Multinational Business: Intercultural Competence Report (UK & Romania)

This report examines intercultural competence within a multinational business context, focusing on a comparative analysis of UK and Romanian cultures. The report begins with a scenario outlining the need for understanding cultural differences within a diverse workforce. An autobiographical questionnaire provides insights into UK culture, followed by an interview with a Romanian colleague to gather information about Romanian culture. The analysis then identifies similarities and differences between the two cultures, covering aspects such as literature, religion, adherence to law, and education. Cultural frameworks, specifically Hofstede's model, are applied to assess cultural dimensions like power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and implications of intercultural competence in a global business environment.

Intercultural
Competence in Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Scenario........................................................................................................................................1
Autobiographical Questionnaire..................................................................................................1
Interview with a colleague of different culture............................................................................3
Similarities and Differences between cultures.............................................................................4
Cultural frameworks....................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Culture refers to the various types of beliefs and values which the people of a particular
country may have (Almeida and et.al., 2016). It can create an influence on their behaviour. Also
it can influence the way they take actions in different types of matters. Thus a country's culture
acts like a reflection of its identity. In this report, a comparison of cultures of two countries will
be made. The countries which have been selected for the purpose of comparison are U.K. and
Romania. In this assignment, there will be detailed focus on the comparison and obtaining of the
results from it.
MAIN BODY
Scenario
I am working in a Multinational company in U.K. The company has different types of
employees from various countries in the world. These employees have diverse cultures which
can create an influence on their behaviours. Thus for understanding the impact which a country's
culture may have on the behaviour of its people I will complete a autobiographical questionnaire
on the culture of my country i.e. U.K. I will also conduct a interview with my colleague who is
from Romania to get to know more details about its culture. Also, I will find out the similarities
and differences between the culture of these countries and make use of cultural frameworks for
the evaluation of culture.
Autobiographical Questionnaire
Question- Where is U.K. Located? What is the name of its capital?
Answer- U.K. was earlier a part of Europe. However, after the implementation of Brexit which
means the exit of Britain from the European Union it is not longer a part of EU. The name of its
capital is London.
Question- What is British Culture like? What are the factors which create an influence on it?
Answer- The British Culture focuses on democracy and freedom of speech and thus allows its
citizens to freely express their opinions in the right manner. There are different types of factors
which can create an influence on it. These are Food habits, weather, the way people interact
with each other, business etiquettes etc.
Question- What is the relation of literature with British Culture?
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Answer- The British Culture has a strong relation with the literature. William Shakespeare,
Thomas Hardy and many other novelists were born here who made the country famous with
their work. Also the British People are quite fond of reading and like to lead a lot of books and
this is the reason why encouragement to literature is given here.
Question- What are the customs in British Culture?
Answer- The British Society is quite liberal and allows more freedom to the people. There are
very less restrictions. Therefore there is a very less rigidity in terms of customs. This therefore
allows more freedom of expression to the British People. Also they can choose their own
choices with much more freedom.
Question- What is the way which the Britishers adopt to welcome their guests?
Answer- Britishers are very warm people. They like to welcome their guests quite warmly and
pay full attention towards them. They display the right attitude towards them and make them
feel as if they are at home. They take care of their different needs and requirements.
Question- What is the religion which is adopted by the people in United Kingdom?
Answer- Christianity is the religion which is adopted by the majority of people in United
Kingdom. Atheists also form a part of population in the country. Also, Islam, Hinduism,
Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism are other main religions which are followed here. There are
certain other religions which are follower here and some of the people do not like to share their
choice of religion.
Question- Is there a cosmopolitan culture followed in the cities in U.K.?
Answer- As U.K. is a developed country and the Britishers are quite friendly and welcoming
people the country acts like a melting point for the different types of cultures found across
various countries in the world. The major cities in U.K. i.e. London, Birmingham, Manchester,
Leeds and Southampton have significant population of expatriates who come for making a
living here. Thus the Britishers welcome them and ensure that they feel comfortable in the
country.
Question- What is the law like in United Kingdom? Do people adhere to the rules and
regulations?
