Impact of National Culture Around the World

Question

Task: Provide a brief note on the National Cultures followed by several countries in the world. Please provide a way in which the cultures make an impact on the process of management in a firm that operates on a global market.

Answer

Management Summary
Various societies all around the world have created a significant impact on the trends in purchase and market behavior on a global level. Although it is the major deciding factors that actually bring the changes in the operative market and hence are liable for every relevant advance in the respective field. Hence, in the major cases, it is the multinational or a giant company, which would influence the major factors in the market and thus could reap hidden opportunities and profit for the entity. The major action done by the higher officials of these companies includes the major altercations in the department of the management so that effective influence could be made possible.

Introduction
It was the renowned Dutch socialist analyst and the major observant of the administrative field, Geert Hofstede who has put forward the widely accepted framework for arranging the national societies (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). The major measure and tools to be considered to analyze the available data regarding the quality and characteristics of the respective society were first devised out by the surveys conducted by the officials of IBM between 1967 and 1973 by studying more than fifty societies (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). In this survey, the response from around 116.000 employees of the IBM were collected which included the data and opinion of them regarding their job, work environment, work pressure etc. Also, the determining factors like degree of communalism or independence, instability in the shirking, separation in the force, and gentility or power were measured in this survey (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011).

It should be a matter of concern, why a certain faction of the business firms ends up being very successful in spreading their business all over the world while some of them even fail to survive in the domestic market. If taken into consideration this case very seriously, then the major factors which led to these differences would be determined. The individuals who represent the company in the global market are mostly the major reason behind the failure of the company. When the representative is operating the foreign affairs of the company in the markets beyond the boundaries of its companies, he is forced to take various strategic decisions which may have the potential to determine the future of the institution. Hence the companies should create very strategic decisions on an earlier basis so that there should be no immense pressure on the representative by solving the hidden problems at a very early stage. If not taken these precautions in the early stage, there is a strong risk of building up disbelieve and lack of trust among various departments and in the case of failures, the corresponding blaming on each other would take place.

Hence the firms which had spread their business to the abroad companies, should take special measures to control or influence the societies and follow the administration processes so that the processes of the company would be in harmony with the operative country and thus the output and profit should be sustained to a particular level (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1989; Perlmutter, 1969; Rosenzweig & Nohria, 1994 cited by (Gerhart, 2008)). The associations all over the world would be very different in the parameters of various measurements, establishments, control over the business, various regulations, efficiency, and various societies. The degree to which the respective nations differ in relevance depends on the influence it could bring on the operating companies (Gerhart, 2008).

The involvements all around the world have posed many challenges and always was a point of concern in the history of many multimedia companies (Dewhurst Harris and Heywood, 2012). The scenario in the global market is changing at a very fast pace, since the major multinational companies based in the continents of Europe and North America are spreading their business to the new markets situated in the areas of Latin America, Africa, and Asia (Dewhurst Harris and Heywood, 2012). According to a study conducted by the independent body, Mckinsey Global Institute that around an aggregate of 400 mediocre size companies would bring a great impact and change on the untouched urban markets and thus lead to an aggregate 40 percent development in the time span of around 15 years (Dewhurst Harris and Heywood, 2012). As per the observations of the United Nations body IMF that the major players which would contribute to the global development are those which would operate in the markets of the developing countries (Dewhurst Harris and Heywood, 2012). Although contrary to this context, various new innovations in the field of transfer of data by make a strong reliance on the coordination among the institutes all around the world have been devised out, which reveals the hidden routes of success in a very dynamic and prospering market (Dewhurst Harris and Heywood, 2012).

National Culture:
As per the context, it is very normal that the reader would come up with a question of whether all nations possess their own unique culture.

As per the researches and studies conducted by various peers regarding the underlying administration disciplines, the majority of them advocate that every single nation has its own exclusive, potential, and mentionable society (McSweeney, 2002). In the works of Hickson and Pugh in 1995, the major question on the existence of the previously mentioned societies in different countries and also the potential of them in the case if they are actually present. Hence the world had taken this issue on a much serious basis (McSweeney, 2002). It should be noted that, unlike other factors, culture is not tangible nature since they are the consequential results of the philosophy and imagination followed by the population in a society. It should be noted that unlike the organizational culture, the national culture could not be controlled by the company. Hence instead of controlling the national culture, the company should adjust itself with the characteristics of the culture followed in the country. The organizational culture of the same country thus displays its various variants in different operative nations. Although misconception of linking the individual culture with the national corporation should not be done, since the concept of both are very different and some times displays a little reliance because of the collective impact of the individual personality. Even though the word culture only had the meaning of cultivation or civilizations it now bears a very broad meaning in the global market. It now bears the sense of interacting collective in a particular way. The studies of Geert Hofstede (1980) had revealed the hidden characteristics and anonymities in the societies prevailing all over the world. As per the observations of McSweeney in 2002and Whilst Anderson in 1991, the nations were considered to be an envisaged group in the market. Even though Wallerstein in 1990 had stated his skepticism regarding the theory of a society being implemented in the market and claimed to be irrelevant in the scenario (McSweeney, 2002).

