Cross Cultural Communication Chapter 12 Towards International Transnational

Cross Cultural Communication Chapter 12 Towards International & Transnational management CCC Chapter 12 1

Learning Outcomes n n CCC Cultural differences of International and Transnational management Problems faced by international management Chapter 12 2

Dilemmas of International Management n There are universal dilemmas or problems of human existence. Every country and every organization in that country face dilemmas : n n CCC Relationship with people Relationship to time Relations between people and the natural environment Culture is the manner in which these dilemmas are reconciled, since every nation seeks a different and winding path to its own ideals of integrity. Chapter 12 3

Centralization vs. Decentralization n Main Dilemma : n n n Decentralization easier in some corporate cultures. n n CCC to centralize – imposing on foreign rules and procedures , or to decentralize – letting each culture go its own way without having any centrally viable idea about improvement Easy in Eiffel Tower and Guided Missile Cultures Not so easy in family model where the parent remains the parent. Chapter 12 4

Centralization vs. Decentralization n n Centralization – decentralization are potentially reconcilable process Coordination more important with more departments, functions and differentiated activities a corporation pursues Differentiating and integrating need to be reconciled Corporation with the best integrated diversity excels. The ideal is : n n n CCC To differentiate in such a way as to make integration more effective, and, To decentralize activities in such a way that an ever broader diversity gets coordinated by the “ central nervous system” of the organization. In decentralization, it’s not a matter of how much to decentralize, but what to decentralize and what to keep at corporate HQ Chapter 12 5

International and Transnational companies n n CCC In international corporations, like Shell, ABB, P&G, Ericsson, the HQ role is to coordinate, not so much to evaluate or instruct. International Corporations which are a microcosm of the whole system. As corporations move from a multi-local to an international form, HQ behaves less like a policeman and more like a consultant. The transnational corporation is polycentric rather than coordinated from center. It consists of several centers of specialized excellence which will exercise authority and influence whenever these are qualified to do so by the challenge confronting the organization. Chapter 12 6

Human – Resource Management in the future n Companies which succeed in reconciling centralization vs. decentralization dilemma will have learnt : n n CCC How to rotate their employees internationally (especially the high flyers) How to work in several languages, and, How to make decisions at many points of the globe and to spread their effects. After attracting intelligent managers, future transnational will set out to give them further training in cross-cultural awareness, starting with learning how to recognize a cultural problem which may be often unidentified. Chapter 12 7

The growth of Information n n Given the high capacity, high speed and high cost of computers, the impulse is to generate a great deal of information as quickly as possible to reduce the cost-per-byte. There is a tendency to know everything statistical about subsidiary before it has even discovered this itself with disastrous consequences for intercultural communication. n CCC Information should go first and foremost to those whose operation it concerns. Chapter 12 8

Implications for business strategy n Culture can easily put brake on internationalization. n n The principal implication for business strategy is a healthy respect for the “founding beliefs” of foreign cultures and images they have chosen to create coherence. n n n CCC Universalism tends to create global structures in which the values of the home-country are celebrated worldwide. Eiffel Tower cultures do not work well with family cultures Guided –missile cultures offend family feelings with their on-again, off-again relationship and their “two –fathers Family like cultures remind us that work is not necessarily alienating, impersonal and self-seeking Families are quite capable of nurturing independence and encouraging independence. International and transnational cultures allow us to synthesize the advantages of all cultures while avoiding their excesses. Chapter 12 9

Local freedom to prioritize employment values n n In assessment procedures, the head company makes a list of what is to be appraised, but leaves their priority to the national operating company. Shell, until recently operated its HAIRL system of basic appraisal. : n n n Research has shown that different countries have placed different weight to different values. n CCC Helicopter(the capacity to take a broad view from above) Power of Analysis Imagination Sense of reality, and, Leadership effectiveness Prioritizing the values of assessment tell a lot how cultures vary. Chapter 12 10

Local freedom to reward n n CCC It is possible to have a universal rule that “success must be rewarded commensurate with its size” but leave the form of that reward to the local company. In a truly international or transnational corporation, every nation should be charged with finding its optimal mix between personal and group rewards. Chapter 12 11

The error-correcting manager n n CCC Other cultures are strange, ambiguous, even shocking to us. In dealing with them, mistakes are possible. The real issue is how quickly one is prepared to learn from mistakes and how bravely struggle to understand a game in which “perfect scores” are illusion, and where reconciliation only comes after a difficult passage through alien territory. Chapter 12 12