Background of Interviewee
Cross cultural management involves the management of work teams in the ways, which considers the differences in practices, preferences and cultures of consumers in an international or global business context. Several businesses need to learn to adapt and modify their approaches for competing on different levels or fields, along with online interactions (Gehrke and Claes 2014). The report discusses about the importance of cross cultural management as the companies have different functions in order to manage cross cultural teams. In addition to this, the report throws light over the background information of the interviewee and several factors like negotiating global business, motivation across cultural teams and others.
Name of the interviewee: Arianna Simpson
Age: 57
Arianna Simpson, aged 57, is an expatriate worker, who is currently settled at Thailand, with her family. She is married and pursued a master’s degree in business analytics. She has been working in Thailand for the past ten years, as a business analyst and is quite accustomed with the culture of the country. According to her, success involves different levels of human beings and there should be motivation at the workplace, financial satisfaction and others. As per her opinion, a good cross cultural management team leader should be able to understand the needs and demands of the expatriate workers and serve them accordingly.
- How do you feel living and working in a different country, with varied culture and diversified workforce?
- In today’s competitive global industry, the ability of interacting effectively all across different cultures is the fundamental requirement at the workplaces. I feel great (smiles). It feels great to work at a different country, with a diversified workforce and culture. I get to learn a lot from them and I feel that a diversified workforce brings in huge talent within the organization.
- Describe the working culture or environment, in which you feel that the expatriate workers are mostly happy and productive.
- The working environment should be healthy and cooperative. The organizational leaders and managers should motivate as well as encourage the expatriate workers to give their opinions and values.
- Describe the style of management, which will bring forth your efforts and best work.
- I opted for the pace setting style of management. It will enable the slow team members to select their pace of working and perform in accordance with that. I never force anyone to perform beyond their limits. Moreover, I try to motivate my team members to give their best shot to the organization.
- List the positive aspects of the organization, you are currently working at.
- Good working space, healthy environment, cooperative management, friendly co-workers and others.
- What is your preferred style of work and managing the global teams?
- I believe that organizational managers and teams, who try to engage each and everyone within the team and the teams which view challenges as stemming from the culture, succeed in solving the culture based issues with good creativity and humor. In addition to this, they can harvest better benefits inherent in the multicultural teams.
- List at least five to six expectations, which you have from your supervisors at the organization.
- Cooperation, healthy relation, good conflict management solutions, support, motivation and encouragement.
- What are the common challenges you think that the international firms face?
- According to me, the most successful managers and teams deal with several multicultural challenges, which are adaptation, managerial intervention, structural intervention and exit.
- Identify the greatest threats of the effectiveness of multicultural teams.
- I think I have already mentioned that. Basically, the major threat for the multicultural teams is coping up with the new environment as most of the time, I have seen the team members have a mindset of, ‘we have always done it in this way; we do not want change within the organization.’ I think this is bad and it poses to be a great threat towards to effectiveness of the multicultural teams.
- Can conflict management become a challenging job for the organizational practitioners?
- Yes of course. It hampers organizational effectiveness, productivity as well as profitability to a huge extent. Moreover, at times of managing conflicts, the organizational practitioners should be ready to accept all kinds of challenges and need to have a backup plan.
- How do you think organizational motivation can encourage the expatriate workers to perform their best at the international firms?
- Basically, there are two types of organizational motivators; intrinsic and extrinsic. The term is typically used for the employees; however, theoretically, it can be utilized in order to describe the causes of cross cultural management as well. As per some theories, the motivation is deeply rooted to the basic need of minimizing physical pain as well as maximizing the pleasure. It also includes the specific needs of the expatriate workers like good working space, healthy environment, cooperative co-workers, supportive team leaders and others.
- What should an organizational leader do to avoid workplace conflicts and how can he/she resolve the issues of the employees?
- As per my opinion is concerned, I think that in modern days, the organizational leaders of cross cultural teams need to adapt the changing environment and lead the individuals, belonging to different cultures. Moreover, it is important for them to understand the demands and desires of the expatriate workers. In addition to this, the leaders should listen to the issues of the individual workers in order to resolve the conflicts between them.
On being asked about her feelings regarding living and working globally, Arianna replied that, “In today’s competitive global industry, the ability of interacting effectively all across different cultures, is the fundamental requirement at the workplaces.” The multicultural teams provide the organization with a number of advantages, including deep knowledge of various product markets, 24 hour work rotations and culturally sensitive customer care services. However, as per Arianna, there are several disadvantages as well. These disadvantages can be referred to the common challenges which the international firms face. This can seriously impair the efficiency or effectiveness of the team or bring it to the stalemate.
After conducting an in-depth interview with Arianna, several problems were being identified which pose a great threat to the effectiveness of a multicultural team. According to her, the most successful managers and teams deal with several multicultural challenges, which are adaptation, managerial intervention, structural intervention and exit. Organizational managers and teams who try to engage each and everyone within the team and the teams which view challenges as stemming from the culture, succeed in solving the culture based issues with good creativity and humor. In addition to this, they can harvest better benefits inherent in the multicultural teams.
Challenges of Cross Cultural Teams
However, according to the interviewee, conflict management can sometimes become a challenging job for the organizational practitioners. Conflict management of a cross cultural team covers various procedures that require preventing or stopping the conflicts and aiding the parties in order to reach a peaceful settlement of differences. The intermediaries or practitioners comprise diplomats, statesmen and a range of specialist mediators, negotiators, advisers, facilitators and other representatives. In addition to this, the organizational leaders and managers should motivate the expatriate workers to perform their best. Motivation works as an energizer towards the goal-oriented behavior.
