The Role of a National Culture, Essay Example

There is an intricate relationship between a national culture and an organization’s management. Studies have resolutely established that organizational efficiency accrues only when such an organization identifies with the society in which it is operating. As such, each an every manager within a particular social setup, must be conversant and adaptive to the culture in which he or she operates. The definition of culture as a way of life for a particular people means that the bulk of employees, customers, suppliers and other prominent organization’s publics will ascribe to that national culture (Warner, 2003).

It’s a manager’s role to understand the national culture and its many dimensions as regards the environment in which he or she operates. This same culture will be manifested in all business settings and operations. Schulte (1997) says that such manifestations will mainly be in the way people keep time, in dressing, in working days, in working hours, in hosting meetings, in corporate responsibility, in marketing, in market trends etc.

The best scenario in examining national culture and how it relates with management is in multinational businesses. The multinational headquarters will demand a singular standard of operations in all its worldwide branches. Nevertheless, when you go to each and every country, managers in the local branches of the multinational will have adopted practices that are typical of the national culture. Each country will thus feature distinct operations, despite having a blend of the standards demanded by the headquarters. This is the only way such an organization can achieve local acceptance and growth; adapting to the national culture.

The firm’s offices in Pakistan will open for business on Sunday up to Wednesday, and never on Friday. The same multinational will have its offices open on Monday up to Saturday in Kenya. In Nigeria, people will come to work in colorful African wear, while in London; some will wear jeans to the office. In India, business will run from Monday to Friday and you can expect families to come around the office frequently. What is at play here is national culture.

Warner (2003) believes that, national culture is critically important in shaping the management styles within different countries, especially when it comes to what a manager can do and what he or she cannot. Managers must know the national culture and then adapt to it before any progress accrues. Rising in opposition to it will just create tensions and negative vibes. On the other hand, adapting and exploiting the national culture fully will present the greatest opportunity of organization growth. The specific areas a manager must allow the national culture to influence his or her decisions include, HR practices such as hiring, firing, promotions; advertising and marketing in general; corporate social responsibility etc.

References

Schulte, D. (1997). National Culture and International Management in East Asia. Mumbai: Whurr Pub Ltd.

Warner, M. (2003). Culture and Management in Asia. New York: Routledge.