University Business Culture Report: Cross-Cultural Management Analysis

This report analyzes business culture, focusing on the relevance of culture and its study to organizational management. It examines theoretical approaches to cross-cultural management, specifically in the context of a case study involving Barclays PLC and Lehman Brothers. The report explores the implications of cultural and language differences in business communication and assesses how cross-cultural management theory can address issues arising from international business collaborations. The report also discusses the impact of organizational culture on performance, leadership styles, motivational theories, and customer satisfaction. It highlights the importance of ethical considerations and the application of various approaches, including deontological, teleological, and spiritual approaches, to improve organizational culture and address challenges in a globalized business environment.

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Contents
1. Reflect on the concept of culture and approaches to the study of culture, and the relevance to the
management of organisations......................................................................................................................3
2. The main theoretical approaches to cross-cultural management..............................................................6
3. Theory of cross-cultural management in analysing problems and issues of organisation and
administration in the context of cultural diversity.......................................................................................9
4. Assess the implications of culture and language differences in business communication.....................11
5. Issues facing two international businesses and how the application of cross-cultural management theory
can help address matters arising from different cultures working together................................................13
References.................................................................................................................................................15
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1. Reflect on the concept of culture and approaches to the study of culture, and the relevance to
the management of organisations
According to Singer, the concept of culture is based on the anthropological method and covers
many factors of human behaviour in the society such as attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, arts, law,
morals, customs and values. Apart from that, the culture includes not only material possession
but also comprising of people, institution, emotions and behaviour of the individual. Aside from
that, the perception, accomplishment and interpretation of different people inside or outside of an
organization(Schein and Schein, 2017). Besides that, shared values and representation of the
members of an organization both are referred by the culture, for example, governmental
bureaucracy. According to the case study, Barclays PLC and Lehman Brothers had an
acquisition, and after that, the organizational culture of Barclays PLC faced many challenging
issues. There are various types of organizational culture has been notified in the history of the
business. Apart from that, the organization is mainly influenced by the leader's approach and
behaviour. In addition, the culture of an organization is clearly controlled and managed by the
management of that particular organization. Besides that, the culture of an organization is also
influenced by the performance of the employees(Sammut, 2012). In other words, the relationship
between the employees and management has clearly boosted the organizational performance.
The concept of culture according to case scenario:
According to my point of view, the Barclays PLC had good and working organization culture
before the collaboration with Lehman Brother. Thus, the culture of Lehman Brother was not
appropriate and misconducted. As a result, in the year 2008, due to many economic causes,
Lehman Brother was collapsed along with $100 trillion in market capitalization from the global
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market in the year 2008. I strongly feel that the culture of Lehman Brother affects the culture of
Barclays PLC. In other words, due to the bad impression and financial stability of Lehman
Brother, the management system of Barclays PLC was conflicted, and the culture of Barclays
PLC also damaged and reduced. According to my point of view, the culture of an organization is
depended on the decision-making process which includes the reviews of both parties such as
employees and management. Thus, the culture of an organization is only can be developed and
improved through the effective relation of employees and management. In this case, the
management of Lehman Brother was a victim of World Banks and became collapsed with
25,000 employees across the world(Barank, 2010). So, naturally the employees of the Barclays
PLC become discouraged, and they required a good motivation which was not expected from
that kind of organization culture. So, in order to increase the performance of te organization
culture of Barclays PLC, the management needs to follow the approaches and theories of
motivation. In other sense, the leaders of Barclays PLC needs to focus on various types of
process and systems of the organization. Thus, the organization culture is only developed
through effective leadership styles and motivational speech of the leaders.
The concept of approaches according to case scenario:
There are various types of approaches involved in the segment of organizational performance.
According to the case scenario, Barclays PLC had collaboration with Lehman Brother, and due
to this joint venture, the cross-organizational culture was created. In addition, as a result, the
employees and management of Barclays PLC had been faced many challenges and difficulties.
On the other hand, I strongly feel that the organization culture of Barclays PLC is damaged and
effected by poor management culture of Lehman Brother. Apart from that, there are several
effects as the bad production process, customer relation, employee performance of the
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organization was going down(Lencioni, 2002). The management of Barclays PLC needs to apply
some business theories, models and approaches for the improvement of organization culture.