On being asked about the factors of motivation, Arianna mentioned that there are two types of organizational motivators; intrinsic and extrinsic. The term is typically used for the employees; however, theoretically, it can be utilized in order to describe the causes of cross cultural management as well. As per some theories, the motivation is deeply rooted to the basic need of minimizing physical pain as well as maximizing the pleasure. It also includes the specific needs of the expatriate workers like good working space, healthy environment, cooperative co-workers, supportive team leaders and others. Therefore, it can be said that motivation is highly important for the management of cross cultural workforce.
In addition to this, Arianna remarked that it is within the context of the cross cultural management, that the idea of organizational leadership is being challenged on the broader zone. In modern days, the organizational leaders of cross cultural teams need to adapt the changing environment and lead the individuals, belonging to different cultures. Moreover, it is important for them to understand the demands and desires of the expatriate workers. In addition to this, the leaders should listen to the issues of the individual workers in order to resolve the conflicts between them.
Personal-reaction level
From the interview, I have gained useful insights regarding negotiation in the global business and motivation all across the global cultures. Negotiating communication has helped in creating new challenges as the business becomes global. Moreover, it can be said that the distance between the two different parties might not allow the companies to negotiate in a proper manner. It is important for the companies to take full advantages of the bargaining power, but remotely. In addition to this, it is seen that the utilization of innovation can prove to be beneficial, not only to provide support to the entire negotiation procedure, but also while preparing the negotiation phase.
Motivation across Cultural Teams
Moreover, in order to prepare for the negotiations process in a proper manner, it is important to form an efficient team of negotiation. The negotiating team should be well competent of analytical skills and work, which would help the company in achieving the highest outcomes of negotiations. However, this is specifically important in the overall preparation of the intercultural negotiation courses. Moreover, it requires understanding of the cultures, languages, knowledge of negotiation context and possession of legal knowledge as well. In addition to this, while preparing for the negotiation phase; the organizational leaders need to understand the best possible ways for negotiating with the other side.
Furthermore, I came to know that now a day, the international organizational managers as well as leaders need to be more flexible, in order to adapt to their style in which the international firms are working in. Moreover, the international managers need to take time in order to think about what encourages and motivates their employees in belonging to different diversified groups or backgrounds. In addition to this, the interviewee has given some useful insights regarding the challenges, which comes while recruiting expatriate workers.
Specifically, at times of the economic downturn, the employees are expected to perform their activities for longer hours, with less remuneration and the managers should consider carefully of motivating their employees. Moreover, it is important to incentivize them in order to remain loyal towards the organization. It can be said that managing talent is more complex and that too, in an international environment. There are several universal principles of workplace motivation. There is a basic need for the employees to earn a good amount of salary, workplace safety, have enough spare time and maintain a healthy relationship with their colleagues.
Moreover, I came to know that these motivational factors at the workplace cultures can vary on a larger note. Most importantly, if recognition is taken as an example, the ways that worker prefer to be recognized can vary in accordance to their background. In addition to this, individualistic cultures like Australia and USA prefer month schemes at the workplaces, where the employees are being praised through official emails and intranet postings. However, it can be said that this can cause loss of face, instead of increased motivation as in Asian cultures; the employees prefer to be well recognized for their work as a part of collective or team.
Broadly construed, the cross cultural behavior of the organizations can be regarded as the study of the cross cultural differences and similarities in the behavior and processes at work. However, it encompasses the culture that is related to the micro organizational phenomena, meso organizational phenomena, macro organizational phenomena and interrelationships all across the levels. Moreover, some evidence which motivates the cross cultural workforce can be self efficacy, achievement needs and motivation for the employees along with independent selves. On the other hand, the prevention motive in order to avoid the negative consequences encourages the individuals with their independent selves.
Organizational Leadership in Cross Cultural Management
In addition to this, several meta analyses support the tripartite concept of the adjustment of expatriate workforce. There are several perceptions of motivation for the expatriate workers. Some may expect the managers to be pre-disposed towards the employees more intrinsically motivates. However, it is important to keep a note of the organizational managers’ perceptions towards the influence or evaluations of the employee performances. Till date, the researchers have only focused over the primary aspect of motivation that is the process of appraisal. There are other factors as well. As per Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, there are five motivational elements, which motivate the expatriate workers to perform their best.
The hierarchy comprises five elements; which are physiological needs, safety needs, love or belonging, esteem and self-actualization needs. According to this theory, the workers should be in good health, secure and safe along with meaningful confidence and relationships. In addition to this, there are several other theories for managing conflicts and negotiating across cultural as well. It is highly important for the organizations to dedicate more time, energy and money to learn great skills of negotiation. In modern days, the companies are expanding on an international level and thus, they cannot afford to make cultural differences.
Therefore, it is highly important for the companies, be it large or small, to go through a complete market research, before their expansion. The world of business is changing continuously and thus, the companies should improve the way they operate. It is important for them to change their business patterns in order to maintain their position in the ever increasing competitive market. The similar style of negotiation may not actively perform in different environment and thus, the organizations should polish their negotiation skills and style.
Conclusion
To conclude, the organizational managers need to maintain a great relationship with their expatriate and cross cultural workforce, in order to succeed. The workers should always feel motivated as it helps in enhancing their work performances. However, one of the difficult as well as important tasks for the international managers or leaders is managing conflicts and negotiation. The international negotiation is difficult and one of the complex elements of the organization. It involves different regulations, standards, laws, business practices and most importantly cultural differences. Therefore, it is highly important for the managers to carry on their negotiation activities in an effective manner as good skills of negotiation are highly important for succeeding.
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