Pharmaz India Case Study: Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges

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Case study
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Identify the main issues raised and discuss how they may be explained in terms of the
cultural and institutional context in Pharmaz in general and Pharmaz in India?
The main issues identified in the case are related to the cross-cultural communications in
Pharmaz. Pharmaz is a multinational company having its headquarters in Denmark. The
company has one of its centres in India and it has been analyzed that the working culture of both
the centres is very different from each other. The main difference that has been determined in the
case is the difference in the working values and corporate cultures of both the centres. The
Hofstede model of cultural dimension states that the attitudes and beliefs of people are tailored
as per the values of the society and this theory is evident in the case. As Denmark and India have
different societal values, it is obvious that the behaviours of the people of both the counties are
also different (Beugelsdijk, et. al., 2017). This is reflected in their working styles. In Pharmaz
Denmark, the leaders believe in the delegation of work but in India, delegation is limited to the
extent of job responsibilities. This is because of the corporate cultures of both countries. The
other issues identified in the case are related to the caste system followed in India. Caste systems
are not given any importance at the workplace but in India, the caste system is prevalent in the
businesses also which creates a communication barrier between the employees.
Imagine yourself in Amrita’s position. Which proposal would you make to Neils Nielsen
and how would you agree in order to convince him?
It is very important that a company has a formal culture and dress code. The dress code is a very
important aspect to make people feel equal in an organization. In Pharamz, the employees wear
casual and smart clothes but they are informal. This must not be followed in the company. One
proposal that can be made to Neils Neilson is to follow the Schein model of organizational
culture. As per this model, the dress code, furniture, behaviour of employees is very important to
frame the overall organizational culture (Schöbel, et. al., 2017). So it is important that all the
employees wear formal clothes in the company so that there are a formal structure and decorum
maintained in the business. In a country like India where the caste system is given so much
importance, it is important to make the workplace an equal platform for all of the employees. So
this is a suggestion that can create a more powerful organizational culture in Pharmaz India.
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Do you think that the measures taken to implement the corporate values and recognize
work in the financial services sector have been appropriate?
Implementations of corporate values are very important in any business whether it is a financial
service centre or any other company. The establishments of corporate values are significant to
guide the basic operations of the business. In an organization like Pharmaz, there are various
employees from different backgrounds and cultures and it is significant for the manager to create
such an environment which is employee friendly. The decision of Amrita to implement the work
recognition system in the company is also appropriate as every employee in an organization
works for earnings and if they are paid higher for their improved performance, they tend to work
more diligently. One thing that was ignored by Amrita was the proper tacking of the individual
performances of all the employees. To recognize the works of the employees in an organization,
it is important that regular track and record of all the employees are kept individually and the
performances of all the employees are closely monitored so that the results cannot be
manipulated by any other employee in the company.
Would you have done anything differently?
As it is discussed that for providing bonus and incentives to the employees, it is essential that
their individual performances are recorded, so the thing that can be done differently is the
appointment of a person or to allocate duty to an employee to record the individual performances
of all the employees and their behaviours towards the company and the other employees. There
are some employees who are not liked by other employees (Bird and Mendenhall, 2016). This
leads to differences between them and this also hide the efforts of the employees who are not
liked when they work in teams. So it is very important that their contribution to the team
assignments and the organization are evaluated so as to provide accurate bonus and incentives to
the employees according to their behaviours and performance in the organization. One more
thing that can be done differently is that corporate cultures can be established according to the
behaviours and values of society.
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How should one now proceed to achieve the best possible results for Pharmaz India’s
financial services centre?
To reap the best outcomes from the Pharmaz India financial Centre, it is important that the
corporate culture is developed as per the social values of India. In India, people, are very much
concerned about their job titles rather than their job responsibilities. So a different structure of
positions can be created by the management of Pharmaz so that the employees can take over
their responsibilities and perform better. Reward and recognition system is suitable to encourage
and motivate the employees of Pharmaz India. It is also important that a close monitoring system
is adopted by Pharmaz so that no manipulations can be done in the performance reports
(Thomas, 2015). The management of the company must also trust the employees and implement
the strategy of work delegation so that all the employees learn about the new challenges of
business and their abilities are improved.
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References
 Beugelsdijk, S., Kostova, T. and Roth, K., 2017. An overview of Hofstede-inspired country-
level culture research in international business since 2006. Journal of International Business
Studies, 48(1), pp.30-47.
 Bird, A. and Mendenhall, M.E., 2016. From cross-cultural management to global leadership:
Evolution and adaptation. Journal of World Business, 51(1), pp.115-126.
 Schöbel, M., Klostermann, A., Lassalle, R., Beck, J. and Manzey, D., 2017. Digging deeper!
Insights from a multi-method assessment of safety culture in nuclear power plants based on
Schein’s culture model. Safety science, 95, pp.38-49.
 Thomas, D.C., 2015. Cultural intelligence. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, pp.1-3.
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