Cross-Cultural Management in Business

This assignment explores the crucial role of cross-cultural understanding in modern business. It delves into how cultural differences influence various aspects of organizational functioning, including communication, decision-making, negotiation, and leadership styles. The analysis examines the challenges and opportunities presented by a diverse global business environment and proposes strategies for effective cross-cultural management to enhance organizational performance and success.

Running head: MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS
MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Executive summary
The report aims at understanding the steps that the organization, Cipla, might take in order to
overcome the challenges faced by the organization during its expansion of the business. The
most important consideration undertaken by the organization is based on the objective of the
company to expand its business. The challenges relating to the cross-cultural collaboration, the
communicational systems and the negotiations undertaken by the organization are being
evaluated in this context. Recommendations to bring about changes in the organizational
undertakings are being enumerated which helps in identifying the areas where change is to be
undertaken. The purpose of the report is to understand the processes that the organization must
undertake in order to expand in the international markets.

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Table of Contents
1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................3
2 General challenges faced by the organization..............................................................................4
2.1 Cross-cultural collaboration...................................................................................................4
2.2 Communicational barriers.....................................................................................................6
2.3 Negotiations...........................................................................................................................7
3 Recommendations to avoid the situations....................................................................................8
3.1 Enhancing the cross-cultural collaborations..........................................................................9
3.2 Enhancing the communication systems.................................................................................9
3.3 Improving negotiations........................................................................................................10
4 Conclusion..................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................13
Appendix........................................................................................................................................16

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1 Introduction
The change in the global trends has resulted to the growth of the multinationals. The
influence of the change and the globalization has led the organizations to get involved in the
international trade. International trade has given rise to different challenges that the companies
might face due to lack of communicational abilities and the cross-cultural collaboration. They
constrain the progress of the organizations in their respective fields. The organizations, striving
to make their position in the international markets, must make a note of the challenges that they
might face in the end. Therefore, recommendations must be adhered and certain contingency
plans and procedures are undertaken by the organizations in order to ensure the safe progression
in the market structure.
The concerned company for the report, Cipla is into the production of medicines and
drugs, adhering to the requirements of the people from all around the world. The company’s
attempts of expansion beyond the borders of the nation are being constrained by the challenges
that are being faced by the organization relating to their cross-cultural collaboration. The
diversity in the cultures has helped the organization in bringing in innovations in the systems and
the processes undertaken. However, there are challenges that are being faced by the organization
based on the limitations of the cross-cultural collaborations (Caligiuri and Tarique 2012). The
communication systems that are being undertaken by the organization also affect the smooth
functioning of the organization and hinder the growth of the organization in the international
markets. Miscommunications between the collaborators can bring in significant issues in the
organizational success.

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The report enumerates the issues faced by the concerned organization relating to their
cross-cultural collaborations and their ineffective communication. It affects the progress of the
organization in the international markets. Moreover, they are constrains to the organization’s
expansion. Recommendations are being enumerated in this report in order to understand the
important steps that the organization can undertake in order to avoid crises in its growth period.
2 General challenges faced by the organization
The issues faced by the concerned organization, Cipla, are based on the cross-cultural
collaboration and the communicational barriers that the organization faces while expanding its
business beyond the borders of the nation. The most important consideration undertaken by the
organization is based on the requirements of the organization to grow its business and indulge
itself in the international markets (Hogg, Van Knippenberg and Rast 2012). The pharmaceutical
company has been striving to expand since the days of its inception in the market. The
challenges that the organization faced while undertaking the expansion of the business is being
discussed in this part of the report. It gives a clear insight of the issues that Cipla faced while
expanding its business (Chua, Morris and Mor 2012).
2.1 Cross-cultural collaboration
The cross-cultural collaboration that the organization undertook considering the mutual
benefits is being the basis of the challenge that is being faced by the organization (Thomas and
Peterson 2017). Company undertakes collaborative activities with the firms in the same industry,
non-government and government organizations and healthcare practitioners as a part of their
strategies to improve their market availability.

