Different Moods And Emotions Of Eastern Versus Western Managers

Question: Discuss about the Different Moods And Emotions Of Eastern Versus Western Managers. Answer: Introduction Cultural differences are becoming an important part of the training and education in the business organizations today. Businesses, brands, organizations, and markets are crossing over from national to international but the perceptions about the consumer behaviour and market demand are bound by the cultural differences affecting the marketing strategies of the organizations. The cross cultural differences in the consumers and markets are one of the main reasons behind the failure of many western brands and their products in the eastern markets. Firstly, this essay will examine and contrast the emotion and mood of a Western manager versus an Eastern manager using Hofstedes five dimensions of national culture of Individual versus collectivism. Secondly, this essay will examine and contrast the emotion and mood of a Western manager versus an Eastern manager using Hofstedes five dimensions of national culture of short term versus long term business relationship building. Thirdly, this essay will examine and contrast the emotion and mood of a Western manager versus an Eastern manager using Hofstedes five dimensions of national culture of low-risk high avoidance vs. high-risk low avoidance. Fourthly, this essay will examine and contrast the emotion and mood of a Western manager versus an Eastern manager using Hofstedes five dimensions of national culture of masculinity versus femininity behaviour traits. Fifthly, this essay will examine and contrast the emotion and mood of a Western manager versus an Eastern manager using Hofstedes five dimensions of national culture of merit versus seniority time distance performance of control. This essay will contrast the emotion, moods and behaviour traits of a western versus eastern manager with reference to Hofstedes Individualism versus collectivism, short term versus long term relationships building, masculinity versus femininity behaviour traits, low-risk high avoidance vs. high-risk low avoidance. Hofstedes Individualism versus collectivism: Western vs. Eastern Managers (Minkov, Hofstede, 2012), states that the western culture refers to the societies of countries like America, Australia, and Western Europe, whose history and culture has been strongly influenced by the Western European countries. According to Hofstedes five dimension theory, the Western cultures are strongly individualistic. The people rely completely on their personal viewpoint to determine the course of their actions. The management style and the organizational cultures focus on contractual safeguards to ensure that each person will focus on his personal aspirations and career goals and not interfere with the other peoples goals and objectives. (Kastanakis, Voyer, 2014), state that the eastern culture generally refers to the countries of South-east Asia and the Oriental countries. The people in the eastern societies are generally group oriented and the societies are collective societies. The decision-making process in an organization is not based on any one persons goals but is taken keeping in mind the collective goals and objectives of the group or team or organizations. Any decision would be considered good if it benefits the entire organization and not a particular individual. The remunerations and rewards are also based on intrinsic values like diligence and quality. People rely more on mutual trust than any contractual obligations in their personal as well as professional dealings. (Dartey-Baah, 2013), argues that for an Australian manager, who has the western cultural mindset, an understanding of the Chinese collective culture is very important for success. For example, a simple gesture of awarding a bonus to a few members of the team and not all can be perceived negatively by the whole team and go against the Chinese values of harmony, humility, and cooperativeness. This could be embarrassing for the people not recognized by the management and result in low productivity and lower morale and could backfire on the management. Hofstedes short term versus long term relationships building: Western vs. Eastern Managers (Jariya, 2012), highlight that in Western cultures like Australia, the people and likewise the business managers have a short-term orientation. This basically indicates that the society is very open to changes and there is a focus only on short-term goals and targets. This is visible in their corporate culture where the focus is only on short-term policies and people are recruited for to fulfil the immediate requirements of the organization. In such societies, the stress is on immediate rewards for work done. (Samaha, Beck, Palmatier, 2014), states that in the Eastern cultures like China, there is an emphasis on tradition and long-term commitment. The society as a whole and the organizations have a culture of strong work ethics, where people believe that any hard work today will reap much