CULTURE In order to discuss about Cross Cultural Management it is necessary to briefly describe what the concept culture is.

The word culture has many different meanings, which all originates from its Latin origin cultura, which refers to cultivating the soil. In the International Management conte t! Culture is a learned, shared, compelling, interrelated set of symbols whose meaning provides a set of orientations for members of a society. These orientations, ta"en together, provide solutions to problems that all societies must solve if they are to remain viable. #s early as $%&', researchers identified more than $() definitions of culture, and today, it is estimated that culture has been defined in appro imately *)) ways +,erraro, $%%*-. .ut there is a common view in research concerning the basic meaning of culture! individually, we are all different, but share similar e periences with those who grew up in the same surroundings, in the same type of society as us. In this way, there are cultural differences between, for e ample! nations, regions, social classes, generations, men and women, religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups, minorities, and professions and organi/ations +those who wor" in a certain company and who share a corporate culture-. The cultural differences find e pression in different ways. 0f all the terms that are being used to describe the cultural manifestations these four following, together, covers the entire phenomena! symbols, heroes, rituals and values. In the figure below these have been drawn as the shell1levels on a onion in order to show that symbols represents the most superficial cultural manifestations, values the deepest, while heroes and rituals lands somewhere in between.

,ig! $ the onion1diagram! cultural manifestations at different levels. 23ef! ibid, p. ')4

Symbols are words, gestures, pictures or ob5ects that have a particular meaning for the people in a certain culture, but not for others. The words in a language or a 5argon belong to this category. 6ew symbols are developed easily and old disappears7 cultures often copies from each others8 symbols. It is because of this that the symbols have been put in the outer layer. Heroes are persons 9 living or dead, real or fictional 9 who have features that are highly valued within a culture, and therefore become role models. Rituals are collective activities that really are not needed in order to achieve certain goals, but are regarded as socially important within a culture. The way to greet and the way to show respect for others, social and religious ceremonies are e amples of rituals. In figure! $ symbols, heroes and rituals have arranged under the term practices. :uch practices are visible for an outsider7 their cultural meaning are however invisible and consists precisely and only in how they are interpreted by the initiated. The core of a culture consists of values, according to figure! $ ;alues are ordinary tendencies to prefer certain circumstances instead of others. ;alues are feelings which are either positive or negative 9 that has a plus1 or minus side. It has to do with! <ood versus =vil, Clean versus >irty, .eautiful versus ?gly, 6atural versus ?nnatural, 6ormal versus #bnormal, Logical versus Illogical, 3ational versus Irrational, and ,air versus ?nfair. These values are broad tendencies to prefer some conditions to others. The important point is that they were taught in the conte t of the environment in which one was raised and educated. That is, fair versus unfair in one society may not be the same as in another society. Human and Cultural variables in Global organizations #s we enter a new millennium, the effects of internationali/ation now "nown as globali/ation are everywhere apparent. This has played a ma5or role in sustaining the economic e pansion of the global economy in the second half of the ')thcentury. <lobali/ation is seemingly shrin"ing the planet as barriers to trade are dismantled, transport and communications costs fall, and global production systems are formed and managed by giant multinational corporations. <lobali/ation can be defined as the ongoing economic, technological, social, and political integration of the world that began after the :econd @orld @ar. There are several dimensions to this dynamic process, including the increased internationali/ation of economic mar"ets as reflected, for e ample, in trade and financial capital flows.

Cross1cultural issues are among the most central and most persistent factors that influence international business activity. @hen companies operate internationally they face such cross1 cultural challenges as understanding the differences in communication patterns and styles, preferences for leadership approach and style, different principles and notations of hierarchy and organisational structures, and different systems of decision ma"ing, and its is possible to continue this list much further. It can even be argued that proper understanding and proper handling of cross1cultural dimensions of management is a prereAuisite for successful international management.