Maslow’s Motivational theory: according to the Maslow, with the help of effective motivation,
the performance of employees can be boosted up. Besides that, a proper leader should always
motivate and encourage their employees for better performance. Besides that, with the help of
motivational approach, the management of an organization also can enhance better business
opportunities. In other sense, the employees of an organization can help the leaders to meet
desired aims and objectives through effective contribution and support. Without the collaboration
of employee and management, an organization cannot meet its fundamental goals. Thus, I
strongly recommend that the management of Barclays PLC should follow the theory and
approach of Maslow’s motivation for better improvement of organizational culture. On the other
hand, Maslow’s Hierarchy needs theory is one of the main approaches which is implemented in
many organizations. Additionally, the need for both employees and customers should be
analyzed and determined by the management of an organization for continuous success. Besides
that, with the help of Hierarchy need theory, the management of Barclays PLC able to
understand the actual requirements of their customers as well as their employees. According to
my personal review, the management of an organization should provide a good working
environment for their employees. In addition, the management of an organization needs to ask
their employees for any suggestions and opinions before conducting any decisions in favor of the
organization(Drucker and Maciariello, 2008). On the other side, the management of an
organization can also apply reward strategy which is one of the effective approaches. In other
words, many organizations provide the additional bonus to those employees who successfully
achieved allocated targets. I strongly recommend that the management of Barclays PLC should
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implement reward strategy for the improvement of employee performance which directly
influences the culture of the organization. Apart from that, the management of an organization
should also determine the needs of their customers. In addition, Barclays PLC only can develop
and increase the profit of the organization by satisfying their customers because without
customer satisfaction an organization cannot achieve success. Thus, the customers basically price
sensitive and want good products and services in low price. In other words, the management of
Barclays PLC should apply low price strategy which is an effective customer retention
approach(Bateman, Snell and Konopaske, 2017).
2. The main theoretical approaches to cross-cultural management
There are many approaches to cross-cultural management (Jackson, 2014) has more than a single
approach. These approaches all together can elaborate the approaches of the cross-cultural
management all by themselves. These approaches are,
1. Deontological Approach
2. Teleological Approach
3. Spiritual Approach
There is one thing that must be noted that these approaches are mainly based on some common
values. These values consist of fundamentals rights and freedoms. Moreover, efficiency,
accountability, fairness, etc. are more things that these approaches conclude. These values are
considered to be the core values of any nation. These approaches mentioned below:
The Deontological Approach
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This type of approach mainly concentrates on the ethics and the morality of the administrator.
The study of administrative culture is done mainly by using this approach. Deontological is
mainly the study of moral obligation and duty of some people or any organization. The cardinal
virtues of the nation are the main thing based on which this approach is mainly done. This study
mainly seeks information to emphasize a person’s duty regardless of the present situation. After
many research and studies, it has been recognized that there mainly two paths by which the
performance of the administration can be increased at a high level. Leadership, motivation and
proper training can be given to the employees of the organization, or the organizational
environment can create that can suit the employees to work properly in the organization. This
approach seeks its sources in two ways, firstly in a regional way and secondly in a philosophical
way. Morality and spirituality that have been guiding the forces in the history of the human
civilization are closely related to the religion. But, the moment when the religion issues are
raised about governmental affairs, the forces of secularism feel threatened. If justice, equality,
equity, and freedom are to be gained or maintained in the organization, political and
administrative acts must draw on some ethical foundation. This concept is mainly based on the
idea of the service to the community.
The Teleological approach
This approach is mainly based on the success of a decision in the case of producing the desired
effect. This path mainly deals with aspects that help a particular organization to achieve a
particular goal. This approach also handles the relationship among the initial and the end stage of
a particular task. Teleology is mainly the policy that ensures the final causes. After a strong
analysis one can say that to maintain the relationship among the different stages of the work this
methodology is beneficial for any particular organization. There have been situations in many
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organizations where the links between many tasks are being missed. This is very harmful for any
organization in the field of achieving any particular goal. In these kinds of situations, the
Teleological approach is very helpful as well as it can make effective changes (Rothwell, 2010)
in the environment of the organization. It links up a particular task from the starting point to the
end point and makes the work easier for the employees of the organization.
The Spiritual Approach
The Spiritual approach indicates a different level of thoughts. It includes
 It is beyond the thinking of anything alive on this planet. It means that this approach may
reach a level where no other approaches can even imagine to be reached.
 This approach gives the enthusiasm to search things that are beyond the circle of life. It
also says to search about the reasons of why humans exist in this world. It means this
approach makes everybody think beyond the normal imagination. The name Spiritual
approach itself says about the method of the approach.
 The sixth sense of human being can be used effectively to imply the approach. It is so
because normal senses and thoughts can't be blamed for any situation. The things which
are right and which are wrong can be figured out by this approach.
 The caring attitude can be increased by this approach. It means that the approach teaches
the policies to take care of each other inside an organizational environment (Tosti-
Kharas, Lamm and Thomas, 2016). This is very crucial and helpful to get success. It also
helps to achieve the organizational goal in a broad way.
 One more positive part of this approach is that it teaches us to do those things that are
good for the others. It means that an employee of any particular organization must do
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those things that eventually help the organization. This approach helps the organization in
many ways.
There is a general misconception in the case of public policy and administration that helps to
develop the public policy. It is said by many that the spiritual factors have no role to play in
case handling the organizational behavior. It is totally wrong as the value, and the morality of
this approach is not limited to the personal factors and matters. It is a neutral approach and
can be used anywhere and in any kinds of situations.
It is to be said that Barclays PLC has faced many challenges after making a tie up with the
Lehman Brothers. These challenges were in the form of acquisitions, accommodations,
contracts, etc. It is to be recommended that the Teleological approach (Rose and Schaffer,
2015) is the best approach among them all. It has been seen in the previous cases that the
initial and the termination decision to complete a particular task are very crucial to achieve
the organizational goal. The Teleological approach helps to construct a link between the
initial and the end task. So it can be said that recommending this particular approach to any
organization is beneficial enough. This approach will bring the best positive outcomes than
any other approaches.