Answer- U.K. has a strict law as compared to many other countries in the world. The people of
the country strictly adhere to the laws and act responsibly. They feel that it is their duty to
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adhere to the laws, rules and regulations which are set by the government.
Question- What is the awareness of Education in United Kingdom?
Answer- There is a high awareness of Education in United Kingdom. The country has a high
literacy rate and thus this ensures that a major percentage of population is able to read and
write.
Interview with a colleague of different culture
Me- Hello. How are you?.
Colleague- I am fine.
Me- I have heard that you are from Romania.
Colleague- Yes. You are right.
Me- Can you tell me about the Romanian culture in detail?
Colleague- Yes. I will explain different details about the culture of Romania to you.
Me- Where is Romania located? What is the name of its capital?
Colleague- Romania is a country which is located in Europe. The capital of Romania is
Bucharest.
Me- What is the Romanian Culture like? What are the factors which can create an
influence on it?
Colleague- Romania is a country which has a rich heritage. This heritage has an
influence on its culture. Romanians are warm people who like to welcome people. Also they are
very friendly in nature and quite welcoming towards tourists. The factors like Values, Traditions,
Customs of the society and Beliefs of the society can create an impact on the culture of the
country.
Me- What is the influence which is created by literature on Romanian culture?
Colleague- Literature has an influence on the Romanian Culture. This is so because a lot
of novelists have contributed towards the literature of the country. Norman Manea, Dora Pavel
and many other novelists have substantially contributed towards the literature in the country.
Me- What are the customs which are seen in the culture of Romania?
Colleague- The Romanian society has both traditional as well as modern views. In the
urban areas of the country, the society is liberal and thus offers more independence to the people
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for the expression of their views. However, in the rural areas of the country there are more
customs which the society has and thus it creates an influence on the behaviour which the people
from these areas of the country exhibit.
Me- What are the ways adopted by the Romanian people to welcome their guests?
Colleague- As Romanians are warm people, they act very friendly towards their guests.
They welcome them warmly in their homes and treat them well. They act very friendly towards
the tourists who visit the country which helps them in making them feel comfortable.
Me- What is the religion which is adopted in Romania?
Colleague- Majority of the people in Romania follow Orthodox Christianity. Some of
them follow Protestantism. Catholicism is also followed by some people. Also a certain part of
the population is Atheist. Some of the people have not disclosed their religious preferences.
Me- Is there a cosmopolitan culture in Romania?
Colleague- The culture of Romania is quite welcoming towards different people from all
around the world. Thus it welcomes immigrants from all over the world who come in the country
to make their earnings. Thus the culture of the country can be termed as cosmopolitan.
Me- What is the law in Romania? Do people of the country respect the rules and
regulations?
Colleague- The law is followed strictly in Romania. The people of the country respect
the rules and regulations which the government sets for them. Thus there is a strong adherence of
law in the country.
Me- What is the awareness of Education in Romania?
Colleague- There is a high awareness of Education in Romania. The people are quite
aware about the importance which Education brings with it and thus put emphasis on it. The high
awareness of Education reflects in the behaviour which is exhibited by the people of the society.
Also it reflects in the various decisions which they make. Thus the people of Romania are quite
aware about the benefits which Education brings with itself.
Similarities and Differences between cultures
The cultures of two countries can have various types of similarities and differences
(Beeler and et.al., 2017). The similarities and differences between the British and Romanian
culture can be explained as follows-
Similarities-
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 The British and Romanian cultures have a strong link with literature (Brunton and et.al.,
2019). This is due to the fact that many novelists have belonged to these countries and
both of these countries have contributed significantly towards the literature.
 In both British and Romanian cultures, the majority of people follow Christianity. Thus
in this way in the terms of religion, both these countries share similarity with each other.
 In both of these countries, the law is followed very strictly and thus the people are quite
aware about the rules and regulations which the government has set and follow them.
 Both these countries put a strong emphasis on Education. They have a high literacy rate
and thus the people are aware about the importance which Education has.
Differences-
 While the society in U.K. is quite flexible in terms of allowing the people to express their
own choices, the society in Romania is comparatively more rigid as the customs here are
comparatively more stricter (Dang, 2016).
