Analysis Report: Managing Across Cultures in Global Business

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of managing across cultures, addressing key aspects such as business customs, communication styles, and the influence of culture on decision-making processes. It explores the importance of understanding cultural differences in negotiation, communication, and workplace etiquette. The report delves into the concepts of high and low context cultures, illustrating how these communication styles impact business interactions. Furthermore, it analyzes a case study of Barbie/Mattel Inc., highlighting the strategies and challenges of global brand management, including the importance of adapting to local cultural norms. The report emphasizes the need for intercultural managers to consider cultural variations in verbal and nonverbal communication, decision-making, and business ethics to achieve success in the global business environment.

Running head: Managing Across Cultures
Managing Across Cultures

Managing Across Cultures 1
Contents
Answer to Q2..............................................................................................................................................2
Answer to Q3..............................................................................................................................................3
Answer to Q4..............................................................................................................................................5
Answer to Q5..............................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................9

Managing Across Cultures 2
Answer to Q2.
Business customs can be defined as the acceptable behavior, manners and professional practices
which are observed at the workplace and in business dealings. It is important for the foreign
countries to comprehend the host country’s business culture, protocol and etiquettes for
achieving success (Adzic , Markovic & Toskovic , 2014).
However, the elements of the nation’s customs are integrated in the business dealings in the
following areas:
1. Communication: Communication plays an important role in business transactions. For Example:
In Japan, people are cautious while communicating with their business partners as they tend to be
formal in their first meet. So, as a result, their international counterparts also remain careful
while dealing with them (Crystal, 2012).
2. Influence of Religion: In some regions of the world, religion has an immense impact on the
business dealings. The business people who inculcate values such as honesty, hard work and
integrity are respected by the local people. So, their international counterparts comply with the
ethical expectations of the society.
The Nation and the business customs show differences in the following ways:
1. Difference in the negotiation processes: There may be variations in the manner of executing the
business transactions. The business people of some regions of the world are interested in
accomplishing the social relationship goals during the process. On the other hand, their
international counterparts tend to be individualistic. They focus on immediate relationships.

Managing Across Cultures 3
2. Language: The language can be a problem while dealing with the foreigners. It can lead to
miscommunications ( Halkos & Skouloudis , 2016).
Nevertheless, the areas of difference and similarity in the cross cultural business can be
identified and leveraged for the success of the business in many ways:
1. Communication: Effective communication is crucial for any business to be successful. In most of
the cases, there is a risk of the message getting lost in the translation. So, apart from knowing the
language, it is necessary to convey the message in an effective manner.
2. Workplace etiquettes and the difference in negotiating: The procedure of addressing the business
partners differ in all parts of the world. For example, people in America tend to use first names
while the people in China and South Korea use titles while addressing their business partners.
So, in order to be successful in the cross cultural business, respecting the customs of the host
country is important. Following the business ethics and professional behavior will contribute to
a better alliance and successful accomplishment of the common interests (Greblikaite et al.,
2016).
Answer to Q3.
People from different backgrounds practice different cultures and it may be offensive to people
from a different culture. So, the intercultural managers consider all the differences in verbal and
nonverbal communications and act accordingly. It is important to establish a good relationship
with the business partners from different backgrounds so that the negotiation is ended on a
positive note. The decision making processes vary according to the cultures and must be kept in
the mind while dealing with the business partners (Gollnhofer & Turkina, 2014).

Managing Across Cultures 4
Locus of control refers to the extent to which the managers feel that they can plan on certain
outcomes as they can control the events which will direct the future in a desired way. The
amount of control an individual feels over the future outcomes depends on the value systems of
the country and the business culture. For example: American managers have a very powerful
locus of control while the managers in the Muslim nations believe more in fate rather being
practical in decision making. The managers having strong locus of control will be motivated to
take quick decisions while those having external locus of control will not see the value in such
behavior (Rowland, 2016).
In the business world, decision making process is a crucial part of the negotiation process. The
culture affects the decision making process through society’s institutions and the risk tolerance
of the business. It also depends upon the objectives of the business versus the subjective
perceptions, the views of the business partners on the locus of control and their past versus future
orientations (Deresky, 2017).
According to Dabic, Tipuric & Podrug (2013) identifying the challenges in the cultural
variations assist the managers in comprehending their international partners and competitors help
them to improve their managerial skills which in turn will help them in winning the negotiations
with their international counterparts. The decision making process is dependent on the cultural
background. For example, Americans don’t give much importance to relationship building while
Asians emphasis on relationships in the negotiating process. According to the cultures of some
countries, posturing or setting of tone is important to win the negotiations.

Managing Across Cultures 5
Answer to Q4.
High and Low context refers to the methods of communication in different countries. The
variations in the methods of communication can be derived from the extent to which the meaning
is transferred through actual words used or implied by the context.
High context implies that the unspoken information is transferred implicitly during
communication. For example: People in Japan convey the information indirectly and silence is
considered as a mark of maturity. So, the following are the features of the high context cultures
such as Mexico, Japan and the Middle East:
1. Lack of explicit exchange of information.
2. Lots of information is provided in a nonverbal manner e.g. gestures, pauses and facial
expressions (Neelankavil & Rai, 2015).
3. Importance on long term relationships and loyalty.
4. Fewer rules and regulations.
5. Shorter contracts since less information are required.
6. Polycrhonic cultures.
7. Indirect and implicit messages.
8. Less reliability on written communication.
9. Use of intuitions and assumptions to make decisions.
10. Distinction between in-group and out-group (Überwimmer et al., 2016).
Low context implies the information is exchanged explicitly and rarely is anything implicit or
hidden. The people belonging to the low context cultures are clear and expressive in their
dealings. For example: People in UK, US, Germany and Switzerland tend to have short term

