Managing Cultural Differences Cross Cultural Management

Question: Discuss about theManaging Cultural Differencesfor Cross Cultural Management. Answer: Introduction Culture in simple terms refers to peoples way of life. It cuts across the experiences, religion, attitudes, and notions of time, motives, values, and knowledge. All these collectively affect how people in a given set up interact and their perception towards life. People will exhibit different characters by how they have been brought up. One may value something that is less value by the other just because they have been oriented differently by their cultures which differ from one another and from one region to the other (Hampden, et al. 2000). The culture of the people of Singapore differs to some extend from the culture of the people of Indonesia and also Australia. An NGO trying to expand its activities from Singapore to Australia and Indonesia will face some challenges due to cultural differences (House, 2004). The Singaporeans may be received with enthusiasm by the people of Indonesia neither those of Australia. The paper has therefore addressed some probable conflicts that may result because of cultural differences (Menipaz, E.et al. 2011). Possible Causes of Conflict Between One Singapore and NGOS of Australia and Indonesia. Conflicts refer to misunderstanding between two or more individuals or groups regarding ideas and any other matter (Le Baron, 2003). In most cases, conflicts tend to hinder effective management and execution of programs. Regarding our case study, non-consideration of universalism, affective, individualism, masculinity and other cultural dimensions resulted to the escalation of conflicts (Mind Tools 2014). In particular, the conflicts were caused by the following factors; Change Intolerance. It is the way a particular group of people perceives and welcomes the change. It is determined by the way culture has oriented that particular group of people. By moving to Indonesia and Australia, its clear that One Singapore will move with its culture to these new nations. It will want to do things the way they are done in Singapore. Its probable that the NGOs operating in Australia are doing things in a different way; this will pose a challenge to One Singapore to implement its activities in Australia and Indonesia where things are done in a different way. Raising funds in Australia, for example, may be difficult because the NGOs in Australia believe in raising funds through soliciting from well-wishers without campaigns hence limiting process approval (Levi, 2001). Inappropriate Style of Communication The form of communication relates to the feelings that one has toward hierarchy, the use of body language, the choice of words and also the formality of the conversation. One Singapore will significantly be affected by the communication style since in these new nations the gestures in Singapore may mean something else in Indonesia or Australia (Kristin, 2006). In campaigns, the language is essential, and the presenter must have a good mastery of the language being used. Another aspect of communication is where a certain group of people prefers direct to the point and other value indirect communication. As a result, inappropriate style of communication posed a challenge for deployment of manpower to suit the campaign. Differences in Group Focus Refers to how an individual or a given group of people recognize others. The people of Australia and Indonesia profess an individualistic culture which means people recognize individual efforts unlike being associated with the group. This is contrary to how the Singaporeans view themselves. They associate themselves with groups; groups are more important than the individual. A conflict may arise from these different perceptions of life. Personality Differences The people of Singapore would like the business to be done first before finding time to interact. They value more the activity over the relationship. On the other hand, the people of Indonesia will have time to create a relationship first before engaging in business. They value the relationship more than the business itself. Inability of the leaders manage relationships between the people can cause conflict between the groups (Claire, 2008). Conflict Management Strategies The above discussed causes of conflicts can be managed as follows; Through Collaboration It is where the parties in conflict decide to seat and discuss the way forward by reaching an agreement. The parties agree to adjust their stands so as to strike a balance between decisions initially taken. In the context of One Singapore and other NGOs, they will need to discuss the focus either on group or individual then the agreement reached will determine the course of action (Jeanne, et al. 2006). The two parties will also discuss on the best way to communicate, and this will involve the channels of communication to be used and who reports to the other. Through Compromising It is where the parties to a conflict will try to reach an agreement by either party accepting to sacrifice its desires to agree with the other party. In this regard, One Singapore will have to drop some of its cultural practices and adopt those of Australia or Indonesia. Likewise, the NGOs of Indonesia will have to agree to some terms of One Singapore and move together with it. Similarly, the NGOs of Australia will have to drop some of their practices for One Singapore. Conclusion Culture as a way of people in the society determines the decisions of people and governs the interactions of the people in the society. One needs to adjust to fit in the new environment. Culture also dictates the tastes of people in a given society. As people interacted, flexibility is required to minimize the conflicts that may arise as a result of cultural differences. References Claire, H. T. S. (2008). Effective Multicultural Teams: Theory and Practice. SpringerScience and Business Media B.V Hampden, T., Charles and Fons, T. (2000). Building Cross Cultural Competence: Howto Create Wealth from Conflicting Values. New Haven and London: YaleUniversity Press. House, R. H. (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: the GLOBE study of 62societies. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. Jeanne, B.,Behfar K Kern, M. (2006). Managing Multicultural Teams. HarvardBusiness Review, 84(11) Kristin, B. (2006). Managing challenges in multicultural teams: Research on ManagingGroups and Teams, 233-262. Levi, D. (2001). Group dynamics for teams: Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage. Luthans, Fred; Doh, Jonathan P.(2012). International management: Culture, strategy, and behavior (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p.126 Le-Baron, M. (2003). Culture and Conflict: Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess andHeidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium. University of Colorado: Boulder. Retrieved on 31 October, 2016 from:https://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/culture-conflict Menipaz, E. Menipaz, A, (2011). International Business: Theory and Practice. London: Sage Mind Tools (2014). The Seven Dimensions of Culture. Retried on 1st October, 2016.From: https://www.mindtools.com