 In U.K. Some people give less value to ethics and values. But in Romania, ethics and
values are followed by a majority of people.
 The differentiation in the society in Romania is comparatively more than U.K. because of
greater inequality of income in Romania.
 The culture of U.K. is the same throughout the country. The culture of Romania can vary
across the different regions which are present in the country.
Cultural frameworks
Hofstede's model-
This model is quite helpful for the purpose of ensuring that the countries are compared in
the right manner on the different types of parameters. The various types of dimensions under this
model are as follows-
Power Distance- This refers to the level of inequality which is prevalent in the society
(Derwik and Hellström, 2017). In U.K., this index is quite low which means that the people are
equal. In Romania, this index is on the higher side which means that there is higher inequality
among the people of the society.
Individualism- This means the priority of the individuals towards themselves and their
personal goals and objectives (Kovacevic, Spetic and Pleslic, 2018). In U.K., certain people
focus only on themselves and not on the collective goals and objectives. Romania is a collective
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society where the individuals focus on working together as a group to achieve common goals and
objectives.
Masculinity- This refers to the priority of the people in society towards achieving
competition, achievement and success or towards the peace of life and quality of life (Kubota,
2016). In U.K., the people are driven towards masculinity and thus are inclined towards
achieving success. In Romania, the people enjoy peace of life and quality of life.
Uncertainty Avoidance- It refers to the way a society deals with uncertainty (Lūka,
2018). In U.K. This index is lower which means that the society is not very concerned about the
uncertainty in the future. However, in Romania, this index is on a higher side which means that
the society is concerned about the uncertainty and wants to avoid it.
Long-term Orientation- This means the link which a society can maintain with the past
while dealing with the challenges which can be faced in the present as well as the future
(Moosmüller, 2017). In U.K., the society has a long-term orientation which means that a cultural
shift is encouraged to adjust with the demands of the future. In Romania also, the society has a
long-term orientation and therefore the required adjustments are made to the culture for the
future.
Indulgence- This means the freedom which has been given in the society to the people to
express themselves freely (Zhang, 2017). In U.K., the society focuses on Indulgence and thus
ensures that the people have more freedom. In Romania, the society focuses on Restraint and
thus puts more controls on the people.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that the culture of a country can influence the
behaviour of people. A cultural autobiographical questionnaire is quite useful for the purpose of
ensuring that questions regarding culture of one's own country can be answered. Interview
technique is useful for getting to know more about the culture of another country. There can be
similarities as well as differences in the culture of two countries. The use of cultural frameworks
can be made so that a thorough analysis of culture can be made in the right manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Almeida, J. and et.al., 2016. Enhancing the intercultural effectiveness of exchange programmes:
formal and non-formal educational interventions. Intercultural Education. 27(6).
pp.517-533.
Beeler, B. and et.al., 2017. Special issue on language in global management and business.
Brunton, M. and et.al., 2019. Are strategic communication management competencies and
personal attributes global? A case study of practice in Finland and New Zealand.
International Journal of Business Communication. 56(2). pp.151-172.
Dang, L., 2016. Intercultural communication: Differences between Western and Asian
perspective.
Derwik, P. and Hellström, D., 2017. Competence in supply chain management: a systematic
review. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal.
Kovacevic, V., Spetic, M. and Pleslic, M., 2018. Language as a social phenomenon in a global
context: Implications for teaching practice. New Trends and Issues Proceedings on
Humanities and Social Sciences. 5(3). pp.173-182.
Kubota, R., 2016. The social imaginary of study abroad: Complexities and contradictions. The
Language Learning Journal. 44(3). pp.347-357.
Lūka, I., 2018. Developing students' language and intercultural competences in an interactive
blended-learning language course. In Conference Proceedings: XIX Turiba University
Conference Latvia (Vol. 100).
Moosmüller, A., 2017. Intercultural Challenges in Multinational Corporations. X. Dai, & G.-M.(.
Chen, Conflict Management and Intercultural Communication. The Art of Intercultural
Harmony. pp.295-310.
Zhang, Z., 2017. Towards a Model of Learning Business English and Professional Identity
Construction. In Learning Business English in China (pp. 225-254). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
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