Leadership: An Analysis of Intercultural Competence in Business Report

This report delves into the realm of intercultural competence, focusing on a comparative analysis of British and Romanian cultures within a business context. The report begins with a scenario of working in a multinational company in the UK, highlighting the importance of understanding diverse cultural backgrounds. It includes an autobiographical questionnaire and an interview with a Romanian colleague to gather insights into Romanian culture. The report then compares the two cultures, discussing similarities and differences in areas such as urbanization, lifestyle, language, social traditions, and business etiquette. Furthermore, it applies Hofstede's cultural dimensions model to assess both cultures across various parameters, including power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. The conclusion emphasizes the significance of cultural awareness in fostering effective communication and collaboration in a globalized business environment. The report provides a valuable overview of cultural nuances and their impact on business practices.

Intercultural
Competence in Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Scenario........................................................................................................................................1
Autobiographical questionnaire...................................................................................................1
Interview with a colleague...........................................................................................................2
Comparison of cultures................................................................................................................4
Cultural frameworks....................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Culture refers to an umbrella under which people from different backgrounds,
knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities and habits are found. Therefore in this way
culture reflects how a particular person will behave in a particular manner. It also provides
details about the country from where a person belongs. Therefore it is quite important to be
analysed so that the right conclusions regarding a country can be made. For this report, a
comparison of Romanian and British cultures is being considered. It will evaluate both of them
and derive the conclusions obtained after the analysis.
MAIN BODY
Scenario
I work in a Multinational Company in U.K. I have colleagues from different countries in
my office. Therefore, I had a questionnaire session with my colleague who belongs from
Romania. As I belong from U.K. I had curiosity in getting to know his culture. This was a very
good experience for me which helped me in enhancing my knowledge.
Autobiographical questionnaire
Question- Where is U.K. Located? What is the name of its capital?
Answer- U.K. was earlier a part of Europe. However after the implementation of Brexit which
refers to the exit of Britain from European Union it is no longer a part of E.U. The name of its
capital is London.
Question- How is Urbanization, Lifestyle and Food habits of people in United Kingdom?
Answer- U.K. Is a country where urbanization is quite prevalent. It has a large number of cities
such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton. The lifestyle of people in the country
is urbanized and influenced by the urban culture. Also there is an influence of western culture
on the lifestyle of the people of the country. The architecture in the cities is quite good with the
presence of tall buildings in the cities. The people of U.K. like to have a variety of food items
according to their tastes and preferences. Cuisines from all over the world can be found in the
country.
Question- What are social traditions in United Kingdom?
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Answer- British People provide a lot of value to punctuality. Also there is an emphasis of
giving proper invitations for inviting someone for a particular event. British People give a lot of
importance to being polite during the providing of invitations.
Question- What is the language which is spoken by the majority of people in United Kingdom?
Answer- English is spoken widely across U.K. However it is the not the only native official
language. Other languages specific to the region like Welsh in Wales, Gaelic and Scots in
Scotland are also spoken.
Question- What is the culture of U.K. regarding Hierarchy, The Family and Privacy?
Answer- There is a hierarchical structure of different classes of people in the society in U.K. As
the people here are segregated on the basis of their level of income. In the culture of country,
nuclear families are given more preference than the joint families. The British People provide a
lot of emphasis of privacy as they keep their personal information secret and do not share it
with a lot of people.
Question- What are the etiquettes and customs in U.K.?
Answer- There are certain naming conventions which are followed in U.K. The British People
show a lot of interest in Meeting and Greeting and ensure that they meet warmly with someone.
They follow a wide variety of communication styles while communicating with someone.
When meeting someone officially, they use formal communication style. While meeting
someone unofficially, they use informal communication style. Further, there is an emphasis on
giving of gifts while going somewhere. Manners are followed during Dining & Food. There are
certain formalities to be followed while visiting someone's home. Also there are certain Taboos
in the society.
Question- What are the Business Etiquettes and Protocols which are followed in U.K.?