A number of factors could be considered while addressing the issue of why some of the companies fail in expanding its business further beyond the boundaries of its operational nation. And as mentioned in the earlier section of this national culture report, the representatives of the companies who work for the firm abroad are often held as the culprit for any of the failures. Thus fewer pressures should be held on the representative officials and special pieces of training should be provided to them which would make them survive the hostile conditions. More time should be dedicated by the companies to devise out the strategies to face difficult conditions, otherwise, the company would not be able to attain the previously set targets. If this step remains unattended then it would end up building a negative attitude and great distrust among the employees and hence eventually impact the overall output of the company.

The dissimilarities and disparities prevailing in the operative market are very hard to cover and hence it is very hard to control the situation (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). Although if remained ignored because of its complexities, the situation would lead to a very embarrassing mistake in the business processes and thus bring down the company to a very poor position. Thus, the company may have to face the situations which could even decide the future existence of the firm.

National Culture with reference to the Korean Air example:
Let's consider the context of the high incidence of plane crashes or collisions in the routes of Korean Air between the period of 1970 and 2000 (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). As per the study conducted on the flaws prevailing in the processes and other data regarding the turn over of the relevant aviation companies it was revealed from the comments and the study of the cockpit that the designs and the attitude of the co-pilots were very supportive and contained no any flaws. Although the experts and co-pilots working in Korean aviation have pointed out some of the factors which has actually led to a very dangerous accident. It has been observed that the manufacturers of airplanes have created some major flaws in the designs of the aircraft that could make a negative impact on the crucial decision-making capacity of the pilot. Analyzing anyone’s ability or efficiency is considered to be a very offensive task in the societies of North Korea. The analysis of the Korean transfer through air is being considered by the analysts because of the below provided two causes. The major reason is that the flaw in North Korean air services would pose a very great risk to the security of the nation, and requirement to understand the social trends and culture followed in the respective nation (Ghmawat & Reiche, 2011). The second factor should be the understanding of customs and mannerism followed by the co-pilots of Korea which would help the designers of the aircraft to make altercations according to it for better convenience and execution of the duty. Thus, this step could be very decisive in the field of avionics which operates in a strictly controlled environment and the market as that in Korea (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). The customs followed in the nation would sometimes make a great impact on the ongoing managerial practices like various strategies followed in the department of administration, various regulations to be implemented in the organization, etc. This report on the national culture majorly depends on the way in which the specific culture of a nation makes a substantial impact on the organizations operating all around the world (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011).

It was being observed in the consistent and thorough investigation in the global market, it was deduced that the cultures followed by the people had continued in making an impact on the operational field even after their death. The instance of Korean Airways which is mentioned in the above section of this national culture report bears a lot of significance because of the reasons which are provided below. If taken in consideration that the culture followed in the country actually have the potential to make big consequence on the people customers following a monochromes form of culture then it would be very crucial to make an extraordinary effort while dealing with or handling the disparity in the culture followed by the people residing across the countries. Another major point which could be reckoned with is the activities of the flight engineers along with the co-pilots working in the aviation industry of the Korean country which was always subjected to be under high scrutiny and control that was quite normal in the commercial aviation system in the domestic market.

Elements that could influence the National Culture.
The managers in the industry who generally are claimed to be very efficient in their jobs are very specific in their own ways in handling the sensitive data and processes like bookkeeping, revealing outstanding funds, etc. which makes it very hard and tough to bring their focus towards a common cause (Kanungo, 2014). The aforesaid problem arises because of the way by which the staff of the company behaves in their individualistic approach and leads to a wide range of skepticism to the scenario and results to be very detrimental for the company (Kanungo, 2014). The staff indulges in his approach because their major target is to achieve the targets which would bring them personal gains rather than indulging in the effort which would help in attaining the common goal of the organization (Kanungo, 2014). The managers should take care of conduct committed by the workers of the company since and the factors that are hampering their performance should be identified so that a major change in the overall approach of the employees (Kanungo, 2014). The managerial body should avoid any worker to be operating in a seclusion and hence should be coerced or encouraged to work in accordance with others. The methods like mind-boggling, promoting intergroup relations, any set of actions which may lead to an increase in the staff indulgence, etc. are evaluated very thoroughly to contemplate the behaviors and interactions of the employees. Along with these features, the factors of unpredictability should also be considered while evaluating the impact of culture on the global market. The experts remark the term of globalization as the precursor to the course of unpredictability in the market (Kanungo, 2014).

