into the subject and defined CCM as “…working with members of the other culture, tolerating differences as far as possible, and recognizing their priorities when developing shared priorities.” (Mead, 1994:5). CCM is inevitable, as Evans and Doz found that “research on multinational enterprises suggests that their future competitive advantage may not reside in their strategy or structure, nor in their technologies or products, but in their organizational capabilities to cope with the multidimensional and complex demands of a global business.” (Evans and Doz, 1992:87).

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3 Cross-cultural management studies the behaviour of people in organizations around the world and trains people to work in organizations with employee and client populations. It describes organizational behaviour within countries and cultures; Cross-cultural management Adler: “International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour” (1991)

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4 Compares organizational behaviour across cultures and countries: and perhaps, most importantly, seeks to understand and improve the interaction of co-workers, clients, suppliers, and alliance partners from different countries and cultures. Cross-cultural management thus expands the scope of domestic management to encompass the international and multicultural spheres.

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5 Changing structures & management capabilities From traditional hierarchical structures emphasizing either-or choices (centralization vs decentralization, product vs geographcial divisions) >> Transnational, integrated networks of assets and resources with multidimensional mgt perspectives and capabilities, and flexible coordinative processes.

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6 Managers must be able to sense and intepret complex and dynamic environmental changes; able to develop & integrate multiple strategic capabilities; able to build & manage the new organisations required to link these sensing and response capabilities; and deliver coordinated action on a world-wide basis. Bartlett & Ghoshal, ”Building Transnational Capabilties: The Management Challenge” (2000)

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7 Changing management capabilities Global business management: worldwide business strategist architect of assets and resources configuration cross-border coordinator Worldwide functional management: worldwide intelligence scanner cross-polinator of ”best practices” champion of transnational innovation Bartlett & Ghoshal, ”Building Transnational Capabilties: The Management Challenge” (2000

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8 Geographic subsidiary management: bicultural interpreter national defender & advocate frontline Implementer of Corporate stategy Top level corporate managemnnt providing direction & purpose leveraing corporate performance ensuring continual renewal

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9 problem/threat culture gets “in the way” opportunity/resource culture as a source of competitive advantage Culture as a:

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10 “importance of releasing cultural synergies at the interfaces where knowledge, values and experience are exchanged” Søderberg & Holden “Rethinking Cross Cultural Management in a Globalizing Business World” (2002) Example: Indian Global Sales Manager for a Danish company from his office in Shanghai. How to get that competitive advantage?

Model of core problems & core solutions (Holden 2002) : 

11 Model of core problems & core solutions (Holden 2002)

Barriers of CCM: : 

12 Barriers of CCM: Differences between cultures can lead to increased resistance. You might not understand each other because you have different values. Those differences can hamper the progress of your project, if not stop it altogether. Some cultures may be overly deferential Some cultures are deeply guarded about private matters. Thus, techniques of supportive questioning, which might produce strong commitment and deep learning in some cultures, might not be appropriate in other cultures at all. There are no universal laws to ensure conformity in each culture. Because of complexities in continually learning the cultures of your clients’ organizations, it is critical for you to continually 1)be open to differences and 2) ask for help from your client.

Strategies for breaking Resistance : 

13 Strategies for breaking Resistance Be aware of your personal biases, style, preferences, lens and focus. 2. Realize that each part of an organization probably has a unique culture. 3. Promptly convey to your client that you want to be sensitive to their culture. 4. Consider getting a project mentor, or representative, from the organization.

Become Knowledgeable About Key Cultural Aspects : 

14 Become Knowledgeable About Key Cultural Aspects 1. Assertiveness Are members of your client’s organization comfortable being honest and direct with each other? If not, how can you still be as authentic as possible and help them to be as authentic as possible, as well? 2. Body language Are there any specific cues that you can notice to sense how others are experiencing you? 3. Communication styles and direction Is communication fairly direct and specific or more indirect and general? Does information flow mostly “upward” to executives or is it widely disseminated?

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15 4. Conflict Is conflict considered to be bad and avoided? Or is conflict accepted as normal and directly addressed when it appears? 5. Eye contact Are members of the organization comfortable with sustained eye contact during communication or not? 6. Gestures Are there any specific gestures that can cause members of the organization discomfort or confusion?

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16 7. Humor Is use of humor in the organization rather widespread? Is there anything about the use of humor about which you should be aware? 8. Information collection Should you be aware of any potential problems or use any certain precautions when conducting interviews or using assessments? 9. Physical space For example, are members of your client’s organization quite conscious of having a minimum amount of space around them when they work or speak with others?

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17 10. Power Are members attuned to certain people of power when solving problems and making decisions? Is power based on authority and/or respect? 11. Silence Are members uncomfortable with silence during communication? Or is it a common aspect of communicating in their workplace? 12. Time Is time a precious commodity that seems to underlie many activities, or can activities take as long as they need to take to be done effectively? 13. Wording Are there certain words or phrasings that cause discomfort when people from different cultures interact?

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18 Infosys' 4-step Communication Approach

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19 Cross - Culture Management is the key for International Success