Cross-cultural management

Zhang Yixiang
2012
Words: 2008

Content 1. Introduction………….………………………………………………... 1 2. Findings…………..……….……………………….…………………... 1 1. Management…………………………………………................. 1 2. Decision Making……….….......................................................... 2 3. Communication…………………………..................................... 2 4. Motivation………………………….…........................................ 3 3. Evaluation…………..……….……….……………………………….…... 4 1. Power Distance………………….................................................. 4 2. Individualism/Collectivism …....................................................... 5 3. Masculinity/Femininity …………................................................. 5 4. Uncertainty Avoidance ………..................................................... 5 5. Long Term and Short Term Orientation........................................ 5 6. Universalist or Particularist……………………….…………….. 5 7. Neutral/Diffuse or Specific/Affective............................................5 8. Ascription or Achievement ………………………………........... 5 9. Sequential or Synchronic……………...…………………........... 5 10. Internal or External control............................................................5
Conclusion…………………………………..………...….…............................ 6
Recommendation…………………………………..………….….................... 6
References………………………………………………………………........... 7
“Consider the cross cultural management implications for a UK manager undertaking an international business assignment to another country (of your choice).”

Japan is an island chain situated in eastern Asia, between the North Pacific ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean peninsula. The constitution of Japa is similar to the United Kingdom in the way that elected politicians control the actual decision making power of the country with the emperor retaining his throne as a symbol of unity. Ethnically, Japanese compose 98% of the population and Japanese is the main language spoken in the country. Shintoism and Buddhism are the main religions practised in the country (Buruma (1995)). The country is deprived of natural resources and thus its major imports are from that category. Its major exports are from motor vehicles, iron and steel products, and plastic materials. This paper will now evaluate the managing and working systems present in Japan and how this culture compares to the United Kingdom with reference to recognized cross cultural principles (CIA fact file: JAPAN)

For any company to expand into another country the cultural differences involved in the home country and the country targeted should be understood as it can have major consequences on the productivity and business proposition of the new branch of the company by resulting in an emotional gap. This triggers feelings of hostility and discomfort (Weber and Camerer, 2003).Culture is defined as a spectrum of values and beliefs of a given society and can be found in their religion, language, rituals, working styles and in the general way of living (Schein 1985). Hofstede is a cross cultural theorist, who developed four main factors to explain the cultural differences between two countries, namely power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long term and short term orientation. Trompenaars on the other hand has provided a scale to measure such differences and evaluate the behaviour necessary to be successful in a given country. His analysis revolves around the relationships and the principles generally adopted by people in the country with regard to time and the environment. Both these tools are essential for a expanding firm in order to analyse the things to do and the things to avoid in a targeted country.

2 FINDINGS:

Firstly, in order to understand the issues created it is important to understand the different actions in the