Developing Intercultural Competence: A Business Case Analysis

This case study delves into the critical aspects of intercultural competence within a business context, focusing on analyzing a scenario where miscommunication and cultural misunderstandings hinder a joint venture. It identifies areas where a key individual, Tom, falters in his approach, particularly in effectively conveying the company's vision and adapting to the cultural nuances of the client. The analysis proposes methods for the company to improve cross-cultural communication, such as cultural exposure meetings, language dependency activities, and communication workshops. Furthermore, the study applies established intercultural theories, including Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions and Handy's Cultural Model, to explain the underlying cultural dynamics at play. The report concludes with recommendations for Tom, emphasizing the importance of remaining calm, understanding diverse perspectives, and adopting appropriate strategies to foster successful intercultural interactions. Desklib provides this and other solved assignments for students.

Intercultural
Competence in
Business

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Analysing case Study 1....................................................................................................................1
Areas where Tom did wrong?......................................................................................................1
Helping the company better understand cross-cultural problem?................................................2
Using different intercultural theories to explain it and supporting the discussion......................3
What would be your advice to Tom?...........................................................................................4
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Intercultural competence is the ability through which the individual is able to
communicate. There are different background individuals which is present in the workplace.
Understanding the cultural of each individual will help them to communicate with them in an
effective manner (Bolten, 2020). The report aims to analyse about understanding the different
cultural values which affect the behaviour of the individual i0n the organisation. On the other
hand, in this report there is evaluation about understanding the culture of the company with the
help of different frameworks and approaches. Along with that, there is brief discussion about
different cross cultural problem in the organisation. For further instance, in this report there is
brief analysation of different cultural theories. It is important for the individual to understand
them in an effective manner.
MAIN BODY
Analysing case Study 1
Areas where Tom did wrong?
In order to make the joint venture successful tom needs to evaluate all the situations
effectively which will help them to achieve greater results. There needs to be a proper balance
between the candidates which will help the deal to get further in every manner. There are various
details which needs to analysed in a significant manner (Ferreira-Lopes, Elexpuru-Albizuri and
Bezanilla, 2021). Tom has to focus on different aspects they need to tell about the plan
appropriately. There are different strategies and approaches which needs to be fulfilled while
telling about the plan. The new President which has taken the position needs to carefully analyse
the plan and profits which they will generate by indulging in these kinds of plan.
There are various areas in which Tom is lacking which is mentioned below:
 Language barrier to explain about goals and strategies of the company – This is the
major area in which Tom lacks. They need to focus on understanding the true objectives
of the business. They need to enrich their vision with the help of different targets and
goals which the company wants to achieve over a period of time.
 Focusing on different aspects – There are different areas on which the company can
focus. Tom has to be clear about the arguments which they present in front of the clients
in an effective manner.
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Helping the company better understand cross-cultural problem?
Cross cultural compunction will help the companies to perform better in the market. The
business is also able to run smoothly in every manner. There are different ways through which
the company can solve the problems of cross cultural which is mentioned below:
 Meetings to expose the employees towards different cultures – This is one of the most
Curial factor which could help the employees about understanding different cultures.
Tom needs to adequate with the proper training to del with the problem of cross-cultural.
The person is not able to tell about the company vision which impacts on the deal in a
negative manner (Zhang and Zhou, 2019). There are different rules and regulations which
can be practised by the Tom to perform better in different valuable occasions. It also
helps the Tom become more argued in the plan. The argument which has taken place in
between the two clients could be minimised in a significant manner.
 Conducting activities to understanding the dependency of the languages – The
English electronics company could use multiple methods in which they can focus on
developing different skills and capabilities. Tom also needs to understand about the
dependency of the languages. This will probably helps them to solve the problems of
cross cultural. There are different barriers which can be eliminated in an effective
manner.
 Providing workshops to communicate effectively with other individuals – The
English electronics company can help tom to use different techniques which will the
communication levels while communicating with other individuals. The company could
make the joint venture successful if tom is Superior is practising different types of
communication styles (Li, 2020). This will also helps the English company to achieve
great results in the upcoming future. They are able to generate more profits in the market.
Tom also needs to improve its strategies to show the appropriate set of vision to the client
in a systematic manner.
Using different intercultural theories to explain it and supporting the discussion
Intercultural Learning theories is a view in which there are different hierarchy of
