Cross-Cultural Interactions: A Limiting Factor to Organizations

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

Cross-Cultural Interaction 2
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