Cross-cultural Interactions
CROSS-CULTURAL ASSIGNMENT
2.
Communication differs in various cultures. A multinational or a global company employs a great number of people with different cultural traits. Some may possess traits that are good for business when sent to countries away from home and some may not take up this responsibility well. People with different values respond in various ways to leadership especially from leaders from a different background or culture. Cultural diversity is very wide and this would cause to some extent difficulties for a foreigner in a strange land. This is mainly because the foreigner has little or no knowledge of the land’s culture.
For instance being a German and working in a subsidiary of the German mother company in China, I have come to realize the big difference that there is in various cultures. The team that I work with is a cross-cultural team. National culture does not fit with the organizational culture from my experience in this cross-cultural team. National culture is the values that an individual learns early in life and continues to grow or change slowly with generations. It is highly held in individuals hence difficult to influence .
Organizational culture on the other hand means the wide guidelines that are created by an organization and is rooted on the job tasks and practices. . It is a programmed way of thinking and reacting. It is used to differentiate a certain category of people from the other. Due to the deeply held national culture by people, it is difficult to change the organizational culture especially in a cross-cultural team. This is because for some, the organizational culture goes against the national culture therefore the practices of the organization will be taken for granted and undermined e.g. a leadership trait which falls under an organizational culture can be easily shunned by a particular employee from a different culture if the trait is against his/her national trait. I encounter various tensions at my workplace.
2.
Communication differs in various cultures. A multinational or a global company employs a great number of people with different cultural traits. Some may possess traits that are good for business when sent to countries away from home and some may not take up this responsibility well. People with different values respond in various ways to leadership especially from leaders from a different background or culture. Cultural diversity is very wide and this would cause to some extent difficulties for a foreigner in a strange land. This is mainly because the foreigner has little or no knowledge of the land’s culture.
For instance being a German and working in a subsidiary of the German mother company in China, I have come to realize the big difference that there is in various cultures. The team that I work with is a cross-cultural team. National culture does not fit with the organizational culture from my experience in this cross-cultural team. National culture is the values that an individual learns early in life and continues to grow or change slowly with generations. It is highly held in individuals hence difficult to influence .
Organizational culture on the other hand means the wide guidelines that are created by an organization and is rooted on the job tasks and practices. . It is a programmed way of thinking and reacting. It is used to differentiate a certain category of people from the other. Due to the deeply held national culture by people, it is difficult to change the organizational culture especially in a cross-cultural team. This is because for some, the organizational culture goes against the national culture therefore the practices of the organization will be taken for granted and undermined e.g. a leadership trait which falls under an organizational culture can be easily shunned by a particular employee from a different culture if the trait is against his/her national trait. I encounter various tensions at my workplace.
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