What Values Are More Important For The Successful International Company - Corporate Culture Oriented Standards Or Local Culture Oriented Standards? Essay Example

Meyer, Erin. When Culture Doesn’t Translate, Harvard Business Review. Oct 2015, pp. 66-723 Key Takeaways
According to the article, there are problems with cultural miscommunication that occur the same moment companies start to expand abroad and it may lead to misunderstanding and inefficiency. Lack of the implicit communication slows down operational processes and makes the room for different cultural interpretation of the same issues. It may look like the solution is to to recap key messages and create a strong organizational culture, however, it does not work with all international companies. Moreover, different companies require opposite actions, for example, for creative industries the advantages of implicit communication may be particularly strong.
The main problem an internationalizing company faces, except for miscommunication, is when employees start splitting into small groups of self-defending offices with “Us vs Them” corporate attitude. While it is easy to feel special bonding to colleagues you are working with on a daily basis, it is hard to feel the same way with employees oversea, especially when they speak some unknown language and understand the working process differently. Even such a small issue as a Skype conference between different social customs may end up with no solution or, at least, a touchpoint without proper cultural and attitude concessions.
Instead of implementing identical corporate standards for all offices author presents a few key principles that can prevent internal disintegration. The goal is to identify the difference between the corporate culture and local culture and make sure every cultural group has a voice. Moreover, it is crucial to protect the most creative units and train everyone in key norms in order to ensure diversity in every location. Getting the culture right should never be an afterthought as you might stumble because of unnoticed potholes.

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