Whenever any entity or person enters into a new culture, a certain level of "culture shock" takes place. A great amount of understanding, adaptation, and conformity is necessary for a smooth transition and existence in a foreign culture to actually occur. Within an organization, the transition is no different. Great care is taken by corporations today to ensure that cultural differences do not stand in the way of a successful foray into the global market. A lot of work is required to prepare an individual and an organization for assimiliation into a new culture, and the reasons for such efforts can be outlined by simply showing how four aspects of management differ so greatly in other countries.
One trademark of U.S. culture: leadership, can be perceived in a completely different way in a foreign country. Today, a large part of leadership deals with understanding employees on a personal level and complementing your skills with theirs in an attempt to create a harmonious working environment. Being able to deal with vast array of personalities can undoubtedly aid managers in "customizing" the way they praise, criticize, and guide employees. Other countries on a whole seem to have a more clearcut workplace culture, where the manager is expected to be warm, open, and kind to employees; especially in Asian countries, criticism must be dealt out very delicately, so as to not destroy what employees consider extremely valuable relationships with their bosses. .
The decision making process may also need to be altered to be effectively used in a foreign country. The level sternness with which a company decision is stated can play a major role with its acceptance by employees. Certain countries cultures look to follow direct orders and not those that are wavering, whereas others are more comfortable with consensus agreements after discussions of important decisions for the organization.