What is Cross Cultural Management? <oing overseas or trading with foreigners is becoming more common in the '$st century. Information technology +IT- has allowed companies to sell internationally. Trading internationally has given western and eastern businesses chances to compete at a higher level. Brices shrin" to parity and although technology is still proceeding, new competitive advantages are essential to gain sustainability and momentum in the globalmar"et. Therefore, the ability to negotiate with international partners is enormously important, not only to widen the personal cultural hori/on but mainly to accomplish a successful negotiation. Trading with foreigners not solely relies on the prospective outcomes for both counterparts, but can also depend on the effects of powerful Cross Cultural Management. #ccording to .obst, Cross Cultural Management +CCM- is the capability to manage different attitudes, culture, religion and habits to achieve best business results. +Cuestionnaire, '))*-. ,una"awa approached CCM in a more general way, in a sense of how people and organi/ations focus on Dtranscending8 cultural differences at a global situation +,una"awa, $%%E-. CCM can be seen as a management style that should be imparted in each division of an organi/ation that negotiates internationally. This reveals how imperative it is to reali/e the behavioral communication differences in languages, mimics and gestures. Mead went deep into the sub5ect and defined CCM as Fwor"ing with members of the other culture, tolerating differences as far as possible, and recogni/ing their priorities when developing shared priorities. +Mead, $%%*-. CCM is inevitable, as =vans and >o/ found that research on multinational enterprises suggests that their future competitive advantage may not reside in their strategy or structure, nor in their technologies or products, but in their

organi/ational capabilities to cope with the multidimensional and comple demands of a global business. +=vans and >o/, $%%'-. Factors a ecting cultural variables! "! #ocial $nstitutions!1 Countries differs considerably in the "ind of social institutions they have e.g., the way their education system functions, the way financial system wor"s, the structures of governance etc. which have a direct impact on how business is conducted in that country. These social institutions are important artifacts of the culture and often embody its basic values and assumptions. = ample1 =ducation :ystem in <ermany has a heavy emphasis on technical and apprenticeship training, which can be historically traced bac" to the artisanGs guides of the Middle #ge. This system focus on imparting hands on technical s"ills in which the students get assigned at the very early age, beside this it also influences the business practices by bringing the specific set of s"ills into 5ob mar"et. :imilarly one finds the cultural values of individualism and entrepreneurship embodied in the #merican ;enture Capitalist :ystem. This system legitimi/es and encourages ris" ta"ing and going it alone behavior, but also creates a business environment in which investors have a ma5or impact on how business is run. %! &ublic &olic' and legal rame(or)!1 The government policies and legal framewor"s of different countries also reflects the cultural values of the country. These influences the business practices in ' ways7 a- They determine the broader framewor" for doing business in the country. b- They influence and circumscribe the management practices with in the company. Cultural values also influence the interpretation and implementation of the laws. It determines the nature of the laws, which have direct implication for management practices within the company. = ample! 1 Lifetime employment in Hapan which is rooted in the literal interpretation of *rticle %+ o ,a-anese Constitution. It is supported by its cultural values Shakaisei +:ocial

Consciousness- and Tate Shakai +#ocial Iierarchy and paternalism-. In contrast ?: Constitution also guarantees the right wor",, the right cultural value of self reliance and J each for himJ does not support it. K. #ocietal Cultural .alues!1 The most pervasive impact on the business culture and practices in a country comes from the broad cultural values of the society. These values influence the business in different ways at different levels. #t macro level cultural values allow certain "inds of business to flourish, while not providing the right climate for others. = ample! 1 ,rench culture is "nown for its emphasis on elegance, criticism and concern for 6orms. The cultural values of the society define the meaning and reason of business and how it is organi/ed. In many cultures, high profits and mar"et capitali/ation are not the criteria for doing business. :uch cultural difference has direct impact on the :trategic 0rientation of companies across cultures. = ample! 1 @hile ?: Companies emphasi/es more on the profit dividends and stoc" prices, Hapanese companies focus more on new product development and mar"et share. The cultural values also influence how the business is organi/ed and conducted in the societies. In collective societies for instance, personal contacts play an important role in conducting business. In China people conduct business based on personal relationship +Guanxi 1 Interpersonal relationship-. #t the end the cultural values have a ma5or influence on the way people relate to each other and what they aspire for in a 5ob. In many hierarchical cultures +e.g. India, Hapan etc- the meaning and value of 5ob lies in the status more than in the pay pac"et. In these countries people also e pect to be recogni/ed for their seniority and age. 06 the other hand in more egalitarian cultures + ?:#, <ermany etc- people e pect rewards and compensation for their performance than their seniority. Therefore it is evident that developing people to adapt to and operate across business cultures of different countries, reAuire an appreciation of aspects which are deeper and more pervasive than 5ust cross cultural differences in behavior. @hile an understanding of differences in behavioral orientation and etiAuettes help people in becoming cross culturally literate but to

develop truly cross culturally educated global managers, it is essential to provide an understanding into the deeper structures which mould the culture.