Cross-Cultural Management and Global Leadership: Evolution and Adaptation

Running head: CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
Cross-Cultural Management
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1CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
Introduction
“Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of hair
trigger balances, when a false or misunderstood word may create as much disaster
as a sudden thoughtless act.”
The above quoted line of James Thurber clearly indicates the importance of
the concept of communication in the process of the conduct of business. The path of
globalization followed by most of the business organizations in the present times and
the “recent advancements in the field of innovations as well as technology” has given
rise to the concept of “cross cultural communication” (Kinloch and Metge 2014). It is
often seen that in the present times the various business organizations in the course
of the business dealings often come across individuals or business organizations
from different cultural as well as social backgrounds (Carbaugh 2013). It is precisely
here that the concept of “cross cultural communication” becomes very significant. It
is a reflection of this that the term “cross cultural management” has gained much
significance in the present times. In the opinion of authors Bird and Mendenhall
(2016), “‘Cross-cultural management’ has generally referred to accommodating
differences in cultural practices when managing outside of one’s home country and it
often takes a comparative perspective”. However, it is also significant to note that in
the opinion of many scholars the terms “cross cultural management” and “global
leadership” are coterminous with each other and are related in a much intricate
manner (Carbaugh 2013). The term global leadership, on the other hand, can be
defined as “the interdisciplinary study of the key elements that future leaders in all
realms of the personal experience should acquire to effectively familiarize
themselves with the psychological, physiological, geographical, geopolitical,
anthropological and sociological effects of globalization” (Asante, Miike and Yin
2013). This particular paper intends to provide an overview of these two terms in the
light of the article “From cross-cultural management to global leadership: Evolution
and adaptation” by the authors “Allan Bird and Mark E. Mendenhall”.
Cross cultural communication and management
The term communication can be defined as the process by means of which
relevant information or data is transferred from one individual to another. The

2CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
process of communication requires the presence of three entities, namely, the
“sender, medium and the receiver” (Asante, Miike and Yin 2013). The term “cross
cultural communication” generally applies to the kind of communication which the
various business organizations or the individuals resort to when they are trying to
communicate with the business organizations or the individuals belonging to different
cultural or social backgrounds (Kinloch and Metge 2014). In other words, the term
“cross cultural communication” can be defined as the process whose “field of study
looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and
different ways among themselves, and how they endeavour to communicate across
cultures” (Bird and Mendenhall 2016). It is generally seen that the various business
organizations often employ effective strategies as well as management policies for
the effective management of these “cross cultural communications” with the
business organizations or the individuals belonging to other cultural as well as social
backgrounds (Hurn and Tomalin 2013). Therefore, the term “cross cultural
management” can be defined as the field of management which deals with the
effective “study of the influence of societal culture on managers and management
practice as well as the study of the cultural orientations of individual managers and
organization members” (Mendenhall et al. 2017). Furthermore, in the opinion of other
scholars the concept of “cross cultural management” can be defined as the process
which “involves managing work teams in ways that considers the differences in
cultures, practices and preferences of consumers in a global or international
business context” (Hurn and Tomalin 2013). Thus, it becomes apparent that the
concepts of “cross cultural communication” as well as “cross cultural management”
are very important in the present day business world.
Global Leadership
Leadership can be defined as the “ability or the capability of the individuals to
lead individuals or business organizations towards the achievement of the goals or
the objectives set by the individuals or the business organizations concerned”
(Mobley, Wang and Li 2012). It is significant to note that the concept of leadership in
the genre of business has undergone much transformation in the last few decades
with the “advent of globalization and the advancements in the field of technology and
recent innovations” (Mobley, Wang and Li 2012). In the opinion of the author Mark E.