Fig: Multicultural Competence.

The culture bears a lot of significance in the corporate environment since the individuals in the economy are deeply affected by them and hence affect their requirements, ethics, approaches, objectives, etc. Hence it should be understood by the management and authoritative team of a company that any sort of effort in making changes in the culture by the company would be furtive. The cultures of the various companies are often backed by various societies which thrive among the different factions of the population and hence the scope of business firms should not be taken into consideration, though the variations among the societies should be reckoned as they would make a substantial impact on the performance and business processes.

The efficient management of the staff which is diverse in nature could only be done by the efficient study of various races and ethnicities and countries. This step would also throw light on the existence of various complex societies and cultures and their significance in the companies working in a global market. The efficient evaluation would help to commit the effective distribution of power among the employees.

The new world of very technologically advanced societies has made the requirement of diverse human resources in a company. The introduction of new products and coping up with the diverse market of the foreign countries could be made very easy by allocating a diverse human resource. The companies and the institutes could attain the advanced level of performance in accordance with the changes in the organizational environment and new set of laws promulgated by the legislation. In an attempt to make out most of the output from the diverse staff of the company the diversity in the culture should be maintained in each team operating in each department. The factors like higher adaptability to the new and strange circumstances, better potential for new innovations, acquiring the knowledge of various customs and products in various parts of the worlds, allocating the team of customer services who would be more sensitive and indulging for the people from various part of the world since they possess various cultural background. However, if managed in a poor way, the factor of diversity would reap any better performance or advantages. Although the management should consider some of the conflict management in the business environment since the cultural values of different workers have the possibility to clash among themselves. Hence many strategies the workers and efforts should be done by the management team.

Thus, to keep the staff in harmony and to streamline the effort of such a diverse human resource, the following steps should be followed in the organization.

• Making some appropriate changes in the system, so that the diversity should be implemented and promoted flawlessly in the organization.
• Devising out better training programs that would be suited to bring the maximum efficiency out of the diverse set of workers.
• The acceptance of various steps and strategies undertaken by the company should be followed meticulously by the officials and the workers.

Thus, it would be very difficult to make the diverse staff contribute to the company without installing a proper framework in the business process. Several steps should be taken by the management team to attain this objective.

1. Placing a cross-culturally as a team leader- The leader of the team would be versatile in handling the group which is very diverse in nature. This ability surpasses the ability of technical and leadership excellence and hence should be approached in a very different way. The leader should possess very less polarization towards his ethnicity, display a very lenient nature and tolerance nature towards lack of clarity, and most significantly a great level of flexibility towards the culture. A suitable amalgamation of personal efficiency and cross-cultural training should be implemented by the leader for the smooth functioning of the processes in the department.
2. Picking out appropriate team members: The members in a team should have a better proficiency and understanding of the cross-cultural process and they should be chosen by keeping certain factors as the parameter which would go along with the type of population in the group. The major reasoning behind these factors should be communicated to the team members so that any sort of confusion should be avoided.
3. The starting or the inauguration of the department could be made subjective and intimate: The variety of the team events could be utilized by the management to involve its employees personally into the business processes. The events like group meals word are very efficient in building relationships among its employees since they demand the participants to indulge individually. Engaging the team by the channel of video conferencing would also increase the physical and psychological engagement of the staff in the official tasks.
4. Investment of much more time and effort in developing belief and connections: If studied the culture followed by the societies in various cultures, it could be observed that the relationships and the level of trust would turn out to be a very decisive factor. Although some of the exceptional cultures in some of the countries like Germany focus more on the aspects of the negotiations and concentrated source of authority, rather than investing their time on building up relationships. The culture followed by the population of German society is to mingle with the demography rather than their colleagues in the office.
5. Evaluate the differences: Although the members in a team would carry out the same occupation, they differ in their approaches, experiences, knowledge, ability to deal with the situations, etc. Though they seem to be a disparity, it would be very effective in creating innovative ideas that could prosper into the undiscovered areas and hence abruptly would increase the efficiency of the business in the market. If taken an instance of a telemarketing company operating globally, the diverse employees could suggest that the people of Brazil normally place long calls to their native country to contact their relatives and hence the company should make the international calls to Brazil which could attract more customers to itself thus bringing a high revenue.
6. Describe your expectations very clearly:

Leaders: The team leader should mention the expected anticipations from each employees which could provide exceptional clarity to everybody about their responsibilities and plays a very crucial role in handing a very diverse human resource. Because of the difference in the skill sets, age, and approach each member should be provided with different expectations.

