Multinational organizations
Culture refers to the way of life that is defined by the behaviour, knowledge, and beliefs throughout the lives of people. It includes the way we think, our behaviour, and life which are shaped by the political, economic, and historical conditions prevailing in a particular geographical region. . A case study of Intel Corporation Expansion into China Intel Corporation is an establishment of the United States of America. It has a subsidiary in China. The set up of the plant in China wasn’t without challenges.
Part of the problem included the Chinese educational system which wasn’t up to par with the American university system, the home of parent company. Therefore, students hired by Intel in China lacked the high level expertise required. Language barriers were another challenge since people of China speak Chinese language and their form writing is different from that in America. Other cultural barriers included social inequalities and jealous, gender insensitivities, style of dress, mode of communication, national pride, religious belief and local customs. Traditionally, filial piety and families are priorities.
Thus outside organizations have great difficulty cultivating loyalty. Chinese are known to undermine others of lower class. To synchronise the level of expertise between the American employees and the Chinese employees, Intel Corporation sent the Chinese employees to America for further training. It also developed a policy that encouraged constructive confrontation, where employees would criticize their colleagues’ and managers’ ideas. The purpose of the policy was to allow constructive resolution rather than employees undermining each other during disagreements.
Thus, employees had to prepare sufficient data to oppose a given decision before a scheduled date of implementation. Since confrontation alone cannot resolve all matters, a supplementing mechanism was put in place to implementing decisions in case disagreement persisted. Intel also promotes one-on-one consultations between managers and employees, where employees air their views to their seniors confidentially. These practices go well with the Chinese culture since Chinese by and large are more comfortable opening up on a one-on-one basis.
Apart from encouraging employees to contribute ideas, Intel also allows them to error without fear of penalty. Why people may not appreciate the cultural point of view of others Attitude plays an important role in appreciating diverse cultural orientation. The mindset of people may cause one to disregard others people’s cultural standings. Lack of education, may lead to the perception that others cultures are inferior due to their norms, beliefs and values. Moreover characters in a person can contribute to rigidity in accepting contribution of people from societies with a different cultural setting.
Past engagement may evoke feelings of rejection especially if the relation was unhealthy. Effect of appreciating cultural diversity on ability of people to communicate effectively in an international organization Cultural diversity is the multiplicity of cultures or human societies in a certain region. Appreciating cultural diversity is vital in an organization. The cultural limitations of employees are addresses. For instance, difference in education systems means the level of expertise is different. Through training programs, effective communication may be achieved.
This would in return enhance human relation among employees and between management and employees. By recognizing the cultural variation, employees respect each others values and beliefs. Recommendation on steps to take and suggestion of appropriate policies that would ensure successful expansion of Sealwrap into Asia and Europe Introduction Culture refers to the way of life that is influenced by the behaviour, knowledge, and beliefs throughout the lives of people. Multiplicity of cultures in a certain region or organization is referred to as cultural diversity.
Multinational organizations have experienced cultural challenges while expanding their business to regions that differ culturally from the country of origin. The cultural challenges include different education system of the beneficiary country. The system of education may fail to produce experts to much the job specifications. However foreign government often give incentives to multinational organization that hire local expertise. Moreover, an organization is by far acceptable if it involve local employees. Organizations often find it challenging to penetrate and operate in a foreign market due to language barrier.
The difference between the organization’s official language and that of the country in which it is operating may require translators. Elsewhere, employees and managers may have to be trained. Other cultural barriers may included social inequalities and jealous, gender insensitivities, style of dress, mode of communication, national pride, religious belief and local customs. Organizations setting up their business across borders should appreciate cultural diversity both at the management and subordinate levels. Realizing and understanding cultures differences enhances human relation in an organization.
The differences are addressed through an effective communication system. Managers understand their employees and apply the best strategy to resolve employees’ issues. As a suggestion, Sealwrap should consider involving more personnel of Asian and European when expanding their business in Asia and Europe respectively. It is advisable to involve these personnel at both the management levels and the subordinate levels. However, they must be trained accordingly. Elsewhere, in setting up the multinational in Asia, it is important to be flexible.
The organization should consider allowing cultural norms that contribute positively to the organization to prevail. However these should be supplemented with professional management strategies. Suggested policies It would be important for Sealwrap executives, especially the human resources executives, to take on policies that curtail negative elements of the Asian and European culture while maintaining the positive ones. This would help in progression of the corporate culture in the Asians and European business operations.
The policies should neither allow the corporate culture in the parent company to be adopted in the subsidiary nor should the Asian culture dominate in the operation of Sealwrap. A policy to maintain a higher percentage of the local employees would improve the outlook of Sealwrap as a local company. Employees should be encouraged to contribute ideas through a policy that reward them. Besides boost the employee’s morale, the company would improve its outlook. The company could promote its business through a policy on corporate social responsibility.
In conclusion, one important thing that Sealwrap could do is to set up a fair, open, and caring human resource system that would cater for the Asian and European cultures in their business at Asia and Europe. References: Almond, P. and Ferner, A. (2006): American Multinationals in Europe: Managing Employment Relations across National Borders, 1st edition, Oxford University Press Shapiro, D. L. and Von, M. A. (2005): Managing Multinational Teams: Global Perspectives (Advances in International Management), Vol 18, Jai Press