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The diversity that is being faced by the organization helps in determining the changes that
the organization undertakes for the activities of their expansion. the rate of diversity that is being
encountered by the concerned company is 12.78 % which affects the growth of the organization
in the market. on the other hand, the comnapny collaborates with several other companies and
thereby gets affected by the cross cultural growth by some 28% of its complete functioning.
Diversity helps in bringing in innovations in the structure of the products manufactured by the
organization. It helps the organization in taking steps in order to expand and grow in the market
relating to the healthcare requirements of the clients (Refer to Appendice 1). On the other hand,
the diversity and the cross-cultural collaboration with the other companies have hindered the
progress of the organization and minimized its scope of expansion in the global market (Ulmer,
Sellnow and Seeger 2013). The changing trends have affected the system undertaken by the
organizations.
The cross-cultural collaboration that the organization undertakes with the view of making
them prominent in the market has also affected the functioning of the organization. The
expansion that the organization aims at undertaking is being affected by the norms and the
policies of their collaborators. On the other hand, the objectives of the collaborators might not
match with the objectives of the concerned organization. Therefore, the functions undertaken by
the organization is being affected through the goals and the different mental setup of the other
collaborators.
The collaborations undertaken by the company with the governmental and the non-
governmental organizations has helped the company in making its progress in the market.
However, there are discrepancies that the organization faced while undertaking the collaboration
based on the policies and the norms enforced by the governmental and the non-governmental

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organizations. On the other hand, the steps and actions of the organizations differed from the
ones undertaken by the concerned company. It resulted to a lack of integration between the
collaborators resulting to the challenges that Cipla faces while undertaking the expansion of their
business (Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey 2013). On the other hand, the organization faces a major
challenge in undertaking recruitments in a cross-cultural environment based on the diversity of
the opinions and the mindset of the people. The collaborative functions of the organization are
affected by the diversity and therefore it affects the functionality of the work force of the
organization.
The concerned company also undertakes collaborations with the healthcare practitioners
and the executives. It helps the company in determining the varied healthcare needs of the people
and thereby expands their product line. However, the collaboration affects the steps that are
being undertaken by the organization affecting the production process of the organization.
Determining the varied requirements is an important aspect that is being undertaken by the
organization. Issues faced by the organization are based on the varied needs of the clients and
therefore adhering to the requirements of the varied requirements challenges the capabilities of
the organization (Refer to Appendice 2).
2.2 Communicational barriers
The communicational barriers that are being experienced by the company while
undertaking the expansion is based on the lack of the proper usage of the communication
channels. The changes that are being undertaken by the organization are based on the
requirements of promoting their products in the global market (Bovee, Thill and Raina 2016).
The communicational strategies that are being undertaken by the organization help in

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determining the effectiveness of the processes undertaken by the same. Efficient communication
helps in determining the information system of the organization.
The technological advancements undertaken by the competitors have helped them in their
competitive advantage. Whereas, the communication system undertaken by the concerned
organization must be modified in order to meet the requirements of the people (Moriano et al.
2012). Moreover, the information system helps the organizations in keeping their stakeholders
aware of the change in the policies and the events that are being undertaken by the organizations
(Ribbink and Grimm 2014). The challenges faced by Cipla relating to the issues in their
communication systems have resulted to the lack of transmitting proper information to the
respective stakeholders. The stakeholders help in the smooth functioning of the processes by the
organization. Therefore, the concerned company lacks in the smooth functioning and the
integration of the departments due to their inefficient communication. It hinders their growth in
the international market.
On the other hand, proper communication helps the organizations in promoting their
products and services to their consumers. In this context, Cipla cannot undertake efficient
promotional practices in order to keep the consumers aware of the products and the services that
are being produced by the organization. The most important consideration undertaken by the
organization is based on the attempts of the organization to undertake the changes and thereby
modify their line of products (Ulmer, Sellnow and Seeger 2013). The proper information system,
which is facilitated by efficient communication, helps the organization in understanding the
needs of the consumers and thereby brings in modifications in their systems.