Answer- There is a formal dress etiquette to be followed in U.K. Titles are addressed in a
professional manner. The use of Business cards is made to provide a formal professional
introduction. The meetings are held with a set agenda. British people are strong negotiators who
consult each other before taking an important decision. Different types of management styles
are followed by the managers in businesses in U.K. However the most general style followed is
that the opinions of the employees are given due consideration before taking an important
decision.
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Interview with a colleague
Me- Hey. How are you doing today?
Colleague- Fine.
Me- I have heard that you belong to Romania. Is that correct?
Colleague- Yes. That's correct.
Me- I have heard a lot about Romania. It is a nice country with nice people. I has a
multidimensional culture. As I am from U.K. I would like to know more about your culture.
Colleague- Sure. I will tell you more about Romania. It is a country which is located in
Europe. Its capital is Bucharest.
Me- Tell me more about the culture of Romania.
Colleague- There is a strong presence of urbanization in the culture of Romania. This is
due to the presence of so many cities in the country. The lifestyle of people in our country is
quite modern. There is a presence of modern architecture in the cities due to tall buildings which
exist in the cities. The people of Romania also share a strong relation with food. There are
several food items which the citizens of our country like to have. There is a wide variety in food
in the country depending upon the area which you visit.
Me- Wow. Sounds great. I a curious to know more about your country.
Colleague- Socially, there are different people who are present in our society. The
customs and traditions can change depending upon the area of the country which one is visiting.
This is due to the vast variety of culture which is present in Romania.
Me- What is the language which the majority of people speak in your country?
Colleague- The majority of people in Romania speak the language Romanian. Some of
them also speak Hungarian but they are mostly located in Transylvania. Also there are certain
German Speakers who form a part of the population.
Me- Tell me something about Hierarchy, The Family and Privacy in Romania.
Colleague- In Romania, a great value is given to the hierarchical positions in the society,
family is also given great importance. Also the Romanians give a lot of importance to Privacy.
Me- What are the etiquettes and customs in Romania?
Colleague- There are formal as well as informal greeting styles which are used in the
country. Specific Titles are used for addressing different types of people in the country. Also
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there are different gift-giving etiquette and dining etiquette which are displayed by certain
people.
Me- What about Business Etiquette and Protocol?
Colleague- There are different types of Business Etiquettes and Protocol which are
followed in Romania. When Romanians do business, their focus is on building of relationships
with people. Business meetings have a protocol which has to be followed before they are
scheduled. Also Negotiations are held between Romanians when they do business as they are
known to be strong negotiators. Exchanging of Business Cards is done as a part of the Business
culture.
Me- Thank You. Thanks for providing your time for the interview. It was great to know
more about the culture of Romania by interviewing you.
Comparison of cultures
With the analysis of both the British and Romanian cultures it can be said that there are
both similarities and differences in them. These are explained as follows-
Similarities-
 In both British and Romanian culture, there is a strong presence of urbanization with the
presence of various cities in both of these countries (Wolff and Borzikowsky, 2018). The
architecture in the cities of both these countries is modern with the presence of tall
buildings.
 In both of these cultures, social traditions and values are given a lot of importance
because the people of both these countries give value to the rules and regulations which
are determined by the society and follow them.
 The lifestyle of people in both of these countries is quite modern and thus they like to be
modern in their outlook.
 Both of these cultures put an emphasis on privacy (Zlomislić, Gverijeri and Bugarić,
2016). Therefore, the people of both of these countries like to keep their certain details
about their personal information as confidential and do not share it with anyone else.
Differences-
 Majority of people in U.K. Speak English. While Majority of people in Romania speak
Romanian (de Hei and et.al., 2020). Thus there is a difference in the language spoken in
both of these countries.
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 The social rules and traditions in Romania are more conservative as compared to U.K.
This is due to more strict social norms in Romania as compared to U.K.
 In U.K. There is a more modern way of living which is followed by the people. The
people in Romania comparatively follow a more traditional way of living (Friganovic
Sain, Kužnin and Charry Roje, 2017).
 There is a strong difference between the food habits of the people of both these countries.
The tastes and preferences of people regarding food are much different.