bigger benefits in the future and do not play a lot of emphasis on immediate rewards. The society is much more static with a conventional mentality in work and life and changes are not accepted easily and rapidly. (De Mooij, Hofstede, 2010), state that for an Australian manger working in china, it is very important to embrace the traditional mindset of the people and the organizations. While in Australia it is common for the employees to change their organizations and even their careers many times during their life, in China employee turnover is very low in the organizations and firing people is very uncommon. Chinese people adhere to a conventional job-for-life concept and an Australian manager should keep this sensitivity in mind. Therefore, instead of hiring more qualified workers and firing the old staff, the better approach would be to organize skill development workshops and programs for the existing staff and strive for a balance between the organizational requirements and the cultural makeup of the employees. Hofstedes masculinity versus femininity behaviour traits: Western vs. Eastern Managers (Elena, 2010), highlights that Australia and many other western cultures are more masculine in their societal attributes. That means there is a preference for values like ambition, assertiveness, power, and achievements rather than tender values like compassion and quality of life. Similarly, the gender roles are also more distinct with men assuming the tougher characteristics and focus more on material successes. And women take on the tender values and focus more on the quality of life. (Naor, Linderman, Schroeder, 2010), states that in the eastern cultures like China, the culture is more inclined towards the feminine attributes. Both men and women have overlapping roles. People care more about the quality of life, nurturance, compassion, and service and these tender traits are embraced equally by men and women both. People are generally not very aggressive when it comes to material success. (Ogbuigwe, 2013), states that the western managers or Australian managers have a very task oriented approach and believe in the most direct way of dealing with a task in hand and give very little importance to interpersonal relationships in the workplace. But to work well in the domains of the Chinese culture and organizations they will have to place an equal emphasis on building good interpersonal and social relations, which is a dominant aspect of the work culture in feminine societies. For example, the Australian managers find it very difficult to understand the way Chinese managers resolve the organizational conflicts. The Chinese unlike the Australian managers do not like to confront anyone or tackle any issue directly but believe in compromise and negotiations to solve any problems, which is an accepted trait of managers from feminine societies. Hofstedes low-risk high avoidance vs. high-risk low avoidance: Western vs. Eastern Managers (Parrish, Linder-VanBerschot, 2010), highlight that people in the Western cultures have a high risk taking capacity and therefore they have a lower uncertainty avoidance tendency. Such cultures promote individual freedom and choice and also promote creativity in work and life. People are flexible and comfortable working in unstructured situations. People in the eastern cultures have a low risk and high avoidance tendencies. People have a tendency to take less risky decisions regarding their professional and personal lives. People in such cultures are passive and not very open to change and therefore do not like to voice opinions or take much initiative in the workplace. (Khairullah, Khairullah, 2013), states that for the Australian managers dealing with the Chinese organizational culture this is one very important aspect to consider. The decisions in the organizations are taken keeping in mind harmony and everyones cooperation in the organization. Employees are not very flexible when adapting new thinking and methodologies and any change has to be based on a strong consensus. Similarly, innovation in processes is not much favoured as work culture is based on standardized procedures and delineated structures. (De Mooij, 2013) says that therefore, an Australian manager will have to keep the cultural sensitivities in mind while bringing about any change in the organizational structure and practices. For example, promotional policies in Chinese organization are designed keeping in mind the age and seniority in the organization and is not performance oriented. Conclusion The working of the minds of the Chinese people reflects in their organizational culture and business practices as well. The Chinese cultural values are based on the Confucian philosophy and this reflects in their decision-making processes at all levels. Therefore, the first challenge for the western or Australian managers to succeed in China is to develop an understanding of the importance collectiveness and cooperation in the working of the Chinese organizations. The managers have to devise policies