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2.3 Negotiations
Negotiation is an important phenomenon that is being undertaken by organizations in
order to ensure the availability of the products and the services in the market (Covello,
McCallum and Pavlova 2012). The negotiations that the organizations undertake determine the
market and the prices of the products and the services that are being prepared by the
organization. The major challenges that the concerned company faces is based on the diversity of
the policies and the norms in the international markets based on the currency (Kersiene and
Savaneviciene 2015). The diversity in the choices that are being undertaken by the organization
promotes the usage of the unethical norms that constrains the company’s growth and expansion
beyond the borders. Negotiations in the price of the products and the availability of the products
in the market determine the most important statistics of the company’s output.
The challenges that are being faced by the organization are based on the different norms
and regulations of the companies and the governments with which the organization is
collaborating. The collaborations undertaken by the organization affects the strategies and
policies of their own system. On the other hand, evidence of contradictions can be found
between the policies of the organization and the policies and norms enforced by the governments
and the non-governmental organizations in the region (Moran, Abramson and Moran 2014). This
affects the functionality of the organization largely. It thereby limits the scope of the
organizational expansion, which the organization seeks to undertake. Improvements in the
negotiations shall help the organization in undertaking the expansion of the organization beyond
the borders of the nation (Moriano et al. 2012).

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3 Recommendations to avoid the situations
Recommendations to avoid the situations constitute of the measures that the concerned
company must undertake in order to make improvements in the culture of the organization.
Moreover, it helps the organization in winning over the challenges that are being faced by the
organization while undertaking the expansion of the business.
3.1 Enhancing the cross-cultural collaborations
The company must take certain steps in order to subdue the ill effects of the cross-
cultural collaborations. The steps are being enumerated in this section of the report.
 The organization must take steps in order to enhance the trust factor. It helps in
undertaking ways through which the collaborators can trust the norms of the organization
for their progress (Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey 2013). Collaborations are undertaken
by the organizations in order to ensure that the companies grow mutually in a given time
limit. Therefore, the most important consideration that Cipla must undertake is to ensure
the trust of the collaborators through their efficient functioning. It helps in negotiating
their chances of growth with the collaborator and thereby makes way for the mutual
growth.
 Promoting integrated teamwork with the collaborator will help the organization in
making their respective progress in the international markets (Lavie, Haunschild and
Khanna 2012). The collaborations help the organization in making their progress in the
market based on the availability of the products.

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3.2 Enhancing the communication systems
The communication system forms the integral part of the advancements made by the
organization based on the requirements of the consumers. Therefore, in order to make an
expansion in their line of business, Cipla must undertake certain steps in improving the
communication systems. The steps are being enumerated in this section of the report.
 Choice of the communication channels helps in undertaking efficient communication.
Cipla must undertake steps in order to identify the most appropriate communicational
channel in order to keep the collaborators and the stakeholders aware of the situation and
the requirements of the business (Refer to Appendice 3). Proper communication also
helps in keeping the staff and the internal stakeholders aware of the changes that are
being undertaken by the organization (Bedwell et al. 2012).
 Promoting the product through proper advertising and the proper usage of the social
media platforms helps the organization in making the consumers and the general people
aware of the situation of Cipla and their undertaking (Wiewiora et al. 2013). It helps the
organization in enjoying a competitive advantage over the other firms.
 The organization must also undertake steps to bring in improvements in the
communicational processes because that will help the organization in maintaining a
continuous transmission of information with its collaborators. It helps the organization in
identifying the issues that they face with the functioning of the collaborators (Real,
Roldán and Leal 2014). Moreover, communication facilities will help the organization in
maintaining a good linkage with the stakeholders of the organization, which will help the
organization in expanding its business in the international markets.

