Communication Between Cultures

In these increasingly culturally diverse work groups, every employee possesses cul-

turally specific expectations toward management issues such as organizational struc-

ture, employee-supervisor relationships, motivational factors, and reward allocation,

all of which can vary. To be successful, a global manager must be aware of the poten-

tial that cultural differences carry. Table 10.2 contains some culturally influenced

management considerations and provides a generalized comparison of normative

practices and employee expectations in Northeast Asian and Euro-American

organizations.

Most Euro-American organizations subscribe to a“flat”structure, where work team

members and managers consider each other more or less equal. Communication is

informal and forthright. This organizational structure is thought to encourage a colle-

gial atmosphere that promotes individual creativity and initiative. Pervasive individu-

ality among Euro-Americans results in worker responsibilities and entitlements being

contractually specified and little sense of organizational loyalty, which creates a highly

mobile workforce as employees move from job to job in pursuit of greater personal

benefits. In contrast, companies in Northeast Asia are usually characterized by a

Globalization has

created circumstances

where business

executives from all

over the world are

meeting face-to-face

to establish joint

ventures and

negotiate contracts.

TABLE 10.2 Cultural Variances in Organizations

MANAGEMENT CONCERN NORTHEAST ASIAN EURO-AMERICAN

Organizational structure • Vertical • Horizontal

Organizational relationships • Hierarchal • Egalitarian

Basis of trust • Interpersonal relations • Legal system

Basis for promotion • Time/age • Merit

Reward allocation • Equal for all • Equitable to individual

Involvement in personal life • High/expected • Low/undesired

Source:E.R.McDaniel.

Eric Miller/World Bank Group

Intercultural Communication in Globalized Business 347

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