Cultural frameworks
Hofstede's model- It is a model which evaluates the culture of the countries which are
compared on several parameters and assesses them thoroughly (Gowindasamy, 2017). The
dimensions in this theory are as follows-
Power distance index- It refers to the degree of inequality within the society. If it is high
this means that inequality is mode and if it is low this means that inequality is low (Aguilar
Pérez, 2018). In U.K. It is low which refers to low inequality among the people. In Romania also
it is low which means that there is a low inequality.
Individualism vs. Collectivism- If a society places more emphasis on individualism then
it can lead towards people being self-centric and they may not think about the interest of the
society. If a society emphasizes on collectivism then it will help towards making progress
towards achievement of collective goals and objectives (Arasaratnam, 2016). In U.K. Emphasis
is given more on individualism and people focus only on their individual goals and objectives. In
Romania, emphasis is provided on collectivism as the people focus on collective goals and
objectives.
Masculinity Vs. Femininity- Masculinity means that a great importance is given by the
society members on the achievement of success. Femininity means that an importance is given
by the society on the quality of life. In U.K., the society focuses on masculinity and In Romania
the society lays emphasis on Femininity.
Uncertainty Avoidance Index- A higher Uncertainty Avoidance Index means that the
society is conservative. A lower Uncertainty Avoidance Index means that the society is open to
certain changes (Pikhart, 2018). In U.K., this is lower. However, In Romania this is on the higher
side.
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Long-Term Orientation vs. Short-Term Orientation- In countries where there is long-
term orientation in people people are pragmatic, honest and thrifty. In countries with short-term
orientation the people have strong convictions and give importance to their values and rights
(Ramirez, 2016). In U.K., the people have a long-term orientation. While in Romania also the
people have a Long-term orientation.
Indulgence vs. Restraint- Indulgence means people in a society are encouraged to speak
more openly and express their views freely. Restraint means people of a society are not able to
express their views openly and thus cannot provide their opinions freely (Schartner, 2016). In
U.K., the emphasis is placed on Indulgence. In Romania also, the importance is placed on
Restraint. Therefore while the people of U.K. Can express their views freely this is not the case
in Romania where there is less flexibility in offering of views.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that the culture forms an important part for
any country. An autobiographical questionnaire can be used to answer questions related to own
culture. Through interview, one can interview another person and get to know more about the
culture of another country. There can be similarities and differences between the culture of both
the countries. The use of cultural frameworks like Hofstede's cultural dimensions can be made to
make a comparison between the culture of two countries.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Aguilar Pérez, M., 2018. Integrating intercultural competence in ESP and EMI: From theory to
practice. ESP today. 6(1). pp.25-43.
Arasaratnam, L. A., 2016. Intercultural competence. In Oxford research encyclopedia of
communication.
de Hei, M. and et.al., 2020. Developing intercultural competence through collaborative learning
in international higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education. 24(2).
pp.190-211.
Friganovic Sain, Z., Kužnin, M. and Charry Roje, R., 2017. Teaching Intercultural Competence
in Undergraduate Business and Management Studies–A Case Study. Croatian Journal
of Education: Hrvatski časopis za odgoj i obrazovanje. 19(Sp. Ed. 1). pp.55-71.
Gowindasamy, M., 2017. A Case Study on the Implementation of Reflective Development
Model in Improving Intercultural Competence among Business Student in Stamford
College. Journal of Education and Practice. 8(12). pp.168-174.
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.
Ramirez R, E., 2016. Impact on intercultural competence when studying abroad and the
moderating role of personality. Journal of Teaching in International Business. 27(2-3).
pp.88-105.
Schartner, A., 2016. The effect of study abroad on intercultural competence: a longitudinal case
study of international postgraduate students at a British university. Journal of
multilingual and multicultural development. 37(4). pp.402-418.
Wolff, F. and Borzikowsky, C., 2018. Intercultural competence by international experiences? An
investigation of the impact of educational stays abroad on intercultural competence and
its facets. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 49(3), pp.488-514.
Zlomislić, J., Gverijeri, L. R. and Bugarić, E., 2016. The significance of intercultural competence
in cross-cultural communication. Ekonomski vjesnik/Econviews-Review of
Contemporary Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Issues. 29(2). pp.433-451.
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