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 The company’s indulgence in the communicative systems helps the organization in
promoting their products and services in their market (Hsiao, Tsai and Lee 2012). The
concerned company undertakes steps like publishing their annual reports in their websites
and their indulgence in the social media platforms. It helps in undertaking the most
probable steps to expand in the market.
3.3 Improving negotiations
Negotiations are being undertaken by the organizations in order to undertake their growth
and expansion in the market. The most important steps that the concerned company might
undertake in order to make their progress in the market are being enumerated in this section of
the report.
 The company negotiates on the norms that are being enforced by the governments and the
legislations of the region (Matsumoto and Hwang 2013). The diversity in the norms and
the variation of the legislations affects the functioning of the organization in the market.
In order to avoid the situations the company can take help of some consultancy firms in
order to negotiate with he governments for the flexibility of the norms that are being
enforced (Emerson, Nabatchi and Balogh 2012). The flexibility helps in minimizing the
contradictions between the norms and policies of the company with that of the
government. The important consideration undertaken by the concerned organization, in
this context, is based on the sustainability of the organization in the market structure.
 The concerned company can also negotiate on the terms of the organizational growth
based on the factors of the goodwill that it has in the social structure and the market. the
goodwill speaks for the cause of the organization (Cummings and Worley 2014). It helps

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the organization in negotiating with the governments to make changes in the legislative
boards for mutual benefits.
4 Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis it can be stated that the organization, Cipla must
undertake certain steps in order to identify the discrepancies that the organization faces in terms
of the cross-cultural collaboration and the lack of proper communication and negotiations. The
report aims at understanding the discrepancies and the challenges faced by the organization in
expanding its business in the international market. The diversity of the mental setup and outlook
of the collaborators has resulted to the hindrances that affect the growth of the organization.
Moreover, the lack of efficient communicational practices also stops the company from
undertaking ways to expand in the market.
The most important aspects that the company must undertake are based on the
negotiations. Negotiations undertaken by the organization to support their existence in the
markets of the region help in making them more prolific to the regional environment. It helps in
determining the important aspects of the change that are being undertaken by the organization.

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2012. Collaboration at work: An integrative multilevel conceptualization. Human Resource
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Bovee, C.L., Thill, J.V. and Raina, R.L., 2016. Business communication today. Pearson
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Caligiuri, P. and Tarique, I., 2012. Dynamic cross-cultural competencies and global leadership
effectiveness. Journal of World Business, 47(4), pp.612-622.
Chua, R.Y., Morris, M.W. and Mor, S., 2012. Collaborating across cultures: Cultural
metacognition and affect-based trust in creative collaboration. Organizational behavior and
human decision processes, 118(2), pp.116-131.
Covello, V.T., McCallum, D.B. and Pavlova, M.T. eds., 2012. Effective risk communication: the
role and responsibility of government and nongovernment organizations (Vol. 4). Springer
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Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage
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Emerson, K., Nabatchi, T. and Balogh, S., 2012. An integrative framework for collaborative
governance. Journal of public administration research and theory, 22(1), pp.1-29.

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Hogg, M.A., Van Knippenberg, D. and Rast, D.E., 2012. Intergroup leadership in organizations:
Leading across group and organizational boundaries. Academy of Management Review, 37(2),
pp.232-255.
Hsiao, R.L., Tsai, D.H. and Lee, C.F., 2012. Collaborative knowing: The adaptive nature of
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Competence Based on CrossCultural Perspective. Engineering Economics, 65(5).
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mechanisms, and alliance performance. Strategic Management Journal, 33(13), pp.1453-1479.
Matsumoto, D. and Hwang, H.C., 2013. Assessing cross-cultural competence: A review of
available tests. Journal of cross-cultural psychology, 44(6), pp.849-873.
Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R. and Moran, S.V., 2014. Managing cultural differences. Routledge.
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Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M.G. and Macey, W.H., 2013. Organizational climate and
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Thomas, D.C. and Peterson, M.F., 2017. Cross-cultural management: Essential concepts. Sage
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Appendix
Appendice 1
Figure 1: World Population and the diversity
(Source: Ulmer, Sellnow and Seeger 2013 )

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Appendice 2
Figure 2: Cross Cultural Business Context
(Source: Thomas and Peterson 2017)

18MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS
Appendice 3
Figure 3: Management Dimensions of Culture
(Source: Kersiene and Savaneviciene 2015)