Cultural Dimensions And Country Specifics Analysis For Expanding Business In Israel: A Case Study On Trendsetter Company

Issues in Trendsetter Company while Expanding Business in Israel

Purpose of the report

Expanding business in the overseas market is a complex practice that the business companies are faced in the recent times. The major problem can be find out in differences of culture between the perception and organisational culture of the organisation and the regional culture of the market (Bauer, Matzler and Wolf 2016). Therefore, the purpose of this report is to identify the issues in Trendsetter Company to expand business in Israel and provide possible solutions that the company can implement in order to establish its business successfully in Israel.

Scope of the report

The report can help to get the core principles and the cognate matters that can affect the business practice of a multinational companies and the relevant solutions that are able to mitigate the issues. It can be a guideline for the companies that are expected to expand business in the oversea market.

Case background

Trendsetter is a well-known European automobile manufacturer that likes to expand its business in Israel. The company strongly follows the principles of cross cultural management and successfully doing business in different overseas market in Asia and South America. Trendsetter follows the ‘glocalisation’ strategy that enables the company to integrate the global networking of the organisation with the local policies. As a result of that it becomes very effective for Trendsetter to follow the organisational activity globally with a core focus on the local culture. However, there are some sort of issues that Trendsetter possible face while expanding business in Israel.

Report outline

The report discusses the issues and problems that Trendsetter is going to face or possibly facing in the Israel market while expanding its business in that market. The issues are analysed in the main body with solutions that are able to highlight the best way to mitigate the problems. Moreover, an overall recommendation and implementation of the best solutions will be drawn so that it will elucidate the best process to resolve the issues for Trendsetter.

Issue A: Organisational culture

Issue analysis

Organisational culture is a very important aspect for the organisation while doing business in an overseas market. In case of Trendsetter, the company practices a liberal and flexible organisational structure where each of the employees can participate in the decision making (Laforet 2016). Based on the kluckhohn and strodtbeck analysis, it can be stated that a change in the nature of people can also be seen in organisational culture. Moreover, the power distance in the new country can have an impact on the organisational culture. Whereas, the situation in Israel is not the same as in Europe. In Israel, the employees are very much depended on the management to take important decisions and the employees will follow. It can be a challenge for Trendsetter as the entire organisation follows a two way communication process. Therefore, the company can face challenges while establishing business in Israel.

Analysis of Organizational Culture in Israel

Possible solutions

There are three possible solutions that Trendsetter can follow to set a better organisational culture in terms of changing the organisational structure to hierarchical level, impose organisational policy to follow the culture or to provide a training for the employees so that they can learn about the benefits and importance of flexible organisational culture (Anitha 2016).

As far as changing the organisational structure is concerned, Trendsetter can implement a hierarchical level of structure only in its Israel operations so that it will go with the tradition and existing culture that the Israeli people are follows. Difference in the perception of collective vs. individualism is also a significant aspect while maintaining the hierarchical organisational structure. It varies country to country. It helps to make Trendsetter a better position in the market as the local culture will be respected. However, there is a problem in choosing this option (Millar et al. 2018). It is improper for Trendsetter to practice two different set of organisational culture in terms of its local business and the global business. The chain of command and the way of doing business in Israel can hamper the global mission and values of Trendsetter. It also affects the production and quality of service as well.

On the other hand, introducing new policies for shaping organisational culture is also a positive approach that the business companies are follow. The imposition of new company policy about organisational culture can create a better and effective approach to the organisation to compel and convince the employees to follow the organisational culture (Corfield and Paton 2016). However, there is also some drawbacks in imposing new policy. Variation in the emotional and neutral perception of Trompenaars cultural dimension can formulate a challenge to implement policies. It can be problematic for the existing and new employees to cope with the policy and there will be no scope for negotiation so that it becomes frustrating and catastrophic. Therefore, Trendsetter should think twice before imposing new policy regarding changes in the organisational structure.

The training process is more of a feasible process to make a better organisational culture. It can be argued that the role training will help the employees to understand the importance and rationale behind such organisational culture and provides them ample time to cope with the existing culture of the organisation (Laforet 2017). As a result of that Trendsetter can think about a training for the employees after they get recruited so that it will be beneficial for both the organisation and the employees.

