The Impact Of Culture On Cross-Cultural Management Practices: A Comparative Essay On Australia And East Asia.

1 Explain how the facets and levels of culture could impact on cross-cultural management?
2 Discuss the Australian culture and the East Asia cultures by applying Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions. Include some possible examples of cultural dilemmas that they could experience.
3 What does the term Business culture mean and how does this apply to Australia and East Asia?
4 Evaluate the cognitive approach to management in Asian cultures, namely Confucianism and Hinduism. 

The facets and levels of culture and their impact on cross-cultural management

The culture of a society can be described as the set of values, rules and thinking on which a society is based. However, due to globalization, the different cultures have become greatly interlinked and this has made the cross cultural management increasingly important (Chang 2016). The different companies as present in the different countries have to ensure that these business cultures are respected all along. Hence, the given report is based on the culture of East Asia and Australia. The report takes the form of four questions which examine different components of culture and the related ideas.

1. The culture has been considered as an important business aspect as it tends to have a huge impact on the way a business functions. With the advent of globalization, different countries as well as cultures have come together and due to this the cross cultural business has become increasingly important (Crane, Kawashima and Kawasaki 2016). The culture can be considered to be a potential competitive advantage. The culture is can be stated to be the manner in which people in a particular society functions and how different cultures have different values and thinking system. A culture can be widely referred to as belonging to different facets and having different levels. These levels as well as facets have a direct influence on the cross cultural management by making it complex in nature (Dartey-Baah 2013). Organizations employing people from different culture now have to ensure that they look after their needs as well, without compromising on the needs of the original host country culture.

The  facets of the culture which comprise of religion, food, apparel, government, clothing and the behavior serves as a guide to the different managers and helps them by serving as a guideline as to how the different employees need to be functioned (Riddell 2017). Hence, the knowledge of these different facets and levels of culture have a positive impact on cross cultural management by helping the managers to understand the motivating factors of the employees. The facets of cultural also comprise of the norms and values based on which a society fucntions. When cross cultural management is based on these facets, the organization may perform well globally.

2. The Hofstede’s cultural dimension can be described as a useful tool which can be used to understand the culture in different countries. It is based on five different dimensions. The first dimension is the power distance dimension which explains the extent to which the less powerful members as present in the particular society accept that power is distributed unequally. Australia scores low in this aspect with a score of 32 which means that power is well distributed. On the other hand the countries in East Asia score moderate (MacWilliams 2014). The next aspect is the individualism aspect which states the degree of interdependence of the members in the society. The countries in East Asia score 46 in this aspect whereas Australia scores 90 which means that, people are individualistic in nature (Sosnoski 2013). The next aspect is the masculinity aspect where either being the best or interests motivate people. Australia is a masculine society and even the countries in East Asia are also quite masculine (Shively 2015). The fourth aspect is the uncertainty avoidance aspect whereby the perception of a society as based on the uncertainty is measured. Australia scores medium in this aspect whereas East Asian countries score high. In other scales like the Long term orientation and Indulgence, the Australian country can be stated to be a normative society and indulgent respectively whereas the East Asian Society can be stated to be orientation oriented society and highly restraint which means that it has an exposure to cynicism and pessimism.

Hofstede’s national cultural dimensions and their application to Australia and East Asia

3. Business culture can be popularly defined as the beliefs and behaviors which shape the manner in which the employees as well as the management involved in a business tend to interact with one another (7continentlist.com. 2015). This also has an impact in the manner the business transactions are carried out. The culture which is followed by a company is generally reflected in its business hours, dress code, the setup of the office, hiring decisions, the manner in which the employees are treated and other related aspects of the organization. The Parent company of Google named Alphabet is popular for its employee friendly cultural and it is a determinant of their lunches, doctors and flexible time management (Lee, Trimi and Kim 2013). The company offers massages, fitness classes as well as hair stylists to the employees. Due to this, it scores considerably well on Fortune list of best companies to work for.

The business culture in China and in East Asia is quite different in nature. In Australia, the business individuals are very straight forward and have a receptive views towards the new ideas. Moreover, they are oldest in nature and have reasonable working hours which range from 9-5pm. Punctuality is considered to be very crucial and offering gifts is not a part of the business culture, On the other hand, in East Asia, they are not very receptive to new ideas and having contacts assists in ensuring that the deals can be successful. Even the East Asian’s like to be punctual but offering gifts is considered to be important.

 4 Cognitive approach to Hinduism

The cognitive approach which is present towards Hinduism is largely based on the Hindu Philosophy which is largely based on the epistemological concepts like the procedure of perceiving and knowing, the meaning behind knowledge, self as well as personal identity, the problem relating to the body and mind, emotions, health and wellbeing (Hofstede 2013). The Hinduism has detailed discussions based on the process of knowledge and more importantly is concentrated on the individual possessing the knowledge. Mind is considered to be an important topic for discussion and it helps to know the nature of cognition and contributes to understanding the nature of the self. Various schools of the Hindu systems tend to develop on the concept of consciousness and underline the Yoga and meditation as an essential nature of the functioning of the brain.

Cognitive Approach to Confucianism

The Confucianism can be characteristic as a manner in which a system is largely based on social as well as ethical philosophy (Szkudlarek 2017). It has formed its basis on social values, ideals and institutions on which the society of China is based on.

The Confucian values in the business are quite popular and tend to have a huge impact on the business. The year in which China modernized, was the year in which the Confucian values began to increase. The Confucianism concept is deeply associated with the rigid disciplinary boundaries, which is based on academia from the west (Garcia-Gavilanes, Quercia and Jaimes 2013). The Chinese society firmly fucntions on the concepts of Confucianism and can be considered to be normative in nature. These values can be stated to be purely scientific as well.

Conclusion:

Hence, from the given analysis it could be understood that the cultural of Australia can be stated to be quite liberal in nature whereby the different ideas, thinking and concepts are highly appreciated. On the other hand, the culture of the East Asian countries are very restricted in nature and focus on building and trusting old long term ties. Hence, when the businesses in these countries tend to interact with one another, they need to ensure that all cultural aspects are abided by. Business culture of each country differs and hence the etiquettes based on this need to be learnt prior to conducting the business dealings.

References:

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Lee, S.G., Trimi, S. and Kim, C., 2013. The impact of cultural differences on technology adoption. Journal of World Business, 48(1), pp.20-29.

MacWilliams, M.W., 2014. Japanese visual culture: explorations in the world of manga and anime. Routledge.

 Riddell, A. ,2017. Australian Culture, Values and Customs. Accessed at https://www.careerfaqs.com.au/courses/study-tips/australian-culture-values-and-customs

Shively, D.H. ed., 2015. Tradition and modernization in Japanese culture. Princeton University Press.

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