International Management Organisation vs. National Culture

Executive Summary Corporate cultures are important since they aid in streamlining the operations of organizations in a given environment. Corporate cultures are established over a long period of time and are dependent on the environment in which an organization is operating.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on International Management: Organisation vs. National Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The introduction of this paper expounds on corporate culture and cross-cultural management. The second part brings out the aspects of management that characterize national cultures in London, Tokyo, and Singapore. The third part explores the issue of corporate culture and national cultures in international management. Introduction One of the most critical challenges in international management is the conflict between established corporate cultures of multinationals and the corporate cultures that prevail in different re gions where firms establish their operations (Ogunmokun Ling, 1999). This paper explores variations in regional cultures and the corporate culture of an organization originated from the United States. The regions that are touched upon in the paper are Tokyo, London, and Singapore. This paper argues that organizations make adjustments to corporate cultures as a way of adapting to corporate practices in the global business environment. Overview of corporate culture in the context of managing in the four regions Most of the aspects of dynamism in international management come from the variation of corporate cultures in this environment (Schneider Barsoux 2003). Multinational companies often establish corporate cultures that help them thrive in different markets across the globe (Oberg 2004). They often adopt a hybrid system of management which aids multinational firms to bridge the cultural gap that prevails between their corporate culture and the established corporate culture in the given region (Pagell, Katz Sheu 2005). According to the Hofstede Centre (2013), there is a close cultural relation between the United States and the UK. Both countries adopt quick reporting of organizational activities. There is also an emphasis on creativity in the discharge of organizational functions in the two countries. However, there is a wide gap between the national culture of Japan and Singapore in relation to the culture of the United States. Individual relationships are given a lot of emphasis in Japanese transactions.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Nonetheless, the uniting factor in as far as integration of the national cultures of the four countries is concerned is the preference of economic or organizational growth through application of strategy. Contrary to the Schein model, most of the attributes of culture in the regions presented in this paper are more visible and easy for the organization to adjust to the culture in London, Tokyo and Singapore. Fard, Rostamy and Taghiloo (2009) ascertain the value of understanding the attributes of national cultures by eliciting the Hofstede model of cross cultural management. According to this model, the national culture of management is established through the prevailing systems and structures of management in a given country (Berg van den Wilderom 2004). This means that multinationals often replicate their corporate cultures from the attributes of management that are embraced in the parent country (Morschett, Schramm-Klein Zentes 2010). The rooting of organizational culture in the practices of management embraced in a country makes it quite daunting for a firm to effectively deal with the variation in culture when it enters foreign environments (Jones 2007). Corporate success depends on the ability of a firm to master its operational environment and stage its operations in a way that appeals the culture that is established in the given environment (Wursten Fadrhonc, 2012). It is worth noting that corporate cultures cannot be totally exported in foreign environments (Puffer 2004). Exploring organizational corporate culture in cross-culture management Lloyd and HÃ ¤rtel (2004) observe that there is a universal embrace of human resource management across the globe. The US values a total quality culture in the management of both people and other organizational resources. This is also embraced by most of the leading economies in Europe, like the United Kingdom. The recent managerial era in Asia has also seen a shift towards the embrace of quality in human and strategic business management. This can be traced back in the early 1990s where Asian countries realized the need for promoting a quality culture as a way of increasing their competitive force as far as competing with the western quality culture is concerned (de Mooij Hofstede 2010). This factor has promoted a desir able business environment in most Asian countries like Japan and Singapore. Thus, it can be viewed that it is easy for an organization from the United States to adapt to the corporate culture that is embraced in most European countries, as well as the emergent economies in Asia.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on International Management: Organisation vs. National Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The main areas that have to be given attention to is positioning of human resource as secondary or reactive, as far as the operation of a firm and the discharge of human resource practices by multinationals that operate in Asia are concerned. This contradicts the human resource culture in the United States and Europe, where human resource practices are strongly embedded in business practices (Wilcoxson Millett 2000). Firms in the United States are widely known for embracing high standards of employee management, e specially in the service sector. Therefore, it becomes easy for a service firm from the United States to adapt to the regions that are ranked lower than the United States in terms of service offering. This can also be attributed to total quality management, which is a critical factor in business positioning in the United States. Total quality culture is an aspect of management that is highly embraced in western firms (Cayla Arnould 2008). Emerging economies like Singapore have also focused on quality as they seek to exert competitive pressures on western firms that have dominated the international market scene for a long period of time (Hennig-Thurau et al. 2005). The antecedents of brand quality and preference are other critical aspects of culture, especially for the US firms that operate in the Asian region (Deleersnyder et al. 2009). Research has shown the tendency of customers in the Asian region to give preference to local brands. So, success of the firm in Singapore and Tokyo requires the company to incorporate local business attributes in its services and products (Delong et al. 2004; Fletcher n.d). Singapore, Tokyo and London present ethnically diverse regions in the world. The ethnic diversity in these regions comes from the fact that they have active and well developed business environments. Tackling the problem of expatriate management is vital towards efficiency and effectiveness of subsidiary firms and effective positioning of the company in the foreign business environment (Pires, Stanton Ostenfeld 2006; Lizardo n.d.). Conclusion Managing a United States based multinational company in Tokyo, Singapore and London requires the organization to focus on cultural variations in the region. The financial services firm in the United States focuses on service quality and strategic human resources. Managing in Singapore and Tokyo requires the organization to adjust its activities due to the tendency of customers in the region to focus on local brands. Th e score matches presented by the Hofstede centre denote that there will be a greater need to embrace cross-cultural communication for firms that will be established in Tokyo and Singapore, due to the embrace of business models that vary from those embraced in New York and London.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reference List Berg van den, PT Wilderom, CPM 2004, ‘Defining, measuring, and comparing organisational cultures’, Applied Psychology, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 570-582. 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Schneider, S Barsoux, J 2003, Managing across cultures, 2nd ed., Prentice-Hall, Harlow. Wilcoxson L Millett B 2000, ‘The management of organisational culture’, Australian Journal of Management Organisational Behaviour, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 91-99. Wursten, H Fadrhonc, T 2012, International marketing and culture. Web. This essay on International Management: Organisation vs. National Culture was written and submitted by user Cain Bradford to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.