How Globalization Can Affect International Business Essay

In todays ever globalizing economy, global autobuss must engage particular proposition skills in evidence to navigate and overcome the cross-ethnical situations which make a motion world(prenominal) business practices. Dependant upon the situation, both homegrown and discharge private instructors can be qualified to handle these cross-cultural challenges.There are a embarrassment of cultural differences that can have an affect on how business is through with(predicate) internationally. These differences can be any number of actions that we take for give when interacting in aces own refining. Every last has deep twists built upon religious, social and ethical values which will influence the way in which other(prenominal) will reason and react as well as how they will listen or what they will expect from us (Burnam 1998).An simulation of a cultural difference that could affect international business is the mistaking of hand gestures. In the United States the thumbs u p hand gesture is a coarse sign relaying a positive meaning usually meant to father the message replete(p) or OK. This is different than in the Arab kitchen-gardening where the same hand emblem is the equivalent to one of our much electronegative hand gestures here in the United States. Therefore using this signal with someone from an Arab close would to the highest degree certainly not produce the sought after positive effect but rather a negative one. bingle skill a manager could bump to combat the ignorance of another culture with whom he is doing business with is to immerse himself into that culture and develop their customs through observation and interaction, becoming aware of how to aline to the situation.This developed ability to continue and adapt would no doubt embolden a manager in future cross-culture settings. This type of interpretation is evident in Cassandra Hayes term The Intrigue of International Assignments. One of Hayes subjects in the article, J. Eric Wright, describes how by immersing himself into the atomic number 16 African culture, he was able to learn through observation one of the local customs concerning respect for elders, which was detrimental to his success while there (Hayes 1996). This communication hurdle is die suited for a native manager as they already possess the knowledge of the local customs, traditions and social norms. They would be better weaponed to handle challenges in whichproper and appropriate communication are paramount to an organizations success.Another example of a cross-cultural booking is the overstepping of boundaries involving another cultures code of etiquette. The social interactions we take for granted in our own culture may be considered rude or out of line in another culture. Hayes article as well as touches upon a situation relevant to this. Another of Hayes subjects, Belinda moth miller, received a shocking reaction from an employee after giving advice. Miller was transpl anted in chinaware and received a first class education in cross-cultural differences and how they could affect working with someone from another culture.After greatly upset her employee by offering criticism in a direct manner, Miller learned that this situation was very different than dealing with an American employee and that advice or criticism must be subtly given in this culture. Having sentience and macrocosm culturally sensitive are extremely pertinent to an oversea assignment (Hayes 1996). Again in this situation it seems that a native manager would be much more nimble and able in preventing cross-cultural conflicts such as this, the reason being that they are already engrained into the culture and possess a working knowledge of social and professional dos and donts.One more example of how a cross-cultural difference can affect how an organizations success internationally is the improper translation of verbiage. In an example cited in the Touro University Internationa ls College of Business Administration MGT 501 CD-ROM mistranslation is demonstrated. The Intercultural Communication page states that, One American airline operating in Brazil advertised that it had plush tryst lounges on its jets, unaware that in Portuguese (the language of Brazil) rendezvous implies a special room for having sex. (Intercultural Communication). It is Obvious to see the fundamental lapse in meaning, which could be interpreted quite inappropriately.Skills that a good manager could develop in an attempt to prevent these type of mistake is to develop good habits of researching another culture and its language translation as well as always possessing the consciousness of the message being conveyed. Proficiency in another foreign language would be an importantcritical skill a global manager could add to their improvement. Yet again this looks to be another cross-cultural situation in which the native manager is favored as a result of his already being fully aware of the cultures norms and language. The native manager would possess the knowledge to identify the misinterpretation before it was besides late.Cross-cultural differences can affect doing business internationally in a number of ways. Through misunderstanding, misinterpretation and being unaware, cross-cultural differences can affect organizations business across borders by do a deal not to be finished, accomplishing an agreement without establishing a long-term relationship and by causing an escalation in tension or confrontation while negotiating. It is evident that in todays world, globalization demands cultural awareness and the ability to adapt in the international business world. This can be perfectly summed up in a saying used by Josephine Song in her article Transcending Borders. It says, If you are going to do business with people who are in different parts of the world, you had better understand and speak their language.A better understanding of these cultural differences can b e reached with the wait on of the Hofstede Model. The Hofstede Model suffices to explain some of the discrepancies inherent when comparing respective culture values to one another. Four of these variables are masculinity/womanhood, tolerance or repressance of distrust, power distance and individualism versus collectivism (Louis). Masculinity and femininity deal with the values of achievement, material possessions or wealth and aggression as opposed to relationships, compassion and quality of life. Tolerance or avoidance of uncertainty is the extent to which people must have certainty in order to feel secure.The less tolerance a culture has for uncertainty the more likely they are to have and maintain a rigid structure of rules establishing a code of conduct. Power distance is the level of acceptance that a culture has for its social, economic and political separation and power distribution. Individualism versus collectivism is exactly what it sounds like, the extent to which a culture is concerned with individual achievements or collective success (Beebe, Beebe and Redmond 1996). Through the juxtaposition of these different degrees of values in internationalbusiness, inefficiency is created which must be bridged by cultural awareness and adaptation in order to achieve success.There are many ad hoc skills that global managers could utilize in order to address these differences. Cultural awareness gibeing could be the most relevant and most helpful aid to global managers in overcoming cultural divides through the development of pertinent skills. A program like this could help global managers train for specific scenarios and common pitfalls met in cross-cultural situations (Burnam 1998). Foreign language proficiency is definitely a skill that would greatly benefit global managers, allowing them to better communicate with their counterparts and help to avoid awkward misinterpretations or misunderstandings that could make or break a business relationship.A h igh tolerance for the unknown and curiosity to learn is detrimental to a global managers growth as a professional in the international business community as they will no doubt encounter many new customs and situations. This will enable a global manager to use application to understand and adapt to his surroundings. This can be associated with the extremely important skills of being generally aware and having keen observation. A global manager could avoid awkward or potentially relationship ending situations solely by picking up on them beforehand. Perhaps the most important skills for a global manager to possess are the abilities to be both pliant and adaptive. As the global manager is continually introduced to new experiences they will be able to overcome cross-cultural differences in order to cement a new relationship or deal.Although in the three specific examples of cross-cultural differences cited above native managers were favored, it is probably more important than ever tha t organizations post expatriate managers out across borders to gain experience and knowledge. This is truly the most effective way to secure the globalization of an organization. Expatriated managers can return to train other members of the organization.This in turn will allow an organization to utilize loyal employees who most likely bear greater allegiance to them rather than a native homeland (Burnam 1998). The organization would also have a manager with a better knowledge and understanding of the organization enter in the culture. An organization that could train the majority ofits managerial workforce to plump more aware and sensitive toward other cultures would be heavily prepared for the continual evolvement of globalization as well increasing its effectiveness in the global market.Both native and expatriate managers are well equipped to handle an organizations international business. Whether native or expatriate managers are more qualified or better equipped depends on th e situation and an organizations goal. By utilizing specific skills which pertain to enhancing cultural awareness and communication barriers, todays global managers can better prepare themselves to meet the challenges of the many cross-cultural situations in our ever globalizing economy.References1. Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (1996). social Communication Relating to Others. Needham Heights, MA Allyn & Bacon. 345-365.2. Burnam, E. Managing Cultural Diversity in a world(prenominal) World. Workinfo.com, 1998. http//www.workinfo.com/free/downloads/299.htm3. Hayes, C. (1996) The Intrigue of International Assignments. Black Enterprise, (26)10, 98