that will help the employees perform as a group and not lay stress on individual performance as a motivational factor. The second challenge that a western or an Australian manager faces is to understand the importance of social interactions at work and building long-term relationships and bonds with the employees in the organization which goes beyond the professional working relationship. The third challenge for a western manager is to understand that Chinese do not favor direct confrontation methods while solving any problem or situation. The manager will have to develop strong negotiation skills and try to maintain a harmonious atmosphere while trying to solve any organizational issue. The fourth challenge that an Australian manager will have to face is the peoples aversion to change and not very flexible attitude. Any change that he wants to introduce has to be done gradually explaining the process to all the employees and gradually building a consensus for the decision. However, the change has to be for the benefit of all and not individual oriented benefit. References: Dartey-Baah, K. (2013). The cultural approach to the management of the international human resource: An analysis of Hofstedes cultural dimensions.International Journal of Business Administration,Volume 4, Issue 2, pp. 39. Retrieved from: https://www.sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/ijba/article/view/2581 De Mooij, M. (2013).Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. Sage Publications. Retrieved From: https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=enlr=id=YbGNAQAAQBAJoi=fndpg=PP1dq=Global+marketing+and+advertising:+Understanding+cultural+paradoxes.ots=_CR1mOfffEsig=R7Tk8bxWh0arnIcMO39I4qCGTuA#v=onepageq=Global%20marketing%20and%20advertising%3A%20Understanding%20cultural%20paradoxes.f=false De Mooij, M., Hofstede, G. (2010). The Hofstede model: Applications to global branding and advertising strategy and research.International Journal of Advertising,Volume 29, Issue 1, pp. 85-110. Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2501/S026504870920104X Elena, R. D. (2010). Cultural differences in project management.Annales Universitatis Apulensis: Series Oeconomica,Volume 12, Issue 2, pp. 657. Retrieved from: https://search.proquest.com/openview/87b39721b9fa78646948924f666b9615/1?pq-origsite=gscholarcbl=276234 Jariya, A. I. (2012). Western cultural values and its implications on management practices.South East Asian Journal of Contemporary Business, Economics and Law,Volume 1, pp. 61-70. Retrieved from: https://seajbel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Western-Cultural-Values-And-Its-Implications-On-Management-Practices-A.M.-Inun-Jariya.pdf Kastanakis, M. N., Voyer, B. G. (2014). The effect of culture on perception and cognition: A conceptual framework.Journal of Business Research,Volume 67, Issue 4, pp. 425-433. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296313001227 Khairullah, D. H., Khairullah, Z. Y. (2013). Cultural values and decision-making in China.International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology,Volume 3, Issue 2, pp. 1-12. Retrieved from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9b19/f9fcd403ae3b264486b0ddb39912887620cf.pdf Minkov, M., Hofstede, G. (2012). Is national culture a meaningful concept? Cultural values delineate homogeneous national clusters of in-country regions.Cross-Cultural Research,Volume 46, Issue 2, pp. 133-159. Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1069397111427262 Naor, M., Linderman, K., Schroeder, R. (2010). The globalization of operations in Eastern and Western countries: Unpacking the relationship between national and organizational culture and its impact on manufacturing performance.Journal of operations management,Volume 28, Issue 3, pp. 194-205. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272696309000801 Ogbuigwe, T. D. (2013). Understanding International Business in the context of cultural Lenses.IOSR Journal of Business and Management,Volume 10, Issue 5, pp. 35-44. Retrieved from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/32138244/F01053544.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3AExpires=1503051270Signature=2HqI9dtT2IwzrtdKltRI5BrIowM%3Dresponse-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DUnderstanding_International_Business_in.pdf Parrish, P., Linder-VanBerschot, J. (2010). Cultural dimensions of learning: Addressing the challenges of multicultural instruction.The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning,Volume 11, Issue 2, pp. 1-19. Retrieved from:https://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/809/1497?__hstc=124373589.c5fa66f46c99ee3447b2ca4d5fba5f3f.1472428800118.1472428800120.1472428800121.2__hssc=124373589.1.1472428800121__hsfp=1773666937 Samaha, S. A., Beck, J. T., Palmatier, R. W. (2014). The role of culture in international relationship marketing.Journal of Marketing,Volume 78, Issue 5, pp. 78-98. Retrieved from: https://journals.ama.org/doi/abs/10.1509/jm.13.0185?code=amma-site