Cross-Cultural Management: Literature Review on Culture and Business

This literature review explores the significant impact of organizational culture on business performance and employee behavior within a globalized context. It emphasizes the unique influence of company culture, encompassing values, customs, and religious beliefs, on shaping employee actions and fostering a productive work environment. The review synthesizes various perspectives from researchers such as Nosek et al., Jahoda, Parker, and Lenzerini, highlighting the close relationship between corporate culture and achieving desired outcomes. Key themes include the role of organizational culture in maximizing profitability, enhancing employee efficiency, and driving innovation. The review also discusses the importance of leadership in maintaining a dynamic and strong culture, as well as the interconnectedness of organizational culture, job satisfaction, and leadership. The paper highlights the benefits of a strong work culture, including improved communication, employee motivation, and alignment with organizational goals, supported by the Hofstede cross-cultural model. The paper concludes by emphasizing the role of culture in influencing employee behavior, customer service, and overall business success. The paper provides insights into how effective cross-cultural management can positively impact businesses.

Running head: Cross cultural management
Cross cultural management

Cross cultural management
(Literature review on “culture and business”)
In the globalization world, it is essential for the companies to promote and encourage a unique
culture in the workplace. Each and every organization is different from values, religious,
customs, assumptions and customs. The needs and requirements of the workers are fulfilled after
considering the culture of the organization. The heavy and strong culture shapes the behavior and
actions of individuals and group members in the firm. The paper outlines the effects of
company’s culture on business and employee behavior. It explains how the corporate culture
determines the success and growth of the businesses.
Nosek et al (2015) argued that culture is effective and unique ideas, skills, arts and custom etc. of
a given people in a given period. Jahoda (2012) stated that each and every company has its own
corporate culture. This culture helps to make a favorable and healthy working environment at the
workplace. There is a close relationship between performance and corporate culture that helps to
meet the desired outcomes and goals. Parker (2011) defines that culture is a sum set of beliefs,
values, norms, and attitudes that differentiate one group of people from another. In other words,,
culture refers to the cumulative deposit of experience, knowledge, beliefs, experience, values,
attitudes, meanings, religion, notions of time, the concept of the universe, spatial relations and
possessions obtained by a group of people in the organization. From Lenzerini (2011)
perspective, culture is a word for people ‘way of life’that means the way group does things.
Different group of people have different culture and they follow different religions. Thus, it
influences the productivity and efficiency of the subordinates in the workplace.
Let’s talk about the organizational culture, it plays an enormous role to maximize the
profitability and performance of the workers and organization as well. Riede (2011) argued that
organizational culture encompasses an organization experiences, expectations, values as well as
the philosophy that guide and direct the member behavior and it showed a good image in the
minds of the members and working with outside world. In this way, culture is based on shared
customs, values, traditions, attitudes and written and unwritten rules that have been built and
developed over a time period and considered valid. Mostly, the companies focus on their culture
to increase and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the employees in the workplace.
Martin (2015) revealed that success and growth of the organization depend on the strong and
unique culture. No company can attain its desired mission and vision without maintaining a
positive working environment and culture at the workplace. Naranjo-Valencia, Jiménez-Jiménez,
and Sanz-Valle, (2011) stated that an organization’s cultural norms and values largely affect who
all are involved in the organization. It has been analyzed that innovation and organized culture
determine and evaluate the appropriateness of the company’s activities and actions that can
contribute to its performance and productivity. It is assumed that organizational culture is not
just a significant element of the firm; it is the central driver of top management business
performance. Tsai (2011) claimed that high and effective performance organization could be
differentiated from low-performance organization because they possessed specific traits and
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strong culture at the workplace. The business leaders and managers are significant to the creation
and communication of their workplace culture. However, the relationship between leaders and
culture is not one-sided. Leadership also plays an empirical role in maintaining a dynamic and
strong culture in the organization. Leaders should appreciate their role in evolving and
maintaining an organization’s image and culture. A deeply established and embedded
organizational culture indicates that how people must behave that can help the workers to
achieve the objectives and goals. This behavioral framework ensures higher job commitment and
satisfaction when an employee feels a leader and manager is supporting her or him for attaining
the goals and targets. Now it shall be noted that organizational culture, job satisfaction, and
leadership are all inextricably connected with each other. From Hu et al (2012) perspective,
leaders can create and affected by various workplace culture within the organization. The
organizational culture also helps in making unique and dynamic decisions at the workplace. It
has been analyzed that top management plays a vital role to maintain a unique culture because
they favor the dynamic culture in order to actually initiate the change in the organization. It will
maximize the outputs of the firm with minimizing the risks and challenges of the market.
Performance is a wider indicator that can include quality, productivity, consistency, and
performance. The organizational culture has the capability to improve and increase the
organizational performance, and employee job satisfaction in the workplace. The business and
culture are interconnected with each other for accomplishing the targets of the firm. The only
things that managed by the leaders and managers is culture. If they do not manage the culture of
the firm then they firm cannot attain its desired objectives. The dynamic and strong
organizational culture can increase sustainability on the basis of effectiveness and efficiency. It
shall be revealed by Saleem, us Saqib and Zahra (2015) where they stated that organization
culture provides an effective framework with respect to the actions and behavior of subordinates
in their workplace. This culture also determines the productivity and outcomes of the followers.
Therefore, it is in the interest of the firm to eliminate and reduce the negative factors that slow
down the worker's efficiency in order create a foster and favorable working environment and
culture. The organizational culture renders various benefits to the different types of businesses in
the international market (Saleem, us Saqib and Zahra, 2015). The organization’s culture is a
significant part of the brand that the people create in the business. It will also put a direct impact