Possible Solutions for Organizational Culture in Israel

Recommendation

All the solutions are partially met the requirements of resolving the problem. However, the training practice is considered to be the best approach because it is resilient and effective enough to share the purpose of the organisation and at the same time helps the organisation to maintain a uniformed organisational culture in both international market and the local market of Israel (Ogbonna 2019). From the point of view of the employees. Both the new and existing employees will get the opportunity to share experiences and visions through the training and it can build up better organisational environment. I recommend the training solution for Trendsetter because of its efficacy and long term benefits that can usher strategic advantage for Trendsetter in the competitive market of Israel.

Issue analysis

The Kluckholn and Strodtbeck model of six dimension of culture narrated that relationship, duty and mode of private space are very important for the employees in any market (Einarsen et al. 2018). However, the notion of sequential vs. synchronous time of Trompenaars cultural dimension is relevant in understanding the cultural difference.  In case of Israel, most of the people are family person and dutiful to their work (Aqqad et al. 2019). However, the relationship between employees and employers can be a challenge as the Israeli people do not like to question their abilities. However, for Trendsetter, it is a common practice of the managers to ask about the performance of the employees. Therefore, it can create a conflict among the employees or between the managers and the employees while doing business in Israel.

For this, it is pertinent for the organisation to mitigate the issues in three different ways. The first strategy can be associated with avoiding. Caputo et al. (2018) opined that the avoiding practice of conflict management is relevant in case of conflict between two employees where the management can avoid their arguments if it is not associated with the role of the organisational interest. The uncertainty avoidance index of the Hofstede cultural dimension is relevant in the context that symbolises the nature of the people in managing conflict. However, in case of any conflict with the management, it will not be proper for the management to avoid the issue. In case of Trendsetter, the organisational culture does not permit the management to avoid any conflict as it is against the concept and establishment of the organisational culture within the organisation.

Conflict Mitigation Strategies for Trendsetter in Israel

Another significant strategy of mitigating organisational conflict is associated with the conflict management strategy of accommodating. Based on the research of Way, Jimmieson and Bordia (2019) it can be argued that the accommodating practice influences a person to forsake his own needs or desires in exchange for others. As a result of that one of the conflicting parties will subdue his own desire for the sake of meeting others demands. Internal direction vs. outer direction of Trompenaars cultural dimension will decide the choice of mitigation strategy as the importance of the measure will highlight the success of the accommodating strategy. If means if the score supports internal direction then it will be negative for accommodation. In a company like Trendsetter, equality is one of the cornerstones of the organisation culture. Therefore, it is expected that every employees will get equal treatment. In fact, any conflict between the management and the employees it is not possible for the organisation to forsake its own interests. Therefore, it is problematic for Trendsetter to set the accommodation style of conflict management within the organisation.

Besides this, a collaborative approach of conflict management is also pertinent for the organisation to meet the interest of both the conflicting parties. In this regard, the duty towards others dimension of the kluckhohn and strodtbeck analysis has a pivotal role where it decides the success rate of the collaborative approach in conflict resolution. It can be argued that the collaborative approach helps the business organisations to get a solution that can satisfy both the conflicting parties (Broukhim et al. 2019). It is identified as a common ground of interests that should be maintained and resolve the conflict as soon as possible. This kind of conflict management approach can be effective in employee to employee conflict or employee to management conflict as both the party can gain something from resolving the issue. In case of Trendsetter, this approach is highly related to the organisational culture and a matured process to get long term benefits.

I recommend the collaborative approach will be the best practice for Trendsetter to resolve any conflict management. The organisation should understand the value of its culture and the employees Moreover, a fraternity and bonding among the employees can be made through the collaborating approach that can be useful for business organisations while working in new market. The collaborative approach will help Trendsetter to gain competitive advantage in the market as the organisation can able to build up  strong integrity and cooperation among the employees which fits the culture of Israel as well.

Conclusion

Issue analysis

Trendsetter is highly focused on the open and specific type of organisational culture where the specific culture of the employees will impact on the large public space. It is very essential for the organisation in order to bring efficacy to the organisational practice. However, the behaviour of the Israeli people is more of a diffused nature. It means they are protective about their private space and expect that the business companies will provide a balance between corporate life and personal life (Grzegorczyk 2017). The specific vs. diffuse nature of the culture stated by Trompenaars will help to shape the choice of the employees to value specific or overall development.

