Cross-Cultural Management: Leadership Strategies During COVID-19

This report discusses the challenges and conflicts in cross-cultural management, emphasizing the importance of effective communication. It analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cross-cultural organizations, highlighting disruptions in supply chains, labor shortages, and decreased consumption. The report recommends that leaders support and protect employees, monitor emerging indicators, and identify new opportunities during the crisis. It also suggests increasing communication, providing flexible work arrangements, and preparing the workforce for future challenges. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for leaders to calmly handle the situation and focus on initiatives to support both the organization and its employees. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and study resources.

Running Head: CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors Note:

1CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Identification of cross-cultural framework
This study mentioned some disagreements and conflicts considering them as
challenges for cross-cultural management within the organization. However, different culture
will perceive the resolving strategies with different perspective. In case of the indirect
cultures the conflicts will be inappropriate to express openly1. On the other hand, managers
from direct culture will be valued for openly expressing the disagreement. In this study, the
Mapping framework of cross-cultural management is described with the observed conflicts.
The basic and most crucial component of the Mapping framework is effective communication
skills.
Effective communication among all the employees of the organization can resolve
any situation even within the cross-cultural framework of an organization. The main barrier
of effective communication within the organization is – some of the cultural preferences push
the individuals to proof his own ideas at the time of another orientation or preference is
getting more preferences. For example, working with a group of multiple culture, there
should be an common agreement for the surface idea without the attribution for the
individuals considering the starting aspect for any discussion. The core agenda is to
encourage others and providing more opportunities for exploration of different ideas with the
consciousness to attempt new ideas. Hence, the ineffectiveness of communication can
interrupt the basic patterns of the Mapping framework of cross-cultural management by
destroying and equalizing. The two observed patterns also related to some dynamics resulting
1 Lane, Henry W., and Martha L. Maznevski. International management behavior: Global and sustainable
leadership. Cambridge University Press, 2019.

2CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
into sub-optimal performance and need to be repaired. Both the patterns are demonstrated
with proper comparison with positive dynamic of value creating.
Discussion
Impact of COVID-19 on cross-cultural management
COVID-19 the Coronavirus is the recent national threat that has appeared with
pathetic pandemic image. This pandemic risk is highly affecting the managemental
framework of most of the developed countries including United States of America, Italy, and
Spain. Before the appearance of COVID-19, the national risk of the pandemic influenza that
was also spread the infectious diseases however, the situation was taken under control with a
short period of time. These are the medical hazardous issues that breaks down the framework
of health and medicines of the entire world. The threat of COVID-19 is challenging the
security of the national and supranational agencies to balance of health security, social
imperatives, and the economic system of country2. The challenge is creating problems for the
government to manage the long-term consequences in the community and business of the
entire nation. The most important fact about Coronavirus is, it is disrupting the common
behavior and accommodation of the citizens of the nation.
Human beings are the career of the virus and it is spreading through the human bodies
only. Hence, the only strategy the government has taken is to maintain social distancing and
lockdown. All the developed nations are maintaining a social and economic lockdown that is
creating management dilemma throughout the entire globe3. The disease emerged with an
endemic nature and took the image of pandemic that densely impacting the manufacturing,
2 World Health Organization. "Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): situation report, 67." (2020).
3 Cumming, Kleed. "Characterizing Pediatric DM1." (2019).

3CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
transport hub of the Central China and now spread almost within 29 other countries covering
the entire globe4. On the other hand, the social media posed a further challenge considering
the trust factor that states that panic spreads more than the pandemics.
Business organizations with cross-cultural features also getting highly impacted by
the spread of COVID-195. The stringent policies of every nation is deemed and the impact on
the business is an usual thing to be expected. The impacts are mentioned in the following
manner –
 Restrictions on travelling and quarantine is hampering the lives of million people.
Factories are facing shortage of labor that disruption in the supply chains, technology,
and automotive6. Government excluded the consumer goods and pharmaceutical
industries out of the lockdown regulations however, the transportation is hampering
these industries also.
 The price of commodities has decreased in response to the China’s decisions about
consuming lesser raw materials and producers are remarkably cutting the desired
output.
4 Bonilla-Aldana, D. Katterine, Wilmer E. Villamil-Gómez, Ali A. Rabaan, and Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales.
"Una nueva zoonosis viral de preocupación global: COVID-19, enfermedad por coronavirus
2019." Iatreia (2018).
5 Gao, Jianjun, Zhenxue Tian, and Xu Yang. "Breakthrough: Chloroquine phosphate has shown apparent
efficacy in treatment of COVID-19 associated pneumonia in clinical studies." Bioscience trends (2020).
6 Pan, Feng, Tianhe Ye, Peng Sun, Shan Gui, Bo Liang, Lingli Li, Dandan Zheng et al. "Time course of lung
changes on chest CT during recovery from 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia." Radiology (2020):
200370.

4CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
 The mobility and disruption of the work environment led to remarkable decrease in
the Chinese consumption7. On the other hand, it is the reason to shrink the
multinational companies considering numerous sectors including education,
infrastructure, aviation, tourism, hospitality, entertainment, consumer and luxury, and
electronics goods.
 For the companies with cross-cultural nature are highly challenged and observed with
lack of collaboration and communication during this period od social distancing8.
 The Coronavirus break is the foremost tragedy for the human being with affecting of
thousands of people from the entire world. The rigorous physical and social
distancing is nullifying the concept of effective communication with the employees
for effective performance of the entire organization9.
 On the other hand, the vulnerable automation and monitoring facilities already
mentioned the initiation of economic breakdown of the most developed countries of
the entire world10.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, it can be said that, in spite of the chaotic situation outside with the
threatening image of COVID-19 it will be expected for the leaders to calmly handle the
7 Dennis, Elliott. "In The Cattle Markets." Policy (2019).
8 Abramsom, J. "Prescribing statins: time to rein it in." Pharm J 294, no. 7854 (2015): 5.
9 Oc, Burak. "Contextual leadership: A systematic review of how contextual factors shape leadership and its
outcomes." The Leadership Quarterly 29, no. 1 (2018): 218-235.
10 Skevington, Suzanne M., and Jan R. Böhnke. "How is subjective well-being related to quality of life? Do we
need two concepts and both measures?." Social Science & Medicine 206 (2018): 22-30.

5CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
situation. However, there are various news floating in the media for example – the outbreak
of Coronavirus will create worst situation than the Ebola attack and terrorist attack even in
the most developed countries in the world. All the leaders can do is to focus on some
initiatives for the sake of the organization as well for the employees to handle the outrageous
situation outside and inside also. The ongoing situation of COVID-19 pandemic along with
the contraction of the global in-service commercial fleet is belonging to a phase of crisis that
can bring in significant changes considering the social and economic domain of the regions
including – Western Europe, North America, Pacific Asia, and China.
Recommendation
However, there are certain recommendations for the leaders to handle this pandemic
situation of COVID-19 as mentioned below –
 Supporting and protecting the employees – From the beginning of this situation many
organization have taken measures for basic protection for their employees. Most of
the companies obeyed the rule of government and supported the regulation of
quarantined and no-travelling. Most of the companies have provided work-from home
facilities. In some of the exclusive cases such as banking, the management is
following the regulation of physical-distancing at work for safety reasons. This is a
tough situation that the entire world is facing together and sometimes making a
mental distance from the outer world becomes problematic. The leaders can set
different goals to manage the cross-cultural structure of the organization. Firstly, the
leaders need to increase their communication procedure to keep track of all the
employees with due expectation for the business. Secondly, the leaders need to
change some norms and regulation of the organization considering the flexibility in
shift timing and others.

6CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
 Monitoring the emerging indicators – the leaders need to monitor the news and
reports to identify the places that is highly impacting the pandemic situation. This will
help the leaders to track the opportunities of the organization.
 Identification of next horizon – the leaders need to understand the recent horizons of
COVID-19 that need the urgency comparing to the other places of the nation.
Similarly, the leaders need to prepare themselves and the entire workforce to become
mentally prepared to face more crucial time with the organization.

7CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT
References
Abramsom, J. "Prescribing statins: time to rein it in." Pharm J 294, no. 7854 (2015): 5.
Bonilla-Aldana, D. Katterine, Wilmer E. Villamil-Gómez, Ali A. Rabaan, and Alfonso J.
Rodriguez-Morales. "Una nueva zoonosis viral de preocupación global: COVID-19,
enfermedad por coronavirus 2019.s" Iatreia (2018).
Cumming, Kleed. "Characterizing Pediatric DM1." (2019).
Dennis, Elliott. "In The Cattle Markets." Policy (2019).
Gao, Jianjun, Zhenxue Tian, and Xu Yang. "Breakthrough: Chloroquine phosphate has
shown apparent efficacy in treatment of COVID-19 associated pneumonia in clinical
studies." Bioscience trends (2020).
Lane, Henry W., and Martha L. Maznevski. International management behavior: Global and
sustainable leadership. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Oc, Burak. "Contextual leadership: A systematic review of how contextual factors shape
leadership and its outcomes." The Leadership Quarterly 29, no. 1 (2018): 218-235.
Pan, Feng, Tianhe Ye, Peng Sun, Shan Gui, Bo Liang, Lingli Li, Dandan Zheng et al. "Time
course of lung changes on chest CT during recovery from 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-
19) pneumonia." Radiology (2020): 200370.
Skevington, Suzanne M., and Jan R. Böhnke. "How is subjective well-being related to quality
of life? Do we need two concepts and both measures?." Social Science & Medicine 206
(2018): 22-30.
World Health Organization. "Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): situation report, 67."
(2020).