Cross-Cultural Interactions: A Limiting Factor to Organizations

This paper discusses the cultural conflict, prejudice, stereotypes, and bias in the context of cross-cultural interactions and their limited benefits to organizations.

Cross-Cultural Interaction 1
CROSS-CULTURAL INTERACTIONS – A LIMITING FACTOR TO ORGANIZATIONS
Name
Institution

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Introduction
Cross-cultural interaction is the interaction between people with different ancestral origins who
have different norms, beliefs, and ways of life. In this era of globalization, Lai and Yang (2017)
denote that it is common to find people from different countries and continents getting to interact
with people who originate from other countries and continents. Interaction of this nature is most
often a learning opportunity on other peoples cultures and ways of life. However, even before
one comes into contact with people from different cultures, there are always prejudice,
stereotypes and biases that one still has in mind as a result of adopting the views his or her
society have on other cultures. Businesses today have taken their business, and organizations
also strive to expand their operations to nations and continents other than their own (Tallman,
Luo & Buckley 2018, p. 519). The expansion of businesses and organizations call for cross-
cultural interactions is common as ach organization or business always has its own goals and
objectives that they want to meet. Studies indicate that cross-cultural integrations are part of the
limiting factors to organizations as pointed out by Common Thread Report (2018 p. 136). It is
therefore vital for the organization to come up with ways of managing cross-cultural interactions
to achieve the best from the interactions. This paper discusses the cultural conflict, prejudice,
stereotypes, and bias in the context of cross-cultural interactions and their limited benefits to
organizations.
Cultural Conflicts
Multinational organizations and corporations bring together different people from different parts
of the world hence creating a scenario of cross cultural interactions at the place of work.
Different people from different parts of the world have different cultures. The cultures are not
only distinct by nations but also by language, social interactions, religion, and value systems and
even quality of education. To some extent, economic strengths are included in this list.
Organizations with cross-cultural interactions may have some people with different cultures. For
instance, there are approximately seven thousand languages spoken across the world. However,
the English language has so far dominated the business world. The attributes of cultures are
strongly manifested in the daily running of businesses (Hye Oh, Sangmin Lee & Se Hyung Oh
2018, p. 845). For instance, social interactions of the people from the Middle East give a
limitation to female members of the society in terms of leadership and the roles that they can

Cross-Cultural Interaction 3
play in the community. However, in the western countries, the social limitations do not exist, and
there is no problem with a lady taking a leadership position at the organization. If the
organization is operating in the Middle East and the leadership of the organization has female
members it is a challenge for the surrounding community to align with the organization
(Kabasakal & Dastmalchian 2011, p.482). To society, the organization will be operating against
the cultural norms that they value.
Other than the reception of the organization by the people, the cultural difference may
significantly affect the organization's ability to achieve its goals. Within the organization, there
may be people who subscribe to the same beliefs. In most cases, the conflict may affect the
reception of instructions from superior leadership if a female member of the organization
represents the leadership as denoted by Knapp (2017, p. 15). The organizational objectives and
goals may not be achieved due to such cultural conflicts. The interaction between male and
female members in the organization may also get affected. While mutual respect is admirable by
many organizations, cultural difference stands in the way of achieving organizational goals as
some members may look down upon other members (Sheikh, Newman, & Al Azzeh 2013
p.1081 ). Such situations impact negatively on teamwork and flow of authority and instructions.
In order to adequately address this cultural conflict, it is first important to understand the
dominant culture in the region and then bring out the organization’s culture evidently to
eliminate possibilities of misunderstanding.
Bias and Prejudice
Prejudice is a perceived opinion that my not result from any factual information or experience.
Bias in this context comes into play as a result of prejudice. The word bias has been defined as
having an inclination towards or against people or things as a result of the views that one holds
on those people or things. In most cases, people make conclusions about others depending on
their cultural backgrounds. The findings made may be misleading. For instance, it is primarily
believed that female members of the Islamic religion do not shake hands while exchanging
greeting (Benítez, Van de Vijver & Padilla 2016, p. 470). The presence of a female member in
an organization that is dominated by people who subscribe to non-Islamic religion may try to

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avoid shaking hands with the Islamic female and the operations around such a member of the
organization is often calculated in fear of doing something that is not in line with her religion.
However, in the business world, handshakes communicate a lot and while in the range of duty,
the female members of Islamic religion might have to shake hands with clients or even possible
partners. Some decisions that are made at different levels of the organization may be as a result
of prejudice, and for that reason the choices are bias. Globally, women have always been victims
of preferences. Statistics indicate that most women serve at a junior position to men of the same
qualifications as them (Hughes, Hirsch, Nikolaus, Chalder, Knoop & Moss-Morris 2018, p.52).
It is therefore hard for the ladies serving in the organization to rise to senior levels of leadership
in the organization. While some organization has outgrown this bias and offer equal
opportunities for both men and women in the organization. Some organizations are still inclined
on the men leadership. However, in a setting where people are from diverse cultures, the team
effort I likely to be compromised by cultural conflicts, prejudice, and stereotypes. Some of the
members of the organization may not feel comfortable with the cross-cultural interaction in the
organization and the long run. For instance, some of the reasons given for this inclination is that
women are delicate and may need breaks in between working period take care of their health or
to handle other issues. In some areas, a woman in a leadership position is just unaccepted as it
goes against the cultural norms of the submissive expectations of a woman. In this case, the
expectations of society might significantly affect the productivity of the organization (Hook,
Davis, Owen & DeBlaere 2017, p. 71). The organization might have to settle for a less
productive leadership because the best option is a woman. This decision results to lower output.
It is vital, especially when dealing with the face of the company. The person who represents the
face of the organization must not practice prejudice and bias on clients and partners but must
deal with them like any other business person. Organization culture can help evade such
prejudices and make an all-inclusive business environment for all people irrespective of their
religion or cultural background (Vala, Pereira & Costa-Lopes 2019, p. 25). Extended practice of
prejudice in an organization may lead to misunderstanding with customers and partners hence
affecting the business relations within the organization. Prejudice may come in different forms
and in most cases, none of the kinds of prejudice adds value to the organization as it always
involves perceiving people in ways that they are not. Cultural back grounds differ from one
person to another. The understanding of the various cultures in the environment and self integrity