cultures. There are different views of each individuals. The company needs to evaluate different
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cultures in order to perform better in the market. The intercultural theories in respect to the case
study which is mentioned below:
Hofstede Model
 Power Distance Index – It is the factors which consists different inequalities and power
which needs to be evaluated by the firm (Hennings, 2018). Tom needs to effectively
evaluate the behaviour of the individual. The client needs to treat them with equality
regarding different cultural backgrounds.
 Collectivism vs Individualism – There are different obligations in which the societies
have dependencies on the certain groups. In case of Tom the person needs to be clear
about the goals which the company wants to achieve in the future (Pikhart 2018). This
will also help them to achieve success in an effective manner.
 Uncertainty avoidance Index – This is the stage which resembles that uncertainty and
ambiguity will be tolerated. Tom needs to shows the client about different factors which
makes the deal successful. The person also needs to tolerate the behaviour of the new
president and understand their vision in an effective manner.
 Feminity Vs masculinity – This is the stage in which the success is measured with the
help of genders. There are different distinct roles of both the genders. Tom arguments is
the major reason which is failure of this particular deal.
 Short Term Vs long term orientation – This is the stage in which the society views its
time horizon differently (Pikhart, 2018). Tom needs to involve in different decisions
which is taken by the client to understand the particular viewpoints. This will he;p the
deal to get successful in every manner.
 Restraint Vs Indulgence – This is the dimension in which the individual achieves its
goals regardless of any barriers. Tom needs to show the vision of the English company
which can help them to achieve different goals. They need to evaluate the behaviour of
the client in an effective manner to achieve success.
Handy's Cultural Model
 Power – This is the factor in which the organisation lies between different authorities.
There are different privileges which needs to identified by the tom in an effective
manner. The individual can analyse different strategies and approaches which could them
in achieving effective growth in the future.
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 Task Culture – Organisation needs to form the team which is skilled oriented. They are
able to solve different problems which could help them to become more efficient. In
relation to the case study tom can evaluate different cultures. On the other hand, the
person needs to adopt different skills and capabilities. This will help them to get the deal
get successful.
 Person Culture – In this stage there are employees which feels that they are most
valuable from the organisation (Corner, Liu and Bird, 2021). Tom needs to be calm in
every situation which helps them to crack the del. The individual needs to understand the
perspective of other person and evaluate different strategies in order to perform better.
 Role Culture – The employees is able to delegate different roles and responsibilities on
the basis of skill. In relation to the case study tom needs to solve different problems and
doubts of the client. They need to understand the true behaviour of the individual which
helps the deal to get successful in every manner.
What would be your advice to Tom?
 It has been recommended that Tom needs to focus on becoming calm in every situation in
order to make their joint venture successful.
 The main focus is to understand the cross-cultural in en effective manner which helps the
individual to perform best in different opportunities.
 Tom also needs to understand the perspective of different individual through they can
focus on achieving the goal for the company.
 Tom also needs to adopt the right strategy. This also helps them to understand the
behaviour of the new president in an effective manner.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been analysed that there are different intercultural theories
which needs to evaluated by the individual. On the other hand, the main focus of this report there
is discussion about the Hofestede model and Handy's cultural model which helps to understand
about different barriers which can affect the individual. Along with that, there is evaluation about
different strategies and approaches which can analysed by the individual in order to perform
better in different situations. For further instance, in this report there is analysation of different
cross-cultural aspects which needs to evaluated effectively by the individual.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Bolten, J., 2020. Intercultural business communication: An interactive approach. In Exploring
the rhetoric of international professional communication (pp. 139-155). Routledge.
Corner, A.J., Liu, L.A. and Bird, A., 2021. Intercultural competencies for emerging markets: A
contextualized approach. International Business Review, 30(3), p.101792.
Ferreira-Lopes, L., Elexpuru-Albizuri, I. and Bezanilla, M.J., 2021. Developing business
students’ intercultural competence through intercultural virtual collaboration: A task
sequence implementation. Journal of International Education in Business.
Hennings, J., 2018, August. What is Intercultural Competence and Why is it Important to
Business?. In 2018 Engaged Management Scholarship Conference: Philadelphia, PA.
Li, M., 2020. An examination of two major constructs of cross-cultural competence: Cultural
intelligence and intercultural competence. Personality and individual differences, 164,
p.110105.
Pikhart, M., 2018, August. Technology enhanced learning experience in intercultural business
communication course: a case study. In International Symposium on Emerging
Technologies for Education (pp. 41-45). Springer, Cham.
Pikhart, M., 2018, September. Multilingual and intercultural competence for ICT: accessing and
assessing electronic information in the global world. In International Conference on
Multimedia and Network Information System (pp. 273-278). Springer, Cham.
Zhang, X. and Zhou, M., 2019. Interventions to promote learners’ intercultural competence: A
meta-analysis. International journal of intercultural relations, 71, pp.31-47.
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