Cross-cultural Management: Podcast & Script on HG Project Issues

This project presents a comprehensive analysis of cross-cultural management challenges within the context of Hydro Generation (HG), a US-based company undertaking a dam project in Tanzania. The assignment includes a podcast and a supporting script that identify and address critical issues, such as worker isolation stemming from cultural differences and unethical hiring practices. The analysis leverages Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory to propose solutions, focusing on collectivism versus individualism, power distance, indulgence versus restraint, and uncertainty avoidance. The project emphasizes the need for a strong organizational culture that promotes ethical practices and effective communication, with the aim of improving project outcomes and reducing employee turnover. The reflection section highlights the importance of applying theoretical frameworks to real-world scenarios and improving skills such as communication, time management and teamwork, while the conclusion stresses the importance of collectivism and ethical practices in managing cross-cultural teams.

Cross-cultural
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PODCAST & SCRIPT.....................................................................................................................3
Issue 1 : Isolation of workers from other workers......................................................................3
Issue 2 : the hiring practices of the manager...............................................................................4
REFLECTION.................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Organisational culture is the shared beliefs, values and assumptions which directs the
way in which organisational activities are done so as to achieve its goals and objectives. As the
businesses are globalising they hire employees belonging to different cultures who have different
sets of beliefs and values which needs to be monitored by the managers by following the
philosophy of cross-cultural management subject to companies that operate in international
markets (Bian and Forsythe, 2012). The present report discusses about two issues that are
identified in an organisation named Hydro Generation (HG) which is US based and is working
on a dam project in Tanzania. A theory related to organisational culture will be applied to the
company so that the issues can be efficiently dealt with.
PODCAST & SCRIPT
Issue 1 : Isolation of workers from other workers
The Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory which was developed by Greet Hofstede is
used to understand the differences in culture of the people working in an organisation so that
such strategies can be developed which will help in managing the cultural differences which will
help the company in achieving its objectives. As it can be seen that the workers of the company
isolate each other due to differences in culture following dimensions of the theory can be
applied: Collectivism and individualism : It can be seen from the case study that the people of
Africa mostly follow collectivism culture and they give value to achieving collective
gaols hence the company needs to install a collectivism culture in the company so that the
project can become successful. This will help the company to involve all the people
associated with the project to coordinate in a better way and will also reduce
individualism in the company. This will help in management of people belonging to
different cultures efficaciously (Bochner ed., 2013).
 Power distance index : The company follows a flat structure which was disorganised and
no one seemed to be in charge of the group. The company needs to follow high power
index in its culture so that a bureaucratic environment can be established in the company
so that the differences in power index can be identified and high respect can be given to
the rank and authority. This will help in directing and managing the employees of the

company in a better manner along with directing them through the project. Bureaucracy
in the company will mean that all the employees are involved in decision-making which
will help the company in taking efficient decisions so that the goals of the project can be
met on time and within the estimated budget (Lamb, 2013).
Issue 2 : the hiring practices of the manager
Jones developed a practice of mentioning openings to local people and then interviewing
and hiring the people the local people recommended. This meant that the culture of nepotism in
the company was increasing in the company which is considered as unethical in the US
standards. This can be dealt by using the following dimensions of Hofstede's theory : Indulgence and restraint : The company needs to follow a restraint culture so that the
norms of the company can be followed by the manager of HG who hires the people only
on the basis of recommendations of people without considering their competence and
qualifications. This is done by him so that benefit of some relaxations can be achieved by
hiring the local government officials who will make the work easy. This is considered as
unethical by the US and company's standards and hence a culture of restraint needs to be
followed so that company norms are strictly followed (Huff, Song and Gresch, 2014).
 Uncertainty avoidance index : It means that the company needs to follow high
uncertainty avoidance index in the company culture so that there is low tolerance towards
ambiguity and uncertainty is avoided following strict rules and regulations in the
company so that while hiring the people there is no confusion about the company policies
regarding hiring of people. This will help in reducing nepotism that is being carried out in
the company by Jones which will mean that the company abide by the rules and
regulations of the company's laws and also to the laws prevailing in the US government
which describes the manner in which businesses carry out their activities (Jackson, 2015).
REFLECTION
From this case study it I was able to identify certain problems that were being faced in
the HG organisation when it started its new dam project in Tanzania which affected the
efficiency of workers and their ability to perform their task so as to achieve the company goals
effectively. The company seemed to a have a problem related to its organisational culture in
respect to the international culture in which it had to open its new business. Jones who was the

