Managing Across Cultures
International Management assignment – managing across cultures
The determinants of a culture are the evolutionary product of a number of factors, including the prevailing political and economical philosophies, the social structure of a society, and the dominant religion, language and education.
Language
Is a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds, or conventional symbols.
Language is one of the most defining characteristics of a culture. Countries with more than one language often have more than one culture.
Eg Canada has English and French speaking cultures, and tensions between the two can run quite high, with a substantial proportion of the French-speaking minority demanding independence from a Canada dominated by English speakers. This is also the case in Cyprus with conflict between its Greek and Turkish cultures.
Another issue with international enterprises must consider when conducting business in foreign countries is the Problems that often arise through improper translation. For eg. Sunbeam Corporation used the English words ‘mist sticks’ for its mist-producing hair curling iron when it entered the german market, only to discover that after expensive marketing campaigns that mist means excrement in German.
Another issue for international managers is the unspoken language referred to as nonverbal communication. Many nonverbal cues such as hand signals, facial expressions and distances when communicating are culturally bound.
Eg. Many western businessmen feel that latin Americans are invading their personal space and can be seen backing away during a conversation as the amount of distance between two people communicating os often further apart in western countries. So the American may feel the latin American is being pushy and aggressive whilst the latin American may interpret such behavior as aloofness, resulting in a lack of rapport between two businesspeople from different cultures.
Education
Formal education Formal
The determinants of a culture are the evolutionary product of a number of factors, including the prevailing political and economical philosophies, the social structure of a society, and the dominant religion, language and education.
Language
Is a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds, or conventional symbols.
Language is one of the most defining characteristics of a culture. Countries with more than one language often have more than one culture.
Eg Canada has English and French speaking cultures, and tensions between the two can run quite high, with a substantial proportion of the French-speaking minority demanding independence from a Canada dominated by English speakers. This is also the case in Cyprus with conflict between its Greek and Turkish cultures.
Another issue with international enterprises must consider when conducting business in foreign countries is the Problems that often arise through improper translation. For eg. Sunbeam Corporation used the English words ‘mist sticks’ for its mist-producing hair curling iron when it entered the german market, only to discover that after expensive marketing campaigns that mist means excrement in German.
Another issue for international managers is the unspoken language referred to as nonverbal communication. Many nonverbal cues such as hand signals, facial expressions and distances when communicating are culturally bound.
Eg. Many western businessmen feel that latin Americans are invading their personal space and can be seen backing away during a conversation as the amount of distance between two people communicating os often further apart in western countries. So the American may feel the latin American is being pushy and aggressive whilst the latin American may interpret such behavior as aloofness, resulting in a lack of rapport between two businesspeople from different cultures.
Education
Formal education Formal