Differences in cultural implications, communication issues, functioning, behaviors, and attitudes are apparent in various areas of management. The different background of each individual culture contributes to various cross cultural management differences. Throughout the workplace, different varieties of culture may be witnessed.
Conflict may be caused due to several other factors such as working on tight budgets, meeting deadlines, and reaching out to sales targets. Due to cultural differences, misunderstandings among individuals working can be created due to their backgrounds, beliefs, values, etc.
Successful management is the one where an individual can work successfully with other individuals despite their belongings from different cultural backgrounds regardless of their cultural orientation.
The Key Differences in Cross Cultural Management
The culture includes different levels that vary to different from narrow and broad dimensions within the context of global business. The linguistic, religious, ethnic, and regional dimensions are included in the supranational differences of culture that spread to different countries on a broader level. Moreover, for the identification of cultural differences, different frameworks have been forwarded.
The framework by Edward categorized cultural differences into 5 different dimensions, such as agreements, friendships, things, space, and time. Whereas, Kluckhohn and Strodbeck categorized cultural differences into the use of space, orientation to time, perspectives about basic human nature, mode of human activity, relations among individuals, and relation to nature.
In addition, four different main dimensions of cultural values were identified by the framework of Hofstede which also became quite apparent in international management. These four dimensions were masculinity-femininity, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and collectivism-individualism.
Further, it also included long-term orientation as its 5th dimension. In response to these five dimensions, a framework was forwarded by Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner that covered seven dimensions. These were external versus internal control, orientation towards time, ascription versus achievement, diffuseness versus specificity, neutral versus affective relations, individualism versus collectivism, and particularism versus universalism.
Different cultures reflect different cross cultural differences
It can be well said that different cultures reflect different cross cultural differences. The communication amongst individuals belonging to different cultures can be influenced by these significant cultural differences.
Individuals are exposed to various of cultures which they have to adopt and live by as there are different organizations that have operations throughout the different parts of the globe. As a consequence of which, various hindrances may take place. Amongst them, one of the biggest barriers is that of communication which eventually results due to the differences between two cultures.
Lack of efficient communication is a resulted of such a barrier. Such as interpreting a gesture differently from what it actually means. These barriers can be countered successfully if the intercultural differences and communication methods can be understood.