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relationships, follow rules and standards strictly and task oriented. The following are the features
of low context cultures:
1. The meaning of the communication is provided in the message itself.
2. The background information and explanations are provided explicitly to avoid confusions.
3. People tend to have short term relationships.
4. The rules and procedures are strictly followed.
5. Contracts tend to be longer and detailed.
6. Low context cultures are monochronic.
7. The messages are clear, direct and simple.
8. There is less use of nonverbal communication.
9. Written communication is highly reliable (Guirdham, 2017).
10. Facts and evidences are used for decision making.
11. The low context cultures are flexible and open.
Comprehending whether the international counterparts belong to high or low context cultures
will assist the managers to adopt the communication style and build stronger relationships with
them. For example, longer relationships may be maintained with the businesses from high
context back grounds while the managers can take the advantage of clarity of information in the
business dealings of low context countries to achieve the goals of their business (Rand, 2015).

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Answer to Q5.
Barbie/ Mattel Inc. is a successful brand which has a good brand value and a strong customer
base internationally. The reasons behind the success of Barbie are as follows:
1. Due to its sustainable marketing efforts and lower market costs, it has become a popular brand
globally.
2. It has maintained consistency in brand image and customer centric approach to expand its
business globally.
3. Its strategies regarding good customer and business retention.
4. Uniformity of branding practices rather than brand customization.
5. Adoption of modern advertisement techniques such as retail and internet branding (M.M, 2015).
6. Development of standardized, high quality world products and marketing them around the globe
by using modern advertising, pricing and distribution techniques.
7. Barbie was benefitted by economies of scale in procurement, logistics, production and
marketing.
8. With the help of its powerful image internationally, the company might expect to accomplish
greater marketing effectiveness.
The lessons for managing cross cultures from the case study of Barbie is that the companies
should design their products according to the cultures of the host countries where their products
would be sold. For example: When Mattel Inc. launched its products in the Middle East
countries, it faced a lot of opposition because of the dress code of Barbie which was quite
opposite of the dress code followed in these countries. So, it had to withdraw its products from
the Middle East nations (Lückmann, 2015).

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However, due to its strong marketing strategies, Barbie has become popular in the rest part of the
world especially in the European countries. In Madrid, there was a premier launch of the
computer animated movie of Barbie and it was accompanied by promotions of accessories at the
supermarkets of the city. It proved to be a huge success and increased the sales of the company.
So, the strategies followed by Barbie can prove to be useful for the international managers for
expanding the business worldwide (Bai, 2016).

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10
References
Adzic, J., Markovic , J. & Toskovic , J.(2014, June 25). Similarities and Differences of National
Business Culture and Customs in the Nordic Countries and Serbia. Retrieved March 5,
2018 from http://www.toknowpress.net/ISBN/978-961-6914-09-3/papers/ML14-562.pdf
Bai, H. (2016). A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Advertisements from High-Context Cultures and
Low-Context Cultures. English Language Teaching, 9(8), 21-27.
Crystal, D. (2012). English as a Global Language. Cambridge University Press.
Dabic,M., Tipuric, D. & Podrug, N.(2013). Cultural Differences Affecting Decision-Making
Style: A Comparative Study between 4 Countries. Journal of Business Economics and
Management, 16(2), 275–289.
Deresky, H. (2017). International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures.
Pearson Education India.
Gollnhofer, J.F. & Turkina, E. (2014). Cultural distance and entry modes: implications for
global expansion strategy. Cross Cultural Management, 22(1), 21-41.
Greblikaite, J., Sroka, W., Daugeliene, R. & Pysz, J.K. (2016). Cultural Integration and Cross–
Cultural Management Challenges in the Central European Countries: Lithuania and
Poland. European Integration Studies, 10(2016),29-43.
Guirdham, O. (2017). Communicating Across Cultures at Work. Macmillan Education UK.

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Halkos, G. & Skouloudis, A. (2016, February). Cultural dimensions and corporate social
responsibility: A cross-country analysis. Retrieved March 6, 2018 from
https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/69222/1/MPRA_paper_69222.pdf
Lückmann, P. (2015). Towards identifying success factors for cross-cultural project customer
engagement: A literature review. Procedia Computer Science, 64(2015), 324-333.
M.M. P.S. (2015). Painful Barbie in a Global Marketing Perspective. Journal of Accounting &
Marketing, 4(3), 1-2.
Neelankavil, J.P. & Rai, A. (2015). Basics of International Business. M.E. Sharpe.
Rand, I. (2015). Cultural Intelligence: The Essential Intelligence for the 21st Century. Retrieved
March 6, 2018 from https://culturalq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SHRM-report.pdf
Rowland, D. (2016, May 30). Leading Across Cultures Requires Flexibility and Curiosity.
Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/05/leading-across-
cultures-requires-flexibility-and-curiosity
Überwimmer, M., Gangl, T., Gaisch, M. & Stadlmann, C. (2016, May 20). Proceedings 2016:
Cross- Cultural Business Conference 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2018 from
https://www.fh-ooe.at/fileadmin/user_upload/fhooe/ueber-uns/kongresswesen/2016/
ccbc/allgemein/docs/fhooe-ccbc2016-proceedings-final.pdf