Intercultural Management in Business: A Case Study and Analysis Report

This report examines a case study involving John, a chief engineer, and his interactions with Japanese trainees. The assignment analyzes John's leadership shortcomings, including a lack of adaptability, problem-solving skills, and cultural understanding, leading to conflict and dissatisfaction among the trainees. The report identifies the importance of intercultural communication, cultural sensitivity, and the need to understand cultural differences. It suggests strategies for improving cross-cultural interactions, such as learning key phrases, understanding cultural nuances, promoting cultural appreciation, and being open to new experiences. The report uses Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory to explain the cross-cultural issues, discussing power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence versus restraint. The report concludes with advice for John, emphasizing the need to develop leadership skills, improve problem-solving abilities, and embrace cultural differences to foster a more productive and harmonious training environment.

Intercultural
Management in
Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
Where did John go wrong...........................................................................................................3
How could you help John better understand this cross-cultural problem...................................4
Use intercultural theories to explain it and support your discussion..........................................5
What would be your advice to John............................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................8
Books and Journal.......................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Intercultural business means having relationship among people of different culture and
managing them to work together. There are differences in culture and diversity as people come
from different places and there is diversity in cultures. It is important for an organisation to
manage the differences in attitudes and behaviour of people (Yihan, 2017). The report is based
on a case study. John Smith was a chief engineer who acme in contract with a Japanese customer
and they sent their trainees under the supervision of Mr. John, also the trainees were tireless and
good at English. They use to ask everything to him and he started being annoyed as his personal
time was also taken by them, because of which there were problems and the group requested
another instructor. The various methods and theories related to intercultural problems and their
solutions are discussed below in this report.
TASK
Where did John go wrong
As John had never given such kind of training and this was the very first time for him and
also he came to know that the trainees are fluent in English also they are tired less means they
have good potential to work so Mr. John should have first understood the situation and then said
them yes and provide them training. No doubt he was a chief engineer and a machinery
manufacturer in Portsmouth.
 John lacked leadership skills as he was unable to manage and lead those 10 trainees, a
leader should be able to understand its team and motivate them. The person was not
having this ability and he used to get annoyed with those people when the used to ask for
other things. It is duty of leader to take care of his team and he should provide all the
demands that are needed by them. Mr John should also lead them and help them with all
the requirements they are having.
 John Smith also lack problem skill, it is desired from a instructor that he should maintain
proper peace among the trainees (NADRI, 2020). The person should have understood the
conflicts that are faced by the trainees and it is the responsibility of the person to solve all
the the conflicts that are faced by the same. It is most desired by the Instructor that all the
problems that are their in his team should be timely resolved as they may impact the
working and understanding of the trainees. My John did not understood the fact and

whenever these trainees used to ask for such problem he used to be irritated and was
unable to solve those problems, that is the reason they were facing such problems. It is
duty of instructor to solve all the disputes that have arisen among the trainees which he
was unable to do.
 Mr John was not adaptable and was unable to lead the team and this was the reason he
was unable to fulfil the task he has taken. Japanese people were new for him and he was
not able to accept them and understand them. Also he did not make them feel comfortable
at the new place and was not able to serve them the way they wanted to.
The problem was he has not managed team before and never given training to Japanese
trainees. Also he was lacking skills that are desired and that are required for the successful
implementation of training programmes.
How could you help John better understand this cross-cultural problem
John should learn the following things to solve the cross cultural problems: Learn a few key phrases- As it is important to communicate well and understand what
the customers needs. It is important to learn the language in which the trainees are
comfortable in and will able to communicate fluently. As he was knowing that the
trainees are good at English so he should have understood the thing and learnt the
language (Ly and Rygg, 2016). As communicating in an effective way will solve the
problems and lead to understand the needs and wants of the trainees and train them
accordingly. Also the words that thy use daily should be know and it is better if the
communication is in the language that the trainees like and understand better. Learn culture- It is important to understand the culture to which client belongs as it will
help the instructor to serve them better. It is vital know about the place they belong, the
culture followed there and the way they were working. If that kind of culture is provided
to the clients than they will able to adjust easily in the circumstance and would
understand the things better. If they will feel that their culture is respected than it is easy
for the person to work effectively. In relation to case the Japanese trainees were not
provided with the culture they belong to indeed whenever they use to ask extra things like
places for their leisure time, the instructor used to get annoyed. Promote appreciation of cultural differences- It is important to promote and appreciate
the culture of people that they belong to and respect that. The place from which the