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goes a long way in ensuring elimination of prejudice and bias at the place of work. On the other
hands, organizations that manage to counter the adverse effects of cross-cultural interactions
with the building of a healthy organizational culture thrive in success irrespective of the diverse
cultures in the organization (Knapp 2017, p. 15). Such corporate cultures foster respect,
teamwork and breaks the ‘chains’ of cultural boundaries among the members of the organization
at all levels hence creating an environment in which the organizational goals are met. The
absence of corporate culture creates room for prejudice and bias which hinder the organizations
from achieving its goals.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes are widely held ideology (though not true) that is fixed and is used to define
particular people or things. They come in different forms and in most cases, they guide the
perception that people have on others or things (Chudnovskaya & Lipatova, 2018, P.429). It is
the stereotypes that lead to prejudice as they are not associated with any facts or experience but
just imaginations. Stereotypes in the business world revolve around consumption and
expenditure (Building bridges between psychological science and education 2016, p. 230).
However, business decisions should never be made depending on the stereotypes but or real data
collected from the field and industry projections. For instance, an organization that deals in
luxury products must first conduct market research in the prospected areas before presenting
their products to the prospects. It might be evidence that people living in high-end areas are
interested in luxury products (Kotlar, De Massis, Wright & Frattini 2018, p. 17). However, that
may not be true. There may be people living in the high-end areas that are economical and would
not want to spend their hard-earned income on luxury products. Such assumptions may lead the
organization to the wrong markets. In the current business environment, some organization has
outgrown this bias and offer equal opportunities for both men and women in the organization.
However, other companies still remain on the belief that men are best in terms of leadership.
According to the organizations, women might be much dedicated by they often have reasons
given for this inclination as they are delicate and may need breaks in between working period
take care of their health or to handle other issues. In some areas, a woman in a leadership
position is just unaccepted as it goes against the cultural norms of the submissive expectations of

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a woman. In this case, the expectations of society might significantly affect the productivity of
the organization
The same applies to cultural interactions within the organization. For instance, the education
system in African countries is often looked down upon (Orupabo, 2018, p. 242). It portrays that
people educated in Africa as people who did not have a quality education. The stereotype may
lead to some people being assigned roles that they are overqualified for based on their
educational background. The general perception may work as a demoralizing factor for
employees with an education background in Africa. Some organizations also prefer to put such
employees under tests other than the interviews that they conduct to ascertain that the quality of
the academic papers. The productivity of the employees in an organization highly depends on
their level of motivation. Stereotype factors that demoralize employees significantly affect their
productivity and in the long run affects the organization's ability to meet their set targets.
Conclusion
In conclusion, cross-cultural interactions are best when people learn about new cultures and ways
of life. In an organization setting, cross-cultural interactions come with its set of challenges. It is
not easy to adjust to a culture that is not yours. It may also not be easy to understand other
cultures. It is because of the lack of understanding of different cultures that people stick to
stereotypes and practice prejudice and bias against other religions. Every organization always
has its own goals that it would like to achieve. All the operations and the management decisions
made are always aimed at meeting these goals. For businesses, the goal is profit maximization
(Kotlar, De Massis, Wright & Frattini 2018, p. 17). On the flip side, organizations may have
varying goals and objectives depending on the nature and purpose of the organization. The
success of the organizations and business require the best of each member of the organization. In
most cases, a team effort is required. However, in a setting where people are from diverse
cultures, the team effort I likely to be compromised by cultural conflicts, prejudice, and
stereotypes. Some of the members of the organization may not feel comfortable with the cross-
cultural interaction in the organization and the long run; it affects the output of the organization
(Grant & Baden-Fuller, 2018, p.328). The adverse effects of cross-cultural interactions within an

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organization can be managed. The organizations should work on their own culture.
Organizational culture provides a guideline on how the organization should be run and the values
that the organizations hold dearly. The organization culture shifts the attention of the members of
the organization from their own cultures and the perceptions of their colleagues to the culture of
the organization. However, it does not come quickly as the organization has to work towards the
actualization of the organizational culture (Grant & Baden-Fuller, 2018, p.328). It is easy for
organizations to achieve their goals while observing the organization culture rather than when
dealing with the challenges that come with cross-cultural interactions.

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