The Cross-Cultural Aspects of Management

What is the main difference between management and international management? The process is the same, the goals are very similar, but you need to take into account the cultural characteristics and peculiarities of people from different regions and countries. Such culture elements like language, gestures, religion, values and stereotypes of behaviour can cause serious problems in the process of communication. The representatives of different cultures often perceive and interpret the words and actions in a different way, and that may cause misunderstanding and have a negative impact on the company’s overall success.

There are many variants of the cultures classification. The most interesting and widely used are the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions classification and the culture model of Trompenaars, who identifies seven dimensions (universalism or particularism; individualism or collectivism; neutral or emotional; specific or diffuse; achievement or ascription; sequential or synchronic; internal or external control), according to which the countries and societies may be grouped.

To understand the difference let us imagine a situation when a company from the United States tries to reach an agreement with a Japanese company and sign a contract concerning the delivery of Japanese goods to America. The Americans are unlikely to waste time speaking on general topics; they keep to the main point and try to be very precise. But the Japanese people pay great attention to ceremonial and the process of creating favourable atmosphere. That is why they often irritate foreign partners. In our situation the Japanese company is not interested in delivering the goods, but the Japanese ethics requires being extremely polite and avoiding direct negative answers. This fact makes the Japanese party spin out the negotiations till the Americans take their gentle hint and turn to another company.

It is very important for international managers not only to be well-informed about the theoretical cultural models and stereotypes, but also to be sensitive and attentive, broad-minded and open for the perception of other cultures and their values. Only if these requirements are met, the negative influence of the self reference criterion in the process of communication can be minimized.