Intercultural Management, Essay Example

After reviewing my high and low context intercultural management characteristics, I have come to the conclusion that I have sound organizational disciplines that would make me both an efficient manager in intercultural setting as well as a valued team contributor. When it comes to, Planning, Evaluating and Innovating, I am more inclined towards control and setting goals, focusing on the future and forthcoming obstacles, concrete planning based on quantifiable facts, unlimited resources and individual employee development. I do not fully believe more attention should be paid to younger personnel, and I do value the wisdom elder team members can bring to the table. Overall, I believe the most important and urgent aspect of cross cultural management is open two way communication. In addition to keeping all concerns transparent through dialogue, this will also establish a sense of community among the group.

Interpersonal relations, as it pertains to intercultural management, is a core deciding factor for team success within corporations. There are differences between small and larger corporations that make intercultural management a non-factor for the small business where mis-management in a corporate setting would be detrimental to efficiency (Vance & Yongsun, p.12). The core concept has to do with communications and how certain cultural factors of interpreted or misinterpreted by fellow workers. For example, while some may feel the balance between work and social life should be treated as separate others may disagree and seek to make their work life a more social environment. This simple difference could be misinterpreted, and lead to conflict in the workplace.

Ideological differences that arise within intercultural settings is an inevitability that must be overcome through progressive strides in Intercultural Management study. The alternative is economic decline. As noted in their book Managing Cultural Differences: Global Leadership Strategies for Cross-Cultural Business Success, the author note that, “Globalization is exposing most countries to more interactions and relationships with people and products from other countries, yet many people from different countries are not prepared to work, live, and prosper in a global and highly competitive new world (Moran, Philip, Haris & Moran, p.23).” This highly competitive new world is one where intercultural management will play an essential role in being the glue that binds diverse tech savvy teams on the verge of revolutionary discovery and innovations.

In sum, one thing that I found lacking in the text was an emphasis on ideological understanding of other cultures. Leadership, Interpersonal Relations, Problem-Solving, and Decision-Making were all mentioned, but as Jacob’s notes, it takes what he calls a transformational leader to lead an intercultural team, and “to be successful in an intercultural sense, a transformational leader must be a team player as well, and be prepared to be influenced by, and learn from, other organizational members (Jacobs, p14).” I think it’s very difficult for one to lead a diverse group of people without sharing a diverse set of values with all respective members of the group.

Work Cited

Jacob, Nina. “Introduction”. Intercultural Management. Kogan Page, 2003. Books24x7. Web. Jun. 7, 2012.http://common.books24x7.com/toc.aspx?bookid=5730

Moran, Robert T., Philip R. Harris, and Sarah V. Moran. Managing Cultural Differences: Global Leadership Strategies for Cross-Cultural Business Success, Eighth Edition. Taylor and Francis, 2011. Books24x7. Web. Jun. 7, 2012.http://common.books24x7.com/toc.aspx?bookid=40158

Vance, Charles M., and Yongsun Paik. Managing a Global Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities in International Human Resource Management. M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 2006. Books24x7. Web. Jun. 8, 2012. http://common.books24x7.com/toc.aspx?bookid=20748