3. Theory of cross-cultural management in analysing problems and issues of organisation and
administration in the context of cultural diversity
A group of diverse individuals from various cultures or societies is known as Cultural Diversity
or Multiculturalism. Today's workforce contents diverse population of people from every part of
the world. It creates dynamic multicultural and multiracial organisations (Kottak, 2015). Though
this type of diversity can be seen with many alterations in skills, abilities and experiences. The
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concept of organisational culture should not be viewed as conflicting, as each and every concept
is incomplete without each other. There is another trend where organisations are embracing is the
accumulation of diversity training. Here in this training, all employees get educated about
cultural variations. Thus the employees can understand and appreciate each other. Sensitivity
training focuses on teaching staffs to act appropriately and communicate in a corporate
environment. The growth of stereotyping and prejudices is another trend of diversity. When there
are so many cultures come together in a workplace then it is tough to avoid (Jackson, 2014).
Organisations hire more individuals with disabilities and accepting various aptitudes. This is
known as another trend of diversity, where organisations start to realise the value of the disabled
employees. Due to new technologies and facilities, groups began to recruit physically
handicapped people and utilise their effort. There are different training programs planned for
disabled employees to enhance their skill and knowledge at the workplace. Hiring female
candidates another trend of the workforce in today's market. According to the recent surveys,
women's participation in the labor force has increased magically. Almost half of the labour force
includes female workers. Last but not the least, growth in the ageing employment is an integrated
part of cultural diversity. Nowadays people are retiring later that helps to create exclusive
opportunities for organisations (Jackson, 2014). Thus the organisations use the skills and
experiences of the older employees.
Due to globalisation more interactions with a large number of people from various cultures,
backgrounds and belief have increased. Diversity management is a process that initiated rather
than required by law. This includes in assimilating non-traditional employees such as minorities
and women at the workplace. Cultural diversity is the variety of human cultures and society in a
particular region. Gender diversity can be defined as the proportion of males to females at a
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workplace. Similarly other demographics such as racial characteristics, the population has also a
large contribution to the work environment. Religious diversity is also an essential element of
cultural diversity that is being taken sincerely by the mentors in their tutoring (Eastern and Cross
Cultural Management, 2014). People has realised that cultural, and class chauvinism creates
problems. Religions have encouraged mutual resentment by educating that different religions are
not only different but also demonic. The principal objectives of cultural diversity are to calculate
target to be achieved within a specified time frame. The emerging field of cross-cultural studies
on organisational functioning is largely a result of the fractional combination between the cross-
cultural comparative management area and organisational theories. Some cross-cultural
regulatory studies were conducted before the 1950's (Lombardo, 2011). The various backgrounds
and beliefs of the scholars were reflected in their approaches. The conceptual theories or
methods used by the comparative management theorists are divided into three groups such as
The environmental approach, the behavioural approach and the economic development
orientation. Theoretically, the level of concern leads a link in cross-cultural management. The
area of a discipline of economic development is too common. It is also very suitable to check the
well-organized suggestions essential to build a training (Eastern and Cross Cultural
Management, 2014). Cross-cultural management studies endeavoured to spot the effect of
external environmental factors like political, socio-economic, cultural and legal on effectiveness
and administration practices.
4. Assess the implications of culture and language differences in business communication
To discuss the impact of the cultural differences the understanding of organisational culture
should be understood clearly. Corporate culture is one which carefully adoptive among
employees, who may have come to the company from a variety of different cultural background.
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Organisational culture includes the common language, norms of behaviour, shared terminology
and dominant values of the enterprise (Fernando, 2012). Communication is authoritative for the
successful implementation of daily procedure in the business world. People should consider
language barriers and cultural diversity while allocating tasks. Business deals can be lost if the
cultures of each other are not learnt before interacting with people. In some countries, it is too
general for people to shout and be more confident or violent while sharing ideas or giving
direction. Sometimes people typically speak softly and being more passive about sharing ideas or
information or making suggestions (Parekh, 2011). It is essential to talk in a neutral tone while
interacting with people in business communication. People from various backgrounds, beliefs
and cultures conduct business with each other due to globalisation. One should be careful about
time zone differences by ensuring a reasonable period for all involved counterparts while making
any international call or video conference. Cultural differences affect availability. If a schedule
has been set for an international business call, it does not mean that the counterpart will be
available to take the call at that time. That’s why it is important to check the availability before
planning the schedule. Once the date of the request is favourable for the counterpart, then the
communicator should interact clearly and slowly. Political influences affect the way an
organisation does business. Some cultures have an important sense of nationalism and
government pride. As they have high government back-up, so they are comfortable and willing
to purchase from the organisations.
Cultural diversity has more influence on the performance of international business. Employees
and partners should interact effectively to share combine and leverage complementary. Because
as per some studies, national and organisational culture differences can affect the interactions of
the employees. Thus the differences in corporate and domestic cultures play a significant role in
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