Cross-Cultural Management: Leadership, HRM, Ethics, and Culture

This report provides an in-depth analysis of cross-cultural management, exploring key concepts such as national culture, leadership styles, and human resource management (HRM). It begins by defining cross-cultural management and its significance in today's globalized business environment. The report then delves into the Hofstede model, examining its six dimensions and their implications for organizations operating across different national cultures. A significant portion of the report is dedicated to analyzing leadership styles, particularly the laissez-faire approach, and its application in a case study involving Brett Jones in Tanzania. The report also examines the role of motivation and HRM practices in cross-cultural settings, highlighting the importance of understanding cultural differences in managing a diverse workforce. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the importance of cross-cultural management for organizational success. The case study of Brett Jones is used throughout the report to illustrate the practical application of the concepts discussed.

Cross Cultural
Management

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
National Culture......................................................................................................................................3
Leadership...............................................................................................................................................5
Motivation and HRM..............................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Cross-cultural management can be defined as the study of management in a cross-cultural
context. It basically includes the study about influence of the culture of a society on managers as
well as different management practices. It is an important aspect for an organization because it
helps it in dealing with people who come from distinct cultural backgrounds(Andresen and
Bergdolt, 2017). Organizations today aim to serve customers globally for which an
understanding of the different cultures. Also, if the managers within an organization will not
have knowledge about the different cultures, they will not be able to manage the diverse
workforce in their teams.Cross-cultural management helps an organization to understand the
employees who join an organization and belong to different cultures. Respective report is based
on the case study about Brett Jones in Tanzania. The three topics chosen for this report are
Leadership, Ethics and CSR as well as Organizational Culture.
MAIN BODY
National Culture
National Culture can be defined as the set of norms, beliefs and behaviors, values as well
as customs that are shared by the people within a nation. It can include basic characteristics like
language, religion, ethnic and traditions. National culture is an important component for an
organization because it can significantly contribute to its overall performance and profitability.
The Hofstede model is used to compare different national societies and comprises of six
dimensions, that are independent from each other. The different dimensions are power distance,
uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity, long term versus
short term orientation and lastly, indulgence vs restraint(Bartel-Radicand Giannelloni, 2017). All
of these dimensions of national culture represent the preferences that are independent and
differentiate one country from another. In context to the respective case study, Brett Jones
believed that one should not draw attention to themselves and should learn to respect all different
cultures.
One of the problems that HG came across was that it lacked perspective about the home
corporate as well as a knowledge about the economics, politics and culture of the host
country(Tjosvold, 2017). The first dimension of the Hofstede model, power distance index,

expresses the degree to which the embers of a society who have less power accept that power is
distributed in an unequal manner. It is mainly about how a particular society handles inequalities
among the people living in it. People living in societies that exhibit a high degree of this
dimension are part of a hierarchical order wherein no further justification is needed. The next
dimension is individualism versus collectivism Individualism can be defined as a preference for
a social framework that is loosely-knit. In this, individuals within the organizations are expected
to take care their families. Due to this, Brett Jones was not able to provide help to his colleagues
in order to adapt to the new environment.
As per the power distance index of the model, a high index means that people within the
nation believe in hierarchy. On the other hand, collectivism is about the preference for a
framework that explains that the society stands collectively. The next dimension is masculinity
versus femininity wherein masculinity represents the preference of society for achievement,
heroism as well as material rewards for success (NATIONAL CULTURE, 2020). Overall, the
society is considered to be competitive which represents that the Tanzanian market is a
competitive market.On the other hand, femininity is a dimension that stands for the overall
preference of caring for the weak in the society, modesty, cooperation as well as quality of life.
The dimension of masculinity versus femininity is also referred to as tough versus tender within
a business context(Chen and Huang, 2017). The next dimension of the respective model is the
uncertainty avoidance index or UAI. It describes the degree up to which are uncomfortable with
uncertainty as well as ambiguity. The countries that exhibit a strong uncertainty avoidance index
have rigid codes of belief.
Long-term versus short-term orientation dimension of the model states that each society
within a country is supposed to maintain some links with its past while it deals with the
challenges of the future as well as the present. The societies that score low for this particular
dimension usually prefer old traditions. On the other hand, a high score in this dimension means
that the society encourages modern efforts. The last dimension in this model is indulgence versus
restraint wherein the former represents a society that allows a free gratification of natural human
drives which includes enjoying and having fun(Cho and Kim, 2017). On the other hand, restraint
represents a society that does not support any kind of gratification and instead has social norms
that are strict. Therefore, these are all the dimensions of the Hofstede model.

Leadership
Leadership is an important component for a company that significantly contributes
towards the overall success of an organization. It is all about motivating employees, team
members or subordinates and encouraging them about achieving goals and objectives effectively.
Leadership within a business can be referred to as directing the workers so as to enhance the
overall levels of their performance and productivity. An effective leader is expected to possess
various skills like time management, setting up strategies, guiding the team members, evaluating
individual performances of the team members and providing constructive feedback etc.
Leadership is important because it helps the people working in an organization to maximize their
overall efficiency so as to achieve organizational goals(Farndale and Sanders, 2017). Leadership
is a continuous process that wherein the leader is supposed to guide the team members so that the
efforts that they put in do not go to waste and are utilized effectively. In context to the case
study, Steinberg, the Vice President of Hydro Generation is implementing the laissez-faire style
of leadership. In this style of leadership, the leaders allow the group members to make their own
decisions, which is the case in the case study. Brett Jones is allowed to make his decisions and
the subordinates are required to take full responsibility of their respective decisions and that they
will be held accountable for the results.
Steinberg has set up a flat organizational structure but some of the local employees