trainees belong should be understood and then there should be discussion about the
culture and taken as opportunity and all the trainees will work happing and understand
the tasks given to them. Be open to trying new things- As there are new people and they belong to different
culture, so it is important adapt new things and and get ready to try new things. The
trainees were new at the place (Krawczyk-Bryłka, 2016). Mr John should understand and
help them to visit the place and know about the culture that is followed so as the training
feel good and get training accordingly. As if there are people who are open to new things
then it is easy to open doors for cultural differences.
 Be accommodating:The thing that should be focused is that the culture of others should
be respected and own culture should not be forgotten. It is better to follow such culture
that is beneficial for the organisation as well as it will help the trainees to understand and
work in that culture.
Mr John should understand and follow the above mentioned strategies to understand the
cross cultural differences.
Use intercultural theories to explain it and support your discussion
Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory
Power distance index (PDI)- It is index through which less powerful people of the organisation
believe that the power is distributed unequally (Rathmayr, 2017). So, to manage all the culture
and people of different culture it is important to distribute power in a way that every one gets the
opportunity and the hierarchy is followed. It is important to distribute the power evenly for
success of the organisation.
Individualism vs. collectivism (IDV)- Employees work individually versus collectivism in
which employees in the organisation work in groups. It is good if the organisation follows
collectivism and all the employees work together as that will make them understand culture and
background of all the employees and they will work together. The employees who work together
and for the benefit of the company are recognised and makes the organisation successful.
Masculinity vs. femininity (MAS)- It is believed that muscular side is seen as more important in
the society and the famine are for cooperation. So an organisation to be successful should not
differentiate between men and women and make them all work together. When all the employees

work together and there is no discrimination then the organisation is able to work more
productively and that leads to success of the organisation (LLobet Prada, 2019).
Uncertainty Avoidance- This shows the degree to which the society is taking risk, as it is a well
know fact that the future is unpracticable and the business should understand this. In this case Mr
John is training the individuals for the first time and there is uncertainty and it is important to
work accordingly. The uncertainty should be taken into consideration.
Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation- The past position of the organisation is
compared with current position. It helps to make policies for the future. The organisation has to
make the long term and short term goals as per the requirements of the company. It is important
to make the policies that help the company to achieve the goals and objectives of the
organisation.
Indulgence vs. restraint (IND)- This dimension deals with the behaviour of the society towards
the restraining and indulgence. The indulgence can be defined as the fact that the citizen have the
right to fulfil their desires and needs, can enjoy their life to the fullest. But on the other hand the
restraint factor try to restrict the citizen from following their own will.
What would be your advice to John
John should firstly understand the culture differences as the trainees that are coming are
from different places and are following different culture. Being a instructor he should have
focused on understanding the culture of the place. The main thing that he should have focused is
they are good at English and were ready to work without tiredness so he should have prepared
himself accordingly. Being a chief engineer, he should have understood that the 10 trainees are
coming under his guidance and need to be take care of them. They are from Japan and John has
never lived nor worked abroad and it was his first time so I would say that he should have given
more efforts to train them and build relations, as it is important to make them work effectively.
He also lack leadership skills that is why he was unable to manage the team get annoyed
whenever they use ask him extra things (Pencheva and Sokolova, 2019). A good leader has talent
and manages all the things that are required by the team. He should develop leadership skills and
lead the team effectively.
Then the trainees were facing conflicts that shows that he was unable to solve their problems this
shows that he lacks problem solving skills and it is required that the person should have problem

solving ability as it is not possible for the trainees to understand all the things. It is necessary that
there are good environment under which they are understanding and taking training. Also he was
not adjusting with them, it is important to make a good relations with the trainees as that is
required for imparting proper training (Santoso and Apriyanto, 2020). Whenever a new work is
done and started the person has do do hard work and try their best to adopt and understand the
situation.
Mr John should try to understand the culture from which the trainee belong so as to make
them feel good and adopt their culture also. It is also important to communicate with them
effectively and provide then with the environment in which they can learn and understand what
then are willing to learn.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that it is important to understand different cultures and organisation
should respect all the cultures to achieve success. In the case Mr John has signed a contract with
Japanese company and the company has sent its employees for training. The trainees are active
and good in English but the problem is are also taking personal time of Mr John by asking him
for solving the conflicts among them because of which he gets annoyed and made complaint. He
should have cooperated and discussed the problem with them and found a solution to impart the
training successfully.

REFRENCES
Books and Journal
Krawczyk-Bryłka, B., 2016. Trust triggers and barriers in intercultural teams. Journal of
Intercultural Management, 8(2), pp.105-124.
LLobet Prada, J., 2019. Cross-cultural behaviour and its impact on intercultural business
operations and relationships.
Ly, A. and Rygg, K., 2016. Challenges of teaching intercultural business communication in
times of turbulence. In Intercultural Competence in Education (pp. 215-236). Palgrave
Macmillan, London.
NADRI, Y., 2020. Students’ Skill Needs for Achieving Content in an ‘Intercultural Management
and Communication’Course in a Moroccan University of Economics. International
Arab Journal of English for Specific Purposes, 3(1), pp.93-111.
Pencheva, M. and Sokolova, H., 2019. Intercultural Training in Business and Education: the
Case of the Danube Region. Journal of Danubian Studies and Research, 8(2).
Rathmayr, R., 2017. 11 Intercultural business communication: A linguistic approach. Handbook
of Business Communication: Linguistic Approaches, 13, p.221.
Santoso, D. and Apriyanto, S., 2020. Intercultural Communication and Business Chain
Formation of America and Japan. Talent Development & Excellence, 12(2).
Yihan, L., 2017. ANALYSIS OF INTERCULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE
AND THE UNITED STATES ENTERPRISES BY HOFSTEDE'S DIMENSIONS
(HUAWEI & CISCO). In Неделя науки СПбПУ (pp. 507-509).