on the hiring of the workers as it also helps in attracting the right and potential candidate in the
workplace. A favorable and unique culture also helps to maintain an open and unique
communication within the organization. This reduces and eliminates the chances of
misunderstandings and barriers at the workplace as it also enhances the collaboration and
cooperation. By maintaining the unique culture, the firm has been able to establish open
communication channels within the organization. Twumasi-Ankrah (2012) argued that
organization culture also establish a transparent accountability mechanism and empower the
workers. This will also help the followers know and understand their roles and responsibilities.
The organization culture brings all the workers on a common platform. The employees are
treated equally and no one feels neglected at the workplace by maintaining a favorable culture in
the workplace. In this way, the culture plays an integral role to motivate and encourage followers
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Cross cultural management
to increase and boost the efficiency. The strong work culture promotes and encourages the
healthy and strong relationship among the workers (Cameron and Quinn, 2011).
It shall be noted Alvesson and Sveningsson (2015) where they argued that leadership plays an
important to maintain a unique culture and values in the workplace. The leaders make policies
and strategies in such a way that it promotes the favorable working environment within the
organization. The organizational culture is a component that measures the success and failure of
the firm. In other words, it has been analyzed that strategic management of the company is
determined and evaluated by the strong culture of the organization (Wang, Su, and Yang, 2011).
In the organizational culture, group and people interact with each other including employees,
owners, clients, suppliers, and partners. It means that unique and dynamic organizational culture
and value bring the following benefits such as efficient cooperation with partners, perfect
customer service, unique social responsibility and constant workers performance. Furthermore, it
shall be noted that training and development sessions are held by the top management and HRM
to teach and tell the workers about the values and culture of the firm. The strong organizational
culture has an important impact on customer service and businesses. This culture also influences
the employee’s ways that helps to make unique decisions within the organization (Barbera,
2014). Culture also determines the behavior and act of the workers. The unique culture and
values put the impact on the employee’s creative ability, work enthusiasm, and task motivation.
The individuals always attracted to engage in the firm with strong and unique organizational
culture. With the help of strong culture, the workers are positive to respond to their employment
and job. The organizational culture also contributes to the good operations and activities of the
firm. By maintaining a dynamic culture in the workplace, the employees are able to initiate the
organizational and management changes within the organization (Bortolotti, Boscari and Danese,
2015). It has been stated by Hickman and Silva (2018) where they argued that organizational
culture plays a heavy and most significant role in the expansion and development of the firm. It
also guides the administrators in deciding and identifying whether who to hire for the job in the
organization. It has been noted that the firm with unique cultures has much better efficiency and
effectiveness than the firm with weak and poor cultures. The company’s culture can also be
affected in the way of thinking of the workers in the organization.
On the other hand, organizational development and expansion can be done, if the company
maintains a strong culture in the workplace. There are various types of culture including
normative culture, pragmatic culture, academy, club culture and fortress culture. Any
organization cannot be complete without company’s culture which shows its significance
(Gunkel, Schlaegel, Rossteutscher and Wolff, 2015). After the various researchers, it has been
evaluated that Hofstede cross-cultural model helps to eliminate and reduce the cross-cultural
issues and barriers of the countries. The Hofstede model has been stated below.
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Cross cultural management
The company’s culture is one of the most controversial and popular concepts in the fields of
organizational and management theory. While working in the organization, various cultural
issues are faced by the employees including language issues, custom and religious issues that
hamper the growth of the firm adversely. To eliminate and reduce these cross-cultural issues,
senior management needs to focus on the communication and collaboration (Gunkel, Schlaegel,
Rossteutscher and Wolff, 2015). It will help to develop and boost reciprocal relationship at the
workplace. Understanding and knowing in the culture and values of the firm allows the workers
to understand and know the current approach and history of the company. In this way, the
organizational culture put a favorable impact on the businesses and organization as well. It shall
be analyzed that Commitment to a company is affected by its culture and values, especially if the
person shares values and attitudes of the culture (Cameron and Quinn, 2011).These may include
evaluating and identifying the goals of the firm, a willingness to help other persons and valuing
employee’s creativity and differences. In this way, the strong and dynamic culture gives full
contribution in maximizing the progress and success of the company (Cameron and Quinn,
2011).The culture and values is an effective key to provide high quality of services for the
consumers. The effective company’s culture represents the specific policies and plans which
assist the subordinates and give them a sense of direction in the workplace. The culture also
explains that how to attain the tasks and objectives of the organization. It is one of the dynamic
elements that drive the businesses. It also creates an operational and favorable environment in
which every worker strives to accomplish the goals and objectives that were set by the
organization. The strong and healthy culture also helps to satisfy the needs and requirements of
the consumers as well as employees. This will contribute to have competitive benefits and it also
helps the human resource management to recruit and select the talented and potential applicants
within the organization. On the other hand, HRM can make effective policies, strategies, and
plans with the help of favorable working culture and environment. Now it shall be noted that
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favorable organizational culture also helps to stand out against the competitors. It inspires and
motivates workers utilizing their skills and talents in a hassle-free manner (Saleem, us Saqib and
Zahra, 2015).
In the above mentioned analysis, it has been evaluated that organizational culture helps to stay in
the competitive market and it also promotes the motivation among the employees. The analysis
shows that organizational culture is the basic and significant pattern of the shared customs,
assumptions, values, beliefs and tradition that indicate the actions and behavior of the
subordinates at the workplace. It is the duty of leaders and top management to promote a
favorable and strong working environment within the organization. Now it is assumed that there
is a close and reciprocal relationship between corporate culture and business.
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