On the other hand, the Israeli workers are interested in focusing on the present only. They values the importance of present and truth only. On the other hand Trendsetter is highly focused on the long term objectives and goals. As a result of that it is obvious that a clash of interests will be occurred between the employees and the management (Kaleka and Morgan 2019). In respect to this, the temporal orientation of the kluckhohn and strodtbeck analysis which deals with the past, present and future will play a pivotal role as the interests of both the management and the employees are based on the temporal orientation.

Finally, the long term and short term orientation are also created differences between the Trendsetter management and its Israeli employees. It can have an impact on the strategic business operation of the organisation due to the difference in perception. The Hofstede cultural dimension of short term orientation vs. long term orientation is very relevant in this context.

Possible solutions

Employee engagement: The Israeli workforce is collectivistic in nature whereas the company holds an individualistic view towards the different operations (Lomova et al. 2016). The absence of collectivistic culture in the organization has affected the capability of the organization in improving the performance with the Israeli workforce. It is related to the short term vs. long term orientation mentioned in the Hofstede model regarding the benefits of the organisation. Therefore, the organization might take the initiative of empowering collaboration and engagement among the workforce with the purpose of increasing their operational performance through developing a collectivistic culture in the business operational process. 

Integration of short and long term goals: The integration of the short and long term goials would allow the organization in increasing the availability of the workforce while encouraging the active participation of the same in the different processes (Velemaet al. 2018). The relationship with nature as stated in the kluckhohn and strodtbeck analysis will play a significant role to understand the relationship equation with the employees. It has been observed that the organization focused solely on the long term goals of sustenance while negating the needs of the employees. In this connection, the confluence of the long and short term goals would allow the venture in improving the operational ability and performance. 

Devising work- life balance: The consideration on work- life balance of the employees is important for improving the competence of the employees. It has been observed that most of the Israeli employees are of diffused nature and prefers a private place rather than publicizing their life. Again, the increased work pressure might result to incapability of the same in developing the operational aspects as per the common goals of the venture. The paradigm of individualism vs. communitarianism of Trompenaars dimension is linked with the choice of customisation. It Therefore, the consideration on the w0ork – life- balance related factors would allow the concerned organization in retaining the efficiency of the business operations and improving involvement of the employees in different processes.  .

Recommendation

The concerned organization might take the initiative of devising strategies like flexi shift timing, providing leaves, maintaining a proper shift time, providing a financial compensation for overtimes and the like with the purpose of empowering the work- life balance practice. The organization might take the initiative of introducing strategies for maintaining the work- life balance with the purpose of keeping the Israeli workforce motivated and delivering the same with space while encouraging their active engagement in the different activities of the venture.

Induction on organizational culture: The concerned organization might take the initiative of providing induction sessions for the employees with the purpose of providing the same with Cross Cultural knowledge. The general attributes of the induction or the training session in the organization would be devised through the cross- cultural learning aspects which would allow the venture in retaining a harmony in the operations.

Collaborative conflict management: The management of the concerned organization might take the initiative of encouraging collaborative conflict management related activities which would include transparent communication between the stakeholders and resolution of concerns. The collaborative conflict management related activities of an organization would significantly allow the business in retaining the continuity of operations while minimizing errors and conflicts between the different stakeholder groups.

 Work life balance: The organization might take the initiative of introducing strategies for maintaining the work- life balance with the purpose of keeping the Israeli workforce motivated and delivering the same with space while encouraging their active engagement in the different activities of the venture.

Conclusion

Based on the analysis, it can be stated that alternative strategies will be helpful for Trendsetter to expand its business successfully in Israel and operates the business in association with the local culture. It is important for the organisation to take enough measure to make the establishment intact and maintain a good reputation in the Israel market as it enjoys in Europe. Therefore, it can be concluded that the proposed recommendation will be beneficial for Trendsetter to operate in Israel market with long term benefits.

References

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Aqqad, N., Obeidat, B., Tarhini, A. and Masa’deh, R.E., 2019. The relationship among emotional intelligence, conflict management styles, and job performance in Jordanian banks. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 19(3), pp.225-265.

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