Team Members: It would be the major concern of the members in the group to devise somehow a very general and common set of targets so that there is no partial distribution of workload. Various issues and change in perspective should be made clear since it would make a situation of conflict in the office.

7. The appropriate method of communication: The company should install a very easy and efficient channel of communication so that the ideas and orders would be transmitted with high accuracy and in a much faster way. The type of communication needs to be installed in an institute actually depends on the framework and business processes. It is a commonly known fact that even the workers are provided information in their mother tongue, they end up with contextual errors in it. The use of different jargons would also make some hindrances in the process of communication and raise the level of difficulty exponentially. If followed the below-given parameters, the process of communication could be made much smoother.
• Take a very descriptive approach
• Make a valuable interpretation of the data or message you received from the officials.
• Eliminating prejudice in the business processes.
• The mode of channels and attitude should be very positive in character.
• The body language should not be elusive and thus eliminate any sort of skepticism.
• The message could be deliberately linked to various instances and case studies to make it simpler and engaging.
• Provide personal observations in a more clear and specific way.
• The employees should provide innovative methods by which the process of communication could be made better.

8. Predict the hidden risks and make the company prepared for it: The unforeseen and sudden lags or hindrances in the business process would sometimes turn out to be a precursor to the arising troubles in the company. The failure in arriving at the preset targets in the predefined deadline and avoidance of the customers in providing direct justifications for their failures. The managers could adopt tools like official meetings, personal meetings, awards for each target achieved, and other team games to increase the level of communication. These tools should be implemented by keeping in mind the factors like cultural beliefs and sensitivity towards thus it would impact the output of the firm in a very positive way.
9. The deadlines should be very specific and simple deadlines: The value of time is very significant in a corporate environment and the employee who breaches the deadline every time is not be respected or entertained by the team. In most of the cultural societies, wasting time is considered to be a very offensive deed. Hence to make the employees strictly following the deadlines the strict instructions should be provided to the employees clarifying the consequences. The members in a team should be very vigilant since missing a single call would drift the task to a lot of time backward. The management should decide the appropriate set of time span for particular assignments and specific guidelines should be provided regarding the consequences of missing the deadline.
10. A better system for analyzing the efficiency of the team and its work: A special system should be devised out so that the management could get the feedback of the tasks done by the team. Although in many of the traditions and customs, the process of criticizing the work of an individual or a team in front of other colleagues would be considered offensive and thus the tools of face to face communications or the channels which could provide the facility for indirect interaction could be used in such situations. If taking the example of societies in the Dutch community, the process of open critique is not a big deal but it will turn out to be a very negative and offensive one if the society belongs to Asian countries like India or China. The appointment of a well-versed mediator would help the company in maintaining an amicable relationship with its employees.

It should be now evident that, it takes time to adapt a multicultural team to adapt in a certain type of official environment. The employees need to spend quality time with each other and hence it would take a little time to gain each other’s trust. This would help in generating very new and innovative ideas and thus could bring very a positive attitude and acceptance towards the various types of thoughts. The members of the team should be pushed beyond their zone of comfort and thus ensure their total indulgence in the business process. This set of processes would help in bringing out the professional expertise of an employee which would turn out very productive for the company.

It is also the duty of the company to commit itself totally towards its human resources so that its diversity could be utilized to bring the firm towards a better performance level. Along with it, the management should also devise out some innovative and creative ways to increase the availability of its resources.

It could be observed or stated in this national culture report that the presence of multicultural would benefit both parties, i.e. the employees and the employer.

Conclusion
In the field of management, the topic of cultures followed in the corporate world pertains to have a lot of significance. However, the activities conducted by most of the companies in the global market are contradicting the values of diversity. The major factor which remains a challenge before these companies are the way to understand the decisive factors behind the change and disparity among the cultures followed all around the globe. However, it was conceived by the researchers that the gap between the national cultures could actually be manipulated for the betterment of the companies. The companies and management all around the world are not taking the case of national security with required seriousness which is generating a series of conflicts among the people. The majority of the officials are even taking business procedures like recording the financial activities in balance sheets very frivolously leading to a very difficult situation for the company. The major reason behind these activities is because of the inefficiency of the worker and lack of communication, which could only be overcome by addressing the diverse workforce in an effective way. Some of the workers are so conservative that they find it hard to give more priority to their occupation rather than their traditional cultural customers. National culture assignments are being prepared by our management assignment help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable top assignment help service.

Reference List
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