Cross Cultural Business
Conducting Cross-Cultural Business
Three Cross-Cultural Differences:
Certainly, among the most critical differences that must be accounted for before one begins practicing business in Asia is that regarding the way that people interact. In many ways, Western and Eastern culture stem from very different perceptions of the self and, consequently, how individuals should be expected to conduct themselves in interaction with one another. Indeed, Anbari (2008) et al. highlight this issue, indicating that "two main cultural differences have been identified. Hofstede distinguishes between individualism and collectivism. Trompenaars breaks down this distinction into two dimensions: universalism vs. particularism and individualism vs. communitarianism." (p. 2)
As we most certainly know from experience, the United States is a culture, both professionally and socially, where individuality is stressed. By contrast, in a general sense and throughout its business culture, Asia tends more toward collectivism or communitarianism. This influences how individuals express themselves in business settings, often with more humility than we might in the United States.
This also contributes to a second major difference, which is the higher tendency toward team affiliation in Asian cultures...
For instance, an article by Kolesnikov-Jessop (2012) indicates, "in Japan, typically they want team quotas, they want to be rewarded as a team, they want to be considered as a team and spoken to as a team, and if one guy takes the fall, the team takes the fall." (p. 1) The manager learning how to preside over personnel in this new setting must learn how to address the efforts of personnel as teams and to promote rewards and critique within this established framework of collaboration.
Another difference that emerges in our literature is recognition of the more hierarchical nature of organizations in Asia. Often, there is a more straightforward top-down chain of command Asian cultures. The American businessperson must learn how to navigate this hierarchy and to interact with others according to this order.
Product:
In terms of product development, one of the key distinctions between American and Asian business cultures is the demand for quick vs. long-term gains. American business culture is substantially driven by the concept of high-risk, high-reward and short-term gain. This differs from the product development strategy in many Asian business contexts, where innovation is drawn out gradually but with positive long-term results. According to the text by Anbari et al.,…