manager of the project applied his own methods and principles and techniques to achieve the
company goals. He hired people based on the recommendations of local people and interviewing
them casually without following the company norms and policies where there is formal way of
interviewing the people and analysing the competences of people. After this the candidates are
selected and recruited in the company. For this the company needs to follow the Hofstede's
cultural dimension of indulgence and resistance and also the dimension related to uncertaininy
avoidance index. These dimensions of the theory will help the company in establishing a strict
culture in the organisation that needs to be followed by all the employees so that the people are
hired on the basis of the company norms and not doing things based on the perspectives of the
employees. This will allow the company to hire potential individuals who have the required
qualification and determination to achieve the task they are given. This will also reduce the
employee turnover of the company along with increasing the level of coordination among them.
The problem that is faced by the employees due to the company's flat structure can also be dealt
with efficiently. This will help in organising the employees properly and allocating tasks based
on their capabilities and qualifications so that the management of these people can be easily done
and the targets are efficiently achieved.
Along with the practices of hiring employees in the project the other problem that was
identified was that of increasing level of individualism in the company which led to the isolation
of the employees. When people belonging to different cultures work in an organisation is is
important to establish a culture of collectivism so that they can all be accumulated together
which can help in achieving the goals of the company and all the workers working in close
affinity with each other. For this that company can follow power distance index and collectivism
and individualism dimension of Hofstede theory. This will help the company in encouraging
collectivism among all the team members so that they can all be included in company decision-
making which will help in increasing their contribution in the company. This will also bring the
people belonging to different cultures together and the cross cultural management in the
company will become efficient. This will also reduce the employee turnover which is increasing
because they feel that the management structure of the company is unorganized and no one
seemed to be in charge of the project. This makes the project goals and objectives ambiguous for
them to understand which increases the number of conflicts among them. This increases the
employee turnover of the company. For this the company needs to make the policies of the

company strong which will mean that Jones will have to abide by the rules of the company
before hiring the employees of the company. The company thus has some problems in its
operations which needs to be dealt with efficiently so that the project can be finished in the
manner desired.
I thus found the case study interesting which helped me in using my skills which could in
return help the company to improve the organisational culture that will change the way in which
recruitment is done in the project and will also help in reducing the employee turnover. This task
was performed in a group which went well as the cooperation level among all the team members
was high which helped in completing the task efficiently. Along with this the effective
communication skills and interpretation skills helped us to determine the direction of the project
and the way in which the task needs top be completed. The time management skills were a little
weak and needs to be improved in the future projects so that the projects that will be undertaken
in the future can be well managed according to time and the completion of the project can be
timely done.
CONCLUSION
From this report it can be concluded that in order to work efficiently in organisations
where employees have people belonging to different cultures it is important to increase the level
of collectivism so that all the employees can be included in the company activities and they can
be made part of the company's decision-making process. Along with this it is important that the
standard rules of the company are applied irrespective of the place of its operation so that the
employees do not carry out the work in an unethical manner. This can be done by establishing a
strong organisational culture so that company policies are strictly followed.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bian, Q. and Forsythe, S., 2012. Purchase intention for luxury brands: A cross cultural
comparison. Journal of Business Research. 65(10). pp.1443-1451.
Bochner, S. ed., 2013. Cultures in contact: Studies in cross-cultural interaction (Vol. 1).
Elsevier.
Lamb, M. E., 2013. The father's role: Cross cultural perspectives. Routledge.
Huff, K. C., Song, P. and Gresch, E. B., 2014. Cultural intelligence, personality, and cross-
cultural adjustment: A study of expatriates in Japan. International Journal of
Intercultural Relations. 38. pp.151-157.
Jackson, T., 2015. Management studies from Africa: A cross-cultural critique. Africa Journal of
Management, 1(1), pp.78-88.
Johnson, J. L. and Cullen, J. B., 2017. Trust in cross‐cultural relationships. The Blackwell
Handbook of Cross‐Cultural Management. pp.335-360.
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.
Moriano, J. A. and et.al., 2012. A cross-cultural approach to understanding entrepreneurial
intention. Journal of career development. 39(2). pp.162-185.
Tjosvold, D., 2017. Cross-cultural management: foundations and future. Routledge.
Tran, B., 2016. Communication (intercultural and multicultural) at play for cross cultural
management within multinational corporations (MNCs). In Handbook of research on
impacts of international business and political affairs on the global economy (pp. 